Background. Extensive questioning of patients with a wide variety of skin disorders led to the impression that nocturnal overheating was probably an important factor in the initiation and the perpetuation of many skin disorders. Methods. In order to test the hypothesis, 12 “clean-skinned” subjects (6M/6F) aged 18 to 45 years were monitored electronically every 30 seconds during an 8 hour sleep period (2300 to 0700 hours), sleeping under a standard 10 tog duvet. Results. All the subjects were too hot by 3 to 4°C. All showed changes in their EEG patterns with reduced REM sleep, increased awakenings, and all showed changes in their sleep stage patterns. In addition, they all showed evidence of increased sweating in the “heat-sink” area. Conclusions. The mechanisms where by such changes could be implicated in the precipitation and perpetuation of skin disease are discussed. “Lifestyle” modification as a very effective, noninvasive, therapeutic regime is recommended. Further research along these lines would probably be very valuable and instructive. 相似文献
Follistatin is a binding protein for the activin and inhibin family of
hormones, regulating their biological activity. In the male reproductive
tract, the interaction of these factors is likely to be involved in the
regulation of the proliferation of several cell types. We have investigated
the presence of follistatin and activin A in seminal plasma using specific
immunoassays and have localized follistatin and activin/inhibin subunits in
the adult human testis, prostate and seminal vesicle to establish their
likely sources. High concentrations of immunoreactive follistatin were
present in seminal plasma in normal men (mean 97.9 ng/ml; 1.43 ng/ml in
peripheral plasma) and were similar in men with oligo/azoospermia and
following vasectomy. Follistatin immunoreactivity was localized to both
Leydig and Sertoli cells of the testis, and to epithelial cells of the
prostate gland and seminal vesicle, which are likely to be the predominant
sources of the hormone in seminal plasma. Activin A was also present in
seminal plasma in normal men but was undetectable following vasectomy, thus
deriving from the testis. Consistent with this finding, the betaA-subunit
was immunolocalized in Sertoli and Leydig cells but was not present in
seminal vesicle or prostate gland. The functional significance of the high
concentrations of follistatin secreted into seminal plasma by the prostate
gland and/or seminal vesicle is uncertain, but they may regulate the
biological activity of testis-derived activin A and inhibin B.
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While neutrophils from neonates respond less efficiently in vitro to a chemotactic stimulus than do adult cells, the in vivo recruitment of phagocytic cells to focal sites of inflammation in some situations appears to be similar in adults and neonates. To resolve this apparent discrepancy between the in vitro and in vivo observations, neonatal and adult rats were inoculated intraperitoneally with a variety of chemotactic agents. The neutrophil response was far more intense in adults than in neonates, strengthening the hypothesis that chemotaxis is less efficient in neonates than in adults. This relative deficiency may play an important role in the inability of the newborn to deal with infection effectively. 相似文献
The development of T- or B-membrane determinants on human foetal lymphoid cells was studied by the direct immunofluorescence technique, using a tetramethyl rhodamine isothiocyanate (TRITC) labelled horse antihuman T-cell conjugate (ATC) for the detection of T lymphocytes and a fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labelled goat antihuman Fab conjugate for the demonstration of Ig-bearing B lymphocytes. Human foetal lymphocytes were also tested for spontaneous rosette formation with sheep red blood cells (SRBC).
Cell suspensions of liver, spleen, thymus, bone marrow and blood of twenty-five human foetuses of 5·5–26 weeks of gestational age have been investigated. ATC-positive lymphoid cells were first seen in the liver at 5·5 weeks; E rosette-forming cells (ERFC) and Ig-bearing lymphoid cells were first found at 9 weeks. ERFC were also present in the thymus at 9 weeks. By 12 weeks, fluorescent B and T lymphocytes were found in bone marrow and spleen. ERFC were also found in bone marrow at this age, but not in spleen. At 15 weeks, more than 80% of blood lymphoid cells had T or B determinants.
A difference in the reactivity of lymphoid cells with the ATC and their capacity to form E rosettes was observed. In liver and spleen, the ATC determinant was detectable before the SRBC receptor. In bone marrow, blood and thymus the ATC determinant was found on a higher percentage of lymphoid cells than was the SRBC receptor when those organs were first investigated. During the entire investigated period of gestation, the majority of lymphoid cells in liver and bone marrow did not react with either of the conjugates, nor did they form E rosettes. In all organs investigated, except in the thymus, lymphoid cells were occasionally seen which reacted with both conjugates. By the 16th week of foetal age, more than 90% of lymphoid cells in thymus, spleen and blood had acquired T- or B-membrane determinants.
Submicroscopic deletions of the Y chromosome and polymorphisms of the
androgen receptor (AR) gene in the X chromosome have been observed in men
with defective spermatogenesis. To further define the subregions/genes in
the Y chromosome causing male infertility and its relationship to
polymorphisms of the AR polyglutamine tract, we screened the genomic DNA of
202 subfertile males and 101 healthy fertile controls of predominantly
Chinese ethnic origin. Y microdeletions were examined with 16
sequence-tagged site (STS) probes, including the RBM and DAZ genes,
spanning the AZFb and AZFc subregions of Yq11, and related to the size of
trinucleotide repeat encoding the AR polyglutamine tract. Y microdeletions
were detected and confirmed in three out of 44 (6.8%) of azoospermic and
three out of 86 (3.5%) severely oligozoospermic patients. No deletions were
detected in any of the patients with sperm counts of >0.5 x 10(6)/ml,
nor in any of the 101 fertile controls. All six affected patients had
almost contiguous Y microdeletions spanning the entire AZFc region
including the DAZ gene. The AZFb region, containing the RBM1 gene, was
intact in five of the six subjects. Y deletions were not found in those
with long AR polyglutamine tracts. Our study, the first in a Chinese
population, suggest a cause and effect relationship between Y
microdeletions in the AZFc region (possibly DAZ), and azoospermia or
near-azoospermia. Y microdeletions and long AR polyglutamine tracts appear
to be independent contributors to male infertility.
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