FEASIBILITY OF CONDUCTING CARDIOVASCULAR OUTCOME RESEARCH IN AUSTRALIAN GENERAL PRACTICE: RESULTS FROM THE ANBP2 PILOT STUDY

1. The present study aimed to determine the feasibility of conducting a 5 year cardiovascular outcome trial of the treatment of 6000 elderly hypertensive patients in Australian general practices. 2. General practitioners (GPs) were invited to participate by mail and personal follow-up. Patient records were reviewed to identify subjects for a blood pressure (BP) screening programme. Blood pressure was measured on three occasions and eligible subjects were included if the average BP was 160 mmHg systolic or 90 mmHg diastolic if systolic BP was 140 mmHg. 3. Seven hundred and forty-one GPs were approached and 89 were enrolled in the study (12% of mail invites and 75% of those receiving a personal contact). In 16 practices where screening was completed, 82 000 records were reviewed to identify 4% patients eligible for screening. Twenty-two per cent of eligible subjects attended screening. Of 1938 subjects screened, 180 (9%) had BP 5=160/90 mmHg. Forty-seven percent of subjects (n = 916) were receiving antihypertensive therapy and 184 (20%) were withdrawn from therapy. One hundred and sixteen (63%) of these subjects had BP return to study entry levels within 6 weeks. Fifty-seven newly diagnosed and 81 previously treated subjects were randomized (7% of the screened population). 4. Based on the high participation rate of GPs, the response rate of patients to attend a BP screening programme and the 7% randomization to screening ratio for entry into the study, the ANBP2 pilot study has demonstrated that it is feasible to recruit subjects from Australian general practices to a cardiovascular outcome trial.     

Spezielle Aspekte der nicht-invasiven und invasiven Pränataldiagnostik bei Mehrlingen

Zum Thema Mehrlingsschwangerschaften stellen hinsichtlich genetischer Beratung und praktischer Durchführung der Pr?nataldiagnostik besondere Anforderungen. Die gegenüber Einlingen auf das Doppelte erh?hte Fehlbildungsrate geht im wesentlichen zulasten monozygoter Mehrlinge. Unabh?ngig von der Zygotie sind aber diskordante Anomalien die Regel. Das biochemische Serumscreening ist in seiner Aussagekraft eingeschr?nkt, da die Sensitivit?t zur Erfassung von Neuralrohrdefekten und Chromosomenanomalien durch die bei Dizygotie fast immer bestehende Diskordanz von Auff?lligkeiten gegenüber Einlingen vermindert ist. Das zeitaufwendige sonographische Fehlbildungsscreening erm?glicht die Erfassung von etwa 2/3 aller Anomalien vom Maior-Typ. Die separate Amniozentese der Fruchth?hlen ist gegenw?rtig die Methode der Wahl zum Ausschlu? von Chromosomenanomalien. Obwohl die Spontanabortrate bei Zwillingen prinzipiell erh?ht ist, scheint die eingriffsbezogene fetale Verlustrate in der Hand erfahrener Untersucher derjenigen bei der Einlingsamniozentese zu entsprechen. Die Chorionzottenbiopsie sollte aufgrund der schwierigeren technischen Durchführbarkeit und der in bis zu 6 % der F?lle beschriebenen Probenkontamination bzw. Geschlechtsdiskordanz hochspezialisierten Zentren vorbehalten bleiben. Grunds?tzlich müssen die Eltern vor jeglicher Art von invasiver Diagnostik eingehend genetisch beraten werden. Insbesondere ist auf die M?glichkeit diskordanter Befunde und die daraus evtl. resultierenden Probleme für das weitere Management hinzuweisen.     

Age of uptake of early cancer detection facilities by low-risk and high-risk patients with familial breast and ovarian cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Some 5-10% of all cases of breast cancer and ovarian cancer have a hereditary genesis. In the setting of an interdisciplinary cancer genetics clinic, a study of the age at which patients first take advantage of early cancer detection (ECD) facilities was conducted in order to assess the influence of familial risk on health issues. METHODS: The study included 556 women who fulfilled the inclusion criteria (IC) for genetic analysis of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, as well as 205 who did not meet these criteria but attended the primary consultation. RESULTS: Consulters who met the inclusion criteria took advantage of nearly all methods of ECD at an earlier time than women who did not. A comparison of consulters with or without breast cancer showed that those without breast cancer participated in all methods of ECD at an earlier time. CONCLUSION: Methods of improving and increasing participation in ECD facilities, and of encouraging women who are at risk to start on such programs at a younger age, need to be discussed. In this study, familial risk already resulted in a younger age of uptake of ECD facilities.     

Toward acellular xenogeneic heart valve prostheses: Histological and biomechanical characterization of decellularized and enzymatically deglycosylated porcine pulmonary heart valve matrices

The use of decellularized xenogeneic heart valves might offer a solution to overcome the issue of human valve shortage. The aim of this study was to revise decellularization protocols in combination with enzymatic deglycosylation, in order to reduce the immunogenicity of porcine pulmonary heart valves, in means of cells, carbohydrates, and, primarily, Galα1-3Gal (α-Gal) epitope removal. In particular, the valves were decellularized with sodium dodecylsulfate/sodium deoxycholate (SDS/SD), Triton X-100 + SDS (Tx + SDS), or Trypsin + Triton X-100 (Tryp + Tx) followed by enzymatic digestion with PNGaseF, Endoglycosidase H, or O-glycosidase combined with Neuraminidase. Results showed that decellularization alone reduced carbohydrate structures only to a limited extent, and it did not result in an α-Gal free scaffold. Nevertheless, decellularization with Tryp + Tx represented the most effective decellularization protocol in means of carbohydrates reduction. Overall, carbohydrates and α-Gal removal could strongly be improved by applying PNGaseF, in particular in combination with Tryp + Tx treatment, contrary to Endoglycosidase H and O-glycosidase treatments. Furthermore, decellularization with PNGaseF did not affect biomechanical stability, in comparison with decellularization alone, as shown by burst pressure and uniaxial tensile tests. In conclusion, valves decellularized with Tryp + Tx and PNGaseF resulted in prostheses with potentially reduced immunogenicity and maintained mechanical stability.     

Rectal atresia as rare manifestation in EEC syndrome

A newborn boy presented with bilateral split hand/foot malformation, sparse hair, dry and scaly skin, and nasolacrimal duct obstruction. Despite absence of cleft lip or palate, the findings fit the EEC syndrome. Additionally, the boy had rectal atresia. At least six further patients with EEC syndrome and anal atresia (two published, four unpublished) demonstrate that anorectal malformation is a further, but rare anomaly in EEC syndrome. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Characterization of Influenza D Virus in Danish Calves

Influenza D virus (IDV) was first described in 2011 and has been found to mainly circulate among cattle and swine populations worldwide. Nasal swab samples were collected from 100 Danish calf herds (83 dairy and 17 veal herds) from 2018–2020. Influenza D virus was detected in 12 of the herds. Samples with the lowest cycle quantification value were selected for full genome sequencing. A hemagglutinin-esterase fusion (HEF) gene sequence from a Danish IDV collected in 2015 was also included in this study. Phylogenetic analysis showed that viruses from seven of the IDV-positive herds belonged to the D/OK lineage and clustered together in the HEF tree with the IDV collected in 2015. Viruses from the four other herds belonged to the D/660 lineage, where three of the viruses clustered closely together, while the fourth virus was more phylogenetically distant in all gene segments. The high level of genetic similarity between viruses from two different herds involved in calf trading suggests that transmission occurred through the movement of calves. This study is, to our knowledge, the first to describe the characterization of IDV in calves in Denmark.