Epidemiological aspects of prenatal exposure to high doses of vitamin a in Spain

Reports of the human teratogenicity of retinoids have raised concern about the potential human teratogenicity of high doses of vitamin A. Nevertheless, there are few human case reports of excess intake of vitamin A during pregnancy and defective outcomes. No epidemiological studies have been carried out on this subject. Here we present the results of an epidemiological study of prenatal exposure to high doses of vitamin A in Spain, using data from the Spanish hospital-based, case-control registry. Although it is difficult to reach conclusions with such a very low exposure level (1.3 per 1,000 livebirths), our results suggest that a teratogenic effect might exist for exposures to high doses of vitamin A (OR = 0.5, p = 0.15 for less than 40,000 FU and OR = 2.7, p = 0.06 for 40,000 1U or more). As we might expect, this effect also seems to be related to the organogenetic status (OR = 5.4, p = 0.1 for 1^st –2^nd month, OR = 1.8, p = 0.4 for 3^rd onwards) at the time of exposure.     

Prevalence of hepatitis C virus antibody in an area endemic for hepatitis B virus and human T cell leukaemia virus

To clarify the prevalence of concurrent infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human T cell leukaemia virus (HTLV), we measured HCV antibody in the population of a district endemic for HBV and HTLV infection. Blood samples were collected in June 1990 from 579 inhabitants of four islands of Uwa Bay in the southwest of Ehime Prefecture in Japan. Anti-HCV antibody against C100-3 protein was detected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit (Ortho Diagnostics). Thirteen of the 579 inhabitants (2.2%) were positive for anti-HCV, and this prevalence rate was not significantly different from the frequency of anti-HCV in Tokyo blood donors. A total of 11% (64 of 579) of the subjects were positive for HBsAg and 3.3% (19 of 579) were positive for anti-HTLV. These frequencies of HBsAg and anti-HTLV positivity were distinctly higher than the respective means of Japanese. All anti-HCV positive individuals were negative for HBsAg and anti-HTLV, while 54% (7 of 13) had increased alanine aminotransferase levels. These data suggest that the prevalence of HCV infection is not high even in an area endemic for HBV and HTLV infection.     

7810例乙肝表面抗原和谷丙转氨酶结果分析

乙型病毒性肝炎 Virus B hepatitis(VBH) ,是目前严重危害人类健康水平的重要疾病之一。乙型肝炎病毒在人群中流行面广 ,传播途径多等特点。而我国地广人多 ,是乙肝发病率较高的国家。故对乙型肝炎的易感人群的保护尤其重要。因此 ,我们对山东省德州市 7810人进行了谷丙转氨酶     

超声对宫角妊娠的诊断及治疗意义

目的 探讨对误诊率高，危害大的罕见特殊部位宫角妊娠的诊断和治疗。方法 对我院1991-2001年收治的宫角妊娠临床资料进行回顾性分析。结果 宫角妊娠17例中误诊宫内妊娠行人流失败4例。13例行腹部手术，3例行B超监视下人流术，1例行子宫动脉栓塞术。结论 宫角妊娠临床诊断困难，误诊率高，破裂后造成迅猛的腹腔内出血，应提高对少见部位宫角妊娠的认识，减少孕妇死亡。     

Effect of prostaglandin E1 on graft function of kidneys from living related donors

Prostaglandin E₁ (PGE₁) was used in renal transplant recipients with living related donors. The drug was given intravenously from day 1 to day 7 after transplantation at a dose of 40 µg/kg twice a day. A total of 45 patients were studied divided into two groups: 25 patients were treated with PGE₁ (group B) and the remaining 20 patients did not receive the drug (group A). In group B, 24-h creatinine clearance (Ccr) was 66 ± 12.8 ml/min compared with 40.3 ± 13.4 ml/min in group A on the fifth postoperative day (P < 0.05). Urinary levels of N-acetyl-β-d -glucosaminidase (NAG) and serum levels of platelet factor 4 (PF4) in group B were significantly lower than in group A. On the fourth postoperative day, the urinary excretion of thromboxan B₂ (TxB₂) in group A was higher than in group B, but not significantly (5.1 ± 3.0 ng/day and 2.8 ± 1.1 ng/day, respectively). Acute rejection occurred in four patients in group B and in 10 patients (40%) in group A. The percentage of Leu2a-positive lymphocytes in group B was higher than in group A. We conclude that postoperative administration of PGE₁ improves graft function in kidneys from living related donors.     

亚硝酸钠与AFB1相互作用对遗传物质影响的实验研究

以正常人外周血淋巴细胞的ＳＣＥ率作为细胞遗传学指标，研究了Ｎａ＿２ＳｅＯ＿３与ＡＦＢ＿１相互作用对细胞遗传物质的影响。结果表明，一定浓度的Ｎａ＿２ＳｅＯ＿３（１０￣（－５）ｍｏｌ）对ＡＦＢ＿１所诱发的ＳＣＥ有明显的抑制作用，但当浓度达到１０￣（－２）ｍｏｌ时，细胞增殖受到抑制，到１０￣（－１）ｍｏｌ时细胞出现毒性现象。提示Ｎａ＿２ＳｅＯ＿３具有抑变和细胞毒性双相作用。所以在Ｎａ＿２ＳｅＯ＿３与ＡＦＢ＿１相互作用的ＳＣＥ实验中应避免Ｎａ＿２ＳｅＯ＿３的浓度过高而损伤培养的细胞。     

Apolipoprotein B polymorphism and altered apolipoprotein B concentrations in Congolese blacks

The immunoreactivity of apolipoprotein B (apo B) in plasma obtained from 238 unrelated black African male subjects from the People's Republic of Congo was analysed by non-competitive Enzyme Linked-Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) with monoclonal BIP 45 anti-LDL antibody. The polymorphism detected by BIP 45 monoclonal antibody is identical to the Ag(c,g) polymorphism. Antibody BIP 45 distinguishes three apo B allotypes (immunophenotypes) encoded by the two allelic genes apo B Ag(c) and apo B Ag(g). Because of co-dominant transmission, genotypes may be inferred from allotypes, and it has been shown that BIP 45 binds strongly to the Ag(c) factor and only weakly to the allelic Ag(g) factor. Analysis of the Congolese plasma samples indicated that 67.65% of them bound BIP 45 with low affinity (Ag(c-,g+) genotype), 28.15% with intermediate affinity (Ag(c+,g+) genotype) and 4.20% with high affinity (Ag(c+,g-) genotype). According to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, this corresponds to gene frequencies of 0.817 and 0.183 for the type Ag(g)/Ag(c) alleles, respectively. After adjustment for age and body-mass index, it was found that the Ag(c) allele decreases the apo B level by 9.62 mg/dl and that the Ag(g) allele increases apo B by 0.43 mg/dl. Therefore, as much as 4.30% of the genetic variance for apo B level could be accounted for by the Ag(c,g) gene locus.