Increasing of SIgA serum levels may reflect subclinical intestinal involvement in non-radiographic axial and peripheral spondyloarthritis

Clinical Rheumatology - The evidence shows that previous infection with enteric pathogens is a requirement to develop pSpA. Based on our previous results, variances on regulation of SIgA might...     

Correlation study between prolactin and androgens in male patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis was studied in 8 male patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), both before and after intravenous administration of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH). We provide evidence herein that resting serum levels of estrone are increased and that resting serum testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels are decreased in male patients with SLE. The decreased serum T levels were observed even after the IV administration of 25 micrograms of LH-RH. The high basal serum prolactin (PRL) levels observed in these patients with SLE is a novel finding not previously reported that could explain why serum T and DHT levels are low in this syndrome. We observed a decrease in the pituitary response to LH-RH stimulation; this low response could also be a hormonal manifestation of hyperprolactinemia. Furthermore, it has been suggested that PRL plays a role in immunocompetence, and therefore it could have influence either directly or indirectly in the altered immunoregulation observed in SLE.     

D-14 Monoclonal antibody to carcinoembryonic antigen: immunohistochemical analysis of formalin-fixed,paraffin-embedded human colorectal carcinoma,tumors of non-colorectal origin and normal tissues

Summary The reactivity of D-14 monoclonal antibody (mAb) to a specific epitope of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was evaluated on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. A total of 52 normal tissues, 90 colorectal carcinomas and 127 non-colorectal neoplasms were tested using the peroxidase/antiperoxidase technique. D-14 mAb did not react with normal tissues apart from producing a weak staining of normal colonic glands immediately adjacent to the neoplastic structures. All 61 primary and 29 metastatic colorectal carcinomas expressed the carcinoembryonic antigen. However, there was considerable heterogeneity in cellular antigen expression in both primary and metastatic colorectal carcinomas with 10%–99% of tumor cells staining. Of 22 stomach adenocarcinomas, 14 were also immunoreactive, as were 2 of 5 pancreatic carcinomas. Only 6 of 100 neoplasms of non-gastrointestinal origin expressed weak to moderate immunoreactivity. In 7 cases, colorectal micrometastases not recognized in conventional hematoxylin and eosin slides could be identified with D-14 mAb. The specificity of this antibody could be used in differentiating colorectal carcinomas from other types of tumors, including adenocarcinoma from other sites.This paper was presented at the 1989 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research Inc., San Francisco, California     

Expression of Bcl-2 by human bone marrow mast cells and its overexpression in mast cell leukemia

Bcl-2 protein plays a major role in the prevention of programmed cell death of differentiating cells. In the present study, the expression of cytoplasmic bcl-2 by human Bone Marrow Mast Cells (BMMC) from both normal and pathological bone marrow samples was examined. A total of 35 subjects corresponding to 9 healthy volunteers, 8 cases of adult indolent systemic mast cell disease (SMCD), 4 cases of pediatric mastocytosis (PM), 11 cases of hematological malignancies (HM), 2 cases of reactive bone marrow, and 1 case of mast cell leukemia (MCL) were analyzed. The expression of bcl-2 was studied using quantitative three-color flow cytometry. We also studied the molecular configuration of the bcl-2 gene and other relatives by Southern blot and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the MCL case. Bcl-2 expression was detected in BMMC from all samples analyzed. No significant differences on the expression of bcl-2 were detected between BMMC from healthy subjects and patients with SMCD, PM, HM, and reactive bone marrow. By contrast, bcl-2 protein was overexpressed in BMMC from MCL patient without gene rearrangement. Our results show that bcl-2 protein was constitutively expressed by BMMC. BMMC from MCL display overexpression of bcl-2, which could not be related to molecular rearrangements involving the bcl-2 gene. The expression of this protein by mature MC may play a role in the prevention of MC apoptosis and thus help to explain the long survival of these cells. The overexpression of bcl-2 by BMMC in MCL may help to explain their resistance to chemotherapy-induced apoptosis.     

On-call workday cardiovascular response. A study of medical residents

OBJECTIVE: To compare 24 h blood pressure changes in medical residents when on call with those of a normal workday. DESIGN: Ambulatory blood pressure was recorded in 30 normotensive residents (14 men and 16 women) aged 27+/-2 years, during on-call workdays (24 h in the hospital) and then compared with values obtained during a normal 8 h workday. Ambulatory blood pressure was recorded every 15 min during the day (0700-2200 h) and every 20 min during the night (2200-0700 h). RESULTS: The normal workday 24 h ambulatory mean blood pressure rose from 85.0 mmHg to the on-call mean blood pressure of 88.9 mmHg (P < 0.001). During the daytime, ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressures rose by 4.6 mmHg (P < 0.001) and 2.7 mmHg (P < 0.001), respectively. During the night-time period, systolic and diastolic blood pressures rose by 5.4 mmHg (P < 0.01) and 4.6 mmHg (P < 0.01), respectively. The nocturnal systolic and diastolic blood pressure elevation was not related to gender, body mass index, waist: hip ratio, physical exercise or smoking habits. CONCLUSION: The on-call workday causes an elevation in mean 24 h blood pressure and only minimal changes in the 24 h blood pressure pattern.     

Effects of a treatment adherence enhancement program on health literacy, patient-provider relationships, and adherence to HAART among low-income HIV-positive Spanish-speaking Latinos

The impact of an adherence enhancement program for low income HIV-infected Spanish-speaking Latinos on health literacy, patient-provider relationships, and adherence to HAART was examined. Evaluations were conducted at baseline, 6 weeks, and 6 months for participants (n = 85) randomly assigned to either the intervention group or a comparison group; 69 (81%) remained in the study for the entire 6-month duration. The intervention group scored significantly better than the comparison group on 3 of 5 measures of HIV health literacy at 6 weeks and on 2 of 5 measures, at 6 months. While there was a weak trend for the intervention group to report an increase in self-efficacy of medication adherence management, baseline to 6 weeks, no other changes were significant. Perceptions of the quality of relationship and communications with their HIV-treating physicians improved both at 6 weeks (p = 0.04) and at 6 months (p < 0.001). The comparison group showed little change baseline to 6 weeks and baseline to 6 months. While there was a trend for the pilot group to report better medication adherence, these differences were not statistically significant. Further evaluation of the impact of this adherence enhancement program is needed.