Effect of cholesterol deprivation on piglet small intestine and serum lipids

Using the neonatal piglet, the effects of dietary cholesterol deprivation on growth, intestinal enzyme activity, intestinal and hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), and serum lipid were studied. Six litters of piglets were randomly assigned to one of two feeding regimens: restricted (800 ml of formula/24 h) versus unrestricted (1,200 ml of formula/24 h). Within litters, piglets were separated by sex, then randomly assigned to a formula containing low cholesterol (less than 2 mg/dl) or high cholesterol (145 mg/dl). Piglets were fed for 2 weeks. Male piglets in the restricted low cholesterol group gained significantly less weight per milliliter of formula than the restricted high cholesterol males. No effect was observed in the females. Microvillus membrane lactase activity was greater in males fed a high versus low cholesterol diet. Intestinal and hepatic HMG-CoA reductase activities and serum lipid profiles showed a trend toward compensation for dietary cholesterol deprivation but did not differ statistically between the cholesterol-fed versus -deprived groups. It is concluded that dietary cholesterol deprivation in the male neonatal pig causes alterations in growth, but no other statistically significant responses were detectable in this study.     

A case report of invasive thymoma presenting as a solitary metastatic lesion of the lung]

A 66-year-old woman visited our hospital for further investigation of a coin-shaped lesion in the right lower lung field. After admission, CT-scan revealed an anterior mediastinal tumor. Thymoma and lung metastasis from thymoma were suspected. At thoracotomy, an invasive thymoma involving the left phrenic nerve, the left upper lobe, and the pericardium was found, and the diagnosis of lung metastasis was made. Postoperative pathological findings showed a predominantly lymphocytic thymoma with round and oval-shaped epithelial cells, and the metastatic lung lesion revealed the same findings. Postoperative radiotherapy (4000 rads) and chemotherapy with a combination of CDDP, VDS, and CPA were administered. The metastasis of thymoma is not rare, but most often it is found after operation. In this case the diagnosis of metastatic thymoma was made pre-operatively from a solitary lung lesion.     

Antibody dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity on human cervical carcinoma cell line, ME-180, with human monoclonal antibody.

A human monoclonal antibody (MCA), CLN-IgG, showed cytotoxic effect in vitro against the cervical carcinoma cell line, ME-180, by antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). To determine which fractions of cells in peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) mediate ADCC, PBL were separated with nylon wool column and sheep red blood cells (SRBC). Both adherent cells (monocyte) and non-T, non-B cells showed cytotoxicity by ADCC. Human non-T, non-B cells showed higher cytotoxic activity against ME-180 cells than monocytes. Furthermore murine effector cells were less effective in ADCC than human effector cells with human MCA.     

Acute severe combined demyelination

We present a second case in which Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) appeared simultaneously, both in acute and fulminant form. The patient, a 10-year-old girl, presented with acute onset of coma and flaccid, areflexic quadriparesis. The elevated CSF protein levels and delayed F waves fulfilled the criteria of GBS and an MRI study revealed extensive multifocal demyelination compatible with a diagnosis of ADEM. Prompt clinical response followed by complete recovery was achieved by treatment with corticosteroids. It is suggested that acute severe combined demyelination might constitute a separate entity in which the demyelinating process, involving simultaneously the central and the peripheral nervous systems, indicates immune response against a component of the myelin of one system carrying cross-antigenicity with the other.     

Post-stimulus depression of reflex changes in circular muscle activity in the guinea pig small intestine.

The extent and time course of depression of successive reflex responses recorded with intracellular microelectrodes from the circular smooth muscle of the guinea pig small intestine were determined. Two stimuli were used, distension and distortion of the mucosa by compression; these were applied either at the same or at different sites. Excitatory responses oral and inhibitory responses anal to the stimuli were recorded. Post-stimulus depression of both ascending excitatory and descending inhibitory reflexes occurred, but the extent of depression was slightly less for the descending inhibition. A conditioning distension lasting 9 s depressed the excitatory response to a test distension applied 2 s later at the same site by 90%. After 30 s the depression was 50% and test responses were normal if inter-stimulus intervals were increased to 2 min. Increasing the duration of the conditioning stimulus increased the depression. Post-stimulus depression was less for compression stimuli than for distension stimuli and prior mucosal compression had almost no effect on responses to subsequent distension. The post-stimulus depression was greater if conditioning and test stimuli were at the same rather than different sites. For different sites, conditioning stimuli at 15 mm from the recording site (near) depressed responses to stimuli at 30 mm (far) to a greater extent than far stimuli depressed responses to near stimuli. If the conditioning stimulus at 15 mm was maintained until after the far test stimulus was applied, depression of the test response did not occur. It is concluded that the major sites of post-stimulus depression are at the synapses between primary sensory neurons and the first interneurons of reflex pathways, and that post-stimulus depression also occurs at other places in the pathway, presumably at synapses between interneurons or between interneurons and motor neurons.     

Cystic radiolucencies of carpal bones, distal radius and ulna as a marker for dialysis-associated amyloid osteoarthropathy.

Patients on long-term hemodialysis (HD) are known to develop amyloid osteoarthropathy, evidenced as cystic radiolucencies on X-rays of the affected joints. To study the relationship between cystic radiolucencies and amyloid osteoarthropathy in 394 patients, we classified the severity of the cystic radiolucencies seen in the wrist joint on a 4-point scale and evaluated the association between lesion severity (grade) and several parameters. Biopsy was performed in 8 patients with 11 bone cysts of the wrist joint who had been operated for carpal tunnel syndrome. HD for 10 years or longer, age 50 or older and the presence of carpal tunnel syndrome were associated with severe cyst rating. There was no association between lesion grade and serum level of PTH-C, aluminum or beta 2-microglobulin (B2M). Ten of the 11 biopsied bone cysts in 8 patients with carpal tunnel syndrome demonstrated amyloid deposits which reacted with B2M. We conclude that a cystic radiolucency observed in the wrist joint of a patient undergoing HD indicates the deposition of amyloid. The cyst grade provides a useful marker for the severity of amyloid osteoarthropathy in HD patients.     

Coexistence of cerebral aneurysm and angiographically occult AVM in the occipital lobe; a case report]

The authors report a case of an 8-year-old boy with coexistent aneurysm and arteriovenous malformation (AVM) at the periphery of the left middle cerebral artery. The patient was referred to our hospital because of intracerebral hematoma in the occipital lobe. Angiography revealed an aneurysm at the periphery of the left middle cerebral artery. A small AVM was found, adjacent to the aneurysm, by histological examination of the aneurysm and surrounding tissue resected by surgery. The patient was discharged uneventfully 17 days after surgery. The association of intracranial aneurysm with AVM is reported to be seen in 1.4% of patients with intracranial aneurysms, and 6.4% to 16.7% of patients with an intracranial AVM. Three hypotheses have been proposed in order to explain the association of an aneurysm with AVM: (1) Congenital multiple disorders of vascular development, (2) Hemodynamic stress resulting from the presence of an AVM, (3) Coincidence without any causal relationship between them. The coexistence of the two vascular lesions, adjacent to each other at the peripheral cerebral arteries is rare. Only 7 cases have been reported in the literature. Four of the 8 cases including ours were children, and 6 of the 8 cases were thought to have had a hemorrhage from the AVM. It is likely that the coexistence of the two lesions in our patient is of congenital origin, because the influence of hemodynamic stress from the AVM seemed little and coexistence of the lesions as found in our case is more frequently seen in childhood.     

Testosterone increases serum 1,25–dihydroxyvitamin D and insulin-like growth factor-I in hypogonadal men

The short-term metabolic effects of testosterone treatment on circulating levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) were studied in 13 hypogonadal men. The study group included 11 men with Klinefelter's syndrome, with varying degree of androgen deficiency, and two men with secondary hypogonadism. Pretreatment levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, vitamin D-binding protein and IGF-binding protein-I were all within the normal range. The levels of IGF-I were lower than normal in 5/11 of the Klinefelter patients and in one patient with GH-deficiency. Testosterone treatment increased circulating total 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D significantly from 75 +/- 4 pmol l-1 (mean +/- SEM) to 86 +/- 4 (P less than 0.01) and the free 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D-index from 1.95 +/- 0.11 to 2.39 +/- 0.12 (P less than 0.01). Serum levels of IGF-I increased from 117 +/- 22 micrograms/l to 143 +/- 23 (P less than 0.01) during androgen treatment. No significant effects on levels of IGF-binding protein-I were seen. It is concluded that androgen therapy increases the availability of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and the level of IGF-I, which may be important links in the action of testosterone.