Preliminary evidence for a role of apolipoprotein E alleles in identifying haemodialysis patients at high vascular risk

Conventional risk factors have very low predictive power in identifying haemodialysis patients at high risk of vascular accidents. A role for apolipoprotein E isotypes was looked for in a small, but rigorously defined, cohort of longterm haemodialysis patients. In individuals with high vascular risk, as identified by higher common carotid intima/media thickness, we found an excess of apolipoprotein E4 alleles. This preliminary result requires confirmation in large patient cohorts.      

Improving the ambulatory surgical services on the basis of the work experience of the Center of Ambulatory Surgery

Centers of ambulatory surgery made on the basis of large city polyclinics and regional medical formations are considered to be a perspective and economically effective form of perestroika of the ambulatory surgical aid to people. Specificity of the operative procedures performed at the Center and specific features of postoperative management of the patients should be taken into consideration, and the staff of such units must consist of highly trained surgeons of wide type. The ambulatory surgery Center must occupy its place in the system of dispensary examinations of the population.     

Hodgkin disease: CT of the thymus

The computed tomography (CT) scans in two groups of patients with Hodgkin disease were reviewed to determine the frequency of thymic enlargement. In 50 CT scans from 50 patients with evidence of thoracic disease on CT scans who were examined for primary staging, the thymus was enlarged in 15 of 50 (30%). Fifty CT scans were obtained from 44 patients at the time of 50 separate episodes of known or suspected relapse. Relapse occurred in the mediastinum in 12 episodes, lung parenchyma in five, and both sites in one. Thymic enlargement thought to be due to involvement by disease was present in seven of 18 (38%). Mediastinal disease was associated with thymic enlargement in all but one patient in whom a thymic cyst developed after radiation therapy. Differentiation of thymic enlargement from enlarged superior mediastinal lymph nodes was easily made in all but two patients. Thymic enlargement in the absence of lymph node enlargement may indicate a different disease, since isolated Hodgkin disease of the thymus is uncommon. Primary thymic tumor should be considered initially, whereas after treatment, rebound hyperplasia of the thymus may be the cause of enlargement.     

Solitary bronchioloalveolar carcinoma: CT criteria

The computed tomographic (CT) scans of 30 patients with solitary bronchioloalveolar carcinoma were reviewed. Common features at CT included the peripheral or subpleural location of a pulmonary mass (25 cases), pseudocavitation (18 cases), heterogeneous attenuation (17 cases), irregular margins forming a star pattern (22 cases), and pleural tags (21 cases). Using these CT criteria, four independent observers attempted to identify cases of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma from a larger sample of lung cancers and benign lesions by categorizing a series of test cases into four probability categories. Although the bronchioloalveolar carcinomas were correctly ranked in the two highest probability categories 75% of the time (in 45 of 60 cases), there was considerable overlap with other lung lesions, particularly with adenocarcinoma and large cell undifferentiated carcinoma. However, even though the typical features of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma are not invariable or highly specific, they are characteristic enough to suggest the diagnosis.     

A randomized controlled trial of electromagnetic therapy in the primary care management of venous leg ulceration

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to establish the potential efficacy, tolerabilityand side-effect profile of electromagnetic therapy as an adjunctto conventional dressings in the treatment of venous leg ulcers. METHOD: A prospective, randomized, double blind controlled clinicaltrial was carried out in a dedicated leg ulcer clinic basedin one urban general practice. Nineteen patients with leg ulcersof confirmed venous aetiology were assessed. The main outcomemeasures were rate and scale of venous leg ulcer healing, changesin patient-reported pain levels, quality of life, degree ofmobility, side effect profile and acceptability to patientsand staff. RESULTS: Sixty-eight per cent of patients attending this dedicated clinicachieved improvements in the size of their ulcer (4, 21%, healedfully) and in reduced pain levels (P < 0.05) during the trial,despite the chronicity of ulcer histories. Patients treatedwith electromagnetic therapy at 800 Hz were found at day 50to have significantly greater healing (P < 0.05) and paincontrol (P < 0.05) than placebo therapy or treatment with600 Hz. All patients reported improved mobility at the end ofthe study. The electromagnetic therapy was well tolerated bypatients, with no differences between groups in reporting adverseevents, and proved acceptable to staff. CONCLUSION: Despite the small numbers in this pilot study, electromagnetictherapy provided significant gains in the healing of venousleg ulcers and reduction in pain. Keywords. Electromagnetic therapy, RCT, leg ulcers, primary care.     

Immunohistochemical detection of p53 in Wilms' tumors correlates with unfavorable outcome.

The role of p53 in the pathogenesis and progression of Wilms' tumors is only partly understood. Although p53 mutations were initially reported only in anaplastic Wilms' tumors, we had reported that, of two of twenty-one cases that had a p53 mutation, one tumor showed no evidence of anaplasia. To determine the significance of p53 expression in all clinical stages of Wilms' tumor, twenty-eight cases were analyzed for p53 immunoreactivity. Paraffin sections were immunolabeled with two different monoclonal antibodies, recognizing both mutant and wild-type p53. Fifteen of sixteen tumors in the recurrent/metastatic group and three of twelve tumors in the nonmetastatic/nonrecurrent group showed p53 immunopositivity. Only one of three positive tumors in the latter group showed moderate to strong positivity, whereas twelve of sixteen metastatic/recurrent tumors revealed a similar degree of p53 positivity. The positivity was stronger in the metastasis/recurrences as compared with the corresponding primary tumor. Western blot analysis revealed p53 expression in all of the Wilms' tumors tested, suggesting its involvement in the development of Wilms' tumors. Single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis performed on twenty-three of these tumors revealed p53 mutations in four of fourteen recurrent/metastatic tumors and none in the nonmetastatic/nonrecurrent group. Our results show that, whereas 60% of cases were immunopositive for p53 protein, mutations were detected in only 16% of tumors, indicating that wild-type p53 protein is retained in the other tumors. We conclude that p53 immunopositivity strongly correlates with recurrence/metastasis in Wilms' tumors. Furthermore, the accumulation of p53 in these tumors is not only due to mutations but may also involve stabilization of normal p53 with other proteins.