Iron promotes DEN initiated GST-P foci in rat liver

Diethylnitrosamine (DEN) was administered to rats as a single dose, which is known not to give rise to liver tumours without subsequent promotion. Iron dextran (Fe/Dex) was then administered parenterally to the animals, to induce iron overload. At 3 and 6 months after the final Fe/Dex treatments, livers were examined quantitatively for the numbers of the placental form of glutathione-S-transferase (GST-P) expressing foci, the area occupied by these foci and their size distribution. The results demonstrate that iron not only increased the number of foci after DEN initiation in the rat liver, but that the area occupied by these lesions increased significantly between 3 and 6 months after initiation. There is no evidence that iron increased the number of GST- P expressing foci present in rats not exposed to DEN. This indicates that iron did not act as an initiator in this rodent model of liver cancer. The increase in the area of the liver occupied by the foci in iron and DEN treated rats was due to an increase in the size of the foci, as well as to an increase in the number of foci. This is the first demonstration that iron can act as a promoter of DEN initiated hepatocytes. It also demonstrates that fibrogenesis is not an absolute requirement for the promotion, by iron, of liver foci in the rat, and that this could also be the case for iron overload in man. Iron may also act as a promoter of already initiated hepatocytes in the development of human liver cancer, as it does in the rat.      

Does diabetes increase cell death in the heart?

Indian Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery -     

Verstoß einer privaten Krankenversicherung gegen das Rechtsberatungsgesetz durch Einzug abgetretener Patientenforderungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Neutrophil dermatosis of the dorsal hands

Neutrophil dermatosis of the dorsal hands (NDDH) is a recently described skin manifestation regarded as a subset of acute febrile neutrophilic dermatotis (Sweet syndrome). We describe 5 cases with pustular and ulcerative plaques and/or bullae and vesicles of the dorsal hands. Three of the patients also had skin changes at sides other than the hands. Associated conditions were found in two patients, one patient treated with hemo-dialysis for chronic glomerulonephritis, and one patient had suffered from a streptococcal tonsillitis prior to the eruption. Two of the patients had fever, two had neutrophil leucocytosis in peripheral blood and two had elevated sedimentation rates. Histological findings showed signs of vasculitis in biopsies from two of the patients. NDDH is discussed on the basis of prior case reports concerning the subject, and it is concluded that Neutrophil dermatosis of the dorsal hands should be regarded as a localized variety of Sweet syndrome.     

Gastro-oesophageal reflux in infants under 6 months with cystic fibrosis

AIM: To establish the incidence of pathological gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) in newly diagnosed infants with cystic fibrosis and to identify clinical predictors of increased reflux. METHODS: 26 infants with cystic fibrosis less than 6 months of age (14 male, 12 female; mean (SEM) age 2.1 (0.21) months, range 0.8 to 5.6 months) underwent prolonged oesophageal pH monitoring (mean duration 27.1 (0.49) hours; range 21.3 to 30.2 hours). Reflux symptoms, anthropometric variables, pancreatic status, meconium ileus, genotype, and chest x ray findings were correlated with pH monitoring data. RESULTS: Five infants (19.2%) had an abnormal fractional reflux time of greater than 10%, seven (26.9%) of 5-10%, and 14 (53.8%) of below 5%. Infants who presented with frequent vomiting had a significantly higher fractional reflux time than infants who had infrequent or no vomiting. There was no significant association between abnormal chest x rays and pathological GOR. Sex, genotype, nutritional status, meconium ileus, and pancreatic enzyme supplementation were not significantly associated with pathological GOR. CONCLUSIONS: About one in five newly diagnosed infants with cystic fibrosis had pathological GOR. Pathologically increased reflux was present before radiological lung disease was established. Apart from frequent vomiting, no useful clinical predictors of pathological reflux were found.     

Infant growth and aorta total lipid fatty acids

Abnormal fetal and infant growth have increasingly been correlated with adult onset cardiovascular disease. To date, there is little known about the lipid fatty acid profiles in infant cardiovascular tissue. Therefore, we analysed total lipid fatty acids from thoracic and abdominal aorta intima and media from 24 normally grown sudden infant death syndrome cases. Aorta from small for gestational age (n = 2), failure to thrive from birth (n = 3), and premature (n = 1) infants were also examined. Dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (C20:3n-6) and oleic acid (C18:1n-9) concentrations were significantly lower in the thoracic than in the abdominal aorta. Similar dietary related differences were found in the subgroup (n = 15) of infants fed on formula milks. Both abdominal and thoracic intimal arachidonic (C20:4n-6) to dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid ratios were greater in the infants with retarded growth after birth than in their normally grown counterparts. Growth restriction in infancy might disrupt the normal accretion of vascular endothelial polyunsaturated fatty acids.     

PREVALENCE OF ENDEMIC GOITRE IN SCHOOL CHILDREN: SHIRUR (DIST. PUNE,MAHARASHTRA)

A survey for estimation of goitre in school children in the Rural Health Training Centre, Shirur area was undertaken. A total of 4664 students from 17 schools were surveyed. The goitre prevalence was found to be 59.8% with visible goitre rate of 6.2% in pre- and peri-adolescent (10–19 years) age group. Thus a highly endemic goitre focus was located in Shirur, area in Pune District (Maharashtra). This area is located on the eastern tail-end slopes of Sahyadri Hills in Balaghat ranges, situated at an altitude of 533 metres. The area is generally drought prone and receives scanty rain, with poor agricultural practices. Environmental deficiency of iodine was found to be the main cause for this high prevalence of goitre.KEY WORDS: Goitre endemic, Iodine