Reproducibility of food atopy patch tests over time in the general child population

Background  The atopy patch test (APT) is no longer an experimental method; it is increasingly being used as a standard diagnostic tool for the characterization of patients with aeroallergen- and food-triggered disorders. Some technical aspects of this test still remain to be answered. We aimed to study the reproducibility of this test over time in the general child population.
Methods  In a general population of 118 children, we investigated the reproducibility of duplicate APTs with four food allergens in their native form, which were repeated at set intervals from the first test: 7 days (group 1), 14 days (group 2), and 21 days (group 3).
Results  We observed very poor reproducibility on both sides of the back in all three studied subgroups. The reproducibility rates and Cohen's κ values did not improve when we did not consider the side of the back. There were no differences in the prevalence of atopy between the subjects with reproducible and nonreproducible APT results. All three groups studied showed no difference in the prevalence rates of atopy. There was no relationship between APT and skin prick test positivity for the same allergen. Questionnaire-derived data about previous food-related reactions did not help in the evaluation of the doubtful nonreproducible APT results with food allergens.
Conclusions  Our results show that the reproducibility of food APTs is poor and unsatisfactory over time, and there is an urgent need for the development of optimal, stable, and good-quality APT testing substances.     

Rigid rods with flexible side chains — A route to molecular reinforcement?

Liquid-crystalline main-chain polyesters with polystyrene side chains of different length and number per main chain were synthesized using aromatic hydroxyfunctional polystyrene (PS) macromonomers, terephthalic acid derivatives and tert-butylhydroquinone as co-diol. The molecular weight of the polystyrene side chain was varied in the range from 1000 to 20000. The influence of this novel type of substituent on the solubility, thermal behaviour and miscibility with PS as a flexible matrix polymer is discussed. The properties of the new compounds are compared to those of the respective homopolyester. The graft copolyesters are, depending on the characteristics of the polymeric substituent, soluble in common organic solvents and their thermal transition points are lowered compared to the homopolyester. Compared to blends of the homopolyester, the improvement of miscibility of the polymer-substituted rigid rods with PS as an example for a flexible matrix polymer can be valued as a step to molecular reinforcement.     

Child psychopathology and environmental influences: discrete life events versus ongoing adversity

Patterns of exposure to distinct types of life stressors were compared between 134 children attending a military child psychiatric clinic and a matched military community control sample. Compared with the community sample, clinic-referred children had experienced significantly higher levels of normative stressful events as well as events confounded with their own adjustment and events related to parental psychosocial functioning. Differences in levels of normative stressful events were no longer significant, however, when controlling for events related to parental functioning. Ratings of stressful events during the past year significantly underestimated the lifetime stress exposure differences between clinic and community control children. Although normative stressful events, parent-related events, and parent symptomatology ratings were significantly related to child behavior problem ratings, normative stressful events did not contribute to predictions of child behavior problems beyond the variance attributable to parent-related events and parent symptomatology. Implications of these findings for life stress and child maladjustment research are discussed.     

Angiostatin overexpression in Morris hepatoma results in decreased tumor growth but increased perfusion and vascularization.

Growth of malignant tumors is dependent on sufficient blood supply. Thus, inhibition of tumor angiogenesis is emerging as a promising target in the treatment of malignancies. Human angiostatin (hANG) is one of the most potent inhibitors of endothelial cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and tumor growth in vivo. However, its mechanisms operating in vivo are not well understood. METHODS: To obtain more information about functional changes in the angiogenic process, we established Morris hepatoma (MH3924A) cell lines expressing hANG (hANG-MH3924A). The effects of hANG expression on proliferation and apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were measured in coculture experiments in vitro. To evaluate changes in tumor perfusion and blood volume, H2 15O and 68Ga-DOTA-albumin (DOTA is 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N',N',N'-tetraacetic acid) were used for PET studies in vivo. Additionally, immunohistologic quantification of vascularization, apoptosis, and proliferation as well as gene array analyses were performed. RESULTS: Our in vitro experiments demonstrate reduced proliferation and increased apoptosis in HUVECs when being cocultured with hANG-MH3924A. In support, tumor growth of hANG-MH3924A is diminished by 95% in vivo. However, tumor perfusion and blood volume are increased in hANG-MH3924A corresponding to an increased microvessel density. Furthermore, hANG-transfected tumors show changes in expression of genes related to apoptosis, stress, signal transduction, and metabolism. CONCLUSION: hANG expression leads to inhibition of tumor growth, increased apoptosis, and changes in the expression of multiple genes involved in stress reactions, signal transduction, and apoptosis, which indicates a multifactorial reaction of tumors. An enhanced microvessel density is seen as part of these reactions and is associated with increased perfusion as measured by PET.     

Growth hormone response patterns in sexually or physically abused boys

The ratio of growth hormone response to clonidine and L-dopa challenge was compared in 74 boys: 15 with purported physical abuse, 7 with purported sexual abuse, 13 normal controls, and 39 psychiatric controls. Sexually abused boys demonstrate a statistically significant elevated ratio of growth hormone response to clonidine versus response to L-dopa. Physically abused boys demonstrate lower clonidine/L-dopa growth hormone response ratios compared with controls. These effects widen with increasing physical development.