Bilateral Duane syndrome and bilateral aniridia.

Duane retraction syndrome has been reported in association with structural abnormalities of the eye, including epibulbar dermoid, keratoconus, iris dysplasia, heterochromia iridis, persistent fetal vasculature, cataract, choroidal coloboma, microphthalmia, and optic nerve dysplasia. A novel association, that of bilateral Duane syndrome with bilateral aniridia, is the subject of this report.     

Relapsing polychondritis presenting with stridor from bilateral vocal cord palsy.

A case of bilateral vocal cord palsy caused by relapsing polychondritis is presented. The diagnosis was not suspected preoperatively and was made solely on histopathology. A case is made for histological examination of cartilage removed during routine tracheostomy.     

Lymphocyte vaccination prevents spontaneous diabetes in the non-obese diabetic mouse.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether lymphocyte vaccination can prevent diabetes occurring in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse, an animal model of human insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). The lymphocyte vaccine was composed of lymphocytes isolated from the spleens of diabetic NOD mice, activated in vitro using concanavalin A (Con A) and rendered immunogenic using glutaraldehyde treatment. These cells were used to vaccinate mice at 6 weeks with boosters at weeks 10, 14 and 18. The animals were then monitored for signs of diabetes until week 30. Twenty-eight NOD mice (11 male, 17 female) were T-lymphocyte vaccinated while 35 littermates (14 male, 21 female) were sham vaccinated with the vaccine carrier, as control mice. The percentage of mice remaining non-diabetic was 50% in the T-lymphocyte-vaccinated group compared with 20% in control mice (P < 0.05). When the results were divided according to sex of the mouse the percentage of female NOD mice remaining non-diabetic was 47.1% in the T-lymphocyte-vaccinated group compared to only 9.4% in the controls (P < 0.01), while in the males there was no significant difference between the groups. These results suggest that T-lymphocyte vaccination can prevent diabetes in NOD mice and that it has its greatest effect in females. The therapy is apparently safe and its efficacy indicates that it may be of value in prediabetes in man.     

Intranasal administration of a beta adrenergic amine: an alternative to metered-dose inhalers.

In anesthetized, artificially ventilated guinea pigs, intranasal and intravenous administration of albuterol produced the same maximum degree of protection against bronchoconstriction induced by bilateral electrical stimulation of the cervical vagal nerves. Intranasal albuterol showed a slower onset of action than intravenous albuterol and exhibited equivalent cardiovascular side effects for the same level of bronchoprotection. Accordingly, intranasal albuterol may represent an alternative to metered-dose inhalation for prophylaxis and treatment of bronchoconstriction in humans.     

Osteogenic Cells Derived From Embryonic Stem Cells Produced Bone Nodules in Three-Dimensional Scaffolds

An approach for 3D bone tissue generation fromembryonic stem (ES) cells was investigated. The ES cells wereinduced to differentiate into osteogenic precursors, capable ofproliferating and subsequently differentiating into bone-formingcells. The differentiated cells and the seeded scaffolds werecharacterized using von Kossa and Alizarin Red staining, electronmicroscopy, and RT-PCR analysis. The results demonstrated thatES-derived bone-forming cells attached to and colonized thebiocompatible and biodegradable scaffolds. Furthermore, thesecells produced bone nodules when grown for 3–4 weeks inmineralization medium containing ascorbic acid andbeta-glycerophosphate both in tissue culture plates and inscaffolds. The differentiated cells also expressed osteospecificmarkers when grown both in the culture plates and in 3Dscaffolds. Osteogenic cells expressed alkaline phosphatase,osteocalcin, and osteopontin, but not an ES cell-specific marker,oct-4. These findings suggest that ES cell can be usedfor in vitro tissue engineering and cultivation of graftable skeletal structures.     

Low serum haemolytic function of the fourth complement component (C4) in insulin dependent diabetes.

Low serum concentrations of the fourth component of complement (C4) are found in insulin dependent diabetes, and may be important in the aetiology of the disease. To ascertain whether function of C4 is also impaired both its haemolytic activity and its concentration were measured in 34 insulin dependent diabetics, 15 non-insulin dependent diabetics, 20 healthy subjects, and 12 pairs of monozygotic twins discordant for insulin dependent diabetes. C4 function was measured by a radial immune haemolytic assay, and C4 concentration by laser nephelometry. Both measurements were significantly lower in insulin dependent diabetics (C4 function: median 47%, range 4-100%; C4 concentration: 0.22 g/l, 0.10-0.38 g/l) than in non-insulin dependent diabetics (67%, 33-138%, p less than 0.01; 0.27 g/l, 0.16-0.50 g/l, p less than 0.02) and controls (74%, 33-138%, p less than 0.01; 0.27 g/l, 0.18-0.40 g/l, p less than 0.03). C4 function and concentration were lower in both diabetic (48%, 12-100%; 0.17 g/l, 0.08-0.31 g/l) and non-diabetic twins (47%, 12-100%; 0.17 g/l, 0.07-0.36 g/l) than controls (p less than 0.01; p less than 0.01). Thirteen (38%) of the insulin dependent diabetics had a reduction in either C4 function or concentration, but in only five were both features reduced. Values of function and concentration were strongly correlated in both diabetic and non-diabetic twins (r = 0.95, p less than 0.001; r = 0.92, p less than 0.001). These results show defects in C4 function and concentration in insulin dependent diabetes, which--being present in the non-diabetic co-twin of diabetics--may represent a genetic predisposition to the disease.