Nighttime bracing for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis with the Charleston bending brace. Preliminary report

The authors report their preliminary experience with the Charleston bending brace for the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. This brace holds the patient in the position of maximum side bend correction and is worn only at night. Patients in this prospective multicentered study met all the following criteria: skeletal immaturity (Risser 0, 1+, or 2+), curvature greater than 25 degrees before bracing, no prior treatment, and greater than 1-year follow-up since initiation of treatment. There were 191 structural curves in the 139 patients. One hundred fifteen patients (83%) showed improvement or less than 5 degree change in curvature. Twenty-four patients (17%) demonstrated an increase in curvature greater than 5 degrees. Based on these preliminary results, continued use of bending brace treatment at nighttime only is justified for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Patients with double curves should be observed closely for increase in compensatory curves.     

Expression of Helenium virus S coat protein in Escherichia coli, in vitro in rabbit reticulocyte lysate and transgenic tobacco.

The coat protein open reading frame (ORF) sequence of Helenium virus S (HelVS) was cloned and expressed in E. coli, rabbit reticulocyte and transgenic tobacco. In E. coli the size of the protein was identical to that obtained for the coat protein from purified virus particles and less than that predicted for the fusion protein. This may be due to ribosome binding at a potential ribosome binding site present on the viral sequence, approximately 45 nucleotides upstream from the initiating methionine of the coat protein ORF. This region of HelVS, equivalent to the 1.5 kb subgenomic RNA, also produced high levels of protein when transcribed and translated in vitro. When introduced into Nicotiana tabacum by leaf disk transformation via Agrobacterium tumefaciens, high levels of stable coat protein were detected which were identical in molecular weight to that of HelVS coat protein and constituted approximately 0.1-0.5% of the total extracted protein.     

Magnetic resonance imaging of rabbit brain after intracarotid injection of large multivesicular liposomes containing paramagnetic metals and DTPA

A procedure has been developed for the preparation of large (10- to 80-microns-diameter) multivesicular liposomes that contain magnetic resonance contrast agent (DTPA and either manganese or gadolinium). Blue dextran was observed to induce the formation of the large liposomes with dioleoylphosphatidylcholine and cholesterol (1:1 molar ratio) and with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and cholesterol (1:1 molar ratio). The formation of the large liposomes is dependent upon mixing the blue dextran with the lipid films at temperatures above the transition point of the lipids. Tracer amounts of 153Gd were added to the aqueous phase to permit quantitation of the recovery of encapsulated materials. Liposomes that were prepared using equimolar ratios of phospholipid and cholesterol were stable in serum for more than 12 h. The ultrastructure of the large multivesicular liposomes reveals the existence of individual vesicles (greater than 2 micron diameter) bound together by a multilamellar coating. When injected into the internal carotid artery of the rabbit, the large liposomes became entrapped in the vascular bed primarily in the frontal and occipital regions of brain. The resulting emboli may provide a means to deliver drugs to a specific site in brain, such as a tumor, if the vascular bed of the site can be cannulated precisely.     

Smoking rates among Rhode Island physicians: achieving a smoke-free society.

Over a 25-year period, regular surveys of physicians licensed in Rhode Island have recorded their smoking behavior. The six surveys show a decrease in the rate of cigarette smoking from 33% in 1963 to 4.6% in 1988. In the most recent survey, 65% of respondents reported never having smoked, and 87% of those who had ever smoked reported having quit. However, the statistic for the maximum number of cigarettes smoked regularly was higher for current smokers than for former smokers. Among physicians in the 1988 survey, most former smokers (85%) reported using only unassisted personal effort in quitting, whereas nearly half (48%) of current smokers tried methods involving assistance, such as self-help programs, group programs, or nicotine gum. Among former smokers who quit after 1983, the percentage trying assisted methods (34%) was closer to the percentage among current smokers. Apparently, remaining smokers include many heavy smokers who require more potent interventions in order to quit. Physicians in Rhode Island have almost become a smoke-free group. Their experience, coupled with their involvement in smoking prevention and cessation for their patients, can lead the rest of society on its path to becoming smoke-free.     

Immunoreactivity of an antibody to a beta/A4 sequence with Alzheimer paired helical filaments and tau protein.

beta/A4, a peptide that forms the extracellular amyloid fibrils of Alzheimer senile plaques, has also been proposed to be a component of Alzheimer paired helical filaments (PHFs). We compared BR88, an antiserum to amino acids 1-12 of beta/A4, with BR126, an antiserum to the sequence SEKLDFKDRVQS in tau protein, since tau protein is the only confirmed component of PHFs. In enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), both antibodies reacted with pronase-treated PHFs better after PHFs were treated with guanidine. tau protein shares no sequence homology with beta/A4. Nevertheless, BR88 cross-reacted with human recombinant tau isoforms by ELISA and Western blot analysis with potencies comparable to those for anti-tau antibodies. BR88 reacted with a beta/A4 peptide as well on a molar basis as with tau protein and showed some reactivity to the tubulin-binding region of tau protein. In conclusion, the beta/A4 antiserum BR88 cross-reacts with tau protein, possibly explaining its reactivity with PHFs.