A flexible, efficient, checkerboard immunoblot system for the detection and semiquantitation of specific antinuclear antibodies.

In this paper an uncomplicated method for the simultaneous detection and semiquantitation of 11 of the 12 commonly studied antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in a single run is described. This new application of checkerboard immunoblotting (CBIB) is based upon available technology and employs purified antigens which can be either purchased or produced in-house. CBIB requires no electronic instrument, can be formatted to meet the needs of the user, is rapidly performed, and has acceptable labor and materials costs. Data on the use of the method to examine available reference antisera is presented. CBIB has also proven practical for the clinical study of 18 sera, at two dilutions per membrane, for each set of specific antinuclear antibodies, also at two or more dilutions.     

Erythema induratum (Bazin's disease).

Four patients with erythema induratum (EI) have been diagnosed at the Dermatology Department within the past two years. All four patients had a history of recurrent painful nodules on their calves for at least three years before diagnosis. Three of the patients, all with positive Mantoux reaction to tuberculin skin tests, had neither a personal or family history of tuberculosis. The other patient who had a six year history of recurrent painful leg nodules developed a tuberculous breast abscess. There was a dramatic response to anti-tuberculous chemotherapy in all four patients but one subsequently had recurrent nodules which spontaneously subsided without further chemotherapy.     

The effect of treatment on pregnancy among couples with unexplained infertility.

Our objective was to determine the effect of treatment on the likelihood of pregnancy among couples with unexplained infertility. We used a nonrandomized, prospective, multicentered cohort analytic study, with mean follow-up time of 14.5 months (range, 0.5-46 months). The subjects were 470 couples who attended infertility clinics affiliated with medical schools in Canada, in whom no abnormality was found after investigation. They were drawn from a total of 2,106 couples registered from April 1, 1984 to March 31, 1987. Of these, 130 couples were selected for treatment at the discretion of the care givers; 340 couples were not treated. Selection for treatment resulted in imbalance between the groups: the treated couples had a longer mean duration of infertility (48 vs. 36 months), and were more likely to have had a laparoscopy as part of the investigation (72% vs. 48%). No specific protocol of treatment was used. Treatments most commonly used were clomiphene (87); gonadotropins (31); intrauterine insemination (20); IVF or GIFT (16); bromocriptine (12); 43 couples had two treatments, and 11 had three treatments. The only important determinants of treatment (logistic regression) were time under observation and laparoscopy status. Duration of infertility was only a minor determinant of treatment. Crude, unadjusted pregnancy rates were 25% for the treated group and 34% for the untreated group. The early occurrence of pregnancy in the untreated couples accounted for much of this difference. After adjustment for baseline differences between the groups and times to and under treatment with proportional hazards analysis, the cumulative probability of pregnancy is 2.0 (95% CI 1.3 to 3.1) times as high with treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Mini dental implants: an adjunct for retention, stability, and comfort for the edentulous patient.

OBJECTIVE: This article examines the success of mini-dental implants (MDI'S) by assessing four subjective measures of patient satisfaction for MDI's in the edentulous maxilla and mandible: comfort, retention, chewing ability and speaking ability. Success rates, surgical techniques, and financial advantages of the MDI's are reviewed. STUDY DESIGN: Thirty consecutive patients received four MDI's between the mental foramen of the mandible from 9/18/2003 to 10/22/2004. Questionnaires were sent to all thirty patients an average of 5 months postoperatively. The patients ranked comfort, retention, chewing ability, and speaking ability from 1 to 10 (1=poor and 10=excellent). RESULTS: A total of 116 MDI's were placed in 13 months and 113 remain stable for a 97.4% implant success rate. Pre-operatively patients rated their retention at 1.7+/-0.42 and post-operatively at 9.6+/-0.37, for a difference of 7.9 (p=3.6-19). Comfort was the next greatest improvement, with a pre-operative rating of 2.2+/-0.63 and a post-operative rating of 9.4+/-0.45, for a difference of 7.2 (p=3.5-15). Chewing ability also improved, with a difference of 7.0 (p=2.9e-16). In the final category of speaking ability, the pre-operative to post-operative difference was 3.2 (p=1.1e-5). CONCLUSION: MDI's are a highly successful implant option for patients with poor tolerance to maxillary and mandibular prosthesis. The implants are relatively affordable and overall patient satisfaction is excellent.     

Commutability of the CRM 470 C-reactive protein value in the Dade Behring N High Sensitivity CRP assay.

Certified Reference Material 470 (CRM 470) demonstrates commutability with both the manufacturer's calibrator and with dilutions of serum pools in the Dade Behring N High Sensitivity assay for C-reactive protein (CRP). Both regression and back calibration show similar nonlinearity for all materials, largely due to the method of calibration curve fitting used in this assay. Significant differences in values among the currently available commercial assays can be largely overcome by using appropriate calibration curve fitting and the recommended value transfer protocol, which includes a minimum of two assay runs on each of at least 3 separate days, with weight correction of all reconstitutions and dilutions. An initial weight-corrected dilution should be made each day because of the relatively high level of CRP in CRM 470. In our opinion, the degree of nonlinearity, imprecision, and differences in values in currently available assays renders the use of fixed clinical decision cut-points questionable for high-sensitivity CRP. An alternative approach is suggested.     

Comparison of the potential therapeutic effects of interleukin 2 or interleukin 4 secretion by a single tumour.

Engineering of a variety of rodent tumour cells to secrete either interleukin 2 (IL-2), or interleukin 4 (IL-4), has been demonstrated to reduce their tumorigenicity. However the mechanisms of action of secreted IL-2 and IL-4 have not been compared in a single rodent tumour. Here we demonstrate that the weakly immunogenic murine fibrosarcoma FS29 had reduced growth rate and in some cases was rejected by syngeneic animals, when modified to secrete either IL-2 or IL-4, but not IL-5. Immunohistochemical analysis of tumour nodules undergoing regression showed stimulation of a largely lymphocytic infiltrate by IL-2 and a macrophage and granulocyte infiltrate, with a small number of lymphocytes by IL-4. Indeed, secretion of low levels of IL-2 and IL-4 in combination resulted in optimal rejection, suggesting that the two cytokines might mobilise different and complementary effector cell mechanisms. Both IL-2 and IL-4-secreting cells failed to induce the rejection of admixed, unmodified FS29 cells. The loss of cytokine secreting cells from such admixtures occurred more rapidly for IL-2-secreting cells. Injection of IL-4-secreting, but not IL-2-secreting FS29 cells could protect mice from a delayed challenge with unmodified FS29 cells. These data suggest that IL-4 secretion stimulates the better long-term host anti-tumour response.     

Synthesis, chemical, and biological properties of vinylogous hydroxamic acids: dual inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase and IL-1 biosynthesis.

Vinylogous hydroxamic acids (3-(N-hydroxy-N-alkylamino)-2-propen-1-ones, VHA) were prepared as antiinflammatory agents. The synthesis, chemical properties, and in vitro biological activities of these relatively unexplored compounds are described. The VHAs were prepared by condensation of the appropriate N-substituted hydroxylamine with any of the three reagents: a 1,3-dicarbonyl compound (method A); a vinylogous amide (method B); or an alkynone (method C). The VHAs exist as one or more tautomers in solution with the relative proportions of each being dependent upon the structure of the VHA, solvent, and pH. VHAs undergo some of the typical reactions of hydroxamic acids as well as those of vinylogous amides. VHAs are active as inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase and of IL-1 biosynthesis in vitro, which do not inhibit other enzymes of the arachidonic acid cascade. They have been shown by ESR studies to bring about inhibition of soybean type 1 15-lipoxygenase by reduction of the active site iron.     

Muscle hypertrophy in men and women

It is widely believed that women experience less skeletal muscle hypertrophy consequent to heavy-resistance training than men. The purpose of this study was to test this hypothesis using both traditional indirect indicators as well as a direct measure of muscle size. Seven male experimental (ME), 8 female experimental (FE), and 7 control subjects were studied before and after a 16-wk weight training program, in which ME and FE trained 3 days.wk-1 at 70 to 90% of maximum voluntary contraction using exercise designed to produce hypertrophy of the upper arm and thigh. Strength increased significantly (P less than 0.05) in ME and FE, respectively, on elbow flexion (36.2 and 59.2%), elbow extension (32.6 and 41.7%), knee flexion (12.8 and 24.4%), and knee extension (28.8 and 33.9%) tests. Absolute changes were significantly greater in ME than FE in 2 of the 4 tests, whereas percentage changes were not significantly different. Substantial muscle hypertrophy occurred in the upper arms of both ME and FE as evidenced by significant increases in upper arm circumference (7.9 and 7.9%), bone-plus-muscle (B+M) cross-sectional area (CSA) estimated by anthropometry (17.5 and 20.4%), and muscle CSA determined from computed tomography scanning (15.9 and 22.8%). Changes by ME and FE were not significantly different, except for the absolute increase in estimated B+M CSA, which was significantly greater in ME (11.2 vs 7.4 cm2). No muscle hypertrophy occurred in the thigh of either ME and FE as evidenced by non-significant changes in thigh circumference (1.7 and 2.3%), B+M CSA (4.9 and 6.1%), and muscle CSA (2.9 and 2.9%). Changes by ME and FE in body weight, fat-free weight, and fat weight were not significant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)