Comparison of the stability of a mite and a pollen extract stored in normal conditions of use

Pollen extracts are stable in solutions containing 50% glycerol. The stability of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp) extracts have not been determined. Two lyophilised extracts (Dp and cocksfoot pollen) were reconstituted in 50% glycerol and stored for up to 6 months at +4°C. Every day the extracts were placed at room temperature for 1 hr to mimic the natural use of allergen extracts by allergists. Every 2 months the extracts initially prepared were compared to freshly reconstituted extracts by means of prick skin tests in fifteen allergic patients. It was observed that cocksfoot pollen extract is stable but there appears a slight but significant (P > 0.05) decay in activity when the extract stored for up to 6 months was compared with a freshly prepared extract. On the other hand there is a significant (P > 0.01) decay in activity of the Dp extract after 2 months of storage. Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and cocksfoot pollen extracts behave differently when stored. These findings have particular importance in the diagnosis and treatment of allergic disorders.     

The Drug Dependence Syndrome and Related Disabilities

While the dependence syndrome has been extensively studied in alcohol patients, much less information is available about this syndrome in drugs other than alcohol. Since the core symptoms of the dependence syndrome have been defined as comprising a dimension of disability distinct from social, health and other consequences of substance abuse, we examined the relationships of dependence syndrome symptoms and related problems for drugs. We included cannabis, stimulants, barbiturates, tranquilizers, cocaine, opiates and hallucinogens in our analyses. Results showed high clustering of dependence symptoms with each other and with health, social and emotional problems attributed to drug use. This supports the syndrome concept for the core dependence symptoms, but not the concept that the symptoms form distinct dimensions from associated problems.     

Operational definitions of mandibular morphogenetic and positional rotations

abstract – A material of 30 patients with metallic implants was used in a longitudinal study, based on lateral headplates, of the mandibular rotational pattern. The complexity of the rotational phenomenon in the mandibular rotation has necessitated the proposal of some operational definitions: morphogenetic and positional rotations of the mandible. A relation-ship has been established between the variation of the gonial angle and the variation of both morphogenetic and positional rotations of the mandible. A relationship has been established between the variation of the condylar growth direction and the variation of both morphogenetic and positional rotations of the mandible: this relationship is the strongest when the morphogenetic rotation of the corpus is considered.     

Tryptophan reduction and histidine racemization during deprotection by catalytic transfer hydrogenation of an analog of the luteinizing hormone releasing factor

(d -Trp)⁶-LHRH:pGlu-His-Trp-Ser-Tyr-d -Trp-Leu-Arg-Pro-GlyNH₂ was prepared by solid-phase peptide synthesis using the nitro group to protect the guanidine side chain of the arginyl residue. Removal of the side-chain protecting groups was carried out by catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) using palladium acetate/ammonium formate or palladium on charcoal/formic acid. We show in this paper that this deprotection method induces i) reduction of the tryptophan residue and ii) epimerization at the histidine level (with palladium acetate/ammonium formate). Despite the formation of significant amounts of reduced peptide. CTH enabled us to obtain (d -Trp)⁶-LHRH in relatively good yield.     

PARENTAL HISTORY OF ALCOHOLISM: A RISK FACTOR FOR ALCOHOL-RELATED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHIES

The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors of alcohol-relatedperipheral neuropathies. A case-control study was performedto compare two groups of alcoholic patients, one with peripheralneuropathy and the other without, but with alcohol-related cirrhosis,pancreatitis or cardiomyopathy. Ninety patients were recruitedin four in-patient units of a French hospital: 32 patients hada peripheral neuropathy and 58 patients did not. Univariateanalysis showed no differences between the two groups for sex,age, body mass index and duration of the alcoholic disease.Peripheral neuropathies were associated with a higher frequencyof parental history of alcoholism, severity of alcohol dependence,heavier alcohol consumption and more alcohol-related somaticdiseases. Multivariate analysis showed a strong relationshipbetween a parental history of alcoholism and the presence ofa neuropathy, when the severity of the alcoholic disease wastaken into account (adjusted OR = 6.8, IC_95% [2.2-21.6], P <0.001). The hypothesis that neuropathy may be a marker of aninherited susceptibility to alcoholism is discussed.