In human in-vitro fertilization (IVF), the oocytes are surrounded by
cumulus and corona cells at the time of insemination so that their maturity
cannot easily be evaluated. The best IVF results are obtained if the
oocytes are inseminated 2-6 h after retrieval. In the intracytoplasmic
sperm injection (ICSI) procedure, the oocytes are denuded by enzymatic and
mechanical treatment in order to be able to perform the injection. As a
consequence, the nuclear maturity of the oocytes can be evaluated and only
those that have extruded the first polar body are injected. However,
metaphase-II oocytes that have not yet reached cytoplasmic maturity cannot
be recognized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of
different timing of cumulus- corona cell removal and injection on the
outcome of ICSI. For this we allowed the oocytes to complete in-vitro
cytoplasmic maturation in two different culture conditions: (i) surrounded
by their cumulus and corona cells or (ii) totally denuded. We performed
three different studies on sibling oocytes obtained after a standardized
buserelin/human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG) protocol. We investigated
the effect of early (1-2 h after retrieval) and late (5-6 h after
retrieval) oocyte denudation and injection on the survival and
fertilization of the injected oocytes and on embryo cleavage after
fertilization. We found no statistically significant differences between
early and late injection, indicating that after a standardized
buserelin/HMG protocol the metaphase-II oocytes do not need time for
further cytoplasmic maturation. Furthermore, a different timing of
cumulus-corona cell removal has no effect on the outcome of ICSI,
suggesting that the surrounding cells are not necessary for survival,
fertilization and cleavage after ICSI.
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Serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) is routinely measured when
evaluating the infertile male for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
However, among the sperm parameters, only its relationship with sperm
concentration is well documented. Few investigations concern the
relationship between FSH and sperm motility and morphology, and the results
of ICSI. A retrospective study of 316 couples who underwent ICSI was
carried out to determine the relationships between serum FSH concentrations
in the male and (i) standard sperm parameters_(concentration, motility and
morphology) and (ii) fertilization, cleavage, pregnancy and implantation
rates after ICSI. There was an inverse correlation with sperm concentration
and total motility but no relationship was found with progressive motility
and sperm morphology. Neither was any relationship found between serum FSH
and fertilization, cleavage, pregnancy and implantation rates, and the
results of ICSI. These findings suggest the need to review the routine
measurement of serum FSH in the infertile male when ICSI is the planned
treatment procedure.
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Cytogenetic analysis of a juxta-articular myxoma revealed two distinct cytogenetically abnormal cell populations: inv(2)(p15q36)
and +7, t(8;22)(q11–12; q12–13). These clonal chromosomal changes, the first to be reported in this tumour type, suggest that
at least some juxta-articular myxomas are neoplastic rather than reactive in nature.
Received: 8 June 1998 / Accepted: 17 August 1998 相似文献
AIMS--To identify the histological changes in leprosy skin lesions over the first few weeks after the start of leprosy treatment and to examine their relationship to reversal reaction. METHODS--Sequential skin biopsy during treatment with multiple drug therapy. In this study, a series of 28 patients was studied, from whom two or more biopsies were taken at two week intervals. Fourteen patients had paucibacillary leprosy (PBL) and 14 had multibacillary leprosy (MBL). RESULTS--In most cases, granuloma fraction and bacterial index fell during treatment, the bacterial index being less sensitive than the granuloma fraction. Since the biopsies were fixed in buffered formalin and processed through to paraffin wax, little immunohistochemistry was feasible. However, there was strong evidence of immune activation, with increased expression of HLA-DR in the granulomas of MBL and PBL cases: the epidermis also expressed HLA-DR in several patients. Such changes may reflect gamma IFN production from granuloma lymphocytes. Patients with reversal reaction often showed HLA-DR expression on admission which decreased with corticosteroid treatment. CONCLUSIONS--The results suggest that activation of cell mediated immunity in leprosy lesions occurs during treatment with multiple drug therapy and may not be restricted to those with clinical evidence of reversal reaction. 相似文献
The HIV/AIDS epidemic is likely to remain the pre-eminent global health concern for the foreseeable future. In Uganda, while significant progress has been made by the government over the past decade in bringing down the rate of new infections, the HIV/AIDS burden in the country remains huge and vigilant efforts must be continued if this burden is to further decrease.
Traditionally the government, supported by its international partners as well as local non-government organizations and the community has borne the brunt of the costs of containing the epidemic in Uganda. While the corporate sector in the country has financially contributed towards the costs of some of the interventions that are currently in place to combat the HIV epidemic, there is largely a paucity of sustained and systematic corporate leadership in providing comprehensive HIV/AIDS programmes for their employees.
A survey done by the authors of this paper reveals that most programmes undertaken in the private sector are of limited scope. We argue that there is more the corporate sector can do to more equitably share the HIV/AIDS burden, without necessarily jeopardizing its primary role - namely to maximize returns to shareholders.
This paper proposes a conceptual framework of how companies can approach the issue of HIV/AIDS within their workforce and suggests that providing more comprehensive interventions may in some instances result in substantial cost savings through the prevention or at least delay of HIV/AIDS related consequences such as: frequent absences from work, erosion of company skills and knowledge through key employee deaths, and the costs of hiring and training replacements etc. This ultimately could result in positive financial returns to those companies that choose to pursue work place led HIV/AIDS control and prevention programmes.
Sera from leprosy patients across the clinical spectrum, healthy contacts, tuberculosis patients, and healthy donors were tested for their reactivity with antigens of mycobacterial strain ICRC (a cultivable mycobacterium) and Mycobacterium leprae by immunoprecipitation technique. Using M. leprae antigens, it was not possible to distinguish between reactivities of sera from lepromatous, borderline lepromatous, borderline tuberculoid, and tuberculoid leprosy patients. All these sera identified M. antigens with molecular masses of 47, 36, 21, and 14 kDa. When the same sera were tested for their reactivities with antigens of mycobacterial strain ICRC, several differences were observed. The 21-kDa antigen of mycobacterial strain ICRC was exclusively precipitated by sera from all lepromatous leprosy patients and from those undergoing erythema nodosum leprosum reaction. Sera from all the other donors tested failed to identify the 21-kDa antigen of mycobacterial strain ICRC. The 14-kDa protein of mycobacterial strain ICRC was identified by sera from a few lepromatous leprosy patients (5 of 26) and all their contacts. Our studies indicate that antigens present on cultivable mycobacteria rather than species-specific antigens may prove to be useful in the serodiagnosis of leprosy. 相似文献
Currently, there is renewed interest in the role community participation can play in Primary Health Care (PHC) programmes such as the delivery of effective anti-TB treatment to patients in high-burden settings.
Objectives
To explore the feasibility of community participation in a high-burden Tuberculosis Control Programme and to establish how supervision of treatment by lay volunteers compares with other methods of tuberculosis treatment delivery in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
Methods
Prospective study involving 769 patients with confirmed pulmonary TB who were followed-up over a one-year period. Questionnaire interviews were also carried out with 135 lay volunteers participating in the TB programme.
Results
One-third of the TB patients in the study received their treatment from lay volunteers in the community. Treatment outcomes for new patients supervised from the community were found to be equivalent to those who received treatment through other modes of treatment delivery (RR=1.04[0.94–1.16], p=0.435). For the re-treatment patients, community-based treatment was found to be superior (RR=5.89[2.30–15.09], p<0.001), to self-administered therapy.
Conclusions
Health care planners should consider community participation as a viable way of ensuring accessibility and effectiveness in PHC programmes. There is need for more research into ways of achieving sustainability in resource-limited but high disease burden settings. 相似文献
Tuberous sclerosis is an autosomal dominant trait in which the
dysregulation of cellular proliferation and differentiation results in the
development of hamartomatous growths in many organs. The TSC2 gene is one
of two genes determining tuberous sclerosis. Inactivating germline
mutations of TSC2 in patients with tuberous sclerosis and somatic loss of
heterozygosity at the TSC2 locus in the associated hamartomas indicate that
TSC2 functions as a tumour suppressor gene and that loss of function is
critical to expression of the tuberous sclerosis phenotype. The TSC2
product, tuberin, has a region of homology with the GTPase activating
protein rap1GAP and stimulates the GTPase activity of rap1a and rab5a in
vitro. Here we show that the region of homology between tuberin and human
rap1GAP and the murine GAP mSpa1 is more extensive than previously reported
and spans approximately 160 amino acid residues encoded within exons 34-38
of the TSC2 gene. Single strand conformation polymorphism analysis of these
exons in 173 unrelated patients with tuberous sclerosis and direct
sequencing of variant conformers together with study of additional family
members enabled characterisation of disease associated mutations in 14
cases. Missense mutations, which occurred in exons 36, 37 and 38 were
identified in eight cases, four of whom shared the same recurrent change
P1675L. Each of the five different missense mutations identified was shown
to occur de novo in at least one sporadic case of tuberous sclerosis. The
high proportion of missense mutations detected in the region of the TSC2
gene encoding the GAP-related domain supports its key role in the
regulation of cellular growth.
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Inherited cataract is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disease.
Here we report the identification of a new locus for an autosomal dominant
anterior polar cataract on the short arm of chromosome 17. To map this new
locus we performed genetic linkage analysis with microsatellite markers in
a four-generation pedigree. After exclusion of seven candidate loci for
cataract, we obtained significant positive LOD scores for markers D17S849
(Z = 4.01 / theta = 0.05) and D17S796 (Z = 4.17 / theta = 0.05). Multipoint
analysis gave a maximum LOD score of 5.2 (theta max = 0.06) between these
two markers. From haplotype analysis, the cataract locus lies in the 13 cM
interval between markers D17S849 and D17S796. This study provides the first
genetic mapping of an autosomal dominant anterior polar cataract.
相似文献
Genetic polymorphisms of the TCF7L2 gene are strongly associated with large increments in type 2 diabetes risk in different populations worldwide. In this study,
we aimed to confirm the effect of the TCF7L2 polymorphism rs7903146 on diabetes risk in a Brazilian population and to assess the use of this genetic marker in improving diabetes risk prediction
in the general population. 相似文献