Hyperacute form of experimental autoimmune uveo-retinitis in lewis rats; electron microscopic study

Summary One systemic injection of retinal tissue or extract mixed with Freund's complete adjuvant induces uveo-retinitis in several animal species: guinea pig [6], rabbit [5, 7], monkey [4] and rat [8]. Rod outer segments may be used as the pathogenic antigenic preparation [1, 3, 9]. This study reports on the conditions of induction of experimental autoimmune uveo-retinitis (EAU) in rats (susceptible strains of rats, optimal doses of antigen and adjuvant) and the histopathological features of the lesions in the early stages of the disease.In several species one systemic injection of retinal tissue or extract mixed with Freund's complete adjuvant induces an ocular inflammatory disease, whose main features are an inflammatory infiltration of the uvea and a destruction of the external layers of the retina. With adequate doses of guinea pig retinal extract and adjuvant, the disease was induced in all cases in albino rats of the Lewis strain. The vascular and tissular lesions, and the infiltrates with a predominance of PMN's and basophils seem to be the result of immune complexe deposition.This paper was presented in part at the Sixth Annual Meeting of the European Club for Ophthalmic Fine Structure in Paris, France on March 31 and April 1, 1978Supported by grants from the CNRS (ERA 276) and the INSERM (U 86)     

Crossed anarthria and a dissociated lateralisation of language

INTRODUCTION: Crossed anarthria cases are uncommon and rather old. OBSERVATION: We report the case of a right-handed 55-year-old man who presented crossed pure anarthria due to a hemorrhage in the premotor cortex (feet of F1 and F2) and in the high part of Pierre-Marie's quadrangle. CONCLUSION: The study of different tasks (articulation, verbal fluency, direct object word-generation from a verb) showed a dissociated lateralisation of his language. Lexico-semantic and grammatical tasks are processed in the left hemisphere. Articulation programming occurs in the right hemisphere.     

Viral hepatitis in minority America

Viral hepatitis continues as an important public health concern in the United States. Available data indicate that acute and chronic viral hepatitis remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in this country despite the availability of immunization for hepatitis A and B and pharmacologic therapy for chronic hepatitis B and C. Minority populations within the United States are disproportionately affected by acute and chronic viral hepatitis. Many diseases, for example, Barrett's esophagus, affect ethnic groups differently. Viral hepatitis A, B, and C may demonstrate ethnic variation with regard to their epidemiology, natural history, clinicopatholgic findings, complications, and treatment outcomes. This report will review the literature regarding these areas in hepatitis A, B, and C among the African American, Hispanic American, and Native American populations of the United States.     

Glaucoma screening in Martinique. Results in 813 hospital employees

INTRODUCTION: Several US and Jamaican studies have shown that glaucoma is more severe in black populations than in Caucasian populations, which would lead to the assumption that the people of Martinique have a high glaucoma risk. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted in workers of Fort de France University Hospital with the occupational medicine unit. Intraocular pressure was measured with a pulse air tonometer (Topcon CT 60) and visual field abnormalities were detected with automated perimetry using Humphrey frequency doubling technology (FDT). Patients with known glaucoma or with intraocular pressure over 21 mmHg and/or a visual field abnormality were referred to ophthalmology examination to diagnose ocular hypertension, open-angle glaucoma or normal-pressure glaucoma. RESULTS: The occupational medicine unit examined 813 workers. The sex ratio was 0.36, mean age was 45.35+/-8.4 years (22-64 years), and mean ocular pressure was 12.1+/-2.62 mmHg (6-28 mmHg). Roughly 20% of workers had a family history of glaucoma. We found 22 patients with glaucoma (2.7%) (CI95: 1.6%-4%): 12 patients had open-angle glaucoma (1.5%) and 10 patients were diagnosed with normal-pressure glaucoma (1.3%). Glaucoma prevalence increased with age, reaching 8% in patients over 55 years of age. Of patients with normal-pressure glaucoma, 42.9% had a family history of glaucoma. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm previous data from the literature that found higher glaucoma prevalence in black people and in particular in the mixed-race population of Martinique. In addition to this ethnic feature, the insularity of Martinique could support glaucoma expression. Easy and fast to use, FDT associated with the pulse air tonometer provides early detection of glaucoma.     

Physiopathology of eye burns

Eye burns are frequent among eye traumas. They induce different effects on the ocular structures, depending on the type of burn: chemical, with an important difference between acids and bases, thermal, or ionizing rays. The physiopathology of eye burns reflects the different stages of progression, with a first stage of destruction, a second stage of cleaning and inflammation, and a last stage of reconstruction and scarring. The final prognosis depends on the initial lesions, not only involving the eye ball, but also the conjunctiva and eyelids. Chemical burns by basic fluids have the worst prognosis because they are able to penetrate the tissues quickly. Burns by acids have a better prognosis and thermal burns are located only at the injured area. Treatment is most effective at the initial stage of destruction and can dramatically change the prognosis. The secondary phase of cleaning includes the entire biochemical cascade of inflammation and the production of proteases. At this stage, treatment can be effective but must be closely monitored because it can inhibit progression to the last stage of scarring. At the scarring stage, neovascularization begins, induced by initial ischemia, the reconstruction of epithelium with a probable role of stem cells, the reconstruction of nerve fibers depending on the nerve growth factor (NGF), and the reconstruction of extracellular matrix in which matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are essential. At this stage, therapy can only be surgery of functional after effects and esthetic anomalies.     

Harnessing malE for the study of antigen/antibody recognitions

The construction of hybrids between the variable fragment (Fv) of antibodies and protein MalE of Escherichia coli at the genetic level makes possible their preparation in a functional state, independently of any interaction with the antigen. We used such hybrids and a mutagenesis approach to study the recognition between antibody D1.3 and its antigen lysozyme, and its maturation. We subsequently transformed D1.3 into a reagentless fluorescent biosensor by knowledge-based design.