Circulating immune complex levels in patients with schistosomiasis and complications

Circulating immune complexes (CIC), adult schistosome antibody, and total immunoglobulin concentrations were estimated in sera from 35 chronic Schistosoma mansoni patients with different infection intensities and different pathological complications. High CIC levels were present in about one-third (10/35) of the sera. Most of the patients (9/10) with elevated CIC levels also had hepatomegaly or hepatosplenomegaly. This finding is significant in the pathogenesis of schistosomal liver fibrosis and may also apply to other liver diseases, especially cirrhosis. No correlation was found between infection intensity as judged by stool egg counts and CIC levels. A reverse relationship was observed between the level of anti-adult worm IgG and CIC levels. CIC levels were elevated within 7 and 28 days after treatment in most patients. Hypergammaglobulinaemia was detected in most sera.     

Dot-ELISA for serodiagnosis of human infections due to Western equine encephalitis virus

A standard dot-ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) was modified for use in detecting IgM and IgG class antibodies to Western equine encephalitis (WEE) virus in serum samples from humans infected with this virus. Nitrocellulose membranes were soaked in supernatant fluid from WEE virus-infected cell cultures, air dried, and blocked with bovine protein. Serum samples were pipetted onto sections of the nitrocellulose, incubated, and washed. Addition of antibody to human immunoglobulin conjugated to alkaline phosphatase and enzyme substrate were used to detect the antibodies. Of 13 samples positive for IgM antibody to WEE virus by IgM antibody capture ELISA, 12 were positive by IgM dot-ELISA. IgG antibody to WEE virus was detected by dot-ELISA in 7/8, 10/14 and 7/10 samples with neutralizing, hemagglutination-inhibiting, or complement-fixing antibodies, respectively.     

Treatment of Late Class II Antibody-Mediated Rejection Status Postkidney Transplantation: Two Case Reports

We are describing the successful treatment of two cases of late Class II antibody mediated rejection status postkidney transplantation. The first patient was treated with a combination of plasmapheresis, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and stenting of the transplanted renal artery. The second was treated with IVIG and pulse steroids.     

Ultrasound thermal monitoring with an external ultrasound source for customized bipolar RF ablation shapes

Purpose

Thermotherapy is a clinical procedure which delivers thermal energy to a target, and it has been applied for various medical treatments. Temperature monitoring during thermotherapy is important to achieve precise and reproducible results. Medical ultrasound can be used for thermal monitoring and is an attractive medical imaging modality due to its advantages including non-ionizing radiation, cost-effectiveness and portability. We propose an ultrasound thermal monitoring method using a speed-of-sound tomographic approach coupled with a biophysical heat diffusion model.

Methods

We implement an ultrasound thermometry approach using an external ultrasound source. We reconstruct the speed-of-sound images using time-of-flight information from the external ultrasound source and convert the speed-of-sound information into temperature by using the a priori knowledge brought by a biophysical heat diffusion model.

Results

Customized treatment shapes can be created using switching channels of radio frequency bipolar needle electrodes. Simulations of various ablation lesion shapes in the temperature range of 21–59 \(^\circ \)C are performed to study the feasibility of the proposed method. We also evaluated our method with ex vivo porcine liver experiments, in which we generated temperature images between 22 and 45 \(^\circ \)C.

Conclusion

In this paper, we present a proof of concept showing the feasibility of our ultrasound thermal monitoring method. The proposed method could be applied to various thermotherapy procedures by only adding an ultrasound source.

     

Asbestos-induced lung injury in the sheep model: The initial alveolitis

In order to study the cellular and biochemical changes in early asbestosis, three groups of sheep were repeatedly exposed to intratracheal instillations of either saline (controls), low doses of UICC chrysotile asbestos (LD), or high doses of the fibers (HD) until an alveolitis was observed in all HD sheep during the twelfth month of exposure. All sheep were studied bimonthly by transbronchial lung biopsy (LB), bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), pulmonary function tests (PFT), and chest roentgenograms (CXR). While LBs of the HD sheep demonstrated large accumulations of monocyte-macrophages in the alveolar and interstitial spaces, those of controls and LD sheep did not. In BAL, there was no difference in total and differential cell counts between groups, but the BAL lymphocyte proliferative capacity was clearly depressed in all asbestos-exposed sheep. In the BAL supernatant, total proteins (mainly albumin, beta + gamma globulins) and lactate dehydrogenase were significantly elevated in the HD group only. This alveolitis was associated with a fall in vital capacity, lung compliance, diffusing capacity, and arterial P_O2. Abnormalities on CXR appeared 3 months later. Thus, the cellular and biochemical features of early asbestosis are clearly distinct from those reported in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.     

A comparison of rates, risk factors, and outcomes of gestational diabetes between aboriginal and non-aboriginal women in the Saskatoon health district

OBJECTIVE: To determine possible differences in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in the Saskatoon Health District. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a prospective survey of all women admitted for childbirth to the Saskatoon Royal University Hospital between January and July 1998. We compared prevalence rates, risk factors, and outcomes of GDM between aboriginal and non-aboriginal women. RESULTS: Information was obtained from 2,006 women, of whom 252 aboriginal and 1,360 non-aboriginal subjects had been tested for GDM. The overall rates of GDM were 3.5% for women in the general population and 11.5% for aboriginal women. For those living within the Saskatoon Health District, GDM rates were 3.7 and 6.4%, respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that aboriginal ethnicity, most notably when combined with obesity, was an independent predictor for GDM. Pregravid BMI > or = 27 kg/m(2) and maternal age > or = 33 years were the most important risk factors for GDM in aboriginal women, whereas previous GDM, family history of diabetes, and maternal age > or = 38 years were the strongest predictors for GDM in non-aboriginal women. CONCLUSIONS: There may be fundamental differences in GDM between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people. Because GDM contributes to an increased risk for type 2 diabetes in aboriginal women and their offspring, the impact of prevention and optimal treatment of GDM on the type 2 diabetes epidemic in susceptible populations are important areas for further investigation.