Biochemical quantification of crypt hyperplastic villous atrophy by aldolase activity assay

Aldolase activity with the two substrates fructose-1-phosphate and fructose-1,6-diphosphate was measured in the homogenate of small intestinal biopsy specimens from children with different malabsorptive diseases (celiac disease, cow's milk protein intolerance, infectious diarrhea, giardiasis, and Crohn's disease) and controls. It is demonstrated that the ratio of fructose-1,6-diphosphate/fructose-1-phosphate activity, which reflects the relative amounts of the crypt enzyme aldolase A (EC 4.1.2.13) and the villous enzyme aldolase B (EC 4.1.2.7), correlates very well with both the ratio of crypt to villous height (correlation factor r = 0.92) and the mitotic index (r = 0.80).     

Preoperative Diagnosis and Management of Infants with Critical Congenital Heart Diseas

Operative repair with an associated low morbidity and mortality is available now for most infants with congenital cardiac defects. Precise preoperative diagnosis is an essential part of continuing attempts to lower the operative risk for these patients. In this review we cover major areas of concern in regard to preoperative diagnosis and management. Long-term follow-up studies with clinical, hemodynamic, electrophysiological, and exercise data are required to assess current diagnostic and therapeutic practices.     

The feasibility of adjuvant surgery in limited-stage small cell carcinoma: a prospective evaluation

Forty patients with limited-stage small cell carcinoma of the lung were prospectively evaluated for adjuvant surgery after intensive chemotherapy to determine resectability. All patients giving informed consent and having a Karnofsky performance status greater than or equal to 50% were included in the study, which ran from May, 1980, to September, 1982. Ages ranged from 40 to 70 years (median, 59 years). One patient was lost to follow-up. Thirty-nine patients were evaluated for operation 9 to 15 weeks after diagnosis and after having received two to four cycles of chemotherapy intravenously every 3 weeks (cyclophosphamide, 1,000 mg/m2; doxorubicin, 50 mg/m2; vincristine, 1 mg/m2; VP-16, 300 mg/m2). Two patients had clinical Stage I tumors; 12 patients, Stage II; and 25 patients, Stage III. At the time of reevaluation there were 13 (33%) complete responders, 21 (54%) partial responders, and 5 (13%) with stable disease. Eleven (28%) of the 39 patients underwent thoracotomy using standard resection criteria for non-small cell carcinoma. Eight of these 11 had resectable lesions (2, Stage I; 3, Stage II; 3, Stage III); five pneumonectomies and three lobectomies were performed. Tumor was present in six of eight specimens. Twenty-eight patients were not candidates for operation for various reasons: poor pulmonary function, 5; unresectable tumors, 10; refusal, 6; very poor medical condition, 6; and primary site not identified, 1. Median survival for complete responders was 17 months and for partial responders, 11 months. We have prospectively identified suitable candidates for adjuvant surgery among the total group (denominator population) of patients with limited-stage small cell carcinoma.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Altered helper and suppressor lymphocyte populations in surgical patients: A measure of postoperative immunosuppression

Although a wealth of evidence has suggested that cell-mediated immunity is suppressed after simple surgical trauma, there have been contradictory results using stimulation assays of lymphocyte function. We quantitated T-lymphocyte subsets in 11 patients undergoing routine cholecystectomy by immunofluorescence microscopy using specific monoclonal antibodies. T-helper to T-suppressor cell ratios were calculated on the preoperative day and the first postoperative day in all patients, and on the third or fourth postoperative day in five patients. Helper to suppressor ratios decreased in all patients on the first postoperative day (p > 0.01), but returned to within normal limits on subsequent days. Changes were due more to decreases in helper cells than to increases in suppressor cells, although changes in both populations were statistically significant.The measurement of T-cell subsets by antibodyspecific labeling and immunofluorescence microscopy may prove to be a more sensitive, quantifiable, and reproducible assay of immune function in surgical or traumatized patients than use of stimulation assays. Measurements of specific helper and suppressor lymphocyte populations may prove useful in predicting morbidity and mortality, and may also help in studying the effect of immunomodulating agents on the immune response.     

Fetal tissue Doppler echocardiography: detection rates of cardiac structures and quantitative assessment of the fetal heart.

OBJECTIVES: Tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE) has been developed in adult cardiology, but only recently has it been applied to fetal heart studies. We implemented TDE on a high-resolution ultrasound system used for prenatal scanning by changing the Doppler settings, but without specific TDE equipment, to study cardiac tissue motion of normal fetuses in the second and third trimesters. METHODS: Using color Doppler settings optimized for low velocity motion assessment, detection rates of cardiac structures were measured in 47 fetuses. With pulsed Doppler, axial diastolic and systolic cardiac wall velocities were recorded in another 30 fetuses. RESULTS: In all fetuses TDE could detect cardiac wall motion. The right ventricular wall and the level of the atrioventricular valves were most easily seen. Axial contraction velocities of the fetal heart increased with gestational age. CONCLUSIONS: TDE can be used to study normal fetal cardiac function throughout gestation. A regular ultrasound system without additional hardware or software is suitable for screening studies using TDE.     

Morphine and promedol interaction with the plasma proteins of allergized rabbits]

It has been established that morphine interacts with albumins, alpha 2- and beta-globulins, while promedol with all globulin fractions and to a less measure with plasma albumins of the intact rabbit. Interaction of morphine and especially that of promedol with the same protein fractions of allergizated animals proceeds more actively and is characterized by a more pronounced formation of biological complexes with alpha 1-globulins. Decreased pharmacological activity of morphine and promedol coincides with intensification of their interaction with proteins.