Congenital diaphragmatic defects that present late.

Twenty two patients (age range: 1 month to 11 years) were treated for congenital diaphragmatic defects (excluding hiatus hernia) in the six year period 1983-8. Presenting features were failure to thrive (n = 7), abdominal pain and vomiting (n = 4), chronic respiratory symptoms (n = 3), and inability to wean from ventilatory support (n = 3). The defect was an incidental finding in five patients. Operative repair was performed with no mortality or serious postoperative morbidity. Dramatic improvement occurred in 15 of the 17 symptomatic patients. Awareness of the differential diagnosis should avoid delay in diagnosis or inappropriate treatment. Surgical correction is strongly recommended in all cases.     

Action of calcitonin gene-related peptide upon bovine vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells grown in isolation and co-culture.

1. Bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAE) and smooth muscle cells (BASM) were grown separately and in co-culture. 2. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) caused dose-dependent activation of adenylate cyclase in each cell type when grown in isolation. The concentration of CGRP causing half-maximal activation in BAE and BASM was 200 nM and 310 nM, respectively. 3. In cells grown in co-culture exposure to bradykinin produced dose-dependent elevations in cyclic GMP content which were maximal 1 min after application of the agonist. 4. CGRP (1 nM-1 microM) did not stimulate a rise in cyclic GMP in co-cultures. 5. Displaceable CGRP binding was identified throughout the wall of the bovine aorta. 6. We conclude that CGRP receptors coupled to adenylate cyclase are present on BAE and BASM, but there is no coupling of these receptors to the release of any agent (such as endothelium-derived relaxing factor) that activates guanylate cyclase.     

The intubating laryngeal mask airway: an initial assessment of performance

A new prototype of the laryngeal mask airway (LMA), the intubating laryngeal mask airway (ILMA), was used to facilitate tracheal intubation in 100 fasted patients presenting for elective surgery. Alignment of the ILMA with the larynx was assessed fibreoptically before intubation without the investigator performing the intubation being aware of the view score. Ease of intubation correlated with the view obtained and with the degree of manipulation of the ILMA needed to achieve tracheal intubation. Intubation was successful in 93 patients. Of the seven intubation failures, five occurred in the first 20 patients. Conventional connection to the breathing system and ventilation of the lungs of the patients were possible throughout the intubation procedure.      

Calcitonin gene-related peptide increases blood flow and potentiates plasma protein extravasation in the rat knee joint.

1. The effects of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and other vasoactive mediators of inflammation on blood flow in the synovial vessels and plasma protein extravasation into the knee (femoro-tibial) joint of the pentobarbitone-anaesthetized rat were measured. 2. Changes in synovial blood flow were estimated by 133xenon clearance from the synovial cavity. CGRP (0.1 pmol and 10 pmol) and prostaglandin E1 (PGE1; 3 pmol and 300 pmol) significantly increased clearance from the knee joint measured 5 min after intra-articular injection. Substance P (10 pmol) had no effect on synovial blood flow. 3. Intra-articular perfusion of the rat knee with CGRP at concentrations up to 0.1 mM, or PGE1 at concentrations up to 10 microM, did not increase plasma extravasation into the synovial cavity measured by accumulation of intravenously injected 125I-albumin in the perfusate. 4. Plasma extravasation into the knee was significantly increased by infusion of bradykinin (0.1 microM), 5-hydroxytryptamine (1 microM) and histamine (0.1 mM), compared with the contralateral joints in the same animals which were perfused with Tyrode solution. 5. Perfusion of the knee joint with substance P did not specifically induce 125I-labelled albumin accumulation in the synovial cavity even at doses that had systemic effects as observed by marked plasma extravasation into other tissues. 6. The increase in plasma extravasation induced by histamine (0.1 mM) was potentiated by co-infusion with CGRP (0.1 microM) and PGE1 (3 microM). However the response to a submaximal dose (0.1 microM) of bradykinin, which induced similar plasma extravasation to histamine (0.1 mM), was not increased by co-infusion with CGRP or PGE1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Studies on the effects of the antiandrogen cyproterone acetate on social encounters between pairs of male mice

An attempt was made in two experiments to reinvestigate the effects of the antiandrogen cyproterone acetate (CA) on mouse social behavior in a variety of ethologically-assessed paired encounters. The data confirm that CA reduces offense (threat and attack) in animals when both subjects receive the material but that CA has no such action in other pairings. This suggests that CA's major suppressive effect on "hostility" is expressed in mice via a reduction in "attack-promoting" pheromone production. Indeed, there was evidence in the more chronic study that CA, could augment (via a central mechanism?) offense in subjects paired with docile anosmic opponents. Changes in defense were largely responses to variations in the degree of attack to which animals were subjected. The antihormone also had actions on other aspects of behavior including sexual activity, social investigation and immobility in such tests. CA had a potent suppressive action on the weights of sex accessory glands. The data do not suggest that CA can be used as a specific antihostility agent.     

癫痫儿童脑功能成像的临床应用研究进展

癫痫在儿童和青少年神经疾病中的发病率非常高 ,癫痫反复发作不仅影响患儿的运动功能 ,还影响其感知觉、记忆和语言等认知功能的健康发展。目前手术治疗是控制顽固性癫痫的重要手段 ,能否取得良好的手术效果有赖于癫痫灶的确定和认知功能皮层的准确定位。癫痫灶确定和认知功能皮层准确定位问题的解决不仅有利于癫痫儿童的诊断和治疗 ,也有利于更深入地了解癫痫发病机制 ,还有助于人类对语言、记忆等认知功能及其发展机制的深入认识。1　认知功能的手术前评估1.1　语言侧化与语言优势半球定位近三十年来 ,胼胝体切除术、脑叶切除术、大脑半球…     

Interaction of capsulate Haemophilus influenzae with human airway mucosa in vitro.

Two pairs of isogenic capsulate and noncapsulate and one pair of capsulate fimbriate and nonfimbriate strains of Haemophilus influenzae type b were studied in an organ culture of human respiratory mucosa. Over 24 h, the numbers of recovered bacteria increased from the original inoculum size of 10(5) to 10(8) CFU/ml. Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy showed that noncapsulate organisms caused significant epithelial damage, whereas capsulate strains did not. Association of noncapsulate bacteria with damaged epithelial cells was observed by 14 h of incubation. In contrast, capsulate organisms were associated with a dense, thick, gel-like matrix which was observed above the epithelial surface. These capsulate organisms were not seen to associate with the epithelial surface (by transmission electron microscopy), though they were occasionally seen adhering to cells by scanning electron microscopy. Fimbriate capsulate H. influenzae showed increased adherence to buccal cells compared with nonfimbriate capsulate organisms. There was also association of fimbriate capsulate bacteria with damaged organ culture epithelium in one of four experiments. It is concluded that both capsule and fimbriae affect the interaction of H. influenzae with human airway mucosa in vitro by influencing adherence to and damage of the epithelium.     

Androgen receptor YAC transgenic mice carrying CAG 45 alleles show trinucleotide repeat instability

X-linked spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the first exon of the androgen receptor (AR) gene. Disease-associated alleles (37-66 CAGs) change in length when transmitted from parents to offspring, with a significantly greater tendency to shift size when inherited paternally. As transgenic mice carrying human AR cDNAs with 45 and 66 CAG repeats do not display repeat instability, we attempted to model trinucleotide repeat instability by generating transgenic mice with yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) carrying AR CAG repeat expansions in their genomic context. Studies of independent lines of AR YAC transgenic mice with CAG 45 alleles reveal intergenerational instability at an overall rate of approximately 10%. We also find that the 45 CAG repeat tracts are significantly more unstable with maternal transmission and as the transmitting mother ages. Of all the CAG/CTG repeat transgenic mice produced to date the AR YAC CAG 45 mice are unstable with the smallest trinucleotide repeat mutations, suggesting that the length threshold for repeat instability in the mouse may be lowered by including the appropriate flanking human DNA sequences. By sequence-tagged site content analysis and long range mapping we determined that one unstable transgenic line has integrated an approximately 70 kb segment of the AR locus due to fragmentation of the AR YAC. Identification of the cis - acting elements that permit CAG tract instability and the trans -acting factors that modulate repeat instability in the AR YAC CAG 45 mice may provide insights into the molecular basis of trinucleotide repeat instability in humans.