Treatment of chronic relapsing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis with the intravenous administration of splenocytes coupled to encephalitogenic peptide 91-103 of myelin basic protein.

Chronic relapsing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (CR-EAE) is an autoimmune demyelinating disease of the central nervous system and serves as an experimental model of human multiple sclerosis. Amino acid residues p91-103 of myelin basic protein are encephalitogenic in SJL mice and transfer of T cell lines that recognize this epitope results in CR-EAE. We show here that coculture of T cells in the presence of p91-103 that has been chemically cross-linked to the antigen presenting cells renders the T cell lines tolerant to the antigen. Injection of p91-103 coupled splenocytes into animals that had received encephalitogenic p91-103 reactive T cells significantly reduced the incidence and severity of EAE. Furthermore, treatment of mice with a single injection of antigen coupled splenocytes after they had recovered from their initial paralytic attack prevented the development of subsequent clinical relapses in all animals. These studies indicate that this effect is long lasting and can be successfully accomplished in an established autoimmune disease. Hence this form of immunotherapy may be considered as a therapeutic modality in the treatment of autoimmune diseases when the autoantigens are known.     

The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)

The English version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and a translated Indian version were administered to a sample of hundred bilingual college students. Both the versions of the GHQ showed adequate internal consistency and reliability. There was a high concordance between the two versions on high scorers and low scorers. These results were also applicable to GHQ-30 and GHQ-12. Item analysis revealed certain differences between the two versions attributable to semantic and technical problems. Validity of the GHQ in the Indian setting are discussed.     

Aromatic amino analogues of artemisinin: synthesis and in vivo antimalarial activity

Nine orally active novel artemisinin derivatives were prepared from artemisinin by four-step synthesis, and the compounds were evaluated in the rodent model using multidrug resistant Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis. All of the compounds exhibited antimalarial activities with the ED₅₀ ranging from 5.41 mg/kg–12.4 mg/kg. Among them, artemisinin derivative bearing N-(4-hydroxy-3-((4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl)methyl)phenyl) moiety (5f) was found to be the most active compound and was found to be three times more potent than artemisinin (ED₅₀ 16.4 mg/kg).     

NK cell function in a patient with IgM monoclonal antibody against myelin-associated glycoprotein

Anti-Leu 7 antibody reacts with determinants on a subset of natural killer (NK) cells and myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG). In a patient patient with peripheral neuropathy and IgM autoantibodies against MAG, we found the distribution and functions of NK cells to be normal.     

Endoscopic diagnosis and management of tropical parasitic infestations

Biliary parasitosis is one of the common causes of biliary obstruction in developing countries and can often be confused with stone disease. With increased worldwide travel and immigration, these conditions are not limited to the developing countries alone. Ascariasis, hydatid liver disease, clonorchiasis, and fascioliasis are the commonly encountered parasitic infestations of the biliary tract usually presenting with biliary colic or cholangitis. Endoscopy has an important role in the diagnosis and emergent management of these conditions and in elective endoscopic therapy of associated complications. Endoscopic sphincterotomy and bile ductal clearance, along with pharmacotherapy, are the mainstays of treatment.     

Synthesis and in-vitro cytotoxicity evaluation of gatifloxacin Mannich bases.

Mannich bases of gatifloxacin were synthesized by reacting them with formaldehyde and several isatin derivatives. Their chemical structures have been confirmed by means of their IR, 1H-NMR data and by elemental analysis. The compounds were tested in-vitro against a panel of 58 human tumour cell lines derived from nine neoplastic diseases. Among them compound 1-cyclopropyl-6-fluoro-8-methoxy-1,4-dihydro-4-oxo-7[[N4-(3'-sulphadoximino)-1'-(5-bromoisatinyl) methyl]-3-methyl N1-piperazinyl]-3-quinoline carboxylic acid (6) emerged as a potent anticancer agent being more active than standard DNA topoisomerase II inhibitor, etoposide against 30 cancer cell lines.     

Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine-needle cytodiagnosis of mediastinal metastases from renal cell cancer

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) has become the investigation of choice for the evaluation of the mediastinum. Lung and mediastinum are amongst the common sites of metastases from renal cell cancer (RCC). We diagnosed metastatic RCC in mediastinal lymph nodes by EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology. METHODS: A total of 111 patients with mediastinal lymph nodes had undergone EUS-FNA using a linear array echo endoscope and a 170 cm, 22 G GIP needle consecutively. Smears were prepared, air-dried, and sent to an independent cytologist. RESULTS: Seven patients (all males, mean age 64.8 years, range 45-72) were diagnosed cytologically to have metastatic RCC. Three patients had been diagnosed with RCC in the past (2, 7, and 17 years ago) while in the others, this was primarily diagnosed on the basis of EUS-FNA. The EUS features of these mediastinal RCC metastases include irregular lesions with inhomogenous echotexture, measuring 2.8 cm (median; range 1.0-4.5) located predominantly in the posterior mediastinum. CONCLUSION: EUS-FNA diagnosis of metastatic RCC is safe and feasible. It is especially useful in the evaluation of the mediastinum for suspected metastases. Cytology examination results in combination with clinical features could suggest the site of origin of the primary, assisting in further management.     

Estimation of noise level and signal to noise ratio of laplacian electrocardiogram during ventricular depolarization and repolarization

Body surface Laplacian ECG (LECG) has demonstrated its enhanced capability to localize cardiac electrical sources closest to the recording site. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the noise level and signal to noise ratio (SNR) in the LECG as compared to the potential ECG (PECG). Such evaluation is important to determine the applicability of the LECG to localizing and imaging of cardiac electrical activity in an experimental setting. Experimental studies were conducted in six healthy men. A 150-channel PECG was recorded from the anterolateral chest and the LECG was estimated using the finite difference algorithm. The noise level in the PECG and LECG was evaluated using multiple estimation protocols. The signal level during ventricular depolarization and repolarization was also estimated, and the corresponding SNR was calculated. Different filtering techniques were examined to evaluate their effects on the noise level and SNR of the LECG and PECG. The experimental results indicate that with basic signal processing techniques (baseline adjustment, three-point moving average filter, and Wiener spatial filter), the SNR of the LECG is about 30-40% of that of the PECG. Furthermore, the SNR estimated during ventricular depolarization is about three times that obtained during ventricular repolarization for the PECG and LECG. The present study indicates that the LECG derived from the PECG using a local finite difference estimation procedure has satisfactory SNR during the periods of ventricular depolarization and repolarization, and suggests the feasibility of estimating the LECG from the recorded PECG in human subjects in an experimental setting.