Interleukin-10 promoter polymorphisms in rheumatoid arthritis and Felty's syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether promoter polymorphisms associated with variation in interleukin-10 (IL-10) production are relevant to the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or Felty's syndrome (FS). METHODS: DNA was obtained from 44 FS patients, 117 RA patients and 295 controls. The promoter region between -533 and - 1120 was amplified by polymerase chain reaction, and polymorphisms detected by restriction enzyme digest or sequence-specific oligonucleotide probing. RESULTS: We found no significant difference in allele or haplotype frequencies between the groups. CONCLUSION: There is no association between FS or RA and these recently identified IL-10 promoter polymorphisms. Other genetic or environmental factors could explain the alterations in IL-10 levels seen in these conditions.      

Ultrastructural changes of venous autologous bypass grafts in rabbits: Correlation of patency and development

Summary Electron microscopic techniques were used to correlate the patency of venous autografts in rabbits with ultrastructural changes within a time range from 5 days to 6 months p.o. Early degenerative changes of the grafts include endothelial desquamation followed by fibrin deposition or platelet adhesion, mural edema and extensive medial and adventitial degeneration. The regeneration of the grafts is due to an early adventitial vascularization (10 days p.o.), which enables the surviving smooth muscle cells and fibrocytes to proliferate and to develop an arterial-like vessel. The organization of the 6-month-old graft is comparable to the carotid artery of the animal, but shows, in contrast, many features of a muscular artery.

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Zusammenfassung Mit Hilfe elektronenmikroskopischer Methoden wurde versucht, die Funktionsfähigkeit autologer Venentransplantate mit ultrastrukturellen Veränderungen in einem Zeitraum von 5 Tagen bis 6 Monaten p. o. zu korrelieren. Frühe degenerative Veränderungen der Transplantate umfassen Endothelabschilferungen mit anschließender Fibrin- bzw. Plättchenauflagerung, murale Ödeme und ausgedehnte mediale und adventitielle Degenerationen. Die Regeneration der Transplantate wird ermöglicht durch eine frühe adventitielle Kapillarisierung (10 Tage p. o.), die die überlebenden glatten Muskelzellen und Fibrozyten in die Lage versetzt, zu proliferieren und ein arterienähnliches Gefäß zu entwickeln. Der Aufbau der 6 Monate alten Vene ist vergleichbar mit der Arteria carotis communis der Tiere, zeigt aber im Gegensatz dazu überwiegend Merkmale einer Arterie vom muskulären Typ.

     

Core Motivations of Childhood Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: The Role of Harm Avoidance and Incompleteness

Child Psychiatry & Human Development - In an effort to improve patient conceptualization and targeted treatment, researchers have sought to accurately classify OCD subtypes. To date, the most...     

Retention forces between primary and secondary CAD/CAM manufactured telescopic crowns: an in vitro comparison of common material combinations

Clinical Oral Investigations - To analyze the retention forces between primary and secondary telescopic crowns milled from various materials and to compare them with the retention forces between...     

A review of cervical spine injury associated with maxillofacial trauma at a UK tertiary referral centre

IntroductionThe aim of this study was to determine the incidence and patterns of cervical spine injury (CSI) associated with maxillofacial fractures at a UK trauma centre.MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted of 714 maxillofacial fracture patients presenting to a single trauma centre between 2006 and 2012.ResultsOf the 714 maxillofacial fracture patients, 2.2% had associated CSI including a fracture, cord contusion or disc herniation. In comparison, 1.0% of patients without maxillofacial trauma sustained a CSI (odds ratio: 2.2, p=0.01). The majority (88%) of CSI cases of were caused by a road traffic accident (RTA) with the remainder due to falls. While 8.8% of RTA related maxillofacial trauma patients sustained a CSI, only 2.0% of fall related patients did (p=0.03, not significant). Most (70%) of the CSIs occurred at C1/C2 or C6/C7 levels. Overall, 455, 220 and 39 patients suffered non-mandibular, isolated mandibular and mixed mandibular/non-mandibular fractures respectively. Their respective incidences of CSI were 1.5%, 1.8% and 12.8% (p=0.005, significant). Twelve patients with concomitant CSI had their maxillofacial fractures treated within twenty-four hours and all were treated within four days.ConclusionsThe presence of maxillofacial trauma mandates exclusion and prompt management of cervical spine injury, particularly in RTA and trauma cases involving combined facial fracture patterns. This approach will facilitate management of maxillofacial fractures within an optimum time period.