Direct measurement of the pulling force affecting the flexor tendons of the hand

A thought, returning again and again in hand surgery, is the immediate introduction of active motion therapy after the reconstructive operations of the flexor tendons. To the active motion an adequately strong tendon suture, to the definition of "adequately strong tendon suture" however the measurement of the pulling force, acting actually on the flexor tendons is necessary. Authors attempted to measure this pulling force during flexor tendon operations on cadaver's hand. On the basis of their measurements the maximal pulling force, that can be expected during postoperative active movement exercises with adequate circumspection, can be estimated as two kiloponds.     

Diagnosis and therapy of injuries of the lamina fibrocartilaginea of the hand (palmar plate)

Authors studied a frequent injury of the finger joints. The anatomy, the mechanism of the injuries, the diagnostic possibilities of the lamina fibrocartilaginea ("palmar plate") and of the palmar ligaments of the joints are described. In the diagnosis a special significance is attached to the stressed and tangential X-ray pictures. They take the part of the conservative treatment of the injury. In cases of dislocations, that cannot be reduced, of open "palmar plate" injuries and of major hyperextension and dislocations of the broken bone scale, operative treatment is thought necessary. In the treatment of the injuries of the "palmar plate" of the PIP joint they use the so called rein method, that keeps the palmar cartilaginous joint capsule, torn at the injury, on its original place, it enables however the active joint movements, the gymnastics and hinders this way the development of the joint contracture.     

Peripheral nerve injuries as a rare complication of cervical lymph node excision for diagnostic purposes

During the last 3 years 263 patients were admitted who underwent diagnostic lymph node biopsy. Complications were observed only in 4 cases. In these cases, following cervical lymph node excision from the supraclavicular region, sectioning the spinal accessory nerve and branches of brachial plexus resulted in the "shoulder syndrome" which is characterized by a weakened, deformed, and often painful shoulder. Attention is called to the possibility of nerve injury during diagnostic excision of cervical lymph nodes. Most often the spinal accessory nerve and branches of brachial plexus are transected with subsequent deformity and decreased range of motion of the shoulder, which could influence deeply the quality of patient's life.     

Protein-tyrosine kinase activity tightly associated with human type II Fc gamma receptors.

Stimulation of B cells by clustering their surface immunoglobulins (sIg) leads to enhanced phosphorylation of several cellular proteins on Ser and Tyr residues. The type II Fc gamma receptor (Fc gamma RII) is one of those proteins that undergo Ser phosphorylation. Upon affinity isolation of the Fc gamma RII, several molecular entities are coisolated from Triton X-100 lysates of BL41 Burkitt lymphoma line which undergo "in vitro" (cell free) phosphorylation in the immune complex-associated kinase assay. Furthermore, several molecules phosphorylated on Tyr upon sIgM cross-linking in the intact cells are coisolated with Fc gamma RII. The 59-kDa coprecipitated component is identified as the protein-tyrosine kinase (PTK) fyn. Clustering the sIgM molecules enhanced the in vitro phosphorylation of all molecules coprecipitated with Fc gamma RII as well as that of the exogenously added PTK substrate, enolase. Kinase renaturation assays suggest that at least two major renaturable protein kinases (59 kDa and 85-90 kDa) associate with Fc gamma RII. Whereas the 59-kDa component comigrates with the PTK fyn, the 85- to 90-kDa one is an unidentified Ser/Thr kinase. These data suggest that Fc gamma RII exists in the B-cell membrane as part of a multimolecular complex including protein kinases, activities of which are regulated by clustering of the antigen receptors.     

Virologic aspects of juvenile laryngeal papillomatosis

Juvenile laryngeal papillomatosis is the most common benign tumor of the larynx in childhood. The specific etiological factors are non-oncogenic human papillomavirus types 6 and 11. In the present study two cases (a 6-year-old male and a 5 and a half-year-old female) operated five times each and harbouring type 11 DNA in papillomas excised in the first operations are analysed from the following virological aspects: 1. the examination of vertical transmission by general primer-polymerase chain reaction of maternal cervical exfoliation; 2. sites of papilloma predilections in the larynx; 3. histopathology; 4. viral DNA detection from the formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded archive tissues and from a fresh papilloma tissue in one case by polymerase chain reaction applying type-specific primers. We did not find any signs of maternofoetal transmission in the anamnesis and the maternal cervix proved to be negative for viral DNA. However, the vertical route of transmission can not be excluded due to the special natural history of papillomavirus infections. Papillomas usually localised in normal squamociliary junctions of the larynx. The histopathologic review did not reveal any signs of malignancy. Koilocytosis referring to productive viral infection and the signs of abnormal keratinisation were present in each tissue. All tissues of the patients proved to be positive for the short amplimer deriving from the genome of human papillomavirus type 11.     

A study on prostaglandin F2α in photodermatoses

Summary Prostaglandin F₂ (PGF₂) as a possible mediator was studied. Its plasma content was determined by radioimmunoassay. Changes in the DNA synthesis were followed by autoradiography. In active polymorphous light eruption (PLE) and porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) a remarkable increase (over 300 pg/ml) in plasma content occurred, especially in cases involving large skin areas. Values returned to normal in remission. PGF₂ administered i.d., significantly increased the DNA synthesis of the epidermal cells 48 h after injection similar to the effect of three minimal erythema dosis UV-irradiation. This was more pronounced in PLE patients than in controls. These findings suggest some role of PGF₂ in producing the inflammatory and perhaps proliferative components of the skin symptoms in PLE. PGF₂ — in parallel to literary data concerning PGE — seems to be a mediator of UV-induced changes in DNA synthesis of the epidermal cells. Offprint requests to: Irene Horkay, MD (address see above)     

Effect of antioxidants on the oxidative stress of red blood cells]

Antioxidant nomination covers a substance group of great variety, therefore, the determination of action mechanism of new antioxidants requires a complicated test system. The present work demonstrates this labour and time consuming procedure conducted on human red blood cells (RBCs) exposing them to "stress effect" with diluted hydrogen peroxide. It was studied how did these oxidative stress conditions affect the filtration parameters, lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione content and superoxide dismutase activity of RBCs. It was attempted to reverse or influence the significant changes caused by "oxidative stress" with known antioxidants (vitamin E and uric acid).     

Nucleic acid and protein biosynthesis in the androgen-sensitive organs of intact male rats given the nonsteroid antiandrogen niftolide

In experiments on adult male rats it was found that the oral injection of non-steroid antiandrogen 4-nitro-3-trifluoromethylisobutyranilide (niftolide) in a dose of 25 mg/kg during 8 or 30 days induces atrophy of the accessory genital glands and the levator ani muscle and a decrease in the nucleic acid and protein content. Niftolide "castration" effect is realized through its ability to inhibit biosynthesis of these compounds in androgen-sensitive organs. The antiandrogen dose used exerted a potent prolonged antiandrogenic action, despite its stimulating effect upon the hypothalamic-hypophyseal-gonadal system.     

Clinical and biochemical features of sporadic and hereditary phaeochromocytomas: an analysis of 41 cases investigated in a single endocrine centre.

The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of phaeochromocytomas among adrenal tumours and to analyse the clinical and biochemical features of sporadic and hereditary tumours. Our series of 609 adrenal tumours evaluated between January 1995 and July 2003 was reviewed. Catecholamine content in phaeochromocytoma tissues was also determined and correlated with clinical behaviour and biochemical parameters of patients. Forty-one (6.7%) of the 609 patients had phaeochromocytomas, of which 28 were sporadic (25 benign and three malignant) and 13 (all benign) were associated with hereditary diseases (multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A in seven cases from four unrelated families carrying mutations of the RET gene, von Hippel-Lindau disease in two unrelated cases with mutations of the VHL gene, and type 1 neurofibromatosis in four unrelated cases). Bilateral tumours were found in three patients with hereditary syndromes and in one sporadic case. Tumour diameter was slightly but not significantly greater in patients with hereditary than in those with sporadic tumours. Systolic but not diastolic blood pressure was significantly higher in patients with sporadic compared with those with hereditary tumours, but comparison of other clinical data and biochemical parameters indicated an absence of significant differences in the mean age, presenting symptoms, heart rate, or fasting serum glucose levels. Tissue catecholamine content measured in 8 sporadic and 5 hereditary phaeochromocytomas was highly variable and it failed to show significant differences between hereditary and sporadic tumours. These results indicate a high proportion of hereditary diseases among patients with phaeochromocytomas. Genetic and clinical testing for hereditary diseases may be of great help to offer an appropriate treatment, follow-up and family screening for these patients.