The familial prevalence in second-degree relatives of patients with anxiety neurosis (panic disorder)

A family history study of second-degree relatives of 19 patients with anxiety neurosis (panic disorder) and 19 controls showed a morbidity risk of 9.5% among the former compared with 1.4% among the latter. These risks were approximately half those found among first-degree relatives. Female relatives were at higher risk for anxiety neurosis. The risk for other psychiatric illnesses did not differ between the relatives of anxiety neurosis and controls.     

Memory Deficits in Aged Cebus Monkeys and Facilitation With Central Cholinomimetics

Cebus monkeys of 3 different age groups were trained to perform an automated behavioral task (delayed response), intended to measure recent memory ability. In in initial study, the aged monkeys (18 years and older) exhibit prprogressively greater performance impairments (relative to young monkeys) as they were required to remember the location of a visual stimulus for increasingly longer durations (0 to 20 sec). This deficits replicated previously published results from aged Rhesus monkeys and appeared similar to the primary memory deficits reported in elderly humans and demented patients. In subsequent studies, the effects of three different cholinomimetics were evaluated for their ability to improve the aged monkey's performance on this task. Each monkey was tested under several acute doses of the cholinergic precursor, choline, the anticholinesterase, physostigmine, and the cholinergic muscarinic receptor agonist, arecoline. The results revealed clear differences in the ability of these drugs to improve performance on this task. Choline exerted no apparent effects in the aged monkeys at any dose tested. Physostigmine clearly enhanced performance in certain aged monkeys, but the optimal dose varied dramatically between subjects, replicating previously published results with aged Rhesus monkeys and humans. Arecoline produced clear improvement within a restricted dose range, with little variation in optimal dose between subjects. In addition to demonstrating differences in the effects of different cholinomimetics on memory performance in aged primates, these data also suggest a possible rationale for future investigations. Assuming that each of these drugs primarily affected cholinergic function in the manner conventionally attributed, these data suggest that, within the cholinergic system, the more directly one stimulates the receptor, the more one might expect robust and consistent effects on memory performance in aged subjects.     

Differential effects of TPA and retinoic acid on cell-cell communication in human bronchial epithelial cells.

Understanding how normal and immortalized bronchial epithelial cells respond to modulators of gap junctional communication will increase our understanding of the process of tumor promotion. In the present study we compared to effects of retinoic acid (RA) and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) on the rate of fluorescent dye transfer via gap junctions in primary human tracheo-bronchial epithelial cells (TBE) and SV40 large T-antigen immortalized, non-tumorigenic bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B). RA in the physiological range (0.001-1 microM) inhibited cell proliferation (DNA synthesis, mitotic index) more in primary TBE cells than BEAS-2B cells. Also in RA-treated cells, decreased cell proliferation was coupled to decreased gap junctional communication (GJC) in TBE but not in BEAS-2B cells. TPA strongly suppressed GJC and proliferation in primary TBE cells, whereas BEAS-2B exhibited increased GJC and retained a significant fraction of cells undergoing DNA synthesis. Our studies show that an uncoupling of GJC and cell proliferation is associated with a differential response to the growth inhibitory effects of RA and phorbol esters in immortalized compared to primary human bronchial epithelial cells.     

Fulminant disseminated Varicella Zoster virus infection without skin involvement.

BACKGROUND: Varicella Zoster virus (VZV) infection is potentially very serious in bone marrow transplant recipients, and may manifest as a disseminated visceral infection. This condition is generally accompanied by a vesicular rash. OBJECTIVES: We review here a case of fulminant fatal disseminated VZV infection, not accompanied by skin involvement, and the laboratory approaches currently available to diagnose this disease. STUDY DESIGN: Post mortem tissue samples were subjected to histopathological examination, and tested for herpesviruses by electron microscopy and PCR. RESULTS: Intranuclear inclusions were noted by histological examination in the lungs, liver, kidneys and bone marrow. Particles with a herpesvirus morphology were visualized in liver tissue. VZV DNA was detected in liver and bone marrow by PCR followed by sequencing of the amplicons. Viremia was documented by retrospective testing of the serum by PCR. CONCLUSIONS: A disseminated VZV infection which proved rapidly fatal was demonstrated in a case without skin manifestations. This rare presentation of VZV infection is potentially underdiagnosed. Testing for VZV viremia by PCR can at the very least suggest the diagnosis although whether plasma-associated viremia is truly pathognomonic of visceral disseminated infection remains to be established.     

T cell immunodominance and maintenance of memory regulated by unexpectedly cross-reactive pathogens

We show here that T cell cross-reactivity between heterologous viruses influences the immunodominance of virus-specific CD8(+) T cells by two mechanisms. First, T cells specific for cross-reactive epitopes dominate acute responses to viral infections; second, within the memory pool, T cells specific for cross-reactive epitopes are maintained while those specific for non-cross-reactive epitopes are selectively lost. These findings suggest an immunological paradigm in which viral infections shape the available T cell repertoire, causing alterations in the hierarchies of both the primary and memory CD8(+) T cell responses elicited by subsequent viral infections. Thus, immunodominance is a function of the host's previous exposure to unrelated pathogens, and this may have an impact on protective immunity and immunopathology.     

Latex specific IgE: performance characteristics of the IMMULITE 2000 3gAllergy assay compared with skin testing.

BACKGROUND: In the absence of a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared latex skin testing reagent, in vitro tests remain important for the diagnosis of latex allergy. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance characteristics of IMMULITE 2000 3gAllergy (Immulite), a third-generation, FDA-cleared, continuous random-access immunoanalyzer, for the quantification of latex specific IgE. METHODS: Stored serum samples (N = 201) from patients classified as having positive or negative latex puncture skin test results were measured for latex specific IgE levels using Immulite, and these data were compared with historical results from 3 second-generation, FDA-cleared IgE antilatex assays (AlaSTAT [Ala], AutoCAP [CAP], and HY*TEC enzyme immunoassay [HT]). RESULTS: The diagnostic performances of the CAP, Ala, and Immulite assays (> or = 0.35 kU/L cutoff value) were equivalent in sensitivity and specificity (P > .05). The HT assay (> or = 0.05 kU/L cutoff value) was more sensitive and less specific (P < .05). Immulite (> or = 0.10 kU/L cutoff value) had greater sensitivity than Ala and CAP and greater specificity than HT (P < .05 for both). Diagnostic efficiency was greater for Immulite than for CAP, Ala, and HT (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The Immulite system is superior in diagnostic performance, especially at the 0.10 kU/L or greater cutoff level, for the diagnosis of latex allergy compared with older, second-generation assays. Immulite still misclassifies 15.5% of puncture skin test-positive individuals as negative for latex specific IgE. Compared with second-generation assays, Immulite represents a technological advance, with enhanced speed and less operator intervention.     

Apoptotic rate in peripheral T-cell lymphomas. A study using a tissue microarray with validation on full tissue sections

Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) are a heterogeneous group of non-Hodgkin lymphomas with a wide spectrum of clinicopathologic features, and apoptosis mechanisms may have a role in lymphomagenesis. We assessed apoptotic rate (AR) in 112 PTCLs using a tissue microarray developed in our laboratory and a modified terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling assay. The mean AR was 1.47% +/- 1.38% for the entire group of PTCLs (range, 0.06%-5.15%), and AR varied significantly among different tumor types. In mycosis fungoides, the mean AR was 0.74%; angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, 1.02%; PTCL, not otherwise specified, 1.38%; cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), 1.41%; anaplastic lymphoma kinase protein (ALK)-negative ALCL, 1.43%; extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma of nasal type, 2.04%; ALK-positive ALCL, 2.95%; and enteropathy-type T-cell lymphoma, 3.06%. Mean AR was higher in PTCL with large cell vs small/medium cell morphologic features (1.66% +/- 1.1% vs 0.99% +/- 1.0%). In a subset of 33 PTCLs, the tissue microarray results comparedfavorably with those obtained in full tissue sections. We conclude that the highest ARs in PTCLs are found in enteropathy-type T-cell lymphoma and ALK-positive ALCL, and that AR can be assessed reliably by using a tissue microarray.