Isolated avulsion fracture of the lesser tuberosity of the humerus: A case report

Isolated avulsion fractures of the lesser tuberosity are extremely rare. A 24-year-old woman fell on her back as her arm was forcibly extended and adducted. Radiographs revealed a small fragment of bone beneath the glenoid. Axillary radiography showed the bone fragment and a bone defect of the lesser tuberosity. Computed tomography scan clearly demonstrated those findings. Surgery was performed 3 weeks after the occurrence of the injury. The bone fragment was reduced and fixed by means of two screws. After 3 weeks, light exercise was started. At follow-up 7 months later she had no complaints. Most reported cases involved sudden contraction of the subscapularis tendon. This type of fracture is sometimes misdiagnosed; computed tomography scan is useful for diagnosis. Previously reported cases have similarly demonstrated a good outcome after surgery, except in cases involving children.     

New method for quantitative measurement of N-nitrosodimethylamine formation in the whole mouse

A simple method for the quantitative estimation of the formation of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in mice has been developed. Mice were frozen in liquid nitrogen and homogenized. NDMA was then extracted and analyzed by a gas chromatograph equipped with a thermal energy analyzer. In normal mice NDMA (100 nmole) administered orally was rapidly metabolized and recovery of NDMA was about 10% after 60 min. However, when pyrazole (300 mg/kg) was injected i.p. to mice 60 min before the administration of NDMA, more than 80% of the administered NDMA could be recovered within 60 min. This result suggested that in pyrazole pretreated mice the accurate amount of NDMA formed could be estimated. Therefore the NDMA formation was measured in the pyrazole pretreated mice. When 0.25 mole of aminopyrine and from 0.25 to 2.0 umole of sodium nitrite were simultaneously administered orally, the amount of the NDMA formation in 20 min was found to be from 8.2 to 60.3 nmole. These values are equal to about from 30 to 200 g/kg of body weight which are nearly daily doses expected to cause the carcinogenic effect on mice or rats. This method of measuring NDMA in pyrazole pretreated mice appears to be useful for investigating the in vivo formation of NDMA quantitatively.     

Use of mid-arm and head circumference to estimate gestational age and nutritional status of newborns]

1110 neonates, from 30 to 42 of estimated gestational age (EGA) were measured on the 1st day of life to estimate upper mid-arm circumference (MAC) and head circumference (HC). Individual MAC/HC ratio was calculated. MAC/HC ratio was used to estimate gestational age and nutritional status of the newborns. We proved that MAC/HC ratio increased linearly between 30 and 38 week of pregnancy and it stabilized between 38-42 week. We compared MAC/HC ratio with birth weight, skin fold score, and ponderal index. We concluded that this ratio may be very useful to estimate gestational age and to include the neonates to "the group of risk".     

Control of the RIA method as viewed from the standpoint of the investigation on the kinetics of the insulin-125I-antibody reaction

In this paper attempts were made towards the optimalization and the control of some parameters of the RIA reaction.Basing on the law mass action, as well as on the Scatchard's and Sips's equations, the equilibrium constants for the reversible reaction: insulin-¹²⁵I-antibody for different incubation temperatures were calculated. Moreover a characteristic of the antiinsulin antibody by means of the heterogeneity coefficient was done, as well as the values of the thermodynamic function increments were calculated, which made possible to point out explicitly the optimal shape of the standard curve.     

A residual cystic lesion in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis

We report a case of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) with a residual cystic lesion on MRI. This seemed to be induced by Japanese encephalitis vaccination. Despite complete clinical improvement with high-dose steroid therapy, the cystic lesion has persisted for 3 years on MRI. There have been no previous reports of residual cystic lesions in ADEM. Received: 20 August 1999/Accepted: 11 November 1999     

Interleukin 12-based immunotherapy improves the antitumor effectiveness of a low-dose 5-Aza-2'-deoxycitidine treatment in L1210 leukemia and B16F10 melanoma models in mice.

PURPOSE: Recent findings indicating that many genes related to cancer development are silenced by an aberrant DNA methylation suggest that inhibitors of this process may be effective cancer therapeutics. In this study we investigated the efficacy of low-dose 5-aza-2'-deoxycitydine (DAC), a methylation inhibitor, with interleukin (IL) 12, one of the most potent cytokines with antitumor activity. Experimental Design: Mice inoculated with L1210 leukemia cells or with B16F10 melanoma cells were treated with 7 daily injections of low-dose DAC (0.2 mg/kg) and/or 7 daily doses of IL-12 (100 ng/dose). Scid/scid mice as well as monoclonal antibodies against CD4, CD8, and NK1.1 were used to investigate the mechanisms of the antitumor effects of the combination treatment. The activity of murine lymphocytes was measured with enzyme-linked immunospot and (51)Cr release assays. RESULTS: Treatment with DAC or IL-12 given alone produced moderate antitumor effects. In both tumor models combined treatment resulted in potentiated antitumor effects and produced 70% long-term survivors among mice inoculated with L1210 cells. The antitumor efficacy of combined treatment was abrogated in scid/scid mice, and after depletion of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. Mice inoculated with B16F10 melanoma cells had significantly delayed tumor growth after combined treatment with DAC and IL-12. Strong antitumor effect correlated with a significant activation of lymph node-derived CD8(+) and CD4(+) cells. Transient neutropenia was observed in mice under treatment of DAC alone, but remarkably this effect was not potentiated by IL-12. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first evidence that antitumor effects of DAC can be strongly potentiated by IL-12 and could be beneficial in an effective low-dose-based antitumor therapy.