长期口服小剂量阿司匹林不能预防健康女性患2型糖尿病

慢性无临床症状的炎症与2型糖尿病的发生有关,流行病学资料认为这种关联在妇女表现得更为强烈。虽然小型临床研究显示短期口服大剂量阿司匹林具有明显的降糖效果,但是并没有随机试验直接评估临床可接受的剂量的阿司匹林预防糖尿病的效果。在美国一项随机、双盲、安慰剂-对照的女性健康研究（Women＇s Health Study）中,38716名45岁以上的且无临床糖尿病的健康女性随机口服小剂量的阿司匹林（n=19326）或安慰剂（n=19390）,     

Adjuncts to case assessment of vaginal discharge syndrome in pregnant women

ObjectiveTo investigate the aetiology of abnormal vaginal discharge, using a non-culture based method, among pregnant women presenting at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria.MethodsTwo hundred consecutive antenatal patients, aged 18 to 38 years, with complaints of abnormal vaginal discharge between 1st April and 31st July 2004 were investigated clinically for the characteristics of the vaginal discharge. High vaginal swabs taken from the vaginal fornices were examined using a non-culture based method to determine the possible aetiology of the discharge. The possibility of integrating non-culture based laboratory methods in the syndromic case management of abnormal vaginal discharge in an antenatal clinic setting is discussed.ResultsThe commonest form of abnormal discharge was curdy white in 66% of cases. Ten (5%) women had malodourous vaginal discharged, 92% had vulval itching; and superficial dyspareunia was seen in 29% of cases. Microscopic studies of vaginal discharge revealed the following findings: lactobacilli (96%), polymorphs (96%), 'clue' cells (4%); positive Whiff test (5%), and pH > 4.5 (7%). The clinical and laboratory assessment of each patient lasted between 35 and 45 minutes. The procedures used were acceptable to 78% of women.ConclusionThe use of non-culture based laboratory methods in the initial assessment of abnormal vaginal discharge can be a useful adjunct in the syndromic case management of abnormal vaginal discharge in pregnant women.     

Red cell iron uptake in hereditary microcytic anemia

The iron uptake in vitro of red cells from mice with hereditary microcytic anemia (gene symbol mk) was studied to examine the hypothesis of a generalized impairment of cellular iron uptake in this conidition. Reticulocyte-rich red cells from anemic (mk/mk) and acutely bled normal (+/+) mice were incubated in 59Fe-labeled mouse plasma and the radioiron uptake measured. The 59Fe uptake of the mk/mk and +/+ cells was related in the same way to the reticulocyte concentration, the duration of incubation, and the percentage saturation of the plasma iron-binding capacity. However, under the same conditions, the iron uptake of red cells from normal (+/+) mice was greater than that by red cells from anemic (mk/mk) mice. Furthermore, the cellular loss of radioiron on exposure to EDTA was greater for the mk/mk red cells, although the proportion of the radioiron taken up that was incorporated into heme was the same for mk/mk and +/+ red cells. These results support the hypothesis of a generalized impairment of cellular iron uptake in hereditary microcytic anemia and suggest that there might be a defect in red cell receptor sites for transferrin in this condition.     

Granulopoietic progenitors in suspension culture: a comparison of stimulatory cells and conditioned media

Kinetic studies have been carried out to investigate the functional heterogeneity previously observed in populations of human marrow or peripheral blood cells separated by velocity sedimentation. The results obtained confirm the earlier results, in that slowly-sedimenting cells were found to stimulate both colony formation by granulopoietic progenitors and an increase in numbers of granulopoietic progenitors in suspension culture, while rapidly-sedimenting cells stimulated only colony formation and not increased progenitors in suspension cultures. Investigations of the properties of media conditioned by these two subpopulations of cells revealed no clear differences between them; both stimulated suspension cultures as well as colony formation, and both lost the former activity, but not the latter, after dialysis. The results contribute to the evidence that more than one process is regulated in cultures of granulopoietic progenitor cells.