Length polymorphism of heterochromatic segment of the Y chromosome in boys with acute leukemia

The extent of length polymorphisms of the heterochromatic and euchromatic segment of the human Y chromosome were investigated in 15 boys with acute leukemia and were compared with 15 normal controls. A greater value of the Yh/F index in relation to controls was established (P < 0.05). The length of the euchromatic segment was also shorter in the patients than the controls (P < 0.05).     

Effects on Plasma Glucose Concentration of Light-for-date Infants and Infants of Diabetic Mothers of Feeds Supplemented with a Glucose Polymer

ABSTRACT. Serial plasma glucose estimations were performed in 44 light-for-date infants and 17 infants of diabetic mothers fed 2, 3 or 4-hourly with feeds containing 10 % additional carbohydrate in the form of a glucose polymer (Caloreen). In the infants fed 2 and 3-hourly, plasma glucose was higher following the high carbohydrate feeds, particularly immediately before the next feed was due. Given 4-hourly, the high carbohydrate feed had little effect in most light-for-date infants, and in one light-for-date infant and two infants of diabetic mothers the plasma glucose was lower at the end of 4 hours than following normal formula. It is concluded that the addition of glucose polymer to feeds given 2 and 3 hourly has a potentially useful effect in neonates at risk of developing hypoglycaemia, but it cannot be used to increase the feed interval to 4 hours.     

Pharyngeal diverticula

A series of 73 hypopharyngeal (Zenker's) diverticula is reported and the choice of treatment and technique of excision are discussed. The problems of excision include operation on an infected site with limited access but few patients are unfit for the procedure. Preoperatively the sac should be packed and the oesophagus stented. The side of approach is unimportant as the condition is essentially midline. Cricopharyngeal myotomy appears to reduce the recurrence rate, possibly by improving coordination of pharyngeal contraction and upper oesophageal relaxation. The use of electrocoagulation is not recommended as 20% of patients require repeated general anaesthesia and the procedure fails in 13%. For all but the smallest pouches, excision is the treatment of choice.     

Scintigraphic diagnosis of tricuspid regurgitation

The authors describe a simple technique for diagnosis of tricuspid regurgitation. Red blood cells were labeled in vivo with 99mTc and 22 patients were studied with ECG-gated blood-pool imaging of the liver. A single region of interest was manually drawn around the liver and a time-activity curve obtained. The per cent change in liver counts during the cardiac cycle was found to be significantly higher in the 12 patients with tricuspid regurgitation (Group I) (mean, 4.04 +/- 1.6%; range, 1.3-21.4%) compared with the 10 controls (Group II) (mean, 0.35 +/- 0.16%; range, 0.013-1.3%) (p less than 0.05). Using a 1% change in liver counts as the criterion of a positive study, all 12 cases in Group I were diagnosed correctly, but there was one false positive in Group II; thus the sensitivity was 100% and the specificity 90%.     

Enriched environment and acceleration of visual system development

Rearing mice from birth in an enriched environment leads to a conspicuous acceleration of visual system development appreciable at behavioral, electrophysiological and molecular level. Little is known about the possible mechanisms of action through which enriched environment affects visual system development. It has been suggested that differences in maternal behavior between enriched and non-enriched conditions could contribute to the earliest effects of enriched environment on visual development and that neurotrophins, BDNF in particular, might be involved. Here, we examined Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) levels in the visual cortex during development and showed that an increase occurs in the first week of life in enriched pups compared to standard reared pups; BDNF levels at birth were equal in the two groups. This suggests a postnatal rather than a prenatal effect of environment on BDNF. A detailed analysis of maternal care behavior showed that pups raised in a condition of social and physical enrichment experienced higher levels of licking behavior and physical contact compared to standard reared pups and that enhanced levels of licking were also provided to pups in an enriched environment where no adult females other than the mother were present. Thus, different levels of maternal care in different environmental conditions could act as indirect mediator for the earliest effects of enrichment on visual system development. Some of the effects of different levels of maternal care on the offspring behavior are long lasting. We measured the visual acuity of differentially reared mice at the end of the period of visual acuity development (postnatal day 45) and at 12 months of age, using a behavioral discrimination task. We found better learning abilities and higher visual acuity in enriched compared to standard reared mice at both ages.     

Primary peritoneal carcinoma: a report of twelve cases and a review of the literature

Primary peritoneal carcinoma (PPC) is rare tumor histologically identical to epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC); it is differentiated from EOC based on the extent of gross ovarian involvement and microscopic invasion of the cortex. We report 12 cases of PPC which were diagnosed in our Department during a 9-year period. Total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and omentectomy were performed in 9 patients, while 3 underwent only explorative laparotomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. All patients were treated with postoperative platinum-based chemotherapy. After a median follow-up of 42 months, only 5 patients are alive without disease. PPC is a rare tumor currently managed in the same way as ovarian cancer. Primary debulking surgery and chemotherapy represent the cornerstones of treatment. Considering the limited number of patients with PPC, no definitive conclusion can be drawn concerning the prognostic factors for survival.     

Serum progesterone, estradiol-17beta and testosterone at the time of relapse in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

Raised levels of steroid hormones may be detected in women with ovarian cancer at the time of diagnosis. The goal of this study was to investigate the levels of progesterone, testosterone and estradiol-17beta in patients with relapsed epithelial ovarian cancer. We studied 52 patients with a histologic diagnosis of ovarian cancer; 46 of 52 patients were affected by epithelial tumors, two patients had sexcord-stromal tumors, one patient had a germ cell tumor and three patients had a metastatic cancer from the bowel. Of 34 patients with disease relapse, none had elevated serum testosterone levels (>1 ng/ml), one patient (2.9%) had an elevated serum progesterone level (>1.24 ng/ml) and two patients (5.9%) had elevated estradiol-17beta levels (>28 pg/ml). The relationship between the three hormone levels at the time of initial treatment and at relapse was tested using the Students's t-test. At the time of initial treatment venous concentrations of progesterone, estradiol-17beta and testosterone were higher and statistically different (p<0.05) from samples obtained at the time of relapse in the same patients. No significant differences were found between patients studied at the time of relapse and the control group. Measurement of progesterone, estradiol-17beta and testosterone is not helpful in detecting disease relapse in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.     

Relationship between the chest radiograph, regional lung function studies, exercise tolerance, and clinical condition in cystic fibrosis

This study evaluated the accuracy of the interpretation of the chest film in delineating localised abnormalities of ventilation and perfusion, as well as the overall severity of airways obstruction, exercise tolerance, and clinical condition in children with cystic fibrosis. Radiographic findings in various regions of the chest film were compared with the functional values obtained with regional lung function tests which evaluated the arrival and disappearance of boluses of radioactive nitrogen given by inhalation and infusion. While the more severely affected areas on the chest radiograph were found to correlate with similar regions on the lung function tests, as did overall scores, errors occurred in some cases if the x-ray film alone was used as a judge of regional physiological derangement. In addition the degree of airways obstruction, the exercise tolerance on a cycle ergometer, and clinical grading, each correlated significantly with the radiographic score. We conclude that the chest radiograph is a good indicator of the overall severity of the lung disease and that it correlates well with exercise tolerance and clinical condition in cystic fibrosis.