ARTHRALGIA AND MYALGIA IN MUMPS

It is not unusual for mumps arthritis to mimic rheumatic feveror even rheumatoid arthritis, so that mumps may often be missedas the aetiological factor in such cases, particularly in aparotiticmumps or if the complication precedes salivary gland involvement,unless attention is paid to a history of recent contact, physicalexamination includes search for salivary system involvement,and laboratory investigation includes Myxovirus parotitidisantibody titre estimation in paired sera. ^*Present address: Department of Infectious Diseases, SeacroftHospital, Leeds LSI 4 6UH. Present address: Department of Medicine, Royal Infirmary, Bradford.     

Hypertrophic Osteoarthropathy with Myogenic Tumors of the Esophagus

A patient who eight years prior, had a Heller operation for achalasia developed hypertrophic osteoarthropathy possibly secondary to a leiomyoma of the esophagus with sarcomatous changes. No local invasion or metastases were found. Total esophagectomy completely cured the esophageal symptoms and relieved the swelling and pain of her knees and other joints. This case illustrates the hypertrophic osteoarthropathy syndrome, its marked diagnostic significance and its occurrence secondary to an esophageal leiomyoma and leiomyosarcoma.     

Differential expression of proteoglycan epitopes by ovine intervertebral disc cells

The alginate bead culture system has been utilised by several groups to examine the in vitro proteoglycan (PG) metabolism of chondrocytes and intervertebral disc cells, but the nature of the PGs produced has not been examined in detail. This is largely due to the difficulty of separating the anionically charged sodium alginate support matrix from PGs which are similarly charged. In the present study ovine annulus fibrosus, transitional zone and nucleus pulposus cells were dissociated enzymatically from their respective matrices by sequential digestion with pronase/clostridial collagenase and DNAase and then cultured in alginate beads for 10 d. The beads were solubilised and subjected to DEAE Sepharose CL6B anion exchange chromatography to separate the sodium alginate bead support matrix material quantitatively from the disc cell PGs. The alginate free bead PGs were then subjected to composite agarose polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to resolve PG populations and the PGs were transferred to nitrocellulose membranes by semidry electroblotting. The PGs were identified by probing the blots with a panel of antibodies to defined PG core protein and glycosaminoglycan side chain epitopes. Alginate beads of disc cells were also embedded in paraffin wax and 4μm sections cut to immunolocalise decorin, biglycan, versican, and the 7-D-4 PG epitope within the beads. Decorin and biglycan had similar distributions in the beads, being localised on the cell surface whereas versican and the 7-D-4 PG epitope were immunolocalised interterritoriarly. This study is the first to demonstrate that ovine disc cells synthesise versican in alginate bead culture. Furthermore the immunoblotting studies also showed that a proportion of the 7-D-4 PG epitope was colocalised with versican.     

Effect of Cadmium on 17ß-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase in Toad Testis

The enzyme 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17 beta-HSD) has been shown to exist biochemically and histochemically in the toad testis. A single injection of cadmium chloride (0.5 mg/toad) resulted 7 days later in reduced 17 beta-HSD activity in the testis and decreased serum testosterone with an increase in thumb pad glycogen content. It is concluded that cadmium induced changes lead to inhibition of androgen synthesis in the toad testis.     

Carrier detection and prenatal diagnosis in haemophilia in India: realities and challenges

Organizing services for haemophilia in developing countries with few resources is a formidable task. There is wide variation in haemophilia care and management between developing and developed countries. The management of a genetic disorder such as haemophilia becomes difficult in developing countries where scanty resources are allocated mainly to nutrition and infectious diseases as a first priority. In a country such as India, with one billion people and with a wide diversity in cultural, educational and financial conditions, educating people about such diseases is difficult and will take a long time to have an effect on attitudes. Meanwhile, attempts are being made at several centres in India to develop carrier detection and prenatal diagnosis for this disease. Counselling a carrier for detection of her carrier status remains problematic in India because marriages are still largely arranged by the parents of prospective brides and bridegrooms. Hence, the very idea of communicating the carrier status to the bridegrooms' families may lead to cancellation of the marriages, and concealing the carrier status is associated with guilt both for the bride's parents as well as the bride. Prenatal diagnosis and carrier detection in India therefore must be discussed in this context.