Associations of vitamin D status and metabolic dyslipidemia and hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype in apparently healthy adults

Background

Recent studies have shown that Vitamin D deficiency is very common globally. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with lipid metabolism. A relationship between vitamin D levels and waist circumference (WC) has been observed. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between vitamin D status and metabolic dyslipidemia and the hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype.

Airborne contamination of wounds in joint replacement operations: the relationship to sepsis rates

During operations for total joint replacement done in operating rooms with conventional ventilation the mean air contamination varied considerably among the 15 hospitals studied. The range was from 51 to as many as 539 bacteria-carrying particles per cubic metre. When the data from all the hospitals were grouped according to the mean level of bacterial airborne contamination, including operations done in control and in ultraclean air, there was a good correlation between the air contamination and the joint sepsis rate. There was also a correlation between the mean values of air contamination and the numbers of bacteria isolated from wound wash-out samples; but the apparent efficiency of the sampling method varied a great deal among the hospitals carrying out this procedure. From this data it would seem that by far the largest proportion of bacteria found in the wound after the prosthesis had been inserted reached it by the airborne route. With the mean air contamination found in the control series, 164 bacteria-carrying particles per cubic metre, this proportion was as much as 95 per cent. The risk of joint sepsis varied widely among the 19 hospitals. The differences between the highest and lowest being probably as much as 20-fold. However, the effect of an ultraclean air environment was asimilar at all hospitals.     

Rimcazole (BW234U) in the maintenance treatment of outpatients with schizophrenia

Rimcazole (BW234U), a substituted carbazole compound, has been reported to be effective in treating acutely ill schizophrenic patients without significant extrapyramidal side effects. A two-phase study was done to assess the efficacy and safety of rimcazole in the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia. Study I was a double-blind comparison of rimcazole (50–300 mg daily) with haloperidol (5–30 mg daily) with ten stable schizophrenic outpatients. Three of six patients relapsed on rimcazole, while there were no relapses on haloperidol. One patient dropped out of each group. Extrapyramidal side effects were minimal in the rimcazole group, and two patients with tardive dyskinesia showed marked improvement in AIMS Scores. Study II was an open label trial of rimcazole using a higher maximum dose of 450 mg daily in seven schizophrenic outpatients. Four of the seven patients relapsed, at a mean of 7 weeks, one dropped out, and two patients remained stable. While the drug was generally well tolerated, both of the nonrelapsing patients developed transient elevations in liver transaminases. The small sample size in these studies prevents definitive conclusions to be drawn. There may be subgroups of schizophrenic patients who can be successfully maintained on rimcazole with less morbidity than from standard neuroleptic drugs.     

Short-term changes in cholesterol metabolism in 40 patients with liver transplants from living related donors

After liver transplantation, there remains a need for precise markers for evaluation of grafts. We investigated whether serum cholesterol value can serve as a marker for evaluation of the transplanted liver during follow-up. The effect of liver transplantation involving living related donors was investigated in 40 recipients in terms of lipid metabolism as measured by serum cholesterol. The relationship between cholesterol value after transplantation and liver graft weight/body weight (LW/BW) was also examined. Serum cholesterol increased at 10-20 days post-transplantation in successful cases, stabilizing at a value of more than 100 mg/dl after 4 weeks post-transplantation. In unsuccessful cases, serum cholesterol showed little increase in the 3 weeks after transplantation, and thereafter continued to decline. Cholesterol levels never reached 100 mg/dl in any of the unsuccessful transplantation cases. It took 45 days on average for the serum cholesterol to reach 100 mg/dl in recipients with less than 1% LW/BW ratio graft, but only 10 days in recipients with more than 3% LW/BW ratio graft. Patients who had partial liver transplantation from living related donors showed rapid recovery of cholesterol synthesis. However, patients with liver grafts required an extensive period before normalization of cholesterol synthesis, suggesting a need for long-term follow-up of graft recipients.     

Blood pressure effects of monoamine oxidase inhibitors in response to orally administered tyramine in the rat

The reversible monoamine oxidase-A inhibitors BW 1370U87, BW 616U76, brofaromine, and moclobemide, and the irreversible nonselective monoamine oxidase inhibitor phenelzine were compared for potentiation of the pressor response to oral tyramine. Conscious rats were pretreated with doses of the monoamine oxidase inhibitors sufficient to produce 80% inhibition of brain monoamine oxidase, and then were challenged with orally administered tyramine. Blood pressure was monitored prior to and after tyramine, and peak pressor responses were compared. At a dose of 15 mg/kg tyramine, the pressor response of BW 1370U87 was statistically similar to the vehicle control response. BW 616U76, brofaromine, and moclobemide elicited mild tyramine pressor effects, whereas phenelzine resulted in a marked elevation of blood pressure. Higher doses of tyramine elicited blood pressure elevations from all of the monoamine oxidase inhibitors.     

Slow axonal transport of the molecular forms of butyrylcholinesterase in a peripheral nerve

Butyrylcholinesterase was found in chick sciatic nerve in four main molecular forms—G₁, G₂, G₄ and A₁₂—distinguishable by their sedimentation coefficients in sucrose gradients (4.2S, 6.4S, 11.3S and 19S, respectively). Axonal transport of butyrylcholinesterase was studied by measuring the accumulation of its molecular forms on each side of a transected sciatic nerve. Twenty-four hours after transection, butyrylcholinesterase activity had risen by about 32% at the extremity of the proximal stump, and by 20% at the extremity of the distal stump. Proximal accumulation was due to a two-fold rise in G₄ activity and to a six-fold rise in A₁₂ activity, whereas distal accumulation was exclusively due to a 50% increase in G₄ activity, accompanied by the complete loss of A₁₂. The activities of G₁ and G₂ remained stable in both directions.Under our experimental conditions, the accumulation of butyrylcholinesterase activity cannot be attributable to local protein synthesis, cross-contamination with accumulated acetylcholinesterase or the presence of plasma butyrylcholinesterase. Hence we conclude that all A₁₂ butyrylcholinesterase molecules were carried in the anterograde direction, moving at11.6 ± 4.2 mm/day, and that probably some of the G₄ molecules were slowly transported in both directions. These findings suggest that some of the butyrylcholinesterase is located in the axonal mitochondria and/or axolemma.     

Comparison of the anti-inflammatory effects of dexamethasone,indomethacin and BW755C on carrageenin-induced pleurisy in rats

In rat carrageenin pleurisy, dexamethasone (0.25 mg/kg p.o.) inhibited exudate accumulation in the pleural cavity throughout the period of testing while the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs indomethacin (10 mg/kg p.o.) and BW755C (100 mg/kg p.o.) inhibited it for 6 and 9 h respectively after the intrapleural injection of carrageenin but not thereafter. These observations were confirmed by the finding that, of the treatments 6 h after carrageenin, only that with dexamethasone reduced exudate volume at 15 h after carrageenin. The anti-exudative action of dexamethasone at 15 h after carrageenin may be at least in part mediated by endogenous substance(s) formed through gene expression, because it was prevented by actinomycin D. Dexamethasone and BW755C markedly inhibited cell accumulation in the pleural exudate throughout the period tested, while indomethacin inhibited it significantly between 9–24 h after carrageenin.     

A pigmented odontogenic keratocyst

A pigmented odontogenic keratocyst arising in a white Caucasian female is reported. Melanocytes in the basal cell layer were identified by light and electron microscopy.