Posterior instability near extension is related to clinical disability in isolated posterior cruciate ligament deficient patients

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the magnitude of knee laxity and posterior instability at different knee flexion angles and clinical disability in isolated posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) deficient patients. Knee laxity at 20° and 70° of knee flexion were evaluated using KT-2000 arthrometer, and the posterior instability at 20°, 45° and 90° of flexion were evaluated using stress radiography. We assessed the differences in the knee laxity and the tibial translation between isolated PCL deficient knees and normal knees, and between the patients with giving-way during activities of daily living (ADL) and without giving-way. There were statistical differences in the knee laxity and the tibial translation at all knee flexion angles between the PCL deficient knees and normal knees. The magnitude of the knee laxity at 20° of flexion measured with KT-2000 arthrometer was significantly larger in the patients with giving-way than those in the patients without giving-way although there was no significant difference in the tibial translation at 70° between the two groups. The tibial translation in both medial and lateral compartments at 20° and 45° measured with stress radiography were significantly larger in the patients with giving-way than those in the patients without giving-way although there was not significant difference at 90° between the two groups. These results suggested that the magnitude of the knee laxity and the posterior tibial translation at shallow knee flexion angles would be related to giving-way during ADL in isolated PCL deficient patients.     

Characterization of adenosine deaminase (ADA)-negative B-lymphoblastoid cells cocultured with ADA-positive fibroblasts

Abstract: A cell line, BAD05, derived from B lymphocytes of an adenosine deaminase (ADA; EC 3,5,4,4)-deficient patient could not proliferate in a serum-free medium containing 100 μmol/l deoxyadenosine. When BAD05 was cultured with ADA-positive fibroblasts, the proliferation of BAD05 was improved. BAD05 cell density increased when the initially mixed ratio of fibroblasts/BAD05 was 1/10 or higher, but decreased when the ratio was 1/20 or lower. Deoxyadenosine concentrations in the medium and ATP and deoxyATP (dATP) levels in the BAD05 were measured after 4 hours of coculture at initial BAD05 cell densities of 1 × 10⁵and 1 × 10⁶cells/ml. Deoxyadenosine concentrations in the medium decreased as the density of fibroblasts increased. The dATP level decreased as the mixed ratio rose. The ratio of fibroblasts/BAD05 rather than the cell density of fibroblasts had a larger effect on the dATP levels in BAD05. Under our experimental conditions, ADA-negative cells proliferated well when the ratio of ADA-positive cells/ADA-negative cells was over 1/10.     

Primary leiomyosarcoma of the thyroid gland

Primary leiomyosarcoma of the thyroid gland is extremely rare, and to the best of our knowledge only five well-documented cases have been reported in the world literature. We herein report a 58-year-old female patient with primary leiomyosarcoma of the thyroid who was successfully treated by total thyroidectomy with a modified neck dissection. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells showed positive reactivity to α-smooth muscle actin and vimentin. Radical surgery was thus considered to be essential in the treatment of this rare but rather aggressive malignancy.     

Bacterial superantigen enhances cytokine production by T-helper lymphocyte subset-2 cells and modifies glomerular lesions in experimental immunoglobulin a nephropathy

Background The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of bacterial suporantigens, which can derange the immune response and contribute to the renal lesions of immunoglobulin A (lgA) nephropathy. Methods Twenty-five micrograms of a bacterial superantigen, staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), was injected into IgA nephropathy-prone ddY mice intrathymically when they reached 6 weeks of age. Evaluation included measurement of albumin excretion in urine, immunoglobulin concentration, and lymphokine production in vitro, as well as analysis of T-cell receptor expression in splenic T-cell subsets and examination of renal histology by light and fluorescence microscopy. Results At 40 weeks of age, the serum level of IgA in these mice was substantially increased and the number of Vβ8⁺ CD4⁺splenic T-cells was significantly decreased compared with measurements in untreated controls. Both control and SEB-treated mice excreted less than 30 μg/mL of urinary albumin. In mice given SEB, the amount of interleukin 2 (IL-2) and tumor necrosis factor-α (T helper 1 [Th1]-type cytokines) produced by the in vitro-stimulated lymphocytes significantly decreased. whereas that of interleukin 4 (IL-4) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) (Th2-type cytokines) markedly increased compared with measurements in control mice. At 40 weeks of age, mice given SEB showed marked glomerular hypercellularity and enhanced glomerular C3 deposition by renal histology, compared with control mice. Conclusion These results suggest that bacterial superantigen SEB may modify glomerular lesions through activating Th2 cells, while inducing deletion of Th1 cells in this experimental model.     

Ammonia: a possible promotor in Helicobacter pylori-related gastric carcinogenesis.

Helicobacter pylori (HP) has been shown to possibly be a pathogen of gastric carcinoma. HP has urease activity and produces ammonia in the stomach. In this study, the role of ammonia on gastric carcinogenesis induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) were investigated in rats. After 24 weeks pretreatment with MNNG (83 mg/l), 0.01% ammonia or tap water as a drinking water was administered for 24 weeks. The ammonia-treated rats showed a significantly higher incidence of gastric cancer (percent of animals with tumors and number of tumors per rat). Ammonia would thus appear to have an important role in HP-related human gastric carcinogenesis.     

Visual evoked potentials relating to imagery: Words for concrete objects versus absolute concepts

Summary We recorded visual evoked potentials (VEPs) elicited with high or low imaginable Chinese characters (HIC or LIC), representing concrete objects or absolute concepts, respectively. A closed circle (CC) acts as control stimulus. These were displayed (at 1.6° visual angle) for 35 ms on a TV monitor. Twenty-one channel VEPs (band-pas filter: 0.05–60 Hz), using balanced non-cephalic electrodes, were recorded from –100 to 924 ms for 11 right-handed male volunteers. The VEPs were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and comparison of topographies at four remarkable peaks (P110, N160, P230 and N320). MANOVA showed significant differences (p< 0.001) for both conditions of channel and stimuli (HIC, LIC or CC). P100 for the CC-VEPs, N160 for the HIC-and LIC-VEPs, P230 for the CC-VEPs, and N320 for the HIC-VEPs were remarkable in the posterior scalp regions. Topographies at P100 and N160 showed no difference between the HIC-and LIC-stimuli. However, those at N320 showed difference between the HIC-and LIC-stimuli over the occipital and posterior temporal areas. Those results suggest that the responses at P100 and N160 might segregate Chinese characters from non Chinese characters. N320 suggested certain processes in imagery on recognizing Chinese characters over the occipital and posterior temporal areas.We are grateful to Dr. Yoshiji Kojima of Hamamatsu University for helpful comments.