Multiple sclerosis: fat-oil relationship.

Between 1949 and 1984, 150 patients with multiple sclerosis consumed low-fat diets. Fat, oil, and protein intakes; disability; and deaths were determined. With a daily fat consumption less than 20.1 g/day (av 17 g/day), 31% died, and average deterioration was slight. A daily intake greater than 20 g/day (av 25 or 41 g/day) was attended by serious disability and the deaths of 79 and 81%, respectively. Oil intake bore an indirect relationship to fat consumption. Minimally disabled patients who followed diet recommendations deteriorated little if at all, and only 5% failed to survive the 34 yr of the study, whereas 80% who failed to follow diet recommendations did not survive the study period. The moderately disabled and severely disabled patients who followed diet recommendations carefully did far better than those who failed to follow the diet. In general, women tended to do better than men. Those patients treated early did better than those in whom treatment was delayed. High sensitivity to fats suggests that saturated animal fats are directly involved in the genesis of multiple sclerosis.     

A mixture of ammonium perchlorate and sodium chlorate enhances alterations of the pituitary-thyroid axis caused by the individual chemicals in adult male F344 rats

Ammonium perchlorate (AP) and sodium chlorate (SC) have been detected in public drinking water supplies in many parts of the United States. These chemicals cause perturbations in pituitary-thyroid homeostasis in animals by competitively inhibiting iodide uptake, thus hindering the synthesis of thyroglobulin and reducing circulating T(4) (thyroxine). Little is known about the short-term exposure effects of mixtures of perchlorate and chlorate. The present study investigated the potential for the response to a mixture of these chemicals on the pituitary-thyroid axis in rats to be greater than that induced by the individual chemicals. Adult male F-344 rats were exposed, via their drinking water, to the nominal concentrations of 0.1, 1.0, 10 mg/L AP or 10, 100, 1000 mg/L SC and their mixtures for 7 days. Serum T(4) levels were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in rats following exposure to the mixtures, but not after exposure to the individual chemicals. Serum T(3) (triiodothyronine) was not altered by treatment and TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was only increased after the high-dose chlorate treatment. Histological examination of the thyroid gland showed colloid depletion and hypertrophy of follicular epithelial cells in high-dose single chemical and all mixture-treated rats, while hyperplasia was observed only in some of the rats treated with mixtures (AP 10 + SC 100, AP 0.1 + SC 1000, and AP 10 + SC 1000 mg/L). These data suggest that short-term exposure to the mixture of AP and SC enhances the effect of either chemical alone on the pituitary-thyroid axis in rats.     

Turnover of kidney beta-glucuronidase in normal and Chédiak-Higashi (beige) mice.

Kidney beta-glucuronidase turnover has been examined by specific antibody methods in normal C57BL/6J mice and in coisogenic C57BL/6J beige mice, an animal model for the human Chédiak-Higashi syndrome. No effect of the beige gene on the rate of glucuronidase synthesis was detected in either untreated or testosterone-treated mice. Moreover, glucuronidase of beige mice decayed relatively slowly in pulse labeling and in hormone withdrawal experiments. Direct measurements of secretion confirmed that both in the presence of testosterone and following its withdrawal, there was a threefold lower rate of secretion of kidney glucuronidase in beige mice. Following hormone withdrawal, the loss of glucuronidase activity in beige mice was biphasic, with the second more slowly turning over component apparently lost by a nonsecretory mechanism. This persistent nonsecreted glucuronidase activity was specifically associated with giant lysosomes in kidney proximal tubule cells near the corticomedullary border. Thus, there are two major populations of lysosomes in proximal tubule cells of beige mice. Cells of the outer cortex contain mainly morphologically normal lysosomes, and their lysosomal enzymes are secreted at near normal rates. However, lysosomal enzymes derived from the giant lysosomes of cells near the corticomedullary border are secreted either very slowly or not at all. The altered secretion of lysosomal enzymes from specific kidney cells of beige mice may serve as a model system for study of defective fusion of lysosomes with phagocytosed bacteria in cells of Chédiak-Higashi patients.     

Female and male partner age and menotrophin requirements influence pregnancy rates with human menopausal gonadotrophin therapy in combination with intrauterine insemination

This study analyses the influence of female and male patient age and human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG) requirements on clinical pregnancy rates and live birth rates with ovulation stimulation using HMG in combination with intrauterine insemination (IUI). In this study, 363 consecutive HMG/IUI treatment cycles in 184 patients carried out at a university fertility centre were analysed in a retrospective fashion. The main outcomes measured were clinical pregnancy rates and live birth rates. Increased female partner age (> or = 35) and male partner age (> or = 40) were found to negatively influence pregnancy rates with HMG/ IUI therapy. In addition, this study demonstrated a critical threshold of HMG requirements beyond which pregnancy did not occur. No pregnancies occurred in treatment cycles requiring > 25 ampoules (1875 IU) of menotrophins to achieve follicular maturity, irrespective of patient age. In conclusion, female partner age, male partner age, and HMG requirements all significantly influence pregnancy rates with HMG/IUI therapy.      

METHYLATION STATUS OF BCL6 DISTINGUISHES DNA SAMPLES FROM BENIGN AND MALIGNANT LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS

INTRODUCTION: Core biopsy of the breast has become the method of choice for tissue diagnosis of screen detected microcalcifications and some mass lesions in many breast assessment centres. Biopsy results are not available until the following day. Imprint cytology of fresh breast core samples allows same-day reporting and patient counselling.
AIM: To determine the accuracy of core imprint cytology when compared with core biopsy diagnosis when used in a breast assessment centre setting.
METHODS: Core imprints (CI) were prepared and reported on all fresh core biopsies (CB) performed at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Breast Centre from May to December 2000. Fresh core samples were placed on a glass microscope slide. Core radiographs were taken for microcalcification lesions (MC). A laboratory technician gently and quickly rolled the cores on the slide with fine forceps. The cores were fixed in formalin, processed and reported next day. The imprint slide was air dried and stained with DiffQuik. CI were reported using four categories: Insufficient, Benign, Indeterminate and Malignant. Counselling and planning for management were possible on the same day in women with malignant diagnoses. Clinicians were advised not to discuss negative or indeterminate CI results with women and to defer to the final CB report.
RESULTS: Cores were performed on 381 lesions. There were 83 carcinomas (38 in MC and 45 in masses) and 56 were called malignant on CI (absolute sensitivity 67.5%; 78.9% for MC and 57.8% for masses). 3 malignancies on CB were negative on CI giving a false negative rate of 3.6%. There were no false positive diagnoses. The predictive value of a benign diagnosis was 95.3%. There were no adverse effects in the histology of CB.
CONCLUSION: CI was an accurate method of providing an immediate diagnosis of malignancy in two thirds of malignancies confirmed on CB.