Septic arthritis in heroin addicts.

Over a 6-year period (1982 to 1988), 36 episodes of septic arthritis were diagnosed in 35 heroin addicts from Barcelona, Spain. Thirty (86%) were men and five (14%) were women, with a mean age of 24 years (range, 14 to 39). Twenty-nine episodes (80%) were monoarticular and seven (20%) were oligoarticular. The sacroiliac (16 cases), sternoclavicular (8), hip (5), and shoulder (4) joints were most frequently infected. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the etiological agents in 75% and 11% of episodes, respectively. Response to antibiotic treatment was good in 32 cases (90%), eight patients needed surgical drainage, and none died. We conclude that septic arthritis in heroin addicts localizes predominantly in axial joints. In our geographic area, infection with S aureus is more frequent than with gram-negative rods such as P aeruginosa or Serratia marcescens, which are most frequently found in reports from the United States.     

Direct percutaneous ureteral approach for the treatment of ureteral stenosis or obstruction.

Two cases are presented in which conventional approaches did not permit dilation of and stent placement in obstructed ureters. In patients with iatrogenic ureteral laceration or rigid ureteral kinking, direct percutaneous translumbar puncture may provide a safe alternative. The authors' technique is described.     

白色念珠菌感染的分子生物学诊断研究进展

综述了白色念珠菌感染的分子生物学诊断研究进展，包括核型分析，限制性片段长度多态性分析，特异的ＤＮＡ探针及ＰＣＲ等方法。     

REM sleep behavior disorder and vocal cord paralysis in Machado-Joseph disease.

We evaluated the occurrence of REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) and vocal cord abductor paralysis (VCAP) in a group of 9 Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) patients. RBD was diagnosed by clinical history plus audiovisual polysomnography in 4 men and 1 woman (55%). While dreaming, 4 fell out of the bed and the other injured his arms. Laryngoscopy detected bilateral VCAP in 1 patient with stridor who required emergency tracheotomy, and partial vocal cord abductor restriction in 2. RBD and VCAP are two potentially injurious conditions that should be considered part of the clinical spectrum of MJD.     

胰岛素增敏剂曲格列酮对人卵巢颗粒细胞芳香化酶活性的抑制作用

为探讨曲格列酮(troglitazone,TGZ)对人卵巢颗粒细胞芳香化酶(P450arom)活性的调节作用，以不同剂量的TGZ和(或)维甲酸类X受体(RXR)激动剂(LG100268，LG)处理来源于体外受精患者的卵巢颗粒细胞24h，然后测定细胞的芳香化酶活性和P450arom mRNA水平。结果发现，TGZ处理颗粒细胞24h可引起剂量依赖性的芳香化酶活性下降；LG单独作用可以抑制芳香化酶活性，但与TGZ合用对芳香化酶的抑制作用更明显；RT-PCR结果显示，随着芳香化酶活性的下降，P450arom mRNA表达水平也降低。表明TGZ可能是通过过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体γ(PPARγ)：RXR异二聚体组成的核受体系统直接抑制卵巢颗粒细胞芳香化酶活性。     

南京地区23例成人非何杰金淋巴瘤免疫病理分析

应用了A、B、C法7种单克隆抗体进行免疫组化染色,检测南京地区23例成人非何杰金淋巴瘤活检标本,结果示9例T系淋巴瘤,8例B系淋巴廇,非T非B及未定型淋巴瘤各3例。病理组织学表现与免疫表型符合率B系达80％,T系达60％。故根据形态学表现估测免疫表型是可行的。经HTLV抗体血清检测,仅1例多形细胞性T淋巴瘤患者阳性。     

Use of electric stimulation for activating the process of bone consolidation

A method of electrostimulation aimed at activation of bone adhesion processes was developed and introduced into practice at the Latvian Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics on the basis of data on bone bioelectric activity. The method was used in complex with external fixation of the fracture by Kalnbers' apparatus. The phase pattern of callus formation necessitated the employment of the appropriate potential of direct current. Cyclic potentials similar to piezopotentials of a normal bone in cyclic physiological load were used in the phase of functional reorganization. Positive results were achieved in 88.4% of 79 patients.     

Biochemical Markers of Bone Turnover in Camurati–Engelmann Disease: A Report on Four Cases in One Family

Moderate increases in ``classical' biochemical markers of bone turnover have been described only in some patients with Camurati–Engelmann disease. However, the determination of the following ``new' markers has not been previously performed: serum osteocalcin (BGP), bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), carboxyterminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP), aminoterminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PINP), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), telopeptide carboxyterminal of type I collagen (ICTP), urinary pyridinoline (PYR), crosslinked N-telopeptides of type I collagen (NTX), and Crosslaps (CL). Such a determination may improve the evaluation of the disease activity. To evaluate the usefulness of biochemical markers of bone turnover reflecting Camurati–Engelmann disease activity we measured the levels of all these markers in four affected patients. The results were compared with bone scintigraphic indices of disease activity. Except for PICP and TRAP, bone formation and resorption markers were abnormal in all patients and were related to bone scan indices of disease activity. Among the markers of bone formation PINP, BAP, and BGP showed the highest values, whereas NTX and CL were the most sensitive markers of bone resorption. These results suggest that the determination of NTX or CL, and PINP or either BAP and BGP, associated with bone scan evaluation, provides the best assessment of Camurati–Engelmann disease activity. Received: 14 June 1996 / Accepted: 31 December 1996     

A rapid solid-phase extraction and HPLC/DAD procedure for the simultaneous determination and quantification of different benzodiazepines in serum,blood and post-mortem blood

Summary A rapid and quantitative method for the determination of benzodiazepines using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode-array detection (DAD) is reported. The drugs were extracted from serum, blood or post-mortem blood using C₁₈ extraction columns. Brotizolam was used as internal standard. Experiments with spiked serum/blood samples resulted in recoveries between 75% and 94% for all investigated benzodiazepines. Excellent linearity was obtained over the concentration range 5–1500 ng benzodiazepine/ml. The limit of detection was approximately 2 ng/ml. The detection of low therapeutic serum levels of highly potent benzodiazepines is also possible.