von Hippel-Lindau disease: inadequacy of angiography for identification of renal cancers

Selective renal angiograms were retrospectively evaluated for the identification of renal cell cancers in patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL). Seven patients underwent angiography and surgery because of solid or complex renal masses identified at cross-sectional imaging. Nine kidneys underwent detailed examination by the surgeon and by a pathologist. There were 31 renal cancers. Angiography had enabled identification of only five cancers (16%), and six others (19%) had been suspected. Cancers detected angiographically were larger than those not detected (P less than .05). Solid tumors tended to appear less hypervascular than expected and occasionally had the angiographic appearance of atypical cysts. There were no false-positive angiograms. Angiography revealed only one cancer not previously suspected and changed the surgeon's approach for only one kidney (11%). The sensitivity and specificity of angiography were 35% and 100%, respectively. In these patients, selective renal angiography is not helpful for the detection or exclusion of cancer in a kidney. It does not have a limited role for vascular mapping prior to partial nephrectomy or tumor enucleation.     

Autostimulation of growth by human myelogenous leukemia cells (HL-60)

We have studied the effects of medium conditioned by the human progranulocytic leukemia cell line, HL-60, on the subsequent growth of new inocula of HL-60 cells. When HL-60 cells were cultured at high cell density, optimal growth rate occurred in liquid suspension and confluent colony growth was observed in viscous medium without the addition of conditioned medium. However, when cells were cultured at lower cell density, growth rate was reduced and colony growth was nil unless conditioned medium from HL-60 culture was added. All HL-60 populations studied, including the earliest available passage, 9, both elaborated and responded to HL-60 CM. HL-60 CM did not stimulate normal human or mouse granulocyte-monocyte colony-forming cell (CFU-GM) growth. Conditioned media from other human cell lines varied in the ability to stimulate HL-60 cell and CFU-GM proliferation. Some, such as GCT CM, stimulated both HL-60 cells and normal CFU-GM, whereas others, like HL-60 CM, stimulated only HL-60 growth. The majority of cell line CMs tested did not stimulate either HL-60 or CFU-GM. Chromatography of HL-60 CM on Ultrogel AcA54 showed a single peak of HL-60 stimulating activity of apparent molecular weight 13,000. The ability of HL-60 cells to elaborate this activity provides a possible explanation for their proliferation at higher cell densities. Autostimulation may prove to be important in the high growth potential of other cell populations that undergo unrepressed proliferation.     

植入型心律转复除颤器而非乙胺碘呋酮可降低充血性心力衰竭患者死亡风险

问题：与安慰剂组相比，充血性心力衰竭（CHF）患者服用乙胺碘呋酮或使用植入型心律转复除颤器（ICD），能否降低全因死亡率？     

Lymphoblast purine pathway enzymes in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Activities of enzymes of the purine metabolic pathway, adenosine deaminase (ADA), purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP), and 5'- nucleotidase (5'-N), were investigated in the lymphoblasts of a patient with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. These lymphoblasts exhibited increased ADA activity and diminished activities of both PNP and 5'N' as compared to normal lymphocytes as well as non-T, non-B leukemia cells. This enzymatic pattern is identical to that which has been described in T-cell leukemic lymphoblasts and differs from that which has been observed in the malignant cells of undifferentiated B-cell lymphomas. These data suggest that there is biochemical heterogeneity within the spectrum of B-cell malignancies. Furthermore, inhibitors of ADA may be of use in those B-cell lymphoid neoplasms that exhibit increased ADA activity.