Mucosal immunity to Pseudomonas aeruginosa alginate in cystic fibrosis.

Patients with cystic fibrosis commonly acquire chronic pulmonary infection with alginate-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The infection remains localized at the mucosal surfaces of the airways. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays immunoglobulin concentrations and titers of specific antibodies to purified P. aeruginosa alginate and to P. aeruginosa sonicated antigens were measured in tears, saliva, sputum and serum. CF patients had significantly higher concentrations of IgG, IgA and SIgA in serum and saliva than controls. They also had significantly higher levels of specific antibodies to alginate and sonicated antigen in secretions and serum. Local production of IgA, IgG and IgM antibodies to P. aeruginosa was demonstrated. Only a minor proportion of specific IgA antibodies were present as secretory IgA in tears, saliva and sputum. The ratio of alginate-specific SIgA to specific monomeric IgA in sputum was significantly lower than the similar ratio in saliva, whereas the same ratio for specific P. aeruginosa sonicate antigens was found in saliva and sputum.     

Synthesis of 3'-alkylthio-2',3'-dideoxy nucleosides with potential anti-HIV activity from 2-deoxy-D-ribose, using a phosphorus pentoxide reagent.

Direct condensation of 2-deoxy-D-ribose (1) with mercaptans using the P4O10/H2O/Bu3N reagent in chloroform resulted in coupling at C-3 to give the anomeric mixtures of the corresponding pentopyranoses 2 and pentofuranoses 3. After acetylation with acetic anhydride in dry pyridine of these 3-alkylthio pentofuranoses, coupling with the nucleobases uracil, thymine, and cytosine in accordance with the Friedel-Crafts catalyzed silyl Hilbert-Johnson method yielded the acetylated D-erythro nucleosides 7 as anomeric mixtures, separable only by means of chromatography either before or after deprotection with ammonia. The nucleosides 8a-e were devoid of any activity against HSV-1 and HIV-1.     

Sternal Hodgkin's disease. Report of two cases

Hodgkin's disease of the mediastinum presented as a sternal mass in two young adults. The original biopsy materials were incorrectly interpreted as eosinophilic granuloma of bone (histiocytosis X). A delayed diagnosis (15 months) resulted in the death of one patient, whereas the other patient, whose diagnosis was made in one week, had an excellent response to therapy.     

Administration of balanced or BCAA-enriched amino acid solution in septic rats. Effects on protein synthesis in the liver.

Total hepatic protein synthesis was measured in vivo with a flooding-dose technique, and the production of total secreted proteins, albumin, complement component C3, and seromucoid fraction was measured in perfused livers of septic rats that received one of three different solutions infused intravenously; Group 1 received 16.4% dextrose; Group 2 received Aminosyn (25% BCAA) in 10.6% dextrose, and Group 3 received Freamine HBC (45% BCAA) in 10.6% dextrose. All solutions were isocaloric, and the amino acid solutions were isonitrogenous. The solutions were administered for 18 or 48 hours after the induction of sepsis. There were no significant differences in mortality rates in the three treatment groups. The negative nitrogen balance seen in the dextrose-infused animals was reversed to the same degree by the two different amino acid solutions. There were no significant differences in hepatic protein synthesis rates in vivo between the three groups of rats. Synthesis rates of secreted proteins in perfused liver were similar in the different treatment groups in the 18-hour experiments, whereas in the 48-hour experiments, synthesis rates of total secreted proteins, C3, and the serumucoid fraction were higher in Group 1 than in Groups 2 and 3. The results suggest that administration of an amino acid solution improves nitrogen balance in sepsis, but that this effect is not caused by stimulated hepatic protein synthesis. The nitrogen-sparing effect during sepsis of a branched chain amino acid (BCAA)-enriched solution does not seem to be superior to that of a balanced amino acid solution.     

Change in renal tubular sodium and water handling during progression of polycystic kidney disease: relationship to atrial natriuretic peptide

Renal tubular sodium and water handling determined by the lithium clearance technique, plasma concentrations of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), angiotensin II, aldosterone, arginine vasopressin (AVP), and urinary excretion of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were determined both during basal conditions and before and after intravenous sodium loading with a 2.5% sodium chloride solution in patients with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), ten with normal or slightly reduced kidney function (PKDN) and seven with moderately reduced kidney function (PKDR), and in 15 healthy controls. In PKDN tubular function was normal, whereas in PKDR both proximal and distal reabsorption of sodium and water were reduced. Angiotensin II and aldosterone were normal in both groups of patients. During basal conditions ANP was higher in PKDR than in PKDN. PGE2 was significantly higher in PKDR than in PKDN. For all patients significant correlations were found between GFR and both ANP (rho = -0.51, n = 17, P less than 0.05) and PGE2 (rho = -0.53, n = 17, P less than 0.05). It is concluded that renal sodium handling is normal in the early stages of PKD. With deterioration of kidney function both proximal and distal tubular reabsorption of sodium is reduced and the accompanying changes in ANP and PGE2 may be compensatory phenomena counteracting declining glomerular filtration rate.     

Early growth delay in diabetic pregnancy: relation to psychomotor development at age 4

Ninety nine consecutive insulin dependent and 101 non-diabetic pregnant women were examined by ultrasonograph to assess early fetal growth. In 42 of the diabetic mothers and three of the non-diabetic mothers the scan showed early intrauterine growth delay. At 4-5 years of age all children available for study were evaluated by the Denver developmental screening test. Only 23 of the 34 children of diabetic mothers with early intrauterine growth delay had normal test scores compared with 46 of the 50 children of diabetic mothers with normal intrauterine growth. The children failed in personal-social development, gross motor development, and particularly in language and speech development. Children of diabetic mothers with normal early fetal growth had scores very similar to those of the children of non-diabetic mothers, of whom 76 of the 86 tested had normal scores. This study suggests that children with a history of growth delay in early diabetic pregnancy should be screened for possible developmental impairment.     

Prediction of severe postoperative complications in patients admitted to neuroanaesthesia

The purpose of this study was to identify factors which will predict the risk of severe postoperative complications in individual patients in a neurosurgical unit. Eleven risk factors were investigated in 363 neurosurgical patients, of whom 40 (11%) developed postoperative complications requiring mechanical ventilation for more than 24 h in an intensive care unit, 16 were found to be severely disabled or in a vegetative state at follow-up 1 month after admission, and 28 patients died. By applying stepwise, logistic regression analysis to the patient's data, we were able to select two significant risk variables, i.e. the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) 8 or less preoperatively and emergency anaesthesia. The presence of GCS 8 or less on the consciousness scale was associated with postoperative complications in approximately 40% of the cases. Emergency patients with severe neurological damage had the greatest risk of postoperative complications (93%). Fatal outcome for patients with postoperative complications was seen in 40% of the cases.     

Inter- and intraobserver variability in the histopathological diagnosis of medullary carcinoma of the breast,and its prognostic implications

Summary One hundred thirty-one breast carcinomas with medullary features, registered in the Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group from 1977–1982, have been histopathologically reviewed by two senior pathologists and classified as typical medullary carcinoma (TMC), atypical medullary carcinoma (AMC), and non-medullary carcinoma (NMC). Diagnostic criteria were based on those put forward by Ridolfiet al. and Fisheret al. The procedure was repeated with an interval of about one year by both pathologists. The diagnostic interobserver agreement was 72% with a Kappa of 0.55. The intraobserver agreement was 77% and 63% with Kappa values of 0.64 and 0.44, respectively. To see whether the observed inter- and intraobserver variability had any prognostic implications, diagnostic subgroups for both pathologists were analyzed with Kaplan Meier plots for recurrence-free survival (RFS) and with log rank tests. In the first evaluation pathologist 1 segregated a group of TMC with a significantly better RFS than for the NMC group, and pathologist 2 segregated a group of TMC with a corresponding strong trend. These findings could not, however, be reproduced in the second evaluation. The study indicates that the criteria of TMC and AMC as proposed by Ridolfiet al. need to be sharpened and simplified in order to reduce inter-and intraobserver variability. Larger studies with a control group of infiltrating ductal carcinomas are mandatory to elucidate the clinical importance of the diagnoses of Typical and Atypical Medullary Carcinoma of the breast.