Quality of life and voice following endoscopic resection or radiotherapy for early glottic cancer

Objectives: To assess whether proposed voice and quality of life (QoL) outcome measures were likely to be acceptable to patients previously treated for early glottic cancer by either radiotherapy or endoscopic resection, as well as looking for differences in QoL and voice between treatments. Design: Questionnaire‐based cohort study. Setting: Secondary care, three centres. Participants: All patients treated for T1a or in situ glottic carcinoma between 1997 and 2003. Fifty‐three patients were identified; those who had undergone salvage surgery or radiotherapy were excluded. A proportion refused to participate or could not be contacted and two patients had died of unrelated causes. Thirty‐six patients completed the trial with 18 from each treatment arm. Main outcome measures: Quality of voice as assessed by three questionnaires, Voice Handicap Index (VHI), Vocal Performance Questionnaire (VPQ), Voice Symptom Score (VoiSS) and perceptual analysis of voice by Grade, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia and Strained (GRBAS) assessment of vocal recordings. Quality of life as assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire (UW‐QoL), and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) questionnaire. Results: All patients included in the trial were able to complete the questionnaires; however, 19% required assistance of some kind. GRBAS assessment showed no difference between groups for any criteria. All QoL questionnaires gave equivalent good scores. All of the voice questionnaires showed no statistical difference between groups except for the emotional subscale of the VoiSS which showed a significantly better score for the radiotherapy arm (P = 0.04). Conclusion: All outcome measures were applicable and acceptable to the patient group. Overall QoL and voice appears similar despite treatment arm, apart from the emotional subscale of the VoiSS. A randomized controlled trial is required to further assess this question.     

Interpreting the results of unilateral digital nerve repair

We report the results of examination of patients before primary and secondary unilateral digital nerve repair. Two-point discrimination was uniformly recorded. The results show that significant overlap of adjacent digital nerves is common and this has important implications for interpretation of results after repair. Recommendations are made regarding the evaluation of outcome following surgery.     

Relation of alveolar size to forced vital capacity in professional divers

Eight cases have been studied in which both lung function and histological morphometric data was available on divers' lungs. A correlation was found between the increase in forced vital capacity measured at routine annual medical examination and the morphometric measurement of alveoli by mean cord length. The results suggest that reduction of forced expiratory volume in one second may be due to narrowing of small airways by distention of the alveoli.     

Absence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II infection in prostitutes in the area of seville,Spain

Infection with human retroviruses other than HIV in Spain has only been reported in isolated cases in African immigrants and intravenous drug abusers infected with HTLV-I. The status of the prostitute population is unknown. The sera of 88 prostitutes in Seville were therefore tested for HIV, HTLV-I and HTLV-II, and relevant epidemiological data were collected on the health status, sexual practices etc. In the prostitute population studied 2.5 % of the non-intravenous drug abusers and 20 % of the intravenous drug abusers were positive for HIV. However, infection with HTLV-I/II could not be demonstrated in any of them.     

Inhibitory and neutral antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum MSP119 form ring structures with their antigen

Blood-stage malaria vaccine candidates include surface proteins of the merozoite. Antibodies to these proteins may either block essential steps during invasion or render the merozoite susceptible to phagocytosis or complement-mediated degradation. Structural information on merozoite surface proteins complexed to antibodies provides crucial information for knowledge-based vaccine design. The major merozoite surface protein MSP1 is an abundant surface molecule in Plasmodium falciparum. Only a subset of antibodies against MSP119 inhibits invasion (inhibitory antibodies), whereas other antibodies binding to MSP119 have no effect on invasion (neutral antibodies). Here we report on the complex of MSP119 with both inhibitory monoclonal antibody 12.10 and neutral monoclonal antibody 2F10. The complexes were established using both whole IgG's and Fab fragments, and analysed by dynamic light scattering, electron microscopy and analytical ultra centrifugation. Specific ring structures were formed in the ternary complex with the two antibodies, providing direct evidence of non-overlapping epitopes on MSP119. Mutational studies also indicated that the epitopes of the inhibitory and neutral antibodies are spatially remote.     

Effects of CD8 depletion on retinal soluble antigen induced experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis.

During the later stages of soluble-antigen (sAg)-induced experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU), an increase in the relative number of CD8+ lymphocytes has been observed at the site of inflammation in the retina. It has been suggested that these late-appearing CD8+ cells might down-regulate this acute disease process. To determine the role of the CD8+ cells in EAU, Lewis rats were depleted of CD8+ cells prior to and during disease and the enucleated eyes examined histologically. The spleen cells from CD8-depleted rats were also examined for their ability to respond to concanavalin A (Con A) and to allogeneic targets as determined by mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) and cytotoxicity assays. The results suggest that depleting CD8+ cells had no effect on the course of disease and that CD8+ cells do not play a crucial role in the immunoregulation of EAU.