Certain type of chronic lung disease of newborns is associated with Ureaplasma urealyticum infection in utero

BACKGROUND: Recent studies of chronic lung disease (CLD) of newborns emphasize the contribution of antenatal infection. However, the association of Ureaplasma urealyticum infection and CLD has been controversial. The purpose of the present paper was to determine whether U. urealyticum is associated with chorioamnionitis (CAM) and a certain type of CLD. METHODS: One hundred and five infants <32 weeks of gestation who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at Jichi Medical School Hospital, who underwent both histological and microbiological examinations and who survived to discharge were included. CAM was determined by histological examination. Placenta, gastric and tracheal aspirates, and nasopharyngeal swabs were cultured for Mycoplasma and other microorganisms. CLD was defined as oxygen needed at 28 days of age with symptoms of persistent respiratory distress and hazy or emphysematous and fibrous appearance upon X-ray. CLD was further divided into two subtypes according to the presence of antenatal infection. RESULTS: CAM was associated with premature rupture of membrane (odds ratio [OR], 10.19; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.10-33.56), placental colonization of U. urealyticum (OR 6.73, 95%CI: 1.89-23.91), neonatal colonization of other microorganisms (OR 7.33, 95%CI: 1.22-44.13) and level of IgM (OR 1.06, 95%CI: 1.01-1.11). Comparisons between CLD and non-CLD patients showed that gestational age (OR 0.43, 95%CI: 0.30-0.61) and white blood cell count (WBC) at birth (OR 1.06, 95%CI: 1.01-1.11) were risk factors for CLD, while gestational age (OR 0.38, 95%CI: 0.23-0.64), neonatal colonization of U. urealyticum (OR 5.98, 95%CI: 1.17-30.6) and WBC (OR 1.08, 95%CI: 1.01-1.15) were independent risk factors for infection-related CLD compared with non-CLD. Within CLD, infection-related CLD was associated with neonatal colonization of U. urealyticum (OR 43.7, 95%CI: 2.84-673.8) and WBC (OR 1.27, 95%CI: 1.07-1.50). CONCLUSIONS: Placental colonization of U. urealyticum was significantly related to CAM; and neonatal colonization of U. urealyticum and leukocytosis at birth were risk factors for infection-related CLD.     

A sighted man with non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome shows damped plasma melatonin rhythm

Abstract Twenty-four-hour profiles of plasma melatonin, cortisol and rectal temperature were measured longitudinally in a sighted man who has been suffering from sleep disorders for more than 10 years. The sleep-wake rhythm of this subject free-ran, despite his routine life, and occasionally showed a sign of internal desyn-chronization, where sleep was lengthened up to 30 h. These states were classified into the non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome. Plasma melatonin concentrations in the subjective night remained at a low level and showed a damped circadian rhythm. At the same time, robust circadian rhythms were detected in plasma cortisol and rectal temperature, indicating that the circadian pacemaker was intact. The causal relationship between the damping of nocturnal melatonin rise and a failure of entrainment of the sleep-wake cycle is discussed.     

Endoscopy and Crohn's Disease: Endoscopic Approach to the Pathogenesis of Crohn's Disease

Abstract: This review describes endoscopic and histopathological findings in Crohn's disease with reference to its pathogenesis. The number of patients with Crohn's disease has markedly and rapidly increased during the last 10 years in Japan. Minute lesions such as aphthoid ulcers as an early lesion in Crohn's disease were at first discussed endoscopically and histopathologically. Recent advances concerning the mechanism of how aphthoid ulcers may occur revealed that they are induced by mucosal ischemia due to vasculitis. Longitudinal ulcers and cobblestone appearance were observed only in advanced Crohn's disease. Finally, the etiology of Crohn's disease was reviewed from the viewpoint of infectious agents and immunological abnormalities which were clarified from the study of endoscopic biopsy specimens.     

Effects of short duration morning bright light in healthy elderly subjects. I:Subjective feeling and ophthalmological examinations

Abstract Seven aged subjects aged 61–78 years were exposed to 6000 lx bright light for 30 min during morning hours at their homes for 1 week. Visual analog scale was recorded before bedtime and after rising to assess subjective feelings. Ophthalmological examinations were made before and after light exposure, to exclude pre-existing ocular disorders and to detect ocular damage. Furthermore, ocular fatigue was self-evaluated immediately before and after exposure. Visual analog scale results indicated that alertness reduced significantly before bedtime. Ophthalmological abnormalities were not found after exposure. These findings suggest that short duration morning bright light exposure reduces night-time vigilance.     

Allergenic epitopes of ovalbumin (OVA) in patients with hen's egg allergy: inhibition of basophil histamine release by haptenic ovalbumin peptide

We studied allergenic determinants that induce hypersensitivity to OVA, the major allergen in egg allergy, using immunoblot and histamine release assays. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated a part of the OVA epitope was in the C-terminal region comprising residues 347-385 (OVA347-385). Histamine was released from basophils of a patient with egg allergy upon stimulation with the OVA fragment corresponding to OVA347–385. Furthermore, detailed epitope mapping using overlapping peptides (residues 347-366, OVA-A; residues 357-376, OVA-B; and residues 367-385, OVA-C) in the OVA 347-385 region was carried out using the histamine release assay. In order for histamine release from basophils to occur, the allergen must possess two or more allergenic determinants located on the protein molecule at distances that would be equivalent to the distances between IgE molecules on the membrane surface. These results suggest that there are at least two epitopes that bind IgE antibodies on each OVA peptide. In addition, one epitope that binds IgE antibodies in two patients appears to reside in the haptenic peptide OVA357-366 (OVA-B1). The histamine release from basophils stimulated by OVA-B was completely inhibited by OVA-B1 in one of these patients. Similarly, OVA-B1 inhibited the histamine release produced by OVA-A in the other by more than 40%. These results suggest that haptenic synthetic peptides could regulate the allergic reaction in the effector phase if common epitope(s) recognized by IgE antibodies in the patients with egg allergy can be found. These are the first studies that provide an antigen-specific approach to inhibiting histamine release from basophils by a haptenic peptide recognized by IgE antibodies in an allergic disorder.