The effect of interleukin-2 administration on wound healing in adriamycin-treated rats

Adriamycin (doxorubicin hydrochloride), an effective chemotherapeutic drug, is also a potent inhibitor of wound healing. Conversely, certain polypeptide growth factors are capable of stimulating fibroblasts to secrete collagen, thus enhancing wound healing. The purpose of this study was to determine if interleukin-2 (IL-2), a T-cell growth factor, could reverse the wound healing deficit caused by Adriamycin. Adriamycin treatment caused a significant decrease in wound-breaking strength (P less than 0.005). IL-2 administration increased wound-breaking strength in Adriamycin-treated animals (2126 g vs 1549 g, P less than 0.005). In control animals, IL-2 did not increase wound-breaking strength significantly (2708 g vs 2608 g, P greater than 0.1). Histologically, wounds from Adriamycin-treated animals were less cellular, demonstrated less collagen in the dermis, and a lesser degree of capillary ingrowth. The number of fibroblasts in the dermal layer was increased in animals receiving IL-2. Control rats gained an average of 1.4% of their original body weight, while Adriamycin-treated rats lost an average of 19% of their original body weight (P less than 0.0005). IL-2 administration did not influence weight loss or gain. Hematologically, animals receiving Adriamycin had lower hemoglobin and hematocrit values and higher platelet counts. There were no differences in total white blood cell counts; however, animals receiving Adriamycin showed a predominance of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and a relative decrease in lymphocytes. Animals receiving IL-2 demonstrated a significant eosinophilia. (1) Adriamycin impairs normal wound healing. (2) Interleukin-2 administration improves the wound healing impairment caused by Adriamycin. (3) Interleukin-2 appears to increase infiltration of inflammatory cells, fibroblasts, and capillaries into the wound, which may account for the observed increase in wound breaking strength.     

An investigation of report bias in a case-control study of pregnancy outcome

The role of report (recall) bias in case-control studies of possible reproductive hazards was investigated in a study of women who gave birth at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal from September 1983 to May 1985. Women were questioned twice (early in pregnancy; after delivery) about exposures that might influence pregnancy outcome. The two sets of responses of case mothers, control mothers, and mothers of infants of intermediate health status were then compared. Similar inconsistencies in the reporting of 39 exposure variables were common in all three groups, with postdelivery deletion of previous reports more frequent than addition of new information. Changes in reporting were not associated with pregnancy outcome, maternal concern about the baby or maternal sociodemographic characteristics. Odds ratios of exposure estimated from the two sets of data did not differ importantly. Moreover, there was no postdelivery trend to increases, or decreases, in the estimates of the odds ratios. The data do not provide evidence of biased reporting of exposures.     

Effect of transplanted osteogenic sarcoma on urinary RNA catabolites

The usefulness of urinary RNA catabolites as markers for the early detection of a transplantable rat tumor and for the completeness of its resection was evaluated. The lack of correlation between tumor growth or size and the time of appearance of the elevated catabolites precludes their use for the early detection of cancer in this model. Complete removal of the tumor restored the elevated levels to normal but, if regrowth occurred, the elevated levels persisted, suggesting their possible use in monitoring the effectiveness of surgery. The data suggest that increased excretion of RNA catabolites is derived primarily from host tissue.     

Neonatal rectal colonization with Malassezia furfur

Malassezia furfur and Candida albicans are fungal pathogens which have been recognized with increasing frequency as agents of mortality and serious morbidity in neonatal intensive care unit patients. A longitudinal study of oral, rectal and umbilical colonization by these organisms of newborns admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit within 24 h of birth was undertaken. Of 71 infants followed for a minimum of 10 days, 24 were colonized with M furfur and 12 with C albicans during the first 10 days of life. The lower gastrointestinal tract was found to be the most common colonization site for both organisms. Statistically significant (P<0.05) inverse associations were demonstrated between gestational age and risk of colonization with either organism at any site, and between birthweight or gestational age and risk of rectal colonization with either organism. Antibiotics were associated with a relative risk colonization of 4.06 (P=0.06) with either organism at any site. It is concluded that M furfur and C albicans are common colonizing organisms in a neonatal intensive care unit setting and are most frequently harboured in the lower gastrointestinal tract. M furfur, recently implicated as a systemic pathogen in this population, has not been previously recognized as a gastrointestinal commensal organism. The relationship between colonization and invasive fungal disease, and potential roles for preventive strategies, remain to be elucidated.     

Serological heterogeneity of the IgM components of mixed (monoclonal IgM–polyclonal IgG) cryoglobulins

Mixed IgG–IgM cryoglobulins were isolated from the sera of seven patients with macroglobulinaemia or cryoglobulinaemia. The IgM components of all seven cryoproteins were monoclonal, containing κ light chains only, whereas the IgG components were polyclonal, containing both κ and λ light chains. Despite their apparent immunological homogeneity, the IgM components showed a wide range of antiglobulin activity. The data indicate that serological specificity may vary from one mixed cryoglobulin to another and that the monoclonal IgM components of different mixed cryoglobulins represent a heterologous group of antiglobulins.     

Performance of the ImmunoCard STAT! E. coli O157:H7 test for detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in stools

ImmunoCard STAT! E. coli O157:H7 (Meridian Diagnostics, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio) is a novel rapid (10-min) test for the presence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in stools. The test may be performed either directly on stool specimens or on an overnight broth culture of stool. In a multicenter prospective study, 14 of 14 specimens positive by culture for E. coli O157:H7 were positive by the ImmunoCard STAT! O157:H7 test, and there were no false positives from 263 culture-negative specimens. In a retrospective study, the test was positive in 339 (81%) of 417 stored culture-positive specimens and the specificity was 95% (98 of 103 specimens). No false positives were associated with alternate stool pathogens. The ImmunoCard STAT! O157:H7 test has high sensitivity and specificity.