Herpes simplex virus and risk of cervical cancer: a longitudinal,nested case-control study in the nordic countries

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) play the major role in cervical carcinogenesis. The authors reevaluated the role of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in this multistage process by conducting a longitudinal, nested case-control study using 1974-1993 data and comparing the results with those from a meta-analysis of studies. A Nordic cohort of 550,000 women was followed up for an average of 5 years, after which 178 cervical carcinoma cases and 527 controls were identified. HSV-2; HPV-16, HPV-18, and HPV-33; and Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies were determined at baseline by HSV-2 glycoprotein gG-2 and HPV virus-like-particle enzyme immunoassays and by using the microimmunofluorescence method. The relative risk of cervical carcinoma was calculated by conditional logistic regression. Longitudinal studies on HSV-2 and cervical neoplasia were identified through MEDLINE (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland), and weighted mean relative risks were calculated. Smoking (relative risk = 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1, 2.3) and HPV-16/HPV-18/HPV-33 (relative risk = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.9, 4.3) were both associated with cervical carcinoma. The smoking- and HPV-16/HPV-18/HPV-33-adjusted relative risks for HSV-2 were 1.0 (95% CI: 0.6, 1.7) and 0.7 (95% CI: 0.3, 1.6), respectively, for HPV seropositives. In the meta-analysis, the relative risk for HSV-2 was 0.9 (95% CI: 0.6, 1.3). In both sets of data, HSV-2 did not play a role in cervical carcinogenesis.     

Assessment of feasibility of workplace health promotion

BACKGROUND: A simple empirically based method for assessment of the feasibility of workplace health promotion programs is described, focusing on cancer hazards (lifestyles, workplace hazards, deficient early detection). The basic components of feasibility are addressed: extent of hazards; needs of employees for hazard reduction and acceptability of WHP; and social context. METHODS: The procedure consists of six modules: guidelines on feasibility assessment; employee questionnaire; interview checklists for probing attitudes of management and partners (social context); data form; debriefing; and assessment of feasibility. Pretesting was completed in 16 workplace communities representing industry, construction, transport, telecommunications, health care, lodging and catering, teaching, and municipality jobs in five countries; a total of 1,085 subjects completed the employee questionnaire on health hazards, needs, and acceptability. RESULTS: The method demonstrated its utility in obtaining and summarizing the necessary data. Feasibility was assessed for the 16 test communities. CONCLUSION: The procedure can be customized; it has a high degree of face validity or understandability, and it is applicable in a wide variety of settings.     

Castleman's disease of the leptomeninges--immunohistochemical findings in 2 cases

OBJECTIVE: Castleman's disease is an uncommon benign lymphoproliferative disorder that arises in lymph nodes. Few cases of Castleman's disease affecting the central nervous system have been described. CASE HISTORY: We report 2 new cases of Castleman's disease confined solely to the leptomeninges. The patients were referred to neurosurgery with presumptive clinical diagnosis of meningiomas. Histological investigation of the operative specimens taken from the abnormal leptomeninges revealed nodular lymphoid areas with multiple germinal centers surrounded by concentrically layered proliferations of small lymphocytes. Histologically, these 2 cases fulfilled the classification criteria for the mixed and for the hyaline-vascular type of Castleman's disease. The immunohistochemical analysis revealed a polyclonal B cell proliferation in the lesions with perifollicular T cell proliferation with the T helper cell predominance. CONCLUSIONS: The authors conclude that Castleman's disease involving the leptomeninges have a similar immunological pattern reported for the disease in extracranial locations and that, though being rare, Castleman's disease should be considered as a differential diagnosis when dealing with mass lesions of leptomeninges.     

Phenotypic spectrum of Salla disease, a free sialic acid storage disorder

Salla disease (MIM 269920) represents the mildest phenotype among recessively inherited lysosomal-free sialic acid storage disorders. Although the vast majority of Salla disease patients in Finland share the same founder mutation, R39C in the SLC17A5 gene, there still is a wide clinical variation among mentally retarded, ataxic patients. We evaluated neurologic and neurocognitive findings of Salla disease in a cross-sectional study of 41 Finnish patients who were 11 months to 63 years of age (median = 19.5 years). The phenotype of Salla disease could be classified into two main categories. The majority of patients (90%) had so-called conventional phenotype, including a subgroup of seven patients with relatively mild symptoms. All but two patients with conventional phenotype were homozygous for the Finnish founder mutation. Four severely disabled, profoundly mentally retarded patients, 15-28 years of age, clearly could be clinically delineated as a separate group, likely reflecting the underlying compound heterozygous genotype. A typical developmental pattern could be outlined in the conventional type of the disease, emphasizing a strong motor handicap in Salla disease. The cognitive profile consisted of better verbal ability, especially speech comprehension, compared with nonverbal functioning in all patients. Our results indicate a partial genotype-phenotype correlation, although factors other than the molecular background are also involved in the phenotypic manifestation of Salla disease.     

Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome in lung transplant recipients: use of spirometrically gated CT

PURPOSE: To assess the potential use of spirometrically gated lung computed tomographic (CT) findings in the diagnosis of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome after lung transplantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-nine lung transplant recipients were examined at least 8 months after surgery with spirometrically gated thin-section CT of the lung. In addition to visual signs of small-airway disease at CT, mean lung attenuation and the SD were numerically determined and compared with the results of lung function testing at the time of the CT examination and 1 year later by using factorial analysis of variance. RESULTS: Mean lung attenuation was significantly lower in patients who developed bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome within 1 year after the CT study (-837 HU +/- 3) than in patients with persistent normal lung function (-812 HU +/- 3, P <.001). With an optimal threshold, sensitivity was 69%, specificity was 71%, and accuracy was 84%. Visual analysis did not significantly contribute to the prognostic power of CT. CONCLUSION: Spirometrically gated CT measurements of lung attenuation can be used to predict the onset of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome after lung transplantation.     

High pretreatment serum concentration of basic fibroblast growth factor is a predictor of poor prognosis in small cell lung cancer.

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a secreted multifunctional cytokine and a potent stimulator of angiogenesis. We measured bFGF concentrations from serum samples taken from 103 patients with small cell lung cancer at the time of diagnosis. Serum concentration of bFGF (S-bFGF) ranged from undetectable to 54 pg/ml (median, 6 pg/ml). S-bFGF was not associated with age, sex, performance status, or stage. A high pretreatment S-bFGF was associated with poor overall survival. The 1- and 2-year survival rates of the patients within the highest quartile of S-bFGF (>or=17 pg/ml) were only 26% and 11%, respectively, in contrast to the 49% and 20% 1- and 2-year survival rates of those patients with S-bFGF < 17 pg/ml (P = 0.013). The 1- and 2-year survival rates of the patients with extensive-stage disease were 33% and 10%, respectively (P = 0.0091). Interestingly, S-bFGF provided additional prognostic information to the stage because the 1- and 2-year survival rates of patients with extensive-stage disease and a high S-bFGF (>or=17 pg/ml) were as low as 16% and 5%, respectively (P = 0.0026). Similarly, in the multivariate model of survival analysis, patients with both extensive-stage disease and a high S-bFGF (>or=17 pg/ml) were found to have a particularly poor prognosis (relative risk of death, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-3.6; P = 0.0057). We conclude that a high S-bFGF at diagnosis is associated with poor outcome in small cell lung cancer, possibly reflecting active angiogenesis and rapid tumor growth, and may complement prognostic information obtained by staging.     

Comparison of radiological findings and microbial aetiology of childhood pneumonia

Sixty-one children were treated in hospital from 1981 to 1982 because of both radiologically and microbiologically verified viral or bacterial pneumonia. The chest radiographs were interpreted by two radiologists, not familiar with the clinical data, on two occasions three years apart, and only those patients with a definite alveolar ( n = 27) or interstitial ( n = 34) pneumonia at both evaluations were included in the present analysis. In addition, all patients had viral ( n = 20), mixed viral-bacterial ( n = 21) or bacterial ( n = 20) infections diagnosed by viral or bacterial antibody or antigen assays. Viral infection alone was seen in 7 (26%), mixed viral-bacterial infection in 8 (30%) and bacterial infection alone in 12 (44%) of the 27 patients with alveolar pneumonia. The respective figures were 13 (38%), 13 (38%) and 8 (24%) for the 34 patients with interstitial pneumonia. C-reactive protein concentration was greater than 40 mg/l (a screening limit for viral and bacterial infections) in 15 (56%) of the patients with alveolar and in 11 (32%) of the patients with interstitial pneumonia. Thus 74% of the patients with alveolar and 62% with interstitial pneumonia had bacterial infection, either alone or as a mixed viral-bacterial infection. Our results suggest that the presence of an alveolar infiltrate in a chest radiograph is a specific but insensitive indicator of bacterial pneumonia. We conclude that patients with alveolar pneumonia should be treated with antibiotics. In patients with interstitial pneumonia, however, both viral and bacterial aetiology are possible. In those, the decision concerning antibiotic treatment should be based on clinical and laboratory findings.     

Squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva. Failure to demonstrate HPV DNA by in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva is a distinct rarity, often arising at the corneoscleral limbus and initially resembling pterygium or chronic keratoconjunctivitis. In this paper we report 4 patients with conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma/carcinoma in situ, which comprise all the cases found in the files of Kuopio University Hospital during 1959-1991. The clinical appearance, diagnosis and treatment of the lesions are described. All biopsies were studied for the presence of Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA (recently demonstrated in conjunctival squamous cell papillomas, precancer lesions and carcinomas) by using in situ DNA hybridization (ISH) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Both techniques failed to demonstrate the DNA of any of the following HPV types: HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18 in any of the lesions. The results are discussed in the light of the recently proposed HPV etiology of these lesions.     

Characterization of breast milk received by infants with gross blood in stools

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to ascertain factors that might be protective of the appearance of gross blood in the stools of breast-fed infants. METHODS: Logistic regression models were formed to search for variables possibly explaining the condition. In addition to the analyzed breast milk factors, mother's allergic disease was introduced into the models to control for its possible confounding effect. The breast milk samples, collected from mothers of infants with gross blood in stools (n = 23) and from mothers of healthy age-matched infants (n = 71), were analyzed for concentrations of transforming growth factor-beta2, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, prostaglandin (PG)E2, cysteinyl leukotrienes (Cys-LTs) and fatty acid composition. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Increase in the concentrations of PGE2 and Cys-LTs in the breast milk together with mother's allergic disease reduced the likelihood of gross blood in stools in the breast-fed infant. The results suggest that no single factor, but a combination of immunomodulatory factors may protect the child from gross blood in the stools of breast-fed infants. Allergic disease was not a risk factor as mother's allergic disease appeared to counterbalance the gross blood in stools. Due to the preliminary nature of the study, the results need to be verified in a larger setting. The challenge for the future lies in identifying of such active compounds for dietary modification to enforce particularly the properties of the breast milk which are immunoprotective for the infant and to reduce the likelihood of intestinal disorders in at risk infants.