The incidence of HL-A antigens in dermatitis herpetiformis

In dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) there are small intestinal abnormalities similar to those in adult coeliac disease (ACD) and there is evidence of other similarities between the two conditions, including immunological disturbances. Two reports of patients with ACD have shown a distinctive distribution of HL-A phenotypes, with a high incidence of HL-Ai and 8. A recent paper has described an increased incidence of HL-A8 in DH. We report a similar study of patients with DH. Twenty-one of thirty-five patients had HL-A8, an incidence of 60%, as compared to 33% of 175 controls. This difference is significant. The relationship of those patients with HL-A8 to those with abnormal jejunal biopsies, and also to those with circulating auto-antibodies, is discussed.     

Scintigraphic diagnosis of tricuspid regurgitation

The authors describe a simple technique for diagnosis of tricuspid regurgitation. Red blood cells were labeled in vivo with 99mTc and 22 patients were studied with ECG-gated blood-pool imaging of the liver. A single region of interest was manually drawn around the liver and a time-activity curve obtained. The per cent change in liver counts during the cardiac cycle was found to be significantly higher in the 12 patients with tricuspid regurgitation (Group I) (mean, 4.04 +/- 1.6%; range, 1.3-21.4%) compared with the 10 controls (Group II) (mean, 0.35 +/- 0.16%; range, 0.013-1.3%) (p less than 0.05). Using a 1% change in liver counts as the criterion of a positive study, all 12 cases in Group I were diagnosed correctly, but there was one false positive in Group II; thus the sensitivity was 100% and the specificity 90%.     

EFFECTS OF THE INHALATION OF ENFLURANE ON HEPATIC MICROSOMAL ENZYMATIC ACTIVITIES IN THE RAT

We have investigated the possible hepatic microsomal enzymeinduction effect of enflurane, administered by inhalation inanaesthetic doses for periods of 1 h a day. In 15 experimentalgroups, differing from one another in anaesthetic concentration(1,2 and 3% enflurane) and in the number of days of treatment(3,7, 10,14,21 and 24) we found (1) no alteration either inthe ratio of liver to body weight or in the microsomal proteincontent; (2) no modifications in aniline hydroxylase activity;(3) a decrease in the aminopynne demethylase activity aftera number of exposures, varying with the dose.     

Early prophylactic inhaled beclomethasone in infants less than 1250 g for the prevention of chronic lung disease

OBJECTIVE:

Inflammation plays an important role in the development of chronic lung disease (CLD), which has become a major cause of morbidity in surviving infants less than 1250 g at birth. The authors hypothesized that the progression of this inflammation and, therefore, the establishment of CLD would be decreased with the use of early prophylactic inhaled corticosteroids. Short, and long term respiratory and neurodevelopmental outcomes were also examined.

DESIGN:

A double-blind, randomized placebo controlled trial.

SETTING:

Level-III neonatal intensive care unit.

POPULATION STUDIED:

Sixty infants less than 1250 g at birth, diagnosed with respiratory distress syndrome and requiring ventilatory support at 72 h of age were enrolled in the study.

INTERVENTION:

Infants enrolled received either placebo or beclomethasone diproprionate by a metered dose inhaler, which was used in-line with the ventilator circuit while the infant was ventilated and then via a spacer until 28 days of age.

RESULTS:

Thirty infants were given beclomethasone and 30 were given placebo. There were two deaths in each group. Among the surviving infants, the frequency of moderate-to-severe CLD was 17% in each study group. Mean time to extubation was not different for beclomethasone compared with placebo at 16.4 and 12.5 days (P=0.12), respectively. The requirement for intravenous corticosteroids was lower in the beclomethasone-treated group (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.43 to 1.04), although this difference was not statistically significant. The incidence of growth failure, infection and intraventricular hemmorhage did not differ between the two groups. Long term outcomes were not different with respect to the incidence of respiratory re-admissions, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, blindness or deafness.

CONCLUSIONS:

Early treatment with inhaled beclomethasone diproprionate did not reduce the incidence of CLD or decrease the duration of mechanical ventilation. The decrease in intravenous corticosteroid use was not statistically significant. Long term outcome was not affected.     

Effect of tumour and chemoradiotherapy on oesophageal motility

Background The contribution of dysmotility to dysphagia in oesophageal cancer is unclear. Aim To examine oesophageal motility in patients with oesophageal carcinoma and to assess the effect of chemoradiotherapy on motility. Methods Stationary manometry and 24-hour pH-metry were performed in 12 patients with oesophageal carcinoma and one week following completion of chemoradiotherapy using 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), cisplatin and 40Gy radiotherapy. Results All patients had abnormal motility prior to treatment. Peristalsis was impaired in 11 patients with a mean (SD) of 25% (9) of waves normally propagated. Eight patients had 20% or more simultaneous waves. Following chemoradiotherapy, the percentage of waves normally propagated increased from 25% (9) to 52% (10) (p < 0.03) and normal peristalsis was restored in four patients. The percentage of simultaneous waves decreased from 38% (11) to 21.6% (10) (p=0.129) while the percentage of dropped or increased waves decreased from 20% (11) to 8.3% (4) (p=0.264). Conclusions Oesophageal motility is disturbed in oesophageal cancer. Dysphagia in oesophageal cancer may be partly explained by oesophageal dysmotility. This is improved by chemotherapy.