Adult body height, self perceived health and mortality in the Swedish population.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to examine adult body height as an indicator of general health. DESIGN: The study was a survey of a randomly selected sample of the adult Swedish population obtained by the Swedish National Central Bureau of Statistics. PARTICIPANTS: The sample studied was identified in 1980-81 and comprised 14,757 persons aged 16-74. Of these, 12,695 (86%) consented to interview. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Information was obtained on adult height, socioeconomic status in childhood and adult life, self perceived health, self reported longstanding illness, and mortality during a six year follow up. The numbers of people in three height groups who considered their general health as bad, who reported any longstanding illness or who died during the follow up were compared with the expected numbers in the same groups. The number of persons with reduced health and the number of deaths was larger than expected in the shortest height group. The excess risk of dying in the shortest group (about 20% higher compared to the tallest group) was reduced but not eliminated when present and childhood socioeconomic group was taken into account. Coronary heart disease mortality in particular was linked to height. The shortest group of men and women reported the largest proportion with bad general health and longstanding illness. For the latter the differences between height groups disappeared after controlling for present socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS: There is a detectable excess risk of morbidity and mortality from being short. Assuming that the childhood environment is an important determinant of adult stature it is also important for adult health.     

Angiotensin-converting enzyme in sarcoid and chalazion granulomas of the conjunctiva

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was studied immunohistochemically in conjunctival biopsies from 6 patients with systemic sarcoidosis, 4 patients with posterior non-sarcoid uveitis and in specimens from 4 patients with chalazion of the eyelid. Specimens with sarcoid granulomas showed intense ACE-positive immunoreactivity in epitheloid cells of the granuloma, whereas chalazion granulomas did not contain ACE-immunoreactivity. There was no difference in staining patterns between specimens without granulomas. Thus immunohistochemical staining for ACE may be of help in differentiating conjunctival granulomatous tissue of a chalazion from sarcoid granuloma.     

Association between human IgM autoantibodies and kappa chain allotypes

The relationship between the immunoglobulin kappa light chain allotypes and autoantibodies was studied in a series of seven human monoclonal kappa-bearing IgM antibodies with Rheumatoid Factor (RF) activity, two IgM anti-low density lipoprotein (LDL) antibodies, and one IgM anti-intermediate filament (IF) antibody. Residues at amino acid positions 153 and 191 related to the Km allotypes in human kappa chains were determined by an HPLC tryptic fingerprint and corroborated by amino acid sequence analysis. All the autoantibodies shared similar variable regions derived from the V kappa IIIb gene(s). The seven RF and the anti-IF were associated with the Km(3) constant region allotype whereas the two anti-LDL were associated with the Km(1,2) allotype. Thus, monoclonal autoantibodies showed the same Km allotypic distribution as the normal population. However, although the number of samples is small, it seems likely that a preferential association may exist between particular V kappa genes and Km alleles in the generation of autoantibodies with different specificities.     

Bioavailability and biological efficacy of a new oral formulation of salmon calcitonin in healthy volunteers.

Salmon calcitonin (SCT) is a well-tolerated peptide drug with a wide therapeutic margin and is administered parenterally for long-term treatments of bone diseases. Its clinical usefulness would be enhanced by the development of an orally active formulation. In this randomized crossover double-blinded phase I trial, controlled by both a placebo and a parenteral verum, we have tested a new oral formulation of SCT associated with a caprylic acid derivative as carrier. Eight healthy volunteers received single doses of 400, 800, and 1200 microg of SCT orally, a placebo, and a 10-microg (50 IU) SCT intravenous infusion. SCT was reliably absorbed from the oral formulation, with an absolute bioavailability of 0.5-1.4%, depending on the dose. It induced a marked, dose-dependent drop in blood and urine C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), a sensitive and specific bone resorption marker, with the effects of 1200 microg exceeding those of 10 microg intravenously. It also decreased blood calcium and phosphate, and increased the circulating levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and, transiently, the urinary excretion of calcium. It was well-tolerated, with some subjects presenting mild and transient nausea, abdominal cramps, diarrheic stools, and headaches. This study shows that oral delivery of SCT is feasible with reproducible absorption and systemic biological efficacy. Such an oral formulation could facilitate the use of SCT in the treatment of osteoporosis and other bone diseases.     

Effect of unilateral ureteral occlusion on fibrin deposition in the kidney and renal blood flow during intravascular coagulation in rat

The effect of unilateral ureteral occlusion on fibrin deposition in the kidney and the interrelation of the fibrin deposition and the renal blood flow was studied in rat. Intravascular coagulation in the kidney was induced by infusion of thrombin and inhibition of fibrinolysis with tranexamic acid. The effects unilateral occlusion of the ureter for 1 and 24 h on fibrin deposition and renal blood flow were studied. Fibrin in the kidneys was quantitated by intravenous injection of 125I-labelled fibrinogen 24 h before the experiment. The renal blood flow was measured before and after infusion of thrombin by injection of 85Sr- and 141Ce-labelled microspheres into the left ventricle. After ureteral occlusion for 1 h the deposition of fibrin in the kidneys was unaffected. After 24 h substantially less fibrin deposition was found in the occluded than in the unoccluded kidney (0.3 +/- 0.2 and 5.7 +/- 1.6 mg, respectively; p less than 0.05). Before thrombin infusion the blood flow to the occluded kidney was less than that in the unoccluded kidney (2.1 +/- 0.8 and 3.7 +/- 1.2 ml/min, 100 g body weight, respectively; p less than 0.05). The blood flow after infusion of thrombin was equally reduced in both kidneys. The results contradict the hypothesis that vasoconstriction increases the amount of fibrin in the kidneys in thrombin-induced intravascular coagulation.     

Changes in outcome with sphincter preserving surgery for rectal cancer in Korea, 1991-2000.

AIM: To report the clinical and oncological data of patients operated on for rectal cancers 3-5 cm from the AV over a 10 year period, including the Sphincter preservation (SP) rate. METHODS: We reviewed medical records of 304 patients with rectal cancers 3-5 cm from the AV who underwent surgical resection from January 1991 through December 2000. The 10 years were divided into three periods based on the introduction of new surgical techniques, specifically, ultralow anterior resection (ULAR) with double stapling in March 1994 and ULAR with coloanal anastomosis in April 1997. The rates of SP, complications and patient survival during these periods were compared. RESULTS: The SP rate increased significantly over the 10 years, from 16.4% in period I (January 1991-February 1994), to 53.0% in period II (March 1994-March 1997), to 86.5% in period III (April 1997-December 2000) (p<0.001). Over time, the age of the patients increased (p=0.004), the length of the distal resection margin became shorter (p=0.005), and the rate of lymph node metastasis increased (p=0.016). The factors significantly influencing SP were the period (p<0.001) and the distance from the AV (p<0.001). Over time, morbidity did not increase, and overall and disease free survival rates did not decrease. In contrast, the overall survival of N2 cases significantly increased over time (p=0.0492). CONCLUSION: Over 10 years, the SP rate in rectal cancers 3-5 cm from the AV was significantly increased by the introduction of the double stapling and coloanal anastomosis techniques. These surgical methods, however, had no effect on morbidity, disease free survival and overall survival rates.     

Manifestation of malignant lymphoma of the head and neck with special reference to the salivary glands

We found that thirteen per cent of all head and neck malignomas are malignant lymphomas. In 75% of these cases the Non-Hodgkin type could be found. The major salivary glands were involved by the lymphoma in 55% out of 104 patients. Paraglandular lymph nodes of the parotid gland were affected as well as intraglandular lymph nodes and the lymphoid tissue within the gland proper. The submandibular gland normally shows an involvement only with its paraglandular lymph nodes. Two thirds of the Non-Hodgkin lymphomas located in the salivary glands were low-grade. In case of clinical suspicion of a malignant lymphoma, fine needle biopsy is required for cytological diagnosis. However, surgery is mandatory for histological diagnosis, not as a therapeutic measure.