Adult height in patients with childhood onset atopic dermatitis

Cross sectional studies have reported impaired growth in children with atopic dermatitis. If this growth impairment is irreversible, it would be expected to adversely influence final height attainment. The standing heights and other anthropometric parameters were assessed in 35 adults with onset of atopic dermatitis before 5 years of age and a control group of 35 adults with adult onset contact dermatitis or psoriasis. There was no significant difference in the standing height SD score, mid-parental height SD score, sitting height SD score, subischial leg length SD score, nor body mass index between the atopic dermatitis and control groups. The standing height SD score was not significantly different among: (a) patients with atopic dermatitis affecting less than 50% of their body surface area and those with greater than 50% affected; (b) patients using the four different potency topical corticosteroids; and (c) patients with atopic dermatitis without asthma and those with coexisting asthma. It is concluded that short stature is not a feature of our group of adult patients with onset of atopic dermatitis before 5 years of age, continuing into adulthood, and severe enough to require specialist care. This suggests that if growth impairment occurs in childhood, it is likely to be temporary and reversible.     

Antibody seronegative human T-lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III)- infected patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or related disorders

The human T-lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III) is the primary cause of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and related disorders (ARC). Prior studies have reported that nearly all symptomatic patients with AIDS or ARC manifest antibody to HTLV-III. This observation has engendered efforts to screen for HTLV-III, especially prior to blood donation, with assays for antibody to HTLV-III. We report the first two cases, one with AIDS and one with ARC, that are HTLV-III virus positive but antibody negative. Accurate diagnosis of HTLV-III infection in some cases may require direct virus culture or tests for antigen. In addition, lack of HTLV-III antibody may indicate an atypical clinical course of AIDS.     

Reentrant ventricular arrhythmias in the late myocardial infarction period in the dog. 13. Correlation of activation and refractory maps

Isochronal maps of ventricular activation were analyzed in dogs 3-5 days after ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery utilizing a 64-channel multiplexer. Isochronal maps of the effective refractory period were determined from 62 epicardial sites and correlated with the activation maps. The ischemia occurring in the surviving epicardial layer prolonged refractoriness in a spatially nonuniform manner. The resulting pattern of refractoriness on the epicardial surface resembled concentric rings of isorefractoriness which increased in duration from the normal zone to the center of the ischemic zone. The formation of an arc of functional unidirectional conduction block occurred along the gradient of refractoriness and the exact location of the arc depended on the S1-S2 interval. When a short S1-S2 failed to induce reentry, fewer adjacent sites with sufficiently disparate refractoriness formed a smaller arc of block. A subsequent S3 encountered further nonuniformly shortened refractoriness (normal areas had shortened refractoriness greater than ischemic areas) and the arc of block was lengthened. This required a longer time for the wavefront to circulate around the arc. When it then reached the distal side of the arc, refractoriness had expired proximal to the arc and reentry occurred. Similarly, nonuniform shortening of refractoriness explained why one reentrant beat may or may not produce successive reentrant beats. Therefore, the spatial pattern of refractoriness forms the substrate for the arc of unidirectional conduction block that is fundamental to the development of ventricular reentry in this experimental model.