Clonal analysis and virulence of Australian isolates of Streptococcus suis type 2.

Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis was used to divide 124 Australian isolates of Streptococcus suis type 2 into 17 electrophoretic types (ETs). Isolates in ET 1 were the most frequent cause of disease amongst Western Australian pigs, but isolates of ET 8 were more commonly associated with disease in other Australian states. Multiple isolates from 10 of 19 farms all belonged to the same ET, whilst isolates from the other farms belonged to between 2 and 4 different ETs. Some isolates could be differentiated further by DNA restriction endonuclease analysis, whilst others with the same restriction pattern were located in different, but closely-related ETs. Fourteen isolates were tested for their virulence in mice. Most caused disease if given in high numbers, but isolates in ET 1 were virulent at lower dose rates. This virulent clone also was distinguished by the fact that 80% of isolates produced extracellular factor (EF).     

Central administration of a specific angiotensin II receptor antagonist on baroreflex function in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

To determine whether the increase in baroreflex sensitivity previously reported in lifetime captopril-treated spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) was due to an inhibition of brain angiotensin II mechanisms, we tested the effect of intracerebroventricular administration of an angiotensin II receptor antagonist on baroreflex control of heart rate in lifetime captopril-treated and untreated male and female SHR. Baroreceptor reflex control of heart rate was assessed by the slope of the relationship between changes in mean arterial pressure (delta MAP, mmHg) and changes in pulse interval (delta PI, ms). MAP was raised and lowered with infusions of phenylephrine and nitroprusside, respectively. Following basal assessment of baroreflex control of heart rate, rats received an intracerebroventricular injection (100 pmol) of Sar1Thr8 angiotensin II (sarthran) and reflex control of heart rate was reassessed. Adequacy of blockade was tested with central and peripheral administration of angiotensin II. Captopril-treated male (130 +/- 7 mmHg) and female (123 +/- 4 mmHg) rats had significantly lower MAP than untreated rats (174 +/- 4 and 173 +/- 8 mmHg, respectively) and enhanced bradycardia in response to increases in MAP. Intracerebroventricular administration of sarthran had no effect on basal blood pressure or heart rate but enhanced the bradycardia in response to increases in MAP in both untreated and captopril-treated rats. The increase in the slope of the line relating delta MAP to delta PT was greater for untreated than captopril-treated SHR (male untreated 2.7-fold versus captopril-treated 1.5-fold; female untreated 1.6-fold versus captopril-treated 1.5-fold).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Cognitive rehabilitation in the elderly: overview and future directions.

This study provides an overview of the papers emanating from the experimental trial that evaluated a new cognitive rehabilitation program in older adults who were experiencing normal cognitive decline. The main features of the design are summarized, along with evidence that the training produced long-lasting improvement in memory performance, goal management, and psychosocial status. The benefits were attributed to several factors, including the program's emphasis on techniques that promoted efficient strategic processing. Limitations of the program and directions for future research are discussed.     

Early experience with a novel plaque excision system for the treatment of complex coronary lesions.

The use of directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) in current practice has been limited. The SilverHawk System is a newly developed plaque excision device that aims to overcome the drawbacks of prior DCA platforms. The device was evaluated in a porcine coronary model and in a series of patients. Procedural variables along with outcomes were reviewed. Quantitative angiography (QCA) was performed and excised tissue fragments were weighed and examined histologically. In porcine cases, pretreatment MLD increased from 0.51 +/- 0.26 to 2.36 +/- 0.59 mm postdebulking and 19.9 +/- 7.6 mg of tissue was retrieved. In human cases, pretreatment MLD increased from 0.8 +/- 0.4 to 2.2 +/- 0.5 mm postdebulking and 15.2 +/- 7.8 mg of tissue was retrieved without complications. These data show that the SilverHawk System may offer significant utility in treating a wide variety of complex coronary lesions.     

Mental disorder among homeless persons in the United States: An overview of recent empirical literature

Reviewed literature on the homeless reports higher rates of psychiatric disorder, psychological distress, and previous psychiatric hospitalization compared to the general population. However, understandardized methodology and lack of consistent findings across studies prohibit reliable prevalence estimates of mental disorder among the homeless.Dr. Robertson is with the Center for Research of Women of Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02181.     

Pulmonary diseases in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus in Zimbabwe, Central Africa

During the 11 month period up to 30 September 1987, 37 patients (26 male, 11 female, mean age 27 years) with respiratory symptoms who were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive, were studied prospectively on 40 occasions to determine the cause of any pulmonary complications. HIV was heterosexually transmitted. Predominant symptoms were cough (89%), fever (89%), weight loss (83%), and dyspnoea (60%). Transnasal fibre-optic bronchoscopy (with bronchoalveolar lavage, bronchial brushings and transbronchial lung biopsies) was performed on 35 patients, twice on 3 patients. 'Tru-cut' lung biopsies were obtained from 2 patients who died before bronchoscopy. Pulmonary tuberculosis was the commonest disease, being found in one-third of the patients (12 of 37). Mycobacterium tuberculosis was cultured from 4; the remainder of the plates were contaminated. Pneumocystis carinii was present in 8 patients: as the sole pathogen in 3, with Streptococcus pneumoniae in 4, Staphylococcus aureus in 2, and one also had tuberculous lymphadenitis. Endobronchial Kaposi's sarcoma was seen in 6 of 7 patients with skin nodules. Bacterial pathogens isolated included Staph. aureus (5), S. pneumoniae (5), Klebsiella pneumoniae (2), Haemophilus influenzae (2), H. parainfluenzae (1) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1). Invading Aspergillus fumigatus was diagnosed by lung biopsy in one. No diagnosis was reached for 8 patients. It is concluded that in Central Africa pulmonary complications in AIDS patients are similar to those in Europe and North America but the incidence of different pathogens depends on the prevalence of pathogens in the community. M. tuberculosis is probably the commonest pathogen. This study has confirmed that P. carinii pneumonia does occur, but occurs less frequently.     

Survival of corneal endothelium in McCarey-Kaufman (M-K) medium subjected to agitation

Studies were made comparing the corneal endothelium of bisected human corneas; one half of each was mechanically agitated in McCarey-Kaufman (M-K) medium, while the other half remained static in M-K medium for an equal period of time. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis of the corneal endothelium suggested that the endothelium of the corneas undergoing agitation does not show deterioration in morphology when compared with the non-agitated group. This finding is significant as donor corneas are now being transported in greater numbers.     

An 11-year follow-up of the effects of early bone grafting in infants born with complete clefts of the lip and palate

This is a report at the age of 11 years of a clinical study of the effects of early bone grafting in infants born with complete clefts of the lip and palate. Matched pairs of similar cleft type were treated according to the same treatment protocol with the exception that only one of each pair received an autogenous rib bone graft at the age of 15 months. The overall impression left by this study is that early bone grafting is not beneficial to the patient.     

Does radical prostatectomy in the presence of positive pelvic lymph nodes enhance survival?

Summary A retrospective review was performed on all patients with stage D1 prostate cancer treated at Duke University Medical Center between 1975 and 1989. A total of 156 patients underwent staging pelvic lymph-node dissection for clinically organ-confined prostate cancer (stage A or B) but were found to have disease metastatic to the pelvic lymph nodes (stage D1). Of this population, 42 patients also underwent radical prostatectomy (group 1), leaving 114 who did not have their prostate removed (group 2). The median cancer-specific survival was 11.2 years for group 1 versus 5.8 years for group 2 (P=0.005). In patients with one or two positive lymph nodes the median cancer-specific survival was 10.2 years for group 1 versus 5.9 years for group 2 (P=0.015). There was no difference in survival if three or more lymph nodes were positive. Adjuvant treatment with immediate androgen deprivation and/or postoperative radiation therapy failed to improve the survival experience. The incidence of local problems, including stricture formation, bleeding, or regrowth of cancer requiring dilation or surgical intervention (transurethral prostatectomy) averaged 9.5% in group 1 and 24.6% in group 2. These data show that patients with limited node-positive disease selected for radical prostatectomy experience a survival advantage over those denied such therapy and that this advantage is independent of adjunctive therapy.This research was performed while Dr. Frazier was serving as a fellow in Urologic Oncology with funding from the United States Navy. The opinions herein represent those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Navy or the Department of Defense