Microplate technique to determine hemolytic activity for routine typing of Listeria strains.

Because the hemolysis produced by Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria seeligeri on blood agar is frequently difficult to interpret, we developed a microplate technique for the routine determination of hemolytic activity with erythrocyte suspensions. This microtechnique is a simple and reliable test for distinguishing clearly between hemolytic and nonhemolytic strains and could be used instead of the CAMP (Christie-Atkins-Munch-Petersen) test with Staphylococcus aureus in the routine typing of Listeria strains. Furthermore, our results suggest that the quantitation of the hemolytic activity of the Listeria strains, along with the D-xylose, L-rhamnose, and alpha-methyl-D-mannoside acidification tests, allows the differentiation of L. monocytogenes, L. seeligeri, and Listeria ivanovii. We also observed that the treatment of erythrocytes with crude exosubstances of rhodococcus equi, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, and S. aureus enhanced the hemolytic activity of all Listeria strains with this characteristic.     

Spontaneous dissecting aneurysms of coronary arteries in a cardiac allograft

Dissecting aneurysms of coronary arteries are a rare finding and have never been reported in a cardiac allograft. We found two spontaneous dissecting aneurysms on the middle third of both the left anterior descending and the right coronary arteries in a female cardiac transplantation recipient. She died 43 days after cardiac transplantation after developing human cytomegalovirus pneumonia and pancreatitis. Dissecting coronary aneurysms, microfoci of subendocardial coagulative necrosis, and area of subepicardial dystrophic calcifications were discovered at necropsy examination.     

A modified human ELISPOT assay to detect specific responses to primary tumor cell targets

Background  

The desired outcome of cancer vaccination is to induce a potent T cell response which can specifically recognize and eliminate autologous tumor cells in vivo. Accordingly, immunological assays that demonstrate recognition of native tumor cells (tumor-specific) may be more clinically relevant than assays that demonstrate recognition of tumor protein or peptide (antigen-specific).     

Delineation of an estimated 6.7 MB candidate interval for an anophthalmia gene at 3q26.33-q28 and description of the syndrome associated with visible chromosome deletions of this region

Anophthalmia or microphthalmia occur in approximately one in 10 children who have severe visual impairment. These eye malformations are often of unknown aetiology, but can be inherited in autosomal dominant, recessive or X-linked forms, and can also occur in association with specific chromosome abnormalities. Four children are described in the medical literature with microphthalmia or anophthalmia in association with chromosome rearrangements involving distal 3q, suggesting the presence of a micro/anophthalmia gene in this region. We have identified two further patients with micro/anophthalmia and chromosome rearrangements involving 3q26-->3q27 and identified a 6.7 MB common deleted region. Patient 1 had multiple abnormalities including bilateral anophthalmia, abnormalities of the first and second cranial nerves and partial absence of the corpus callosum. His karyotype was 46,XY,del(3)(q26.33q28). Patient 2 had right anophthalmia and left extreme microphthalmia. Her karyotype was 46,XX,del(3)(q26.33q28)t(3;7)(q28;q21.1). Both patients had intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and strikingly similar dysmorphic facies consisting of bossed forehead, downward-slanting palpebral fissures, grooved bridge of the nose, prominent low-set ears, small down-turned mouth and small mandible. We identified BAC clones mapping to distal 3q from the ENSEMBL and NCBI Entrez databases. These BAC clones were used as fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) probes to identify the minimum deleted region common to both patients. This interval, between clones RPC11-134F2 and RPC11-132N15, was estimated to be 6.7 MB. We conclude that there is an anophthalmia locus within this interval. Candidate genes mapping to this region include Chordin and DVL3, a homologue of the Drosophila Dishevelled gene.     

Isokinetic knee joint test in "gonalgia sine materia"

Fifty-four subjects, aged between 20 and 35 years, divided into two subgroups, respectively 30 healthy subjects (17 males and 13 females) and 24 subjects with "gonalgia sine materia" (13 males and 11 females) underwent isokinetic exercise test in order to compare their dominant limb with the not dominant one as regard as the strength of extensor and flexor muscles of the knee. No statistically significant difference was found in any of the studied parameters in the comparison between the dominant limb and the not dominant one, both within the subgroup of healthy subjects and within the subgroup of subjects with "gonalgia sine materia". Authors conclude that psychological features may play a preeminent role in the genesis, as well as in the maintenance of "gonalgia sine materia", thus confirming previous data available in medical literature.     

Improved overall survival in dendritic cell vaccination-induced immunoreactive subgroup of advanced melanoma patients

Background  

We present our experience of therapeutic vaccination using dendritic cells (DC) pulsed with autologous tumor antigens in patients with advanced melanoma.     

Syntactic comprehension in Parkinson's disease: investigating early automatic and late integrational processes using event-related brain potentials

Parkinson's disease (PD) has been associated with a general impairment of procedures and with an impairment of syntactic procedures in particular. The present study investigated comprehension processes in PD using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). PD patients and controls listened to sentences that were either correct or syntactically or semantically incorrect. The language-related ERP component correlated with semantic processes (N400) was present in both groups. In the syntactic domain, early automatic processes (early negativity) appeared normal in PD, whereas late integrational processes (P600) were modulated by this disease. The present findings suggest that the basal ganglia primarily do not support early automatic syntactic processes during comprehension but rather support processes of syntactic integration.     

Prevalence, course, and risk factors for executive impairment in patients hospitalized on a general medicine service

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence, course, and risk factors for executive impairment in patients hospitalized on a general medicine service. One hundred patients were administered the Executive Interview (EXIT25), the Executive Clock Drawing Task (CLOX), and the Mini-Mental State Examination at admission and discharge. Fifty-two percent of the patients at admission and 56% at discharge had scores indicating impairment on at least one measure of executive function. Median scores on every measure improved during hospitalization. Older patients and those with a cardiac or gastrointestinal disorder were more likely to have executive impairment. The prevalence of executive impairment on general medicine services is high. Although improvement in executive function occurs during hospitalization, many patients remained impaired.     

Decreased phenylalanine uptake and turnover in patients with vitiligo

The human epidermis has the full machinery for autocrine L-phenylalanine turnover to L-tyrosine in keratinocytes and melanocytes. Phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) activities increase linearly with inherited skin colour (skin phototype I-VI, Fitzpatrick classification) yielding eightfold more activities in black skin compared to white skin. Moreover, UVB irradiation (1 MED) significantly increases epidermal PAH activities 24 h after exposure. Importantly, L-phenylalanine uptake and turnover in the pigment forming melanocytes is vital for initiation of melanogenesis. In this context it was shown that the uptake of this amino acid is regulated by calcium. The depigmentation disorder vitiligo provides a unique model to follow impaired L-phenylalanine turnover in the skin as well as in serum because affected individuals hold an impaired epidermal 6BH4 de novo synthesis/recycling and regulation including low epidermal PAH activities. After overnight fasting and oral loading with L-phenylalanine (100 mg/kg body weight), 29.6% of 970 patients tested (n=287/970) yielded serum phenylalanine/tyrosine ratios >or=4 and 35.3% (n=342/970) had mild to moderate hyperphenylalaninaemia (HPA), while 9.3% (n=90/970) had both serum L-phenylalanine levels >or=2.0 mg/dl and phe/tyr ratios >or=4.0. Isolated HPA was found in 26% (n=252/970), whereas 20.3% had only increased ratios (n=197/970). None of the patients had phenylketonuria and the family history for this metabolic disease was negative. The IQ followed normal Gaussian distribution. In vitro L-phenylalanine uptake/turnover studies on primary epidermal melanocytes originating from these patients demonstrated a significantly decreased calcium dependent L-phenylalanine uptake and turnover compared to healthy control cells. Based on our observation, we would like to propose that phenylalanine uptake/turnover is under tight control by calcium which in turn could offer an additional novel mechanism in the aetiology of HPA.