The Effect of Erythropoietin on Colonial Growth of Erythroid Precursor Cells In Vitro

A method is described for the colonial growth, in semi-solid medium, of erythropoietin-responsive erythroid cell precursors. The erythroid cell precursors were isolated by immune hemolysis from fetal mouse liver. Both the number of precursor cells triggered to proliferate and differentiate, and the size of the erythropoietic colonies formed, are directly dependent upon the concentration of erythropoietin included in the culture.     

Anxiety states—experience with an automated group treatment

Fifty patients drawn from a general practice were treated for manifest anxiety using relaxation techniques related to induction of hypnosis. The patients were instructed in groups of four to six with pretaped recordings.

Forty-one patients completed the program which consisted of six one-hour recordings. Results indicated that 81% of those patients who subjectively evaluated their responses believed that they had been helped considerably. The impression gained from the study was that this method of treatment has useful application and that further study is warranted to assess more accurately the benefits of this approach to the psychotherapy of anxiety states.

     

Surface area and tissue volume increases with differential expansion.

Increasing sophistication in generating soft tissue by tissue expansion has resulted in the evolution of differential expanders. These prostheses attempt to asymmetrically generate tissue for specific reconstruction, most commonly the breast. Using the pig model, differential expanders were placed in the rib area. A square grid was marked over the area, and the expander inflated. For each grid subunit, the surface area was calculated, the thickness measured, and the volume calculated. Subunits in the area of preferential expansion exhibited the greatest increase in surface area, however, these same subunits exhibited pronounced thinning of the tissue. The corresponding volume of these subunits was greater than that of nonexpanded subunits, but the increase was less than when comparing subunit surface area. All expanders were displaced superiorly during the course of inflation. These findings are of clinical significance in that the mastectomy scar and nipple reconstruction both are situated in the area of minimal thickness. Displacement of differential expanders must be anticipated so that the resultant inframammary fold will ultimately be symmetrical with the opposite side.     

Synthesis and evaluation of radioiodinated 2-(2(RS)-aminopropyl)-5- iodothiophenes as brain imaging agents.

Methods have been developed for the preparation of 2-(2(RS)-aminopropyl)-5-iodothiophenes. The syntheses and physical properties of 2-(2(RS)-aminopropyl)-5-iodothiophene and N-isopropyl-2-(2(RS)-aminopropyl)-5-iodothiophene are described. The radioiodinated agents are of interest because of the high expected uptake and prolonged brain retention that may result from binding to high-capacity, relatively nonspecific amine binding sites. Radioiodine was introduced into the 5-position of 2-(2(RS)-aminopropyl)-5-iodothiophene and N-isopropyl-2-(2(RS)-aminopropyl)-5-iodothiophene by radioiodination of the corresponding 5-boronic acid or 5-(trimethylstannyl) derivatives. Tissue distribution studies in rats with 2-(2(RS)-aminopropyl)-5-[125I]iodothiophene showed high brain uptake (5 min, 2.77% dose/g; 30 min, 2.51% dose/g) and good brain/blood (B/B) ratios (5 min, 6/1; 30 min 3.8/1. A comparison of the brain uptake of the N-isopropyl derivative with the 2(RS)-aminopropyl analogue demonstrated higher initial brain uptake and brain to blood ratios (5 min, 3.2% dose/g; 10.3/1) but more rapid washout (30 min, 1.37% dose; 2.8/1). These data suggest that radiolabeled 2-(2(RS)-aminopropyl)-5-iodothiophenes are potentially useful agents for cerebral perfusion imaging by single-photon-emission computerized tomography (SPECT).     

Determination of Proliferation Index By MIB-1 Immunostaining in Early Stage Breast Cancer Using Quantitative Image Analysis

Abstract: Several clinicopathologic variables influence prognosis in breast cancer, including stage, histologic grade, nodal status, and tumor size. Multiple studies have shown an independent value of proliferation index as a prognostic variable for the stratification into favorable and unfavorable groups. The monoclonal antibody MIB-1 reacts with the same antigen site, not epitope, as recognized by the Ki-67 antibody. Like Ki-67, MIB-1 reacts with cells in the late G₁, S, M and G₂ phases of the cell cycle, but MIB-1 has the advantage of reacting with formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded material. The authors investigated the feasibility of using image analysis to quantitate the MIB-1 antibody staining (proliferation index [PI]) and predict survival in a series of 230 patients with stage I and stage II breast cancer. In a univariate Cox regression model, larger values of MIB-1 were related to shorter survival times (p < 0.001). Exploratory statistical procedures were used to categorize the patients into good, intermediate, and poor survival groups using the following proliferation indices as cut-points: <5%, 5–11%, and >11 %, respectively. Higher clinical stage was associated with higher MIB-1 values and shorter survival (p = 0.01, and p = 0.003, respectively). Tumor size (p = 0.02) and nodal status (p = 0.05) were also associated with higher values of MIB-1. After adjusting for age, clinical stage, nodal status, and tumor size in a multivariate analysis, MIB-1 retained its prognostic significance (p < 0.0001) when considered as either a continuous or categorical variable. There were no significant associations between MIB-1 determined proliferation index and age (p = 0.54), histologic grade (p = 0.69), nuclear grade (p = 0.06) or the presence of vascular invasion (p =.66). There is a strong statistical relationship between cell proliferative activity, as determined by MIB-1 expression, and survival in early stage breast cancer.