Adventitial cystic disease of the popliteal artery

Adventitial cystic disease of the popliteal artery is an unusual condition of uncertain etiology in which a mucin-containing cyst forms in the wall of the popliteal artery and causes symptoms of intermittent claudication, typically in young adults whose arteries are otherwise normal. Arteriography characteristically shows a smooth-walled, curvilinear narrowing. In the case described, a combination of findings from arteriography, computed tomography, and ultrasound resulted in a highly specific preoperative diagnosis.     

Trigeminal nerve: anatomic correlation with MR imaging

Through correlation with cryomicrotic sections, the appearance of the trigeminal nerve and its branches on magnetic resonance images is described in healthy individuals and in patients with tumors involving this nerve. Coronal images are best for defining the different parts of the nerve and for making a side-to-side comparison. Sagittal images are useful to demonstrate tumors involving the gasserian ganglion.     

Equilibrium dialysis studies of plasma binding of thyroxine, triiodothyronine and their glucuronide and sulfate conjugates in human and cat plasma

Binding of thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) and their glucuronide and sulfate conjugates, T4G, T3G, T4S and T3S, was assessed by equilibrium dialysis in plasma from 6 euthyroid humans and 5 euthyroid cats. In humans, the dialyzable percentages of T4, T4G and T4S were 0.029 +/- 0.003 (mean +/- S.D.), 0.14 +/- 0.04 and 0.08 +/- 0.02 respectively. For T3, T3G and T3S they were 0.31 +/- 0.04, 0.33 +/- 0.07 and 0.22 +/- 0.02. In cats, the corresponding values for T4, T4G and T4S were 0.057 +/- 0.009, 0.20 +/- 0.10 and 0.53 +/- 0.04; for T3, T3G and T3S they were 0.47 +/- 0.08, 0.51 +/- 0.11, and 0.53 +/- 0.11. We conclude that glucuronide conjugation has little or no inhibiting effect on the plasma binding of T3, and that T3S is actually more tightly bound than T3 in human (but not feline) plasma. On the other hand, conjugation to either the glucuronide or the sulfate markedly reduced T4 binding in plasma from both species.     

Progression to development of lymphoma in the thymus of AKR mice treated neonatally with SL 3-3 virus

All AKR mice develop thymic lymphoma between 60 and 90 days of age after neonatal treatment with the oncogenic retrovirus SL 3-3. At 40-50 days of age, in the normal-sized thymus of virus-treated mice, cells appear that produce lymphoma when inoculated intrathymically but not when inoculated s.c. These cells are designated as thymus-dependent (TD) lymphoma cells. TD cells progress to cells that form tumors after both intrathymic and s.c. inoculation; these are designated as thymus-independent (TI) lymphoma cells. In this report, we show that the TD and TI cells can be distinguished as two distinct cell populations. Experiments show that the TD cells reside within the immature CD4- CD8- thymocyte population of the virus-treated mice. In addition, we also show that CD4- CD8- thymocytes from SL 3-3 virus-treated mice do not mature in fetal thymic stromal rudiments. Using three-color flow cytometry to trace maturation of CD4- CD8- thymocytes after intrathymic inoculation into irradiated syngeneic hosts, disregulated thymocyte maturation of this population from virus-treated mice is demonstrated. Thus, altered maturation of and the appearance of TD lymphoma cells in, the most immature population of thymocytes appears to be a first step in a multistep process of thymic lymphomagenesis caused by SL 3-3 virus.     

Thyroid hormone and the gut

The gastrointestinal tract interacts actively with the thyroid hormones, T4 and T3. Both T4 and T3 are absorbed well but incompletely from the gut, and many factors affect this absorption. The mechanism of absorption is unknown. It is decreased in most malabsorption conditions, but is increased in the postgastrojejunotomy syndrome. It may involve conjugation to the glucuronide forms (T4G and T3G) in the mucosal cell with subsequent deconjugation prior to appearance in the portal vein blood. Absorption appears to be reduced in the presence of excess T4, and increased in hypothyroidism. The liver takes up a large fraction of the T4 and T3 from its circulation and returns a portion of the portal hormone back to the gut via the bile. There is also direct T4 and T3 secretion into the gut from the mesenteric circulation. Recent studies suggest that the gut plays a major role as a reservoir for the thyroid hormones, especially for T3, and that it may also play a role in the regulation of hormone activity.