Shoulder instability: impact of glenohumeral arthrotomography on treatment

We used arthrotomography to study the glenoid labrum in 114 patients. Sixty-nine of the patients had anatomic instability of the shoulder (including recurrent dislocation and subluxation of the shoulder), and 45 patients had functional instability of the shoulder (denoted by chronic pain, clicking of the joint, and the sensation that an unstable condition exists without the objective signs of it). Labral tears were revealed arthrotomographically in 86% of the patients with anatomic instability, while only 40% of the patients with functional instability had labral abnormalities, and these were primarily of minor severity. Fifty-six patients (44 of whom had anatomic instability; 12, functional instability) required surgery. The surgical findings were correlated with the arthrotomographic findings, and no false-positive results were revealed. However, arthrotomography demonstrated only part of the pathologic condition of two patients. These results confirm that there is a strong correlation between labral pathologic conditions and anatomic instability of the shoulder. Arthrotomographic studies have a great impact on the selection of therapy in cases of both anatomic and functional instability of the shoulder.     

BCG Antibody Profiles in Tuberculoid and Lepromatous Leprosy

In sera from 12 patients with polar tuberculoid leprosy, 12 with subpolar tuberculoid leprosy, and 16 with lepromatous leprosy were demonstrated a total number of 125 anti-BCG precipitins by means of crossed immunoelectrophoresis with intermediate gel. Up to 14 different precipitins were found in individual sera, and the complexity in antibody response was higher than previously realized. The specificity of 69% of the antibodies was defined, and these antibodies were titrated in three arbitrary titer units. A highly significant difference (P < 0.002) was found in antibody response between the tuberculoid and the lepromatous group. Due to simplicity, sensitivity, and high resolution, the method used is a promising tool for providing exact data to be used as guidelines for purification of important individual mycobacterial antigens. The need for reference antisera is emphasized.     

Sperm quality in Hodgkin's disease versus non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

The study was conducted to determine the deleterious effect of lymphoma disease on spermatogenesis and to evaluate the possibility that the disease is mediated primarily by inherent mechanisms in Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients. A total of 89 patients with lymphoma disease (Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's) were referred for sperm preservation prior to adjuvant treatments. A comparison was made of pre- and post-thaw sperm quality between lymphoma patients and healthy volunteers who applied for sperm donation. This was followed by further assessment of the differences between patients with Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in terms of sperm variables, clinical parameters and blood hormone concentrations. It was found that patients with lymphoma disease had significantly impaired pre-freeze and post-thaw sperm quality compared with that of healthy volunteers. Patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma had spermatozoa of higher quality than patients with Hodgkin's disease. No differences were found in the clinical or hormonal parameters between these two groups. As expected, reduced testicular size and abnormal testicular consistency were correlated with decreased sperm quality. The mere presence of cancer disease has a direct negative effect on spermatogenesis, which is probably not related to incidental side-effects. A variable degree of impairment should be expected with different categories of cancer.      

Antigen-antibody crossed electrophoresis (Laurell) applied to the study of the antigenic structure of Candida albicans

By means of the antigen-antibody crossed electrophoresis procedure of Laurell, 68 antigens were demonstrated in Candida albicans. This is about four times the number of antigens described earlier by means of classical immunoelectrophoresis. The procedures for obtaining this result are described, including the preparation of antigen, the immunization of rabbits, and the method of N. M. G. Harboe for the production of purified and concentrated rabbit antibodies suitable for quantitative immunoelectrophoresis. The immunoplates were stained by means of the sensitive Coomassie brilliant blue R. The various quantitative immunoelectrophoretic methods offer considerable possibilities for qualitative and quantitative characterization of antigens, even in complex mixtures, and are therefore well suited for the investigation of microbial antigens.     

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of immunoglobulin M antibody against the Reiter treponeme flagellum in syphilis

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies against the periplasmatic flagellum of the Reiter treponeme is described. IgM in the test samples was bound to anti-IgM-coated microtest plates, and flagellum-specific IgM antibody was subsequently detected by incubation with a purified flagellum preparation and monospecific anti-flagellum conjugate. Rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibodies, or flagellum-specific IgG did not interfere. The specificity of the ELISA for IgM antibodies was 99.5% for sera from 200 blood donors and 98.6% for 147 patient sera that gave false-positive reactions in other syphilis serological tests. The sensitivity was 88.5% for sera from 87 patients with first-time primary syphilis, 93.5% for sera from 62 patients with first-time secondary syphilis, 21.4% for sera from 42 patients who were reinfected, and 0% for sera from 13 patients with late syphilis. Of the sera from 153 patients with treated syphilis, 7.2% had IgM antibodies, and sera from patients with primary or secondary syphilis generally had no IgM antibodies 6 months after treatment. The finding of IgM antibodies indicates that patients should receive antisyphilis treatment if they have not been treated recently, but a negative result does not exclude the possibility of active syphilis. The method may prove useful for the diagnosis of congenital syphilis in newborns.     

双波长薄层扫描法测定痛得安胶囊中新乌头碱的含量

目的：建立痛得安胶囊中新乌头碱的含量测定方法。方法：采用双波长薄层扫描法,以正己烷－乙酸乙酯－无水乙醇－氨水（１２：８：２．５：０．５）为展开剂,碘化饿钾试液为显色剂,测定该制剂中新乌头碱的含量。结果：线性范围为１～６ｕｇ。平均回收率为９４．８０％,ＲＳＤ为２．０３％。结论：本法操作简便。结果可靠。实用,适合该制剂中新乌头碱的含量测定。