Characterization of isolated and cultured chick osteoclasts: the effects of acetazolamide, calcitonin, and parathyroid hormone on acid production

The effects of acetazolamide, calcitonin (CT), and parathyroid hormone (PTH) on acid production in isolated osteoclasts has been investigated. Osteoclasts were isolated from the endosteum of 3-week chick tibias and were maintained under culture conditions for 5 days. The cells were treated with acetazolamide (10 x 4 M and 10(-7) M), CT (1 mU/ml and 0.31 mU/ml) and PTH (6.5 U/ml and 0.40 U/ml) for 1, 3, 6, and 18 hr. The cells were stained with acridine orange and the intensity of fluorescence measured by a light microscope photometer. Acetazolamide treatment resulted in a steady decline in intracellular acidity, suggesting that carbonic anhydrase plays a major role in acid production in isolated osteoclasts. Treatment with PTH produced a decline in acidity at 1 hr, followed by a peak at 3 hr and then a decline at 6 and 18 hr. The transient increase in acidity may be due to activation of carbonic anhydrase by PTH. Calcitonin treatment also resulted in a decline in cell acidity which was similar, but less pronounced than that resulting from acetazolamide treatment. These results indicate that calcitonin may mediate osteoclast activity by alterations in intracellular acid production.     

Mediastinitis in heart transplantation.

Between March 1985 and December 1991, mediastinitis developed in 12 of 420 cardiac transplantation patients (2.8%). The mortality rate in this group of patients was 8.3% (1/12). Actuarial survival (1 year, 75%; and 5 years, 65%) was not significantly different from that of the group without mediastinitis (1 year, 88%; and 5 years, 75%). A higher percentage of the patients in the group with mediastinitis were listed as UNOS status 1 (50% versus 35%) and had a history of previous sternotomies (58% versus 44%). The presentation of mediastinitis was typical. Computed tomographic scanning with or without aspiration was a valuable adjunct in the diagnosis of mediastinitis. Induction immunotherapy with minimal steroids in the perioperative period was used in all patients. This may contribute to the patients' ability to mount an appropriate and effective response to infection, permitting earlier diagnosis. The debridement irrigation technique used in 8 of 12 patients had a low success rate of 33%, whereas the debridement muscle flap technique used in 4 of 12 was 100% successful in eliminating infection.     

Cystic fibrosis mortality trends in France.

BACKGROUND: In 1992 France set up a national cystic fibrosis observatory (Observatoire national de la mucoviscidose, ONM) to monitor the state of health of patients on an annual basis. Using the ONM data, this study estimates the main indicators for life expectancy and assesses the total number of cystic fibrosis patients. METHODS: The data for the years 1994 to 2003 are divided into 3-year periods. Life tables are drawn up for these periods, from which mean and median lengths of life are determined. Using the most recent life table, the number of births in 2003 and the incidence of the disease, the total population of patients can be estimated, assuming a stationary population. RESULTS: In 2001-2003, life expectancy at birth of patients registered with the ONM was 39.1 years and median length of life was 36.4 years. These results, substantially better than those of 1994-1996, are linked to improved conditions of patient inclusion in the ONM database, to improvements in their healthcare, but also to the limitations of the life tables. Based on the 2003 data, the total theoretical number of patients is 6490, and coverage by the ONM database is thus 63.2%. CONCLUSIONS: These provisional results demonstrate the need to convert the ONM observatory into a registry providing exhaustive coverage of all patients.     

Automated three-dimensional analysis of histological and autoradiographic rat brain sections: application to an activation study.

Besides the newly developed positron emission tomography scanners (microPET) dedicated to the in vivo functional study of small animals, autoradiography remains the reference technique widely used for functional brain imaging and the gold standard for the validation of in vivo results. The analysis of autoradiographic data is classically achieved in two dimensions (2D) using a section-by-section approach, is often limited to few sections and the delineation of the regions of interest to be analysed is directly performed on autoradiographic sections. In addition, such approach of analysis does not accommodate the possible anatomical shifts linked to dissymmetry associated with the sectioning process. This classic analysis is time-consuming, operator-dependent and can therefore lead to non-objective and non-reproducible results. In this paper, we have developed an automated and generic toolbox for processing of autoradiographic and corresponding histological rat brain sections based on a three-step approach, which involves: (1) an optimized digitization dealing with hundreds of autoradiographic and histological sections; (2) a robust reconstruction of the volumes based on a reliable registration method; and (3) an original 3D-geometry-based approach to analysis of anatomical and functional post-mortem data. The integration of the toolbox under a unified environment (in-house software BrainVISA, http://brainvisa.info) with a graphic interface enabled a robust and operator-independent exploitation of the overall anatomical and functional information. We illustrated the substantial qualitative and quantitative benefits obtained by applying our methodology to an activation study (rats, n=5, under unilateral visual stimulation).     

Scoring and psychometric properties of the Eye-Drop Satisfaction Questionnaire (EDSQ), an instrument to assess satisfaction and compliance with glaucoma treatment

Background  

The objective of this study was to ascertain the scoring and assess the psychometric properties of the Eye-Drop Satisfaction Questionnaire (EDSQ), a 43-item Patient-Reported Outcome instrument developed to assess patients' satisfaction and compliance with glaucoma treatment.     

Ultracytochemical investigation of calcium-activated adenosine triphosphatase (Ca++-ATPase) in chick tibia

The ultrastructural distribution of Ca++-ATPase in bone cells of growing chick tibia was investigated by a cytochemical method in order to gain insight into possible sites of calcium ion translocation. Both osteoclasts and osteoblasts showed a polar distribution of reaction product along the plasma membrane. In osteoclasts, enzymatic activity occurred along the portion of the plasma membrane facing the marrow but not along the ruffled border or clear zone. The reaction product in these cells was due solely to Ca++-ATPase action. In osteoblasts, the plasma membrane facing away from bone (apical and lateral membrane) was very intensely stained, whereas the basal membrane was unstained. The reaction product in these cells appeared to be the result of both Ca++-ATPase and Ca++,Mg++-ATPase. In osteocytes, no plasma membrane staining was detectable. Mitochondrial staining in all three types of cells was more sensitive to fixation than was the plasma membrane enzyme, suggesting that mitochondrial and plasma membrane Ca++-ATPases are chemically distinct, as biochemical studies have shown. In general, mitochondria in osteoclasts stained more intensely than those in osteoblasts or osteocytes. Mitochondrial and vesicular sites of activity may be related to intracellular calcium storage, whereas calcium ATPases of the plasma membrane are presumed to be involved in calcium efflux from the cells. Calcitonin treatment did not alter the enzymatic distribution or intensity in osteoclasts. The striking polar distribution of both osteoclast and osteoblast plasma-membrane activity suggests that directional calcium pumping by these cells may be of importance in bone-forming and bone-resorbing mechanisms.     

Physical and Sexual Abuse and Neglect and Eating Disorder Symptoms

For eating-disordered patients with a history of post-traumatic stress, childhood abuse and neglect, and dissociative disorder, eating behavior symptoms may function as a rational response to unmetabolized traumatic experiences. This paper will review trauma-based theory, dissociation, abreactive, and ego-states therapy as they apply to eating disorder patients.