Monoclonal antibodies to early pregnancy factor perturb tumour cell growth.

The pregnancy-associated substance early pregnancy factor (EPF) has previously been reported as a product of tumours of germ cell origin. More recently EPF (or an EPF-related substance, tEPF) has also been detected in the serum of patients bearing tumours of non-germ cell origin. We report here the production of tEPF by a variety of cultured transformed and tumour cell lines, of both germ and non-germ cell origin. Antibodies specific for EPF remove all tEPF activity from tumour cell conditioned medium. tEPF production is found to be associated with cell division; tEPF is no longer detected after growth arrest or differentiation. Co-culture of tumour cells with increasing doses of anti-EPF monoclonal antibodies resulted in a significant, dose-dependent decrease in rate of cell growth and viability. Similar anti-EPF concentrations had no effect on the concanavalin A induced proliferation of mouse spleen cells. These studies suggest, therefore, that tEPF is a growth-regulated product of cultured tumour and transformed cells. These cells are also dependent upon tEPF for continued growth, i.e. tEPF is acting in the autocrine mode.     

An explanation of the upward drift in oxygen uptake during prolonged sub-maximal downhill running

The upward drift in oxygen uptake (UDO) that occurs during some prolonged sub-maximal exercises involving eccentric muscle action has received only scant attention in the literature. Those papers reporting UDO have generally used bicycling on an ergometer modified for eccentric exercise as the experimental activity. The purpose of this study was to quantify and propose an explanation for UDO during a different activity involving eccentric muscle action--downhill running. Oxygen consumption, quadriceps muscle electromyography, and stride length were collected from 10 experienced male runners (mean maximal oxygen consumption = 65.0 +/- 5.2 ml X kg X min-1) during two 40-min sub-maximal runs at 3.83 m X s-1. The first run was on a level grade and required 66% of the subjects' mean maximal oxygen consumption. The second run, completed 2 d later, was performed on a 10% downhill grade and elicited 44% of the mean maximal oxygen consumption. Results of the level run showed non-significant changes in oxygen consumption, rectified integrated electromyography, and stride length between minutes 10 and 40. Significant (P less than 0.05) increases in oxygen consumption (10%) and integrated electromyography (23%) were found across the same time period of the downhill run. No significant changes in downhill stride length were observed. Delayed-onset muscle soreness, a presumed indication of muscle damage, occurred only following the downhill run. It is hypothesized that UDO and increasing integrated electromyography during downhill running reflected increased motor unit recruitment within the eccentrically acting muscles caused by an ongoing combination of muscle damage, connective tissue damage, and local muscle fatigue.     

Corneal swelling responses with extended wear in naive and adapted subjects with menicon RGP contact lenses

Overnight corneal swelling responses to Menicon SF-P and EX rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses were determined in 20 human volunteers previously adapted to lens wear and in five volunteers who had no prior contact lens experience. Slit lamp biomicroscopy revealed no evidence of lens adherence in either group. Overnight wear of both lenses produced greater corneal swelling in naive (8.732% +/- 1.50%) than in adapted eyes (5.016% +/- 1.10%) (P less than .00005). These results suggest that, at least for the lenses tested, adaptation to contact lens wear may down-regulate overnight swelling responses to levels at or near no lens wear or daily-wear values for the same lenses. Both the EX and SF-P lenses appear to satisfy Holden's criteria for zero residual swelling, suggesting promise for successful clinical extended wear.     

Gait analysis in rehabilitation medicine: a brief report.

Gait analysis can be a powerful tool for rehabilitation research and clinical practice. However, there has been little coordinated effort to set goals for the application of gait analysis in rehabilitation. Therefore, a priority setting process was engaged to obtain the opinions of a diverse pool of experts related to human motion analysis. The primary goal of this process was to develop priorities for future research, development, and standardization in gait analysis. A multistep approach was used that included expert testimony, group discussions, individually developed priorities, and a ranking process. Several important priorities emerged from this activity. The highest priority was assigned to research on the efficacy, outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of gait analysis.     

A case of a chemically dependent patient with a thalamic pain syndrome treated with amitriptyline.

A fifty year old white male with a right sided thalamic pain syndrome became alcohol and benzodiazepine dependent in an attempt to alleviate the pain. He entered an inpatient alcohol and drug treatment facility where, in an attempt to treat this pain, he was placed on low dose amitriptyline. Comparison of results on a symptoms checklist (SCL-90-R) completed at amitriptyline dosages of 30 mg. and 50 mg. showed a statistically significant difference in the somatization scale (p = .029). The low dose of amitriptyline used, its low blood level, and the early onset of effect make it unlikely that its antidepressant action was a significant factor in this patient's pain relief. This is, perhaps, the first described case where low dose amitriptyline has been shown to relieve the thalamic pain syndrome in a chemically dependent person.     

Continued contact lens wear in patients with giant papillary conjunctivitis

We performed a six-year retrospective evaluation of 47 contact lens patients with a documented history of giant papillary conjunctivitis (GPC). The relationships between specific symptoms, contact lens history, treatment regimens, and clinical responses were studied. Specifically, we sought to determine the number of patients forced to discontinue contact lens wear due to GPC. Our study indicated two important preconditions to be associated with the onset of symptoms: the continued use of aging lenses and suboptimal lens care. For those patients treated and followed-up for at least 4 months, 79% obtained total resolution of their symptoms. Though the numbers are too small to make any significant conclusions about treatment methods it seems that lens discontinuance alone does not appear to be an adequate treatment for this condition and may serve better as adjunct to other therapy.