外周动脉闭塞患者的交感神经皮肤反应

目的：描述胚胎种植前遗传诊断在1例携带Ⅰ型白细胞黏附缺陷病（LAD-1）携带者并完成健康妊娠夫妇中的应用。设计：病例报道。机构：大学医院生殖中心。患者：1例男女双方都是LAD-1携带者的夫妇，女方CD18基因的外显子4携带有G400A置换，男方的外显子5携带有C562T置换。干预：标准体外受精（IVF）后第3天行卵裂期活检和分裂球遗传分析以检测2处突变以及21号染色体标记物。主要观察指标：1个未罹患LAD-1婴儿的出生。结果：得到15个卵母细胞，其中10个受精。8个胚胎适宜胚胎活组织检查。     

Microencapsulation using poly(DL-lactic acid). III: Effect of polymer molecular weight on the release kinetics

Poly(DL-lactic acid) [DL-PLA] microcapsules containing phenobarbitone (PB) were prepared using a w/o emulsion-evaporation method. DL-PLA of three different molecular weights, 20,200, 13,300 and 5,200 were used to prepare microcapsules of nominal core: polymer (C:P) ratios of 1 : 2, 1 : 2.5, 1 : 3 and 1 : 4. The release of PB was investigated in aqueous buffer of pH 2, pH 7 and pH 9 at 37 degrees C and found to follow a square root of time dependent release mechanism. The first order and zero order release mechanisms were disproved by the lower correlation coefficient of the release data as compared to that of the t1/2 mechanism. These microcapsules showed an initial burst phase release followed by a lag phase, during which time little PB was released. This lag time was affected by the polymer molecular weight and pH of the buffer. The polymer matrix was hydrated during the lag phase and a steady state release occurred. The steady state release rate per unit specific surface area (Kh2/SSA) was found to increase exponentially with the increase in core loading of the microcapsules. However the extent of normalized release rate reduced linearly with the increase in polymer molecular weight at any particular core loading (e.g. 20 per cent or 30 per cent). Increases in the normalized steady state release rate with an increase in buffer pH could be correlated to PB solubility in the dissolution medium. PB release from these microcapsules was diffusion controlled. However, swelling and erosion also contributed to the release process.     

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.      

Microencapsulation using poly(DL-lactic acid). IV: Effect of storage on the microcapsule characteristics

Poly (DL-lactic acid) [DL-PLA] microcapsules containing phenobarbitone were prepared using a W/O emulsion method. Microcapsules of nominal C : P ratio, 1 : 2 and 1 : 3 using three different molecular weight polymers, 20,500, 13,300 and 5,200 were investigated to study the effect of storage conditions on the microcapsule properties. All microcapsules were stored under desiccated condition at temperatures of 4 degrees, 20 degrees and 37 degrees C for six months. Storage temperatures of 4 degrees and 20 degrees C did not cause appreciable changes in the release rate after storage. Microcapsules stored at 37 degrees C showed an annealing effect, causing shrinkage of microcapsules, and lowering of the release rate after storage for six months. The microcapsules prepared from low molecular weight DL-PLA fused completely whilst stored at 37 degrees C and the other two high molecular DL-PLA also showed some aggregation. There were insignificant variations in the mean microcapsule diameter during storage. The phenobarbitone content of the microcapsules was also unchanged.     

The role of HLA‐DQβ1 alleles in susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis

Aim: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common chronic inflammatory erosive joint disease with the worldwide distribution of approximately 0.5–1.0%. Etiology of RA is not exactly known but immunologic and genetic factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Genetic factors such as human leukocyte antigens (HLA) are responsible for many autoimmune diseases; therefore we decided to look for a correlation between RA and the presence of HLA‐DQβ1 alleles as possible genetic markers. Methods: Genomic DNA from the whole blood samples of 25 patients with RA and 86 normal individuals as control group were extracted by salting out method. The genomic DNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction‐sequence specific primer (PCR‐SSP) technique. HLA‐typing was done by this method after optimizing the PCR reaction for each allele. In this procedure seven serological subclasses of HLA‐DQβ1 can be detected. Results: Comparing the results between the patients and controls show a significant increase in the frequency of HLA‐DQ8 (*0302, *0305) alleles in RA patients. The P‐values were 0.007 and the relative risk for these alleles was evaluated higher than 1. Conclusions: The results suggest that DQ8 is the dominant HLA‐DQβ1 allele that is associated with susceptibility to RA in north‐eastern Iran.     

Surface topography of enamel and dentine from primary teeth following infrared Nd-YAG laser irradiation: An in vitro study

Data on the effects of laser radiation on primary teeth are scarce. This study investigates the effects of exposing sound enamel, photo-initiated sound enamel, sound dentine and carious dentine of extracted primary teeth to a pulsed neodymium-yttrium aluminium garnet laser (Nd-YAG, wavelength 1.06 μm, pulse length 15μs). Each type of tissue was exposed to three fiuences. Qualitative and quantitative assessments of the irradiated areas revealed that the most marked changes were produced in carious dentine, followed in ranking order by sound dentine, photo-initiated enamel and sound enamel. Evidence of thermal damage to the hard tissues peripheral to the fibre-optic tip, and considerable inter-sample variation were found. The experimental evidence obtained in this in vitro study does not support the clinical use of pulsed laser at 1.06 μm wavelength for cutting primary enamel and dentine.     

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.