Comparison of ultrasound and lateral chain urethrocystography in the determination of bladder neck descent

Several methods exist to determine the position of the bladder neck, an important mechanism of urinary continence. Radiologic screening is widespread but involves irradiation and may be imprecise. We compared perineal ultrasound scanning and radiologic scanning of the bladder neck by use of a chain and catheter and found good correlation between the two techniques. Ultrasound scanning is preferred, as it avoids irradiation, is accurate, is portable, and is readily available in most gynecologic departments.     

Antitumor activity of adriamycin (hydrazone-linked) immunoconjugates compared with free adriamycin and specificity of tumor cell killing

Adriamycin (ADM) was chemically coupled to two monoclonal antibodies (MAb) expressed on human B-cell lymphomas. Immunoconjugates were prepared by linking to the MAb an ADM derivative, Adriamycin 13-[3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionyl]hydrazone (ADM-HZN), which releases ADM under mild acidic conditions (see preceding article). The (ADM-HZN) conjugates were tested for antitumor activity on two human B-lymphoma xenografts, Daudi and Ramos, which were growing as solid tumors in athymic mice. The conjugates, injected i.p., significantly inhibited tumor growth when antibody protein doses were greater than or equal to 500 mg/kg (approximately 10 mg/mouse). At these input antibody doses, (ADM-HZN) conjugates were more potent and had greater antitumor activity than free ADM given at an optimized dose and schedule. MAb-conjugated ADM was also tolerated to much higher levels than unconjugated drug. Antitumor activity was not obtained using mixtures of MAb plus free drug or with MAb-drug conjugates that did not bind to the tumor target cell. Thus, the antitumor activity of the immunoconjugate was directed by binding of the MAb portion of the conjugate to target tumor cells.     

The effects of the competitive NMDA receptor antagonist CPP on the high pressure neurological syndrome in a primate model.

Neurophysiological interactions between the competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) preferring receptor antagonist, CPP (3-((+-)-2-carboxypiperazine-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonate) and the high pressure neurological syndrome (HPNS) have been investigated in the non-human primate Papio anubis. Eight animals were exposed on two occasions to environmental pressures of 81 atmospheres absolute (ATA) in a hyperbaric chamber, using helium and oxygen. One exposure followed pretreatment with CPP (either 5 or 10 mg/kg i.v. plus 5 mg/kg/hr infusion), the other a saline control. Pretreatment with CPP delayed moderate signs of face tremor and myoclonus and abolished severe signs of whole body tremor and seizure activity. By 81 ATA, scores representing severity of HPNS were significantly reduced by CPP to a mean score, reflecting a level of just mild to moderate limb tremoring (P less than 0.001). Changes in the EEG were observed in channels associated with the frontal, parietal and occipital regions of the left cortex. Amplitude and frequency spectra were calculated and changes with pressure in the 4 conventional wavebands were analysed. The most striking change was the complete prevention by CPP of the 100% increase in the amplitude of alpha waves at 81 ATA in the frontal region (P less than 0.001). It is concluded that NMDA transmission has a major role in the expression of HPNS.     

Clinical application of human egg cryopreservation

Clinical egg cryopreservation has been applied during a 4-year period with some limited success. Mostly mature and a few immature eggs were frozen slowly and thawed rapidly in 1,2-propanediol and sucrose, and subsequently inseminated by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Three studies were performed in which: (i) it was established that 55% of aged unfertilized mature eggs survive freezing; (ii) in 22 cycles of thawed donated eggs cryosurvival was 24% with 15 cycles reaching transfer, and five pregnancies were initiated, one of which went to term at 39 weeks with fraternal twin boys, and one remains ongoing at 37 weeks; and (iii) in five cycles, where in-vitro fertilization patients had some of their own eggs frozen/ thawed, cryosurvival of mature eggs was poor at only 2.2%, although 44% sibling germinal vesicle (GV) stage eggs survived. A normal female infant delivered at 40 weeks arose from transfer of two embryos where GV eggs underwent in- vitro maturation post-thaw and were fertilized by ICSI. Pregnancies reported here and by others indicate a burgeoning awareness of the potential benefits of egg cryopreservation, prompting cautious optimism for the future of this technology.      

k阿片受体激动剂抑制大鼠吗啡戒断症状的发生

用多次注射吗啡的方法造成大鼠对吗啡的依赖，给大鼠脊髓蛛网下腔（ｉ．ｔ．）注射ｋ（ｋａｐｐａ）阿片受体激动剂Ｕ－５０，４８８Ｈ（２．５、５、１０μｌ）或ｋ受体拮抗剂ｎｏｒ—ＢＮＩ（１．２５、２．５、５μｌ／１０μｌ）后，用纳洛酮（ＮＸ）催瘾，观察并记录四种戒断症状：湿科（ｗｅｔｓｈａｋｅｓ）、咬牙（ｔｅｅｔｈｃｈａｔｔｅｒｉｎｇ）、逃跑企图（ｅｓｃａｐｅａｔｔｅｍｐｔｓ）、体重丢失（ｗｅｉｇｈｔｌｏｓｅ）。结果表明Ｕ—５０，４８８Ｈ可以明显减轻湿抖、咬牙和逃跑企图，并呈量效关系；ｎｏｒ—ＢＮＩ则使温抖、咬牙和体重丢失三种症状明显加重，也呈量效关系。上述结果表明，激活脊髓。受体对吗啡戒断症状有明显的抑制作用，阻断Ｋ受体则加重戒断症状。