Uterine phlebography

Hysterophlebographic studies were performed in 50 outpatients who had a long history of pelvic pain. The contrast medium was injected into the interstitial tissue of the fundus uteri and x-rays were taken at 10, 20, and 40 seconds. The rapidity of diffusion of the contrast medium is remarkable because 20 seconds after completion of the injection no traces of the radiopaque substance can normally be observed. Uterine phlebography is a useful method for the diagnosis of pelvic varicocele, and pelvic congestion is characterized by a delay in the elimination of the contrast medium. In 30 patients (60 per cent) the picture of pelvic congestion was found; in 6 patients (12 per cent) a diffuse pelvic varicocele was seen; and in 16 cases (32 per cent) the phlebographic study was normal.     

Functional evaluation of the patient with cholesteatoma

Aural cholesteatoma presents a challenging management problem. The literature abounds in excellent reports concerning surgical management, but emphasis should also be placed on the pre-operative evaluation of the patient in a systematic and complete manner. Relative to the patient's evaluation, the surgeon must decide whether or not surgery is necessary, the anticipated prognosis, and the effects of the management upon the patient in his socioeconomic environment. A series of seven questions are presented. Their answers should assist the otologist in systematically approaching the management of the patient with aural cholesteatoma.     

Monoclonal antibody therapy for solid tumors

Monoclonal antibody therapy for solid tumors has many theoretical attractions and a long history. Until recently, with the approval and widespread use of rituximab (Rituxan) and trastuzumab (Herceptin), monoclonal antibody therapy for tumors had not had significant success. This article reviews basic theories behind antibody development and their clinical implementation as treatment for solid tumors. Medline was searched for articles over the past 15 years dealing with laboratory and clinical applications of antibody therapy for solid tumors. In addition, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) abstracts from the past 3 years were reviewed to complement the Medline search. This article focuses on treatment for common solid tumors, including breast, colon and lung cancers.     

HIV-1tat induced apoptosis of T-cells is not mediated by TGF-β

Recent reports have demonstrated that the HIV-1 transactivator protein,tat, induces apoptosis in T-lymphocyte cell lines, as well as in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and stimulates a cascade of events resulting in up-regulation of the potent immunosuppressive cytokine, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). In this study we evaluated the ability of TGF-β to mediatetat induced apoptosis in T-lymphocyte cell lines. T-cells treated exogenously with either TGF-β1 or a combination of tat and pan-specific TGF-β neutralizing antibodies showed little change in the amount of apoptosis. When treated with pan-specific TGF-β neutralizing antibodies, Jurkat cells that stably expresstat protein (Jurkat-tat) showed only a modest decrease in apoptosis, while CEM-TART cells (CEM T-cells expressing both HIV-1tat andrev) demonstrated little change in the amount of apoptosis. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that TGF-β does not play a significant role in mediatingtat induced T-cell apoptosis.