Composition and structure of the apatite formed on PET substrates in SBF modified with various ionic activity products.

An apatite layer was formed on polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) substrates by the following biomimetic process. PET substrates were placed on granular particles of a CaO-SiO2-based glass in simulated body fluid (SBF) with ion concentrations nearly equal to those of human blood plasma to form apatite nuclei on their surfaces (first treatment). They then were soaked in modified SBFs, the ion concentrations of which were changed to give a variation in ionic activity product of apatite (IP), in order to make the apatite nuclei grow (second treatment). The Ca/P atomic ratio and the lattice constant c of the formed apatite decreased from 1.54 to 1.40 and from 6.880 to 6.838 A, respectively, with increasing ion concentrations from 0.75 to 2.00 times those of SBF, that is, with increasing IP from 10(-96.6) to 10(-91.9). This was attributed to an increase in the concentration of HPO4(2-) ion substituting for the PO4(3-) ion sites, which gave an increase in the Ca2+ in the apatite. Even the apatite formed in 1.00 SBF showed a Ca/P ratio of 1.51 and lattice constants a of 9.432 A and c of 6.870 A. The Ca/P ratio and lattice constant c were smaller and the lattice constant a was larger than those of the bone apatite; its Ca/P ratio and its lattice constants a and c, were 1.65, 9.419 A, and 6.88 A, respectively. This was attributed to the lower content (2.64 wt%) of the CO3(2-) ion substituting for the PO4(3-) ion sites of the apatite compared to that of the bone apatite (5.80 wt%). The lower content of the CO3(2-) ion in the apatite might be caused by the lower concentration of HCO3- ion in 1.00 SBF compared to that in human blood plasma.     

Asthma death among adults in Japan 1995-1997. Analysis of 295 cases reported questionnaires sent to hospitals with more than 100 beds. Asthma Death Investigation Committee]

To clarify recent trends in adult asthma mortality, the Asthma Death Investigation Committee of Japan studied the clinical characteristics of 295 patients who died of asthma between 1995 and 1997. Males were slightly more than females among the death cases. Approximately half of the patients ranged in age from 60 to 79 years. Tendency to increase of death among young male adults continued. One third of the patient deaths involved the asphyxic type, while status asthmaticus was the cause death in 21.9%. Half of the asthmatics died in hospitals or emergency rooms, and places where the fatal attacks occurred were mainly patients' houses. The main cause fatal asthma attacks was respiratory infection, followed by fatigue, stress, and discontinuation of medication. Most of the patients were classified moderate or severe type of asthma 1 month before death. Histories of life-threatening attacks and hospitalization due to severe attacks, irregular visits to the hospital, low compliance, and insufficiency of corticosteroid treatment were suggested as the main risk factors in adult asthma deaths.     

Acute myelogenous leukemia associated with severe esophageal stricture after chemotherapy

A 41-year-old woman with relapsed acute myelogenous leukemia was treated twice with idarubicin hydrochloride and cytarabine. She developed a 6-cm-long stricture in the lower esophagus 12 days after re-induction therapy. Although she had preceding candida infection, it is suspected that her stricture was caused by mucosal damage due to chemotherapeutic agents. This case suggests that the possibility of esophageal stricture should be considered in patients with swallowing disturbance after intensive chemotherapy.     

Compensatory head posture changes in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects 2 % ofwomen and 4 % of men in the middle--aged working population and constitutes a major publichealth hazardlli. The pathogenesis of OSA is stillpoorly understood and many problems have yet tobe resolved as to the clinical evaluation and treatment of OSA patients. Upper airway narrowing.which is the last common path leading to the occurrence of OSA, has been a focus of interests formany years in this field. Some authors suggestedthe possibility that …     

Immunological monitoring during combination of patient-oriented peptide vaccination and estramustine phosphate in patients with metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer

BACKGROUND: Additive antitumor effects could be achieved by combination of immunotherapy and cytotoxic agents with no or minimum suppression. METHODS: Thirteen patients positive for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A24 or -A2 with metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) who had failed to respond to the prior-peptide vaccination were entered in the combined peptide vaccination and estramustine phosphate. Conducted immune monitoring on those 13 patients were mainly peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) precursor analysis by IFN-gamma productions and peptide-reactive IgG by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Grade 3 arrhythmia or cerebral infarction was observed in two cases, and Grade 1 or 2 dermatologic reaction at the vaccination sites was observed in all 13 cases. Eleven patients who received more than one cycle of treatment were eligible for immunological and clinical evaluation. There was no significant immunosuppression in most cases when the peptide and a half dose (280 mg/day) of estramustine were administrated, whereas severe immunosuppression was observed in the first two patients who received both the peptide and a full dose (560 mg/day) estramustine. Augmentation of peptide-specific CTL precursors or peptide-specific IgG was observed in 6 of 11 or 10 of 11 cases, respectively. Ten of 11 patients showed serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level decrease from the baseline including 8 patients with a serum PSA level decrease of > or =50%. CONCLUSIONS: These results encouraged the further evaluation of the combination of peptide vaccination and low-dose estramustine phosphate for metastatic HRPC patients.     

Alpha 1-adrenoceptors in the conduction system of rat hearts.

1. We have characterized alpha 1-adrenoceptor in the conduction systems of the rat heart by quantitative autoradiography. 2. Consecutive 20 micron thick sections from a single rat heart containing the sinoatrial (SA) node and atrioventricular (AV) node were incubated with increasing concentrations of [3H]-prazosin with or without 10 microM phentolamine. After exposure to 3H-Ultrofilm, optical densities corresponding to the SA node and AV node were determined by computerized densitometry after comparison with 3H standards. 3. The SA node and AV node were stained heavily for cholinesterase and they contained a higher concentration of alpha 1-adrenoceptors than the adjacent myocardium without a significant change in the affinity. 4. These results support the hypothesis that alpha 1-adrenoceptors may play an important role not only in inotropism but also in chronotropism of rat hearts.