Silent partners: the wives of sleep apneic patients

The wives of 10 male patients being treated for sleep apnea, obstructive type, were interviewed and given the Social Adjustment Scale (SAS) and Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI). The patients also completed an SAS and a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). These data were compared with those from a sample of divorced patients from the same pool. The married patients were significantly more depressed and socially isolated than were those divorced. Both marital partners showed poor adjustment in the Marital and Social/Leisure areas, and patients also showed poor adjustment in their Parental Role. Marriages do not necessarily represent social support but appear to be an added burden for sleep apneic patients.     

The minimum inhibitory concentration of kitasamycin, tylosin and tiamulin for Mycoplasma gallisepticum and their protective effect on infected chicks

The minimum inhibitory concentration (m.i.c.) of kitasamycin, tylosin and tiamulin for Mycoplasma gallisepticum (Mg) were compared with 10(6), 10(4), and 10(2) CFU/ml of the organisms with the drug incorporated in mycoplasma agar. The lowest m.i.c. was obtained with tiamulin and the highest with kitasamycin and, in general, the m.i.c.'s were directly influenced by the concentration of mycoplasmas. Chick embryos at 19 days of incubation were infected with Mg and the hatched infected chicks were used for comparing the protective effect of the three drugs. They were given in the drinking water when the chicks were 2, 3 and 4 days of age. Weight gains for the infected treated birds were similar for all three drugs; they were significantly lower than for those of uninfected chicks and significantly higher than for those of untreated infected chicks. However Mg could be isolated from a high proportion of chicks in the infected treated and untreated groups at 32 days of age.     

Suppression of the paternal IgA-f and IgA-g allotypes in heterozygous rabbits suppressed for the paternal IgM allotype

The injection of neonatal rabbits of genotype a¹n^{8 1}g^{7 4}/a²n^{8 2}f⁷¹g⁷⁵with anti-n81 antiserum suppressess the expression of the paternal f73 and g74 IgA allotypes; the expression of the maternal 171 IgA allotype is enhanced but the expression of the g75 allotype is not significantly enhanced. The concentrations of these allotypes in serum correlated with the immunofluorescent analyses of cellular ratios in gut sections. Allotype suppression of IgA with an anti-IgM reagent supports the concept that the IgM bearing cells are the precursors of the IgA secreting cells.     

The effect of immunotherapy on eosinophil accumulation and production of eosinophil chemotactic activity in the lung of subjects with asthma during natural pollen exposure

Two groups of birch pollen--allergic patients with seasonal rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma were followed during two consecutive birch-pollen seasons, one group, N = 10, during a season with high pollen load, and one group, N = 15, during a season of low pollen load. Half the patients were treated with immunotherapy (IT) for 3 and 4 years, respectively. The other half of the patients served as control group (non-IT). Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed once before each season and once during the pollen season. Eosinophil (EOS) numbers in BAL were increased (p less than 0.01) during the season with high pollen load but not in the season with a low pollen load, and this increment was absent in the IT-treated group. Also, the EOS cationic protein levels were raised in the non-IT-treated group during the season with a high pollen load. The levels of EOS and neutrophil chemotactic activity were raised in BAL in both seasons in the non-IT-treated group compared with the IT-treated group (p less than 0.02, p less than 0.003, p less than 0.04, and p less than 0.005 in high- and low-load pollen season, respectively). Serum and BAL eosinophil chemotactic activity (ECA) were positively correlated (p less than 0.001). We conclude that there is an influx of active EOSs into the lung of pollen-allergic patients with asthma during a pollen season, which may be abrogated by IT. Furthermore, the generation of ECA appears to be an extremely sensitive marker of antigenic exposure, and the potent inhibition of the generation of ECA by IT may provide a clue as to the mechanism of this treatment.     

Cytogenetic,spectral karyotyping,fluorescence in situ hybridization,and comparative genomic hybridization characterization of two new secondary leukemia cell lines with 5q deletions,and MYC and MLL amplification

Cytogenetic studies of patients with therapy-induced acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML) have demonstrated whole chromosome loss or q-arm deletion of chromosomes 5 and/or 7 in a majority of cases. We have established two cell lines, SAML-1 and SAML-2, from two patients who developed t-AML after radiation and chemotherapy for Hodgkin disease. In both cases, the leukemia cells contained 5q deletions. SAML-1 has 58 chromosomes and numerous abnormalities, including der(1)(1qter-->1p22::5q31-->5qter), der(5)(5pter-->5q22::1p22-->1pter), +8, der(13)i(13)(q10)del(13)(q11q14.1), and t(10;11). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with unique sequence probes for the 5q31 region showed loss of IL4, IL5, IRF1, and IL3, and translocation of IL9, DS5S89, EGR1, and CSFIR to 1p. SAML-2 has 45 chromosomes, del(5)(q11.2q31) with a t(12;13)ins(12;5), leading to the proximity of IRF1 and RB1, and complex translocations of chromosomes 8 and 11, resulting in amplification of MYC and MLL. Comparative genomic hybridization and spectral karyotyping were consistent with the G-banding karyotype and FISH analyses. Because a potential tumor suppressor(s) in the 5q31 region has yet to be identified, these cell lines should prove useful in the study of the mechanisms leading to the development of t-AML.     

Pulsed Shortwave Diathermy and Prolonged Long-Duration Stretching Increase Dorsiflexion Range of Motion More Than Identical Stretching Without Diathermy

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of 3 treatments on ankle dorsiflexion range of motion: prolonged long-duration stretching, pulsed shortwave diathermy followed by stretching, and pulsed shortwave diathermy, stretching, and ice combined. DESIGN AND SETTING: A 2 x 5 x 15 repeated-measures (on 2 factors) design guided this study. Range-of-motion change in triceps surae flexibility was the dependent variable. The 3 independent variables were treatment group, pretest and posttest measurements, and day. Treatment group had 4 levels: control, stretching (10 minutes of stretching via the weight and pulley), diathermy and stretching (20 minutes of diathermy and 10 minutes of stretching), and diathermy, stretching, and ice (20 minutes of diathermy, 10 minutes of stretching applied after 15 minutes of diathermy, and 5 minutes of ice applied during the last 5 minutes of stretching). Each subject received 14 treatments throughout 3 weeks, with a follow-up measurement taken 6 days after the last treatment. SUBJECTS: Forty-four healthy college-student volunteers not involved in any flexibility program. MEASUREMENTS: We measured ankle dorsiflexion using a digital inclinometer before and after treatment. RESULTS: After 14 days of treatment, the range-of-motion increase was greater after heat and stretching than after stretching alone. After 6 additional days of rest, the heat and stretching range-of-motion increase was greater than that for stretching alone. CONCLUSION: Pulsed shortwave diathermy application before prolonged long-duration static stretching was more effective than stretching alone in increasing flexibility throughout 3 weeks. After 14 treatments, prolonged long-duration stretching combined with pulsed shortwave diathermy followed by ice application caused greater immediate and net range-of-motion increases than prolonged long-duration stretching alone.