Effect of fulvine on pulmonary arteries and veins of the rat

Wagenvoort, C. A., Wagenvoort, N., and Dijk, H. J. (1974).Thorax, 29, 522-529. Effect of fulvine on pulmonary arteries and veins of the rat. Fulvine, one of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids from the Crotalaria group, was administered to rats in a single dose. Vasoconstriction and medial hypertrophy of pulmonary arteries and right ventricular hypertrophy developed gradually, starting after one week. Smooth muscle fibres developed in the arterial adventitia. Fibrinoid necrosis and arteritis of these arteries were common. In addition, however, changes were observed in pulmonary veins and venules which showed thickening of their walls by constriction, proliferation of muscle fibres, and increase of collagen, leading to luminal occlusion. Apparently fulvine is angiotoxic not only for pulmonary arteries but also for pulmonary veins. This detracts from the usefulness of fulvine in the experimental production of pulmonary arterial hypertension.     

Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease of presumably intrauterine origin

A case is presented of a male infant aged 8 weeks at the time of his death with pulmonary veno-occlusive disease. Almost all pulmonary veins and venules were narrowed or obstructed by intimal fibrosis with such a pronounced deposition of collagen and elastic tissue that an intrauterine origin of these lesions appeared likely. Bronchial veins and anastomoses between pulmonary and bronchial veins were also affected.     

Medial defects of lung vessels: a new cause of pulmonary hypertension

Defects, abrupt thinning of the media of muscular pulmonary arteries and pulmonary veins, were observed in two female patients, one 20 and the other 11 years of age. This congenital anomaly was associated with vasoconstriction and medial hypertrophy of adjacent segments of the vascular wall, as well as with a peculiar type of intimal proliferation. The subsequent intimal fibrosis was essentially limited to the hypertrophied segments and caused arterial obstruction and pulmonary hypertension in one of the patients. The other patient had concomitant arteriovenous fistulae, probably related to the extrahepatic portal hypertension that was also present. The medial defects of the pulmonary arteries and veins are likely to be congenital. They may easily be overlooked during histologic examination.     

Cutaneous Pathology in Toxic Shock Syndrome

The pathologic findings in the skin in a new case of toxic shock syndrome (TSS) are detailed and are discussed in view of previously reported data on TSS in the literature. Necrolysis of keratinocytes at different levels of the epidermis in combination with a predominantly perivascular lymphocytic infiltrate were characteristic features in lesional skin biopsy specimens obtained 5 days after the onset of acute illness and during the development of erythroderma with purpura and diffuse intravasal coagulation. Prominent vascular changes in the skin, which have not been reported before in TSS, were excited endothelial cells in combination with the presence of thrombi in the superficial capillaries. Histopathologic investigations of the dermatitis in TSS can be helpful in differentiating this syndrome from other acute toxic skin eruptions.     

Serotype distribution of urogenitally located Chlamydia trachomatis in Rotterdam

The distribution of serotypes in 208 Chlamydia trachomatis strains of urogenital origin isolated from 185 patients (87 women, 98 men) attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was studied. Typing by monoclonal antisera using a dot enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that the most common serotypes were E (found in 45 strains), F (39), D (34) and K (28). Other serotypes detected were H (21), G, I, I', J (2-12) and B (one strain). Mixed infection with two serotypes was detected in two patients. These results indicate that most genital infections with C. trachomatis result from a small number of serotypes, and that these are similar in the Netherlands and Seattle, U.S.A.     

Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in culture and urogenital smears by in situ DNA hybridization using a biotinylated DNA probe

The detection of Chlamydia trachomatis by in situ DNA hybridization in urogenital smears was investigated using a commercially available biotinylated DNA probe. Intracellular staining of inclusion bodies was used as the criterion for positivity. Of 35 patients with a culture proven chlamydial infection 19 had smears in which C. trachomatis was detected by in situ DNA hybridization, indicating a sensitivity of 54%. Of 57 patients with a negative culture, two had positive smears by in situ DNA hybridization. To compare whether the criterion for positivity had influenced the sensitivity obtained with in situ DNA hybridization, 14 duplicate smears from culture positive patients were analysed with in situ DNA hybridization and immunofluorescence. Both methods detected intracellular inclusion bodies in seven of these smears, suggesting that the presence of infected cells mainly determines the sensitivity. The DNA probe did not cross-react with micro-organisms commonly found in the urogenital tract.