Improving Prenatal Diagnosis of Coarctation of the Aorta

Background

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the association between fetal echocardiographic measurements and the need for intervention (primary coarctation repair, staged coarctation repair, or catheter intervention) in prenatally diagnosed coarctation of the aorta.

Removal of surface bacteria by irrigation

We examined the efficacy of various irrigation solutions delivered through a power irrigator to remove bacteria from three different surfaces. Titanium, stainless-steel, and cortical bone surfaces were coated with three different bacterial species: Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. They were then irrigated with 1 L of fluid delivered by jet lavage. The fluids tested were normal saline and solutions of bacitracin, neomycin, and soap. One set of specimens was not irrigated, as a control. After irrigation, the specimens were sonicated to remove residual bacteria, and the sonicate was quantitatively cultured to allow evaluation of the amount of residual bacteria on the surface. The results showed that removal of bacteria reflects an interaction between bacterial species, surface characteristics, and irrigation solution. Fewer bacteria were present in all the irrigation groups than in the control. Soap solution was as good as or better than any other solution at removing all three types of bacteria from all three surfaces, although not all of the pairwise comparisons were statistically significant. There was a significant advantage to soap solution over antibiotic irrigant or saline alone in removing Staphylococcus epidermidis from metallic surfaces. The use of a soap solution for irrigation seems to improve the removal of some bacteria from some surfaces in this experimental model and may represent a better type of irrigation additive.     

Assessment of metallothionein and antibodies to metallothionein in normal and autistic children having exposure to vaccine-derived thimerosal

Allergic autoimmune reaction after exposure to heavy metals such as mercury may play a causal role in autism, a developmental disorder of the central nervous system. As metallothionein (MT) is the primary metal-detoxifying protein in the body, we conducted a study of the MT protein and antibodies to metallothionein (anti-MT) in normal and autistic children whose exposure to mercury was only from thimerosal-containing vaccines. Laboratory analysis by immunoassays revealed that the serum level of MT did not significantly differ between normal and autistic children. Furthermore, autistic children harboured normal levels of anti-MT, including antibodies to isoform MT-I (anti-MT-I) and MT-II (anti-MT-II), without any significant difference between normal and autistic children. Our findings indicate that because autistic children have a normal profile of MT and anti-MT, the mercury-induced autoimmunity to MT may not be implicated in the pathogenesis of autism.     

Altered regulation of in-vivo coagulation in orthopedic patients prior to knee or hip replacement surgery.

Up to 20% of patients develop venographically proven deep-vein thrombosis after elective orthopedic surgery even under the cover of heparin or low molecular weight heparin. The extent to which the chronic inflammation of osteoarthritis requiring elective orthopedic surgery alters in-vivo coagulation and whether any specific alteration influences the development of postoperative thrombosis are unknown. This study compared the concentrations of activated factor VII (FVIIa), tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), activated factor X (FXa)-TFPI, thrombin-antithrombin, and prothrombin fragment 1+2 (F1+2) in plasmas of 535 healthy individuals (ages 17-76) with those in the preoperative plasmas of 306 arthritis patients (ages 30-92) scheduled for elective knee or hip replacement surgery. C-reactive protein was also measured in the plasmas of approximately 15% of the participants. Age-adjusted concentrations of FVIIa, F1+2, and C-reactive protein were higher in patients than controls, while the concentrations of thrombin-antithrombin, TFPI and FXa-TFPI were similar. Chronic inflammation in the patients was thus associated with increased coagulation in vivo. Without compensatory increases in the concentrations of TFPI (natural inhibitor of prothrombinase), the elevated concentrations of FVIIa in the preoperative plasmas and the trauma associated with surgery may enhance the risk for developing postoperative deep-vein thrombosis.