Long-term observation of immunologic reconstitution after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation: differences in recovery among functional T cell subsets

A 27-year-old male with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the first relapse received allogeneic marrow graft from an HLA-identical sister on April 28, 1978. We studied in vitro immunologic parameters such as T cell surface phenotypes, proliferative response to PHA and Con A; T cell suppressor and helper function for in vitro immunoglobulin production stimulated with pokeweed mitogen serially after the transplantation. Despite a low OKT4/OKT8 ratio for more than 5 yrs after marrow grafting, proliferative response to PHA recovered to normal 4 yrs and 9 months post-transplant. In contrast, proliferative response to Con A did not recover. T cell suppressor function induced by Con A had recovered at 3 yrs 6 months; however helper T cell function took longer to recover. These findings suggest differences in functional recovery of T cell subsets following allogeneic marrow transplantation.     

Group therapy for periodontal disease. 1. Practical application of CPITN and the effects of group therapy

The purpose of this study was to determine the oral conditions in bakery workers (473 subjects) in addition to the screening system of O'Leary and CPITN, designed for rapid recording of the level of periodontal treatment needs, and to evaluate the periodontal treatments, managed by professional cleaning (scaling) and oral hygiene instruction. The assessment of the prevalence and severity of periodontal disease and resultant treatment needs in this group showed the characteristics of chronic periodontal disease in an advanced stage in persons aged 25-29 and 50-54. 228 patients were selected for treatment for nine months and examined accurately for their periodontal condition. 137 patients continued the following group therapy three times and were reevaluated. Following the group therapy, the oral hygiene status and subjective symptoms of bleeding were improved in all groups, the effectiveness of the treatment on sextants, scoring cord three, four, showed markedly high. To achieve the treatment with few individual appointments, it is necessary to increase our knowledge of how these groups live, depending on the diversity of life style and the differences in ethnic consciousness.     

Reducing terminals of urinary chondroitin sulfate

Human urinary chondroitin sulfate isolated from the cetylpyridinium chloride-complex of the non-dialyzable fraction of the pooled urine was subjected to ethanol fractionation, successive enzymic digestion with neuraminidase and mucopolysaccharidases, and anion exchange chromatography. The gas liquid chromatographic analyses of the acetyl and butaneboronic acid ester derivatives of the reduced terminal sugar units after treatment with sodium borohydride plus hydrolysis revealed that 42% of the urinary chondroitin sulfate was bound to peptide through xylose. The reducing terminal sugar units of the peptide-free form consisted of 34.6% of xylose, 22.4% of galactose, 16.4% of glucose of unknown origin and 26.6% of glucuronic acid. These observations showed that the xyloside, galactoside and glucuronide linkages at non-terminal sites of carbohydrate chains of chondroitin sulfate were cleaved in tissues. It was thus suggested that the endo-types of beta-xylosidase, beta-galactosidase and beta-glucuronidase, which act on proteochondroitin sulfate are present in tissues.     

Morphological study of periodontal tissues in the initial stage of periodontal disease. Part 2. Analysis of morphological measurement and status of periodontal disease

The morphological characteristics of periodontal tissue in periodontal disease have been interpreted differently by a number of clinical observers. Many have reported that the malposition and functional malocclusion of teeth is injurious to the periodontium. We reported in Part I that a system for evaluating periodontal status was developed for the diagnosis and management of the interproximal area at the initial stage of bone resorption. The patient group consisted of 36 adults, from 21 to 55 years of age. The severity score represented the calculated loss of periodontal support tissues: loss of alveolar bone, evaluated roentgenologically, bone level and pattern in vertical and horizontal form, periodontal pocket and gingival inflammation. Because poor oral hygiene and other factors caused swelling by gingival inflammation, we obtained study specimens from patients with chronic periodontal disease after a few tooth brushing instructions, and scalings during initial therapy in order to detect initial and established pathological changes in periodontal tissue. The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between periodontal disease status and morphological diagnostic indicators and different degrees of harmony and disharmony in the lower jaw. In all age groups the average percentage of bone loss and intraosseous defects tended to be higher in the groups categorized as Type III and Type F, and in the area that showed a very deep concave Spee curve to the occlusal plane in Pattern D. We considered that these morphological characteristics might be of secondary importance for diagnosis. Oral local factors were the primary extrinsic factor in the pathogenesis of horizontal and vertical interproximal bone absorption in the area of the premolars and molars.