Management of an oroantral fistula in a patient with Wilson's disease: case report and review of the literature

After removal of an impacted maxillary third molar, an oroantral fistula developed in a patient with Wilson's disease. Management consisted of antibiotics, decongestants, irrigation, and surgical closure. Complications of treatment did not directly involve the disease but, rather, were related to the therapeutic agent penicillamine. Penicillamine causes interference between the cross links of tropocollagen molecules and cleaves newly formed molecules. Reduction in dosage is recommended when surgery is planned to increase collagen formation and, thus, healing. Such a measure was undertaken in this case. The patient healed uneventfully. A review of Wilson's disease and a case report are presented.     

Measurement of human tumour cell growth in soft-agar cultures using computer-assisted volume analysis

Growth in soft-agar bilayer cultures of human tumour cells derived from 4 in vitro continuous cell lines, from 21 xenografts carried in athymic mice, and from 197 samples of fresh human solid tumours of various histologic types was analyzed by computer-assisted image analysis. Replicate cultures for each specimen were assessed on successive days of incubation for the number and volume of growth units within multiple size categories. Our results confirm the recent finding of others that there is an upper limit of approximately 10(9) microns 3 to the cumulative growth unit volume obtainable in a 2 ml bilayer soft agar culture system. Since this upper limit to the carrying capacity of the closed culture system exists, the extent of growth within the cultures is determined in a fundamental way by the cumulative volume of growth units initially inoculated into cultures. A growth index of greater than or equal to 16-fold was only seen when initial cumulative growth unit volume was less than 10(7) microns 3 per culture dish. Computer-assisted volume analysis (CAVA) appears to be a useful quantitative method to study the growth of human tumour cells in soft agar cultures.     

Coccidia species in endemic and native New Zealand passerines

New Zealand native passerines are hosts to a large variety of gastrointestinal parasites, including coccidia. Coccidian parasites are generally host-specific, obligate intracellular protozoan parasites. In passerine birds, members of the genus Isospora are most common. Under natural conditions, these parasites seldom pose a threat, but stressors such as quarantine for translocation, overcrowding, or habitat changes may cause an infection outbreak that can severely affect wild populations. Although coccidia are important pathogens and have caused mortalities in kiwi (Apteryx spp.) and hihi (Notiomystis cincta), their prevalence, epidemiology, life cycles, and taxonomic relationships are still widely unknown in native New Zealand songbirds. Over a period of 3 years (2007–2009), we examined 330 fecal samples of six native passerine species: tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae), North Island saddleback (Philesturnus carunculatus rufusater), North Island robin (Petroica longipes), silvereye (Zosterops lateralis), and fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa). The overall prevalence by flotation of coccidian infection in the New Zealand bird species examined was 21–38 %, 21 % in North Island robin, 38 % in tui, and 25 % in saddleback. Similar to prior studies in other countries, preliminary sequencing results suggest that coccidia in passerines in New Zealand are members of the family Eimeriidae, unlike the phenotypically similar genus Cystisospora of mammals. Using molecular methods, we identified at least five new genetically distinct Isospora species in the examined birds (three in tui and one each in saddlebacks and North Island robins).     

Comparative study of 8-monohydromirex and mirex toxicity in male rats

Male rats were fed 0, 0.5, 5.0, 50, and 75 ppm mirex or 8-monohydromirex for 28 days. There were no consistent differences between weight gain of treated or control groups. There were significant increases in LW/BW in the 5, 50, and 75 ppm mirex and 8-monohydromirex treatment groups. Serum β-glucuronidase was elevated in the 0.5, 50, and 75 ppm mirex treated groups, and was elevated in the 5, 50, and 75 ppm 8-monohydromirex treated groups. There were no consistent changes in serum sorbitol dehydrogenase in any treatment group, but there were significant increases in liver sorbitol dehydrogenase at all levels for both toxicants. Hepatic microsomal parameters were induced by both compounds. No consistent toxic effects resulting from mirex or 8-monohydromirex treatment were indicated by serum glucose, protein, and cholesterol or by selected hematological factors. The histological changes observed in the livers of animals treated with mirex and 8-monohydromirex included cell swelling with increased cytoplasmic density; a dense homogenous region centered around the nuclear area; hyaline or myelin-like cytoplasmic inclusions appearing in some tissue sections of the highest treatment levels; and lipidosis. Histological changes in testes of treated rats were less obvious than lesions observed in the liver. There was a loss of staining intensity of the seminiferous tubules associated with hypocellularity of the tubules. Decreased spermatogenesis was evident in three rats from the high dose groups. Both compounds produced detectable histological changes in the thyroid glands at the 75 ppm treatment level. There did not appear to be any consistently significant differences between the toxic effects, either qualitative or quantitative, of mirex and 8-monohydromirex in rats fed either compound for 28 days.