D/D translocations in newborn children

A family study has been made of seven unselected probands with 13/14 translocations found among 5049 consecutive liveborn children at a Danish maternity hospital. All cases were 13/14 translocations and all were familial. No individuals with unbalanced chromosome constitution were found in the seven families, and there was no information which might indicate the presence of individuals with Down's syndrome among the relatives. The segregation rate of carriers to normals did not deviate from unity. The frequency of abortions, stillbirths and infant mortality among the carriers was not significantly higher than among non-carriers. Fertility among male carriers was comparatively low compared with female carriers and male carriers with normal chromosomes, but the difference was not significant. There was no indication of any increased risk of mental or physical disorders in carriers compared with normals.     

Long-Term Follow-Up of Corridor Operation for Lone Atrial Fibrillation:

Late Results of Surgery for AF. Introduction: Currently, surgery- and catheter-mediated ablation is applied when drug refractoriness of atrial fibrillation is evident, although little is known about the long-term incidence of new atrial arrhythmia and the preservation of sinus node function.
Methods and Results: To address this issue, 30 patients with successful corridor surgery for lone paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and normal preoperative sinus node function were followed in a single outpatient department. Five years after surgery, the actuarial proportion of patients with recurrence of atrial fibrillation arising in the corridor was 8%± 5%, with new atrial arrhythmias consisting of atrial flutter and atrial tachycardia in the corridor 27%± 8%, and with incompetent sinus node requiring pacing therapy 13%± 6%. Right atrial transport was preserved in 69% of the patients without recurrence of atrial fibrillation and normal sinus node function. Stroke was documented in two patients.
Conclusions: Corridor surgery for atrial fibrillation is a transient or palliative treatment instead of a definitive therapy for drug refractory atrial fibrillation. This observation strongly affects patient selection for this intervention and constitutes a word of caution for other, non-pharmacologic interventions for drug refractory atrial fibrillation.     

Change in HIV-antibody seroprevalence rates in i.v. drug dependent prisoners

In 1985 a high HIV-seroprevalence (44.2%) was found in a cohort of parenteral drug addicted prisoners in Innsbruck, Austria. In a longitudinal study from March 1985 to March 1989 we investigated the epidemiology of HIV-infection as well as possible changes in the drug taking behaviour of this defined population at risk. During the study HIV-seroprevalence rates in drug dependent prisoners showed a statistical decrease to 30%. A concomitant increase in admission to any kind of therapy programmes as well as an increasing change from ‘heavy use’ (mainly taking heroin i.v.) to ‘non-heavy use’ (mainly taking drugs orally) could be noted. The influence of preventive measures, such as comprehensive AIDS-information, special therapy programmes including the methadone substitution programme, and the unrestricted availability of needles and syringes is discussed.     

The Protective Action of Tetrodotoxin and (±)-Kavain on Anaerobic Glycolysis, ATP Content and Intracellular Na and Ca of Anoxic Brain Vesicles

Because recent reports point to Na⁺ channel blockers as protective agents directed against anoxia-induced neuronal damage including protection of anaerobic glycolysis, the influences of tetrodotoxin (TTX) and (±)-kavain on anoxic rat brain vesicles were investigated with respect to lactate synthesis, vesicular ATP content and cytosolic free Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ ([Na⁺]_i, [Ca²⁺]_i), both of the latter determined fluorometrically employing SBFI and FURA-2, respectively. After anoxia, basal lactate production was increased from 2.9 to 9.8 nmol lactate/min/mg protein. Although lactate synthesis seemed to be stable for at least 45 min of anoxia, as deduced from the linearity of lactate production, the ATP content declined continuously with a half life (τ ) af 14.5 min, indicating that anaerobic glycolysis was insufficient to cover the energy demand of anoxic vesicles. Correspondingly, [Na⁺]_i and [Ca²⁺]_i increased persistently after anoxia by 22.1 mmol/l Na⁺ and 274.9 nmol/l Ca²⁺, determined 6.3 min after onset. An additional stimulation of vesicles with veratridine accelerated the drop of ATP (τ = 5.1 min) and provoked a massive Na⁺ overload, which levelled off to 119 mmol/l Na⁺ within a few minutes. Concomitantly, [Ca²⁺]_i increased linearly with a rate of 355 nmol Ca²⁺/l/min. Despite the massive perturbation of ion homeostasis, lactate production was unaffected during the first 8 min of veratridine stimulation. However, complete inhibition of lactate synthesis took place 30 min after veratridine was added. The Na⁺ channel blockers TTX and (±)-kavain, if applied before anoxia, preserved vesicular ATP content, diminished anoxia-induced increases in [Na⁺]_i and [Ca²⁺]_i and prevented both the veratridine-induced increases of [Na⁺]_i and [Ca²⁺]_i and the inhibition of lactate production. The data indicate a considerable Na⁺ influx via voltage-dependent Na⁺ channels during anoxia, which speeds up the decline in ATP and provokes an increase in [Ca²⁺]_i. A massive Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ overload induced by veratridine failed to influence lactate synthesis directly, but initiated its inhibition. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.     

CDTect-RIA AND CDTect-EIA FOR DETERMINATION OF SERUM CARBOHYDRATE-DEFICIENT TRANSFERRIN COMPARED

CDTect-RIA and CDTect-EIA for determination of serum carbohydrate-deficienttransferrin (CDT) by radioimmunoassay and enzyme immunoassayrespectively were tested for equality and precision in fourEuropean laboratories. For correlational studies, serum sampleswith CDT concentrations up to 130 U/1 were analysed in accordancewith a uniform trial schedule. The regression of CDT valuesobtained by the two procedures was computed for each laboratoryusing the method of Passing and Bablok. Slopes and interceptsof the regression functions did not differ significantly fromthe values 1 or 0, as proved by the corresponding 95% confidenceintervals. Precision studies were computed using analysis ofvariance. For CDT concentrations at the upper reference limitfor men, the within-day coefficients of variation (CVs) rangedbetween 0.7 and 6.4% (median 5.2%) for CDTect-RIA and from 4.3to 9.2% (median 6.2%) for CDTect-EIA. The corresponding purebetween-day CVs were 5.0–18.5% (median 9.8%) and 3.5–14.5%(median 10.9%). The study demonstrates the equality of CDT valuesobtained by CDTect-RIA and CDTect-EIA. According to this study,the two methods can be used interchangeably without gettingfluctuating CDT values, e.g. in longitudinal studies.