A breathing lung phantom for 81mKr lung ventilation studies its use in dosimetry and quality control

The construction of a breathing lung phantom that can be used to measure the amount of radioactive gas in the lungs as well as to determine the absorbed dose is described. For a lung ventilation study that consists of 6 views of 300 kents each, an effective dose equivalent of 50 Sv was calculated. The phantom is also suitable for comparison of different generator systems.     

Influence of adrenergic drugs on IgE production

The influence of some adrenergic drugs (fenoterol, salbutamol, terbutaline as stimulant; propranolol as blocker) on IgE production in the rat was investigated. The drugs were administered orally, mixed in the food. The stimulant drugs caused a significant decrease of total serum IgE but had no influence on the specific IgE antibody response. The beta adrenergic blocker caused a significant increase of total serum IgE but also had no influence on specific IgE. The effect of terbutaline was blocked by propranolol. No influence of these adrenergic drugs on IgA and IgM levels was observed.     

Quantitation in SPECT using an effective model of the scattering

A new method for correcting simultaneously the attenuation, scatter and resolution effects in SPECT has been developed for the case of a homogeneous medium. It is based on an effective model of the scatter process. This model depends on only four parameters which are determined experimentally and remain independent of the geometry and of the dimensions of the scatter medium. The method uses the data from the peak events and does not need additional energy windows on the scattered events. An original filter is proposed to remove the noise due to the poor statistics of clinical data. Tests on phantoms varying in size and activity show that the model allows absolute activity determination with an accuracy of a few per cent.     

Identification and characterization of human pulmonary dendritic cells

Dendritic cells (DC) are specialized antigen-presenting cells, linking innate and adaptive immune responses, and thus play an important role in immunologically mediated diseases, including pulmonary diseases such as asthma and respiratory viral infections. Although much is known about the characteristics of lung DC in animal models, very few data concerning human lung DC are available. The goal of our study was to identify and characterize dendritic cells in human lung by preparing single-cell suspensions from surgical resection specimens and subsequent labeling with the recently developed blood dendritic cell antigen (BDCA) markers. A straightforward isolation procedure was developed to avoid phenotypical and functional changes induced by extensive purification methods. In this way, human lung DC were directly identified without the need for an additional adherence step for further purification. For the first time, we demonstrate the presence of three previously unidentified DC subsets in human lung digests: myeloid DC type 1 (BDCA1+/HLA-DR+), myeloid DC type 2 (BDCA3+/HLA-DR+), and plasmacytoid DC (BDCA2+/CD123+). The presence of CD1a+ DC in the human lung was confirmed. The identification and characterization of different human pulmonary DC subtypes is of great importance for the future development of DC-based immunotherapies.     

Intranasal and inhaled fluticasone propionate for pollen-induced rhinitis and asthma

BACKGROUND: Studies suggest that nasal treatment might influence lower airway symptoms and function in patients with comorbid rhinitis and asthma. We investigated the effect of intranasal, inhaled corticosteroid or the combination of both in patients with both pollen-induced rhinitis and asthma. METHODS: A total of 262 patients were randomized to 6 weeks' treatment with intranasal fluticasone propionate (INFP) 200 microg o.d., inhaled fluticasone propionate (IHFP) 250 microg b.i.d., their combination, or intranasal or inhaled placebo, in a multicentre, double-blind, parallel-group study. Treatment was started 2 weeks prior to the pollen season and patients recorded their nasal and bronchial symptoms twice daily. Before and after 4 and 6 weeks' treatment, the patients were assessed for lung function, methacholine responsiveness, and induced sputum cell counts. RESULTS: Intranasal fluticasone propionate significantly increased the percentages of patients reporting no nasal blockage, sneezing, or rhinorrhoea during the pollen season, compared with IHFP or intranasal or inhaled placebo. In contrast, only IHFP significantly improved morning peak-flow, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and methacholine PD20, and the seasonal increase in the sputum eosinophils and methacholine responsiveness. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with pollen-induced rhinitis and asthma, the combination of intranasal and IHFP is needed to control the seasonal increase in nasal and asthmatic symptoms.     

Three novel PROC gene lesions causing protein C deficiency

Hallam PJ, Mannucci P, Tripodi A, Bevan D, Laursen B, Tengborn L, Wacey A, Cooper DN. Three novel PROC gene lesions causing protein C deficiency. Clin Genet 1998: 54: 231–233. 0 Munksgaard, 1998
Missense mutations. three of them novel (Am210→Val, Asn248→ Ile, Ah355→Val), were found in the protein c ( PROC ) genes of 7 patients with inherited protein C deficiency associated with venous thrombosis. Comparison with the phenotypic effects of mutations in the analogous residues of factor IX causing hdernophilia B and the use of molecular modelling has provided explanations as to how these lesions might alter either the structure, function or secretion of the protein C molecules encoded.