The effects of vitamin A, pentoxyfylline and methylprednisolone on experimentally induced amyloid arthropathy in brown layer chicks.

The effects of vitamin A, pentoxyfylline and methylprednisolone on experimentally induced amyloid arthropathy were investigated. In this study, 175 1-day-old brown layer chicks were used. Throughout the study Group II (vitamin A) received high doses of vitamin A (75,000 IU/kg), whereas Group I (negative control), Group III (positive control), Group IV (pentoxyfylline) and Group V (methylprednisolone) received normal levels of vitamin A in the diet. At the fifth week, the experimental Groups II, III, IV and V were injected with Freund's adjuvant intra-articularly to induce amyloid arthropathy. Group IV received pentoxyfylline and Group V received methylprednisolone (10 mg/kg, intramuscularly) once. Joint and blood samples were examined 13 weeks after the injections. The values in Groups I, II, III, IV and V, respectively, were as follows: amyloid arthropathy formation (%), 0, 100, 87, 76, 66; serum amyloid A (ng/ml), 166+/-17, 607+/-40, 423+/-39, 342+/-27, 293+/-22; serum retinol (microg/dl): 59.75+/-3.8, 42.72+/-3, 59.24+/-3.6, 102+/-9.1, 101.3+/-12.3; heterophil/lymphocyte ratio: 0.504, 0.75, 0.75, 0.087, 0.44. In conclusion, it was observed that vitamin A enhanced the development of amyloid arthropathy and there were positive associations between amyloidosis, increased levels of serum amyloid A and increased numbers of tissue infiltrating macrophages. Methylprednisolone had a more successful inhibitory effect on amyloid arthropathy than pentoxyfylline.     

Soluble mediators and cytokines produced by human CD3- leucocyte clones from decidualized endometrium.

CD3- granulated leucocyte clones have been generated from human first-trimester decidualized endometrial tissue following culture in interleukin-2 (IL-2). Supernatants from both CD3- decidual granulated leucocyte (dGL) and CD3- peripheral blood natural killer (PBNK) cell clones inhibited the proliferation of choriocarcinoma cell lines. A panel of CD3- dGL clones, with or without phytohaemagglutinin stimulation, was assayed for cytokine secretion compared with CD3- PBNK clones and fresh tissue extracts. Levels of interferon-gamma, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and IL-10 produced by stimulated CD3-CD8- dGL clones were greater than those produced by stimulated CD3-CD8+ dGL clones. In contrast, CD8+ dGL clones were more effective in production of IL-6 than CD8- dGL clones. Immunoreactive transforming growth factor-beta 2 (TGF-beta 2) was undetectable in supernatants from CD3- dGL and PBNK clones. CD3- dGL clones generally produced higher levels of all cytokines than PBNK clones. Some unstimulated CD3- dGL and PBNK clones spontaneously produced these cytokines, but usually at a reduced level. Fresh extracts of first-trimester decidual tissue contained detectable GM-CSF, TNF-alpha, IL-10,IL-6 and TGF-beta 2. Cytokine production by fresh CD3- dGL and CD3- dGL clones indicates that these cells could play an important role in the regulation of placental growth.     

The prevalence of hereditary thrombophilia in the Trakya region of Turkey

The prevalences of deficiencies in antithrombin III (AT III), protein C (PC), protein S (PS) and in the activated protein C (APC) resistance in the thrombotic population of the Trakya region, Turkey were investigated. 37 patients with venous thrombosis (VT) and 17 patients with arterial thrombosis (ArT) were included in this study. The mean ages of the patients with VT and ArT were 46 years (range 20-70) and 38 years (range 32-40), respectively. The activity of AT III was measured by commercially available immuno-turbidimetric assay. The activities of PC and PS were determined by coagulometric assay. The APC resistance was measured using a modified APTT-based clotting assay. Among the VT patients, there were 2 cases (5.4%) with AT III, 5 (13.51%) with PC deficiency, 5 (13.51%) with PS deficiency and 2 (5.4%) with APC resistance. In the ArT patient group, there was 1 patient (5.88%) with AT III, 3 (17.64%) with PC deficiency, 1 (5.88%) with PS deficiency and no APC resistant patients, while there was one (2.08%) with PC deficiency and one (2.08%) with APC resistance in the control group (49 persons, mean age 41 years). The relative risk of thrombosis (odds ratio) was 1.7 in the deficiency of PC and 5.6 in the deficiency of PS. The data presented suggests that the prevalences of AT III, PC and PS deficiencies causing thrombophilia in the Trakya region of Turkey are higher than in other reported studies while the APC resistance is lower than in others. Further studies including more patients would be required to clarify these discrepancies.     

Effects of omalizumab, a humanized monoclonal anti-IgE antibody, on nasal reactivity to allergen and local IgE synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Treatment with omalizumab has been shown to reduce serum free IgE concentrations and to have beneficial effects on allergic airway disease. However, its effect on IgE synthesis is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether omalizumab therapy affects nasal reactivity to allergen and local IgE production. METHODS: Nineteen patients with perennial allergic rhinitis were treated with intravenous omalizumab every 2 weeks for 26 weeks in an open-label study. Serum free and total IgE concentrations were measured at baseline and every 2 weeks throughout the study. Nasal challenge to dust mite allergen was performed at baseline and after 12 and 24 weeks of treatment. Nasal lavage fluid obtained before and after each nasal challenge was evaluated for mite-specific antibodies, plaque-forming cells, and productive epsilon messenger RNA (mRNA). RESULTS: During treatment, serum free IgE concentrations were decreased by 97% to 99%, and the nasal response to allergen challenge was significantly reduced on days 80 and 164. The postchallenge increase in nasal lavage mite specific IgE was significantly reduced by treatment with omalizumab on day 168. IgE plaque-forming cells and productive epsilon mRNA were not significantly affected by omalizumab treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Omalizumab treatment markedly reduced serum free IgE and the clinical response to nasal allergen challenge. However, the absence of an effect on IgE-secreting B cells and epsilon mRNA in nasal lavage fluid suggests that omalizumab treatment for 6 months does not significantly modulate synthesis of nasal IgE.     

Human NK1 and NK2 subsets determined by purification of IFN-gamma-secreting and IFN-gamma-nonsecreting NK cells

The in vivo existence of human NK cell subsets similar to Th1 and Th2 cells was demonstrated in freshly isolated IFN-gamma-secreting and IFN-gamma-nonsecreting NK cells. The IFN-gamma-secreting NK subset showed a typical cytokine pattern with predominant expression of IFN-gamma, but almost no IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13. In contrast, the IFN-gamma-nonsecreting NK subset was composed of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13-producing NK cells. Short-time stimulation or 2 weeks of in vitro differentiation of NK cells led to distinct patterns of cytokine production similar to freshly-purified IFN-gamma (+) or IFN-gamma (-) NK cell subsets. NK cells stimulated with IL-12 produced increased levels of IFN-gamma and decreased levels of IL-4. In contrast, stimulation of NK cells with IL-4 inhibited IFN-gamma, but increased IL-13 production. Freshly-purified IFN-gamma (+) and IFN-gamma (-) or in vitro differentiated NK1 and NK2 subsets showed similar cytotoxicity to K562 cells. These results demonstrate that circulating NK cells retain effector subsets in humans with distinct cytokine profiles and may display different inflammatory properties.     

Comparative morphological differences between umbilical cords from chronic hypertensive and preeclamptic pregnancies

To compare morphological changes in the umbilical cords from chronic hypertensive and preeclamptic patients having normal or pathological umbilical artery Doppler ultrasonographic results. Umbilical cords from 34 normotensive, 31 chronic hypertensive and 70 preeclamptic women with normal and abnormal Doppler flow velocity waveforms (FVW) at 35-40 gestational weeks were studied. Morphological changes in the umbilical cords were examined on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections. The total umbilical cord area, total vessel area, and wall thickness of umbilical vessels were measured in systematic random samples using unbiased stereology methods. An ANOVA test was used for statistical analysis. In the chronic hypertensive and preeclamptic groups with normal Doppler FVW, the thickness of the umbilical cord vessels remained nearly constant, whereas both the total area and the lumen area were reduced. These changes correlate with the histopathological findings, suggesting a mainly vasoconstrictive effect. By contrast, analysis of the preeclamptic group with pathologic Doppler FVW showed a comparable reduction of all parameters of the umbilical cord. Histopathological findings were related to smaller, contracted smooth muscle cells of the vessel wall, which is suggestive of a predominant hypoplastic mechanism. As a result of reduced uteroplacental perfusion, fetal hypoxia and intrauterine growth retardation become unavoidable in preeclampsia. The histopathological changes in the umbilical cord between the chronic hypertensive and preeclamptic patients depend on the Doppler results. In conclusion, the umbilical artery Doppler FVW indices provide good values for predicting intrauterine growth retardation in preeclamptic patients.     

Prognostic importance of COX-2 expression in patients with colorectal cancer

A relationship between cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer has been reported in recent studies. Moreover, it has been indicated that COX-2 expression may have a prognostic role in colorectal cancer patients. In this study, we investigated the prognostic significance of COX-2 expression in 83 patients with colorectal cancer. COX-2 expression was assessed using immunohistochemical methods and was evaluated by grading both staining intensity and staining extension. The relationships between COX-2 expression and clinicopathological features of the patients and patient survival were evaluated. There was no relationships between COX-2 expression and tumor size (tm < 3 cm or tm > or = 3 cm), tumor histopathological differentiation (poorly differentiated or moderately + well differentiated), number of metastatic lymph nodes (< 4 or 3 > or = 4), histopathology of the tumor, localization of the tumor (colon or rectum), distant metastasis, and vascular invasion of the tumor. In the multivariate analysis, COX-2 expression was not found as an independent prognostic factor. We demonstrated that COX-2 expression was not correlated with clinicopathological characteristics of colon carcinoma and disease outcome.     

Infective agents in fixed human cadavers: a brief review and suggested guidelines

Cadavers remain a principal teaching tool for anatomists and medical educators teaching gross anatomy. Infectious pathogens in cadavers that present particular risks include Mycobacterium tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, the AIDS virus HIV, and prions that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS). It is often claimed that fixatives are effective in inactivation of these agents. Unfortunately cadavers, even though they are fixed, may still pose infection hazards to those who handle them. Specific safety precautions are necessary to avoid accidental disease transmission from cadavers before and during dissection and to decontaminate the local environment afterward. In this brief review, we describe the infectious pathogens that can be detected in cadavers and suggest safety guidelines for the protection of all who handle cadavers against infectious hazards.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Demodex folliculorum</Emphasis> in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The objective of this study was to investigate the incidence and density of Demodex folliculorum in the patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Forty-one patients with RA and twenty-seven age and sex matched healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Disease Activity Score (DAS 28) was used for the assessment of disease activity. Out of 41 patients, 33 were females and 8 males. The mean disease duration was 10.9 ± 8.2 years. The mean DAS 28 was 3.8 ± 1.2. No statistically significant differences in the incidence and density of Demodex mites were found between patients with RA and controls. Although immunosuppression is thought to be a risk factor for the D. folliculorum infestation no such correlations could be found in the 41 immunosuppressed patients with RA, therefore, further studies with larger groups are needed.