Serological Evidence for the Role of Bacterial Infections in the Pathogenesis of Thyroid Diseases

ABSTRACT. Subacute thyroiditis is generally believed to be of viral origin, and infection is also suspected of playing a role as a triggering factor in the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid diseases. We have measured a broad spectrum of bacterial and viral antibodies in paired sera of 32 patients with thyroid disease of recent onset. The data indicate a preceding infection in 14 (44%) of the patients, enterobacterial in 5, streptococcal in 4 and staphylococcal in 2. A viral infection was suggested in 6 patients, in each case caused by different agents; 3 of them also showed evidence of a bacterial infection. Patients with positive microbial serology were found in all diagnostic groups, including subacute thyroiditis, Graves' disease and Hashimoto's disease. These results suggest an association between a preceding bacterial infection and the development of thyroid disease in some patients.     

Postappendectomy fluid collections in children: incidence, nature, and evolution evaluated using US

At the authors' medical center, most patients with postappendectomy fluid collections are treated conservatively. Thirty-two (15%) of 216 children underwent postoperative sonography following appendectomies. In ten patients (31%), a total of 16 fluid collections were found on the initial postoperative sonogram. In the seven patients (70%) whose fluid collections were confined to the pelvis, the condition was treated conservatively and it resolved in 2-9 weeks. In three patients, fluid collections required surgical drainage and proved to be abscesses. In two of the three patients, abscesses were multiple and widely distributed in the abdomen, and the patients were clinically ill. The authors conclude that clinically symptomatic fluid collections develop postoperatively in approximately 5% of children who have undergone appendectomy for acute appendicitis and that the size and course of the fluid collection can be objectively monitored using sonography. Such fluid collections confined to the pelvis ultimately resolve with conservative, nonoperative therapy, although resolution may take up to 2 months.     

Maternal and paternal alcohol consumption and miscarriage

Summary. To explore the role of parental alcohol consumption in miscarriage we interviewed 80 women who miscarried about their own and their partners' drinking habits. A control group of 81 gestational-age-matched women whose pregnancy ended in the delivery of a healthy infant at term were similarly questioned. The use of alcohol by women and men was equally frequent in both groups. Before pregnancy, the mean alcohol consumption per week had been about 1–2 drinks for the women and 4–5 drinks for the men. During the presumed day of conception, 13% of the women who miscarried and 11% of the women in the control group had drunk on average 3–4 drinks; the other women had been abstinent at this time. Of the partners, 13% and 15%, respectively, had taken a mean of 4–5 drinks. In both groups 58% of the subjects continued to consume alcohol during pregnancy. The mean consumption was about one drink a week by the women who miscarried and half a drink a week in the control group. Of women who miscarried, 36 had a blighted ovum and in this subgroup alcohol consumption in both women and men was similar to that in the other women who miscarried and their partners, suggesting that alcohol is not causally related to the development of a blighted ovum. These results suggest that moderate maternal or paternal alcohol consumption does not increase the risk of miscarriage.     

The effect of ICI 74,917 on asthma and bronchial provocation tests

A study was made of the protective action of the anti-allergic drug ICI 74,917, a phenanthroline derivative, in specific allergen provocation tests and in combating clinical symptoms in thirteen asthmatic out-patients. It was found that ICI 74,917 was able to diminish allergen-induced bronchoconstriction significantly (P< 0.01) during both the placebo period and during chronic treatment with ICI 74,917 for 4 weeks. The results obtained during these two periods did not differ significantly. There was not, however, any statistically significant difference in the symptom scores or PEF rates during the treatment with ICI 74,917 or placebo for 1 month. This may indicate that although ICI 74,197 is able to prevent bronchoconstriction in an allergen provocation test, it failed to improve asthma clinically. No signs of the phenomenon of tachyphylaxis were observed in the present study. The Student's t-test was used in the statistical analysis.     

The Asn-291→Ser and Ser-477→Stop mutations of the lipoprotein lipase gene and their significance for lipid metabolism in patients with hypertriglyceridaemia

We examined 99 Finnish patients whose serum fasting triglycerides (TG) had exceeded 6.0 mmol L^?1, with special interest to their lipid, lipoprotein and post-heparin plasma lipase activities. The control group consisted of 75 healthy individuals. We also determined the frequency of the Asn-291→Ser and Ser-447→Stop mutations both in hypertriglyceridaemic (HTG) subjects and in control subjects. A total of 51 of the original 99 hypertriglyceridaemic patients still had TG > 6.0 mmol L^?1 when measured a second time. They are referred to as persistently hypertriglyceridaemic subjects (pHTG). The remaining 48 subjects had TG < 6.0 mmol L^?1 in the second measurement and are referred to as sporadically hypertriglyceridaemic subjects (sHTG). The allelic frequencies of the Ser-447→Stop mutation in the total HTG and sHTG groups were similar to the frequencies present in the control group, but lower in pHTG patients compared with the control group (0.049 vs. 0.153, χ² = 6.63, P < 0.05). The Asn-291→Ser mutation was more frequent in HTG group than in the control group (0.0606 vs. 0.013, χ² = 4.86, P < 0.05). This difference was due to the higher frequency of the minor allele of Asn-291→Ser in the cohort with persistent hypertriglyceridaemia compared with the control group (0.088 vs. 0.013, χ² = 8.00, P < 0.01 ). The highest frequency (0.114) of the minor allele of Asn-291→Ser was found in type 2 diabetic patients with persistent hypertriglyceridaemia. The carrier status of Asn-291→Ser or Ser-447→Stop did not predict either post-heparin plasma lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activities or lipid and lipoprotein levels in any of the groups studied. Our data suggest that overproduction of very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) is a more important cause of hypertriglyceridaemia in the Finns than is the LPL deficiency.     

血小板血浆对人牙髓细胞增殖的影响

目的：观察血小板血浆及其细化成分对人牙髓细胞增殖的影响。方法：使用因正畸而拔除的人牙的牙髓细胞，用细胞定量测定试剂盒测定细胞增殖情况。结果：5％的多血小板血浆（platelet-rich plasma，PRP）、5％和10％的洗净血小板（washed platelet，WPLT）均明显地促进了人牙髓细胞的增殖，而且WPLT的作用较PRP更显著。乏血小板血浆（platelet-poor plasma，PPP）呈浓度依赖性地抑制了人牙髓细胞增殖，5％WPLT促进人牙髓细胞增殖的作用。结论：去除血浆成分的WPLT对培养的人牙髓细胞增殖有明显的促进作用；血浆中可能存在对抗血小板生长因子作用的因子。