Effects of low-density lipoproteins on blood coagulation and fibrinolytic activity

In vitro experiments showed that copper-oxidized low-density lipoproteins activate factors of the prothrombin complex in the whole blood and inhibit fibrin generation in both blood and plasma. Moreover, oxidized low-density lipoproteins inhibit fibrinolysis and impair the structure of fibrin clot, which results in hypercoagulation. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 129, No. 6, pp. 637–639, June, 2000     

Prolidase deficiency

A 32‐year‐old mentally retarded woman was admitted to hospital with recurrent ulcers on her legs, which appeared for the first time at 8 years of age. Apart from recurrent lower respiratory tract infections and chronic otitis media, her personal history was unremarkable. Her parents were second‐degree relatives. The family history showed no similar disease or mental retardation. Physical examination revealed that the patient had an unusual facial appearance, with a high‐arched palate; she had multiple tooth caries ( Fig. 1 ).

Figure Figure 1  Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Facial appearance of the patient     

Primary renal lymphoma and xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis in childhood

Primary renal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is very rare in childhood. A six-year-old boy presented with bilateral non-obstructive multinodular nephromegaly and renal failure. Percutaneous needle biopsy showed large-cell lymphoma. The patient was started on chemotherapy. A right nephrectomy was done when systemic hypertension developed in the presence of a non-functional right kidney. Histopathologic examination revealed focal lymphomatous infiltration and xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis which is an atypical form of chronic renal infection. The case is discussed in relation to previons reports.     

Deterministic effects from occupational radiation exposures in a cohort of Mayak PA workers: data base description

Project 2.3 of the Joint Coordinating Committee on Radiation Effects Research (JCCRER) is a study of deterministic health effects among a cohort of Russia nuclear workers. The preliminary study population includes a stratified random sample of 221 radiation workers who were employed in a cohort of 8,055 workers at the Mayak PA facilities for at least one year during the period from 1948 to 1958. High annual doses, approaching 1 Gy per year from external and internal radiation sources, were reported for a significant proportion of the workers in this cohort. The present data set includes 96 cases of chronic radiation sickness (CRS), 14 cases of acute radiation syndrome (ARS) and 13 cases of plutonium pneumosclerosis (PPn). The remainder of the sample consists of "uninjured workers" who had no known history of radiation illness or injury; however, the uninjured workers are not "controls" for radiation exposure. The data base is currently being expanded to 600 individuals sampled from the cohort of workers from 1948 to 1958 to allow a more complete analysis of the deterministic health effects and comparisons with existing health effect models. The final data base will be used with state-of-the-art modeling techniques to determine threshold doses and dose-response relationships for key clinical diagnostic variables.     

N-acetylcysteine attenuates bacterial translocation after partial hepatectomy in rats

BACKGROUND: Translocating enteric bacteria have been suggested as playing a major role in the development of infections after partial hepatectomy. We investigated the effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on bacterial translocation (BT) and intestinal mucosa as the first line of defense against BT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared four groups of eight Sprague-Dawley male rats each: sham, control (partially hepatectomized), partial hepatectomy plus preoperative single-dose NAC, and a fourth that received partial hepatectomy with a preoperative single-dose NAC plus treatment with NAC for 2 days. Microorganism counts of tissues, lung injury score, lung tissue glutathione, and malondialdehyde levels and microscopy of intestinal mucosa were studied at the end of 48 h. RESULTS: Microorganism count in the lung and mesenteric lymph node cultures and lung injury score were significantly higher in the control group when compared with the sham, third, and fourth groups (lung: 9919.6 versus 0.0, 2912.9, 1550.0 cfu/g tissue; mesenteric lymph nodes: 8458.3 versus 0.0, 89.0, 88.9 cfu/g tissue; lung injury score: 3.25 versus 0.5, 1.13, 1.75). In the control group, the villous height of the distal ileal mucosa was significantly shorter than the sham group (65.25 versus 75.25 microm) and the difference from groups 3 and 4 was not statistically significant. Neutrophil infiltration in the distal ileal mucosa of the control group was significantly higher than the sham, third and fourth groups (3.13 versus 0.25, 0.38 and 1.0). CONCLUSIONS: The parenteral use of NAC attenuates bacterial translocation after partial hepatectomy in rats. Attenuation of the lung injury after partial hepatectomy in NAC-treated groups might be attributable to both anti-inflammatory effect and the effect on BT.     

Superficial temporal artery graft for bypass of the maxillary to proximal middle cerebral artery using a transantral approach: an anatomical and technical study

CONCLUSION: Using a transantral approach, we examined a new bypass of the maxillary artery (MA) to proximal middle cerebral artery (MCA). The caliber of the MA was suitable to provide sufficient blood flow. The length of the graft was shorter and it had a straighter course in the new technique than in previously described techniques. OBJECTIVE: To examine a new bypass of the MA to proximal MCA using a transantral approach as an alternative to other forms of anterior circulation bypass surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The method was applied to five adult cadavers bilaterally. The MA and its branches were easily found after removal of the posterior sinus wall using a transantral approach. Then, a hole was created in the sphenoid bone 5-6 mm lateral to the posteroinferior edge of the superior orbital fissure extradurally. After the carotid and sylvian cisternae had been opened, the M2 segment of the MCA was exposed. The MA was transected just before the origin of the descending palatine artery branch. After opening the dura over the hole, the MA was passed through the hole to reach the intracranial cavity. The proximal side of the superficial temporal artery graft was anastomosed end-to-end with the MA and the distal side was anastomosed end-to-side with the M2 segment of the MCA. RESULTS: The mean caliber of the MA was 2.4+/-0.3 mm before the origin of the descending palatine artery branch. The mean caliber of the largest trunk of the M2 segment of the MCA was 2.3+/-0.3 mm. The average length of the graft was 24+/-3 mm.     

Is aerobic preputial flora age dependent?

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most commonly encountered infections in childhood. It has been demonstrated that the preputial sac can act as a reservoir of organisms and is thus responsible for causing ascending UTIs. This study was performed to determine the presence of preputial flora in different age groups. Prepuce and urine samples were taken simultaneously from 92 uncircumcised and healthy male children aged between 0-12 years. The data were analyzed by age, with 47 subjects of 6 years of age or less, and 45 aged 7-12 years. Twenty-seven percent of the older patients had negative preputial cultures versus 8% of those under 6 years of age (chi2 = 5.27, P = 0.02). In addition, enteric bacteria were the most common pathogens isolated from the prepuce in younger children while skin flora bacteria were most common in the older group (chi2 = 9.18, P = 0.002). The urine was sterile in all cases. Preputial cultures change with age in uncircumcised boys. This change may be related to the development of immune status, to histological or anatomical changes in the prepuce, and/or to improved personal hygiene.     

Prognostic factors and treatment outcome in childhood Hodgkin disease

BACKGROUND: The goals of this study included: (1) Identification of factors prognostic for event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS), and (2) Definition of risk groups for risk adapted therapy in children with Hodgkin disease (HD). PROCEDURE: From 1991 to 2003, 69 children with newly diagnosed, untreated biopsy-proven stage I-IV HD were treated with chemotherapy (CT) and low-dose involved field radiotherapy (LD-IFRT). The relationship of pretreatment factors to EFS and OS was analyzed by univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The 5-year EFS and OS for all patients were 90.77% and 96.22%, respectively with a median follow-up of 73 months (3-137 months). Male to female ratio was 3:1 and 21 children (32.3%) were less than 7 years of age. Mixed cellularity was the predominant histologic subtype (38.5%). Factors associated with inferior EFS by univariate analysis were extranodal disease, hemoglobin level <11 g/dl, number of involved lymph node regions and stage. By multivariate analysis only stage IV disease was significant. CONCLUSION: Our study confirms that excellent results are achievable with combined modality therapy in childhood HD. In order to use risk-adapted therapy in children with HD, clinical prognostic factors should be validated with large, multicentered prospective clinical studies.