Isolation of a bacteriophage for actinomyces viscosus

A lytic phage which produces clear plaques on a human isolate of Actinomyces viscosus was isolated from a sample of raw domestic sewage.     

ROC analysis in radioimmunoassay: an application to the interpretation of thyroglobulin measurement in the follow-up of thyroid carcinoma

This study is an application of the ROC technique to the determination of threshold values (TV) for the interpretation of serum thyroglobulin (Tg) measurements in the follow-up of differentiated thyroid cancer. Serum Tg was assayed using the Henning kit in 1466 samples from 245 individuals. A local or distant recurrence was assessed by clinical examination, radiological and scintigraphic investigations, and was present in 23 patients. The measurements were divided into four groups: 1) measurements performed less than 6 months after thyroidectomy; 2) measurements performed more than 6 months after thyroidectomy; 3) measurements performed during the suppression of pituitary secretion; 4) measurements performed during withdrawal of the substitutive therapy. An ROC curve was calculated for each group and for each curve three TVs were determined: TV1, TV2, and TV3 corresponding to a high sensitivity, a high specificity and a high sum of sensitivity and specificity respectively. TV1 is 3.12 micrograms/l in the four groups. TV2 is 44 micrograms/l, 19 micrograms/l, 11 micrograms/l and 30 micrograms/l, in the first, second, third and fourth groups respectively. TV3 is 35 micrograms/l in the first group, 3.12 micrograms/l in both the second and third groups and 30 micrograms/l in the fourth group. When the classical method allows the determination of only one threshold value, the ROC technique allows us to determine threshold values adapted to both the patient clinical status and the chosen sensitivity or specificity.     

Perturbation in dystrophin-associated glycoprotein complex in a boy with Becker muscular dystrophy

We report on a boy with a BMD phenotype presenting with a deletion of exons 45-49 in the DMD gene. Immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis of a skeletal muscle sample revealed, as expected, truncated dystrophin with loss in the central rod domain, but with an unusual severe deficiency in the sarcoglycan complex, as in severe DMD. We discuss possible neighboring between dystrophin and associated proteins within their complex organization at the muscle membrane.     

Diagnostic circumstances, therapeutic measures and long-term surveillance of medullary cancers of the thyroid

Diagnosis of medullary thyroid carcinoma is often delayed as a consequence of its rarity and its recent discovery. Fine needle aspiration biopsies of all the cold thyroid nodules and plasma calcitonin (CT) measurement in case of suggestive clinical features allow an accurate pre-operative diagnosis and the best therapeutic conditions. A cervico-mediastinal check-up, a screening for a Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 2a or 2b, the removal of all tumoral cervico-thoracic tissue by total thyroidectomy, a careful node excision and the pathological examination by a skillful pathologist using immunohistochemistry are the main therapeutic methods. Additional treatment such as external radiotherapy, chemotherapy and radiopharmaceutics are indicated when surgery is incomplete, when the tumor is inoperable and when there are extensive distant metastases. Basal and pentagastrin stimulated CT is the best tool in post surgical follow-up. Disappearance may indicate a long remission, even a cure. Persistence of an abnormal level necessitates the search for secreting tumoral site with non invasive methods such as ultrasonography, computed tomography and scintigraphy, avoiding blind aggressive treatments. In case of recurrence or distant metastases, surgical excision has to be considered first.     

Bactericidal effect of sparfloxacin alone and in combination with amoxicillin againstStreptococcus pneumoniae as determined by kill-kinetic studies

Summary Ten clinical isolates ofStreptococcus pneumoniae (six intermediately penicillin-sensitive, one penicillin-resistant and three penicillin-sensitive strains) were studied by kill-kinetic experiments using sparfloxacin alone and in combination with amoxicillin. Equipotent doses of the antibiotics (1x, 2x and 4x the MIC) were used in the kill-kinetic studies. Sparfloxacin had a moderate bactericidal potential at 4x MIC after 5 h and the combination with amoxicillin did not significantly increase its bactericidal activity. The clinical significance of these findings warrants further studiesin vivo.

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Bakterizider Effekt von Sparfloxacin allein und in Kombination mit Amoxicillin gegenStreptococcus pneumoniae in Studien zur Abtötungskinetik

Zusammenfassung Zehn klinische Isolate vonStreptococcus pneumoniae (sechs mäßig Penicillin G empfindliche, ein penicillin-resistenter, drei penicillin-empfindliche Stämme), wurden in Experimenten zur Abtötungskinetik mit Amoxicillin untersucht. In den Experimenten wurden äquipotente Dosen der Antibiotika (1x, 2x, 4x MHK) verwendet. Sparfloxacin zeigte eine mäßig bakterizide Wirkung 4x MHK bei Stunde 5, und die Kombination mit Amoxicillin vermehrte seine bakterizide Wirksamkeit nicht signifikant. Die klinische Bedeutung dieser Befunde muß inIn-vivo-Studien weiter untersucht werden.