Influence of environment on speech-sound discrimination: findings from a longitudinal study

Event-related potentials (ERPs) from 134 children were obtained at 3 and 8 years of age and recorded to a series of consonant-vowel speech syllables and their nonspeech analogues. The HOME inventory was administered to these same children at 3 and 8 years of age and the sample was divided into 2 groups (low vs. high) based on their HOME scores. Discriminant functions analyses using ERP responses to speech and non-speech analogues successfully classified HOME scores obtained at 3 and 8 years of age and discriminated between children who received low vs. high levels of stimulation for language and reading.     

Antibodies to PAI-1 alter the invasive and migratory properties of human tumour cells in vitro

Recent reports suggest that elevated levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) may contribute to tumour progression. The studies reported here were designed to help elucidate PAI-1's contribution to the invasive and migratory phenotype. Antibodies to PAI-1 dose-dependently, and significantly, inhibited the invasive and migratory potential of human HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells, as did an antibody to uPA and the plasmin inhibitor aprotinin. Invasion of the human melanoma cell line, BLM, was also attenuated by the anti-PAI-1 monoclonal antibody MAI-12. The non-invasive human melanoma cell line, IF6, which does not express uPA, provided further confirmation of PAI-1 and uPA's role as, upon transfection with uPA, this cell line attained an invasive phenotype, which was again attenuated by MAI- 12. Although antibodies to PAI-1 did not affect the adhesion of HT1080 cells to vitronectin, the antibody to uPA reduced their attachment. Addition of exogenous PAI-1, however, prevented HT1080 cell adhesion (IC₅₀ 180nM) and promoted cell detachment from vitronectin. Furthermore melanoma cells transfected with a uPA variant, which had an impaired interaction with PAI-1, were not invasive and had impaired binding to vitronectin. These data highlight the importance of a balanced proteolysis and suggest an additional role for PAI-1 distinct from its role in proteolysis. These data also suggest that uPA and PAI-1 may co-operate in the migratory process by respectively facilitating the attachment to, and subsequent detachment from, vitronectin in the extracellular matrix. These results support the clinical findings and indicate that modulation of PAI-1 activity may be of therapeutic benefit for the treatment of cancer. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Immunoglobulin specificity of low grade B cell gastrointestinal lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) type.

The specificity of the tumor cell immunoglobulin in three cases of low grade B cell gastrointestinal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma has been studied. Using anti-idiotypic antibodies to detect the reactivity of tumor immunoglobulin in tissue sections from the patients and other individuals, we observed specificity for normal tissue components in all three cases studied. Reactivity in one case was with follicular dendritic cells, in the second case with a novel antigen on mucosal post capillary venules, and, in the third case, a broad pattern of reactivity was observed. This study suggests that autoimmunity may play a role in the pathogenesis of gastric lymphoma.     

Gamma/delta T cells and the diagnosis of coeliac disease.

Gamma/delta T cells are increased in the gut epithelium of patients with coeliac disease compared with normal controls. The aim of this study was to determine whether the increase in gamma delta intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) is specific for coeliac disease, in which case it could be of diagnostic importance. Biopsies were obtained from children with no intestinal disease, coeliac disease, cow-milk-sensitive enteropathy/post-enteritis syndrome (CMSE PES) and miscellaneous other enteropathies (n = 67). Intraepithelial CD3+ and gamma delta T cells were identified in frozen sections using peroxidase immunohistochemistry. In normal biopsies there were 0-7 gamma delta IEL/100 cells in the epithelium. In untreated coeliac patients this increased to 9-22 gamma delta IEL/100 cells in the epithelium (P = 0.000004). Of 27 patients with morphologic intestinal damage which was not due to coeliac disease, four with CMSE/PES had gamma delta IEL/100 cells in the epithelium in the same range as the patients with coeliac disease. Of these, two had high densities of CD3+ IEL in the epithelium and were indistinguishable from patients with untreated coeliac disease. The other two could be excluded as possible coeliacs because their CD3+ IEL/100 epithelial cells were in the normal range. Thus an increase in gamma delta IEL is not specific for coeliac disease. However, enumeration of both of gamma delta IEL and CD3+ IEL densities will be useful in the exclusion of coeliac disease as a diagnosis in some children.     

Creating a death register for general practice.

General practitioners complete approximately 26% of death certificates themselves but have considerable difficulty obtaining prompt and accurate information about their other patients who die. A random survey of district health authorities in England revealed that all were able to compile death lists but none included general practitioner details. This paper reviews the flow of information on patient deaths and describes a project to assess the feasibility of providing Newcastle general practitioners with comprehensive death registers. With the collaboration of the family health services authority and the district health authority, and with data from the regional perinatal mortality survey the creation each week of complete lists of patient deaths, broken down by general practitioner, is feasible. Death registers allow general practitioners to undertake audit of the quality of death certification and of the care of the recently deceased, and to improve the continuing care of the bereaved.     

Diabetes care in general practice: an approach to audit of process and outcome.

As a chronic condition in which the major adverse outcomes only occur after many years, diabetes poses special problems for continuing medical audit. The feasibility of continuous audit of process and outcome in diabetes care has been tested in four general practices with organized diabetes care in Newcastle upon Tyne. For all patients with previously diagnosed non-insulin dependent diabetes, the data already collected according to published protocols were assembled into a single database. The time and resource costs of this exercise, together with measures of process, complications, risk factors, and metabolic outcomes were analysed. Data were successfully collected at minimal cost where structured records were completed. Recommended processes had been completed in a high percentage of patients, adverse patient outcomes were limited, and metabolic output measures not unsatisfactory. Nevertheless, attention has been directed to areas where care could be improved. Continuing diabetes audit in primary health care is feasible and helpful, and can use the same measures as in the hospital setting.     

High risk for unbalanced segregation of some reciprocal translocations: A large pedigree containing distal 4q trisomy from t(4;7)(q28;p22)

We report on a familial t(4;7)(q28;p22) with 2:2 adjacent‐1 unbalanced segregation producing duplication of 4q28→qter in multiple offspring. Within the large four‐generation pedigree, a carrier had a reproductive outcome that was approximately equal for 1) the balanced translocation, 2) normal chromosomes, and 3) viable 4q trisomy or pregnancy loss. The three individuals with chromosomal confirmation of trisomy 4q28→qter (comprising approximately 1.8% of the haploid autosomal length) had similar mental and developmental retardation, hypotonia, restricted speech, seizures, and facial anomalies but no cardiac, renal, or skeletal anomalies. It is suggested that these latter severe malformations, associated with the classic 4q2 to 3 group of anomalies, were from an imbalance outside 4q28→qter and were not necessarily related to the relatively large size of the trisomic segment. Multiple different chromosomes are reported to be rearranged with 4q in the production of distal 4q trisomy. The incidence of 4q rearrangement remains unexplained, but once it is present in a family, viability of a large trisomy in 4q seems to explain the number of affected individuals reported. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.