Multiple aneurysms in Beh?et's disease

Beh?et's disease is characterized by recurrent ulcers of the mouth and genitalia and relapsing iritis. It is now recognized as a chronic multisystem disease affecting the skin, mucous membranes, eye, joints, central nervous system, and blood vessels. One of the known vascular complications of Beh?et's disease is aneurysm formation or venous thrombosis. The two patients with Beh?et's disease in this report developed multiple aneurysms over a short time span. Vascular surgeons dealing with young adults with peripheral aneurysms must be aware of this uncommon yet challenging clinical entity.     

Outcomes of a pilot occupational therapy wellness program for older adults.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a pilot occupational therapy wellness program designed to teach elders the importance of participation in meaningful social and community occupations to their quality of life. METHOD: Sixty-five older adults participated in this pilot wellness program held at each of three senior apartment complexes. Measures of health-related quality of life using the SF-36 Health Survey and frequencies of social and community participation from a program-specific intake form were completed by 39 participants before and after the 6-month program. Participants also evaluated components of the program through a satisfaction survey. RESULTS: Scores on the SF-36 Health Survey were significantly higher in vitality, social functioning, and the mental health summary scores following participation in the program. Participants reported an increased frequency of socialization and community participation with an average of 55% participating in at least three or more activities per week before the program to an average of 66% participating after the program. Participants who benefited the most attended more classes, were older, and were nondrivers. Eighty percent of those polled rated the pilot program as good or excellent. CONCLUSION: This pilot study provides additional support for prevention efforts for elders in the community. Wellness programs for seniors may be most effective if targeted to those who are older and nondrivers.     

Genetic amniocentesis: a twelve years' experience

The first 2,013 fetuses in 2,000 patients undergoing genetic amniocentesis at our institution were analyzed for the incidence of abnormal findings and for the safety and accuracy of the procedure. One percent of the patients were found to have aneuploid fetuses and another 1% were found to have elevated amniotic fluid concentrations of alpha-fetoprotein. Advanced maternal age was the indication for amniocentesis in 84% of the women with aneuploid fetuses. Thirty-two (1.6%) of the pregnancies ended in spontaneous abortion and 35 (1.7%) were terminated because of abnormal results of the prenatal diagnostic procedure. Our error rate was 0.15%, and tissue culture was successful in 97.7% of the procedures. During the latter part of our experience concurrent ultrasonography was utilized with the amniocentesis, resulting in a reduction in blood-tinged specimens from 15.0% to 5.2%. In experienced hands, midtrimester amniocentesis for the purpose of prenatal diagnosis of genetically determined defects is a safe, accurate, and valuable procedure for the identification of fetal abnormalities.     

Wheat streak mosaic virus--structural parameters for a Potyvirus

Wheat streak mosaic virus is a Tritimovirus, a member of the Potyviridae family, which includes the very large Potyvirus genus. We have examined wheat streak mosaic virus by electron microscopy and fiber diffraction from partially oriented sols, and analyzed the results to estimate the symmetry and structural parameters of the viral helix. The virions have an apparent radius of 63 +/- 5 A. The viral helix has a pitch of 33.4 A +/- 0.6 A. There appear to be 6.9 subunits per turn of the helix, although we cannot completely eliminate values of 5.9 or 7.9 for this parameter.     

Enhanced zinc consumption causes memory deficits and increased brain levels of zinc

Zinc deficiency has been shown to impair cognitive functioning, but little work has been done on the effects of elevated zinc. This research examined the effect on memory of raising Sprague-Dawley rats on enhanced levels of zinc (10 ppm ZnCO3; 0.153 mM) in the drinking water for periods of 3 or 9 months, both pre- and postnatally. Controls were raised on lab water. Memory was tested in a series of Morris Water Maze (MWM) experiments, and zinc-treated rats were found to have impairments in both reference and working memory. They were significantly slower to find a stationary platform and showed greater thigmotaxicity, a measure of anxiety. On a working memory task, where the platform was moved each day, zinc-treated animals had longer latencies over both trials and days, swam further from the platform, and showed greater thigmotaxicity. On trials using an Atlantis platform, which remained in one place but was lowered on probe trials, the zinc-treated animals had significantly fewer platform crossings, spent less time in the target quadrant, and did not swim as close to the platform position. They had significantly greater latency on nonprobe trials. Microprobe synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (microSXRF) confirmed that brain zinc levels were increased by adding ZnCO3 to the drinking water. These data show that long-term dietary administration of zinc can lead to impairments in cognitive function.     

The complete nucleotide sequence of apple mosaic virus RNA-3

Summary The complete nucleotide sequence of apple mosaic ilarvirus (ApMV) RNA-3 has been determined from cloned viral cDNAs. The 5 terminus of RNA-3 was determined by direct RNA sequencing, while the 3 end was determined by polyadenylation of genomic RNA and sub-cloning using oligo dT. ApMV RNA-3 is 2056 bases in length and encodes at least two open reading frames. It is similar in size and genome organization to the RNA-3 of other members of theBromoviridae, which includes ilarviruses. The CP gene is in the 3 half of the molecule, and another large open reading frame is upstream of the CP gene and can potentially encode a protein of 32 400 daltons. This peptide is the same size and shows limited sequence homology to an open reading frame located at the 5 end of RNA 3 in tobacco streak and prune dwarf ilarviruses and alfalfa mosaic virus, which is postulated to be the viral movement protein. The nucleic acid sequence was not homologous to tobacco streak virus, prune dwarf virus, alfalfa mosaic virus or other members of theBromoviridae. The 5-non-coding region of ApMV RNA-3 contains a 15 base palindromic sequence which encloses a sequence resembling the ICR-2 regions of eukaryotic tRNA gene promoters.     

Azacitidine induces demethylation of the Epstein-Barr virus genome in tumors.

PURPOSE: To determine whether therapy with a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor is effective in achieving demethylation and gene re-expression in tumor DNA in patients. METHODS: Biopsy specimens were obtained from patients with Epstein-Barr virus-associated tumors, enrolled on a clinical trial of 5-azacitidine, within 72 hours of the conclusion of the last infusion of the first cycle of therapy, and compared to pretreatment specimens. Methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction, bisulfite genomic sequencing, and immunohistochemistry were used to assess demethylation and gene re-expression. RESULTS: Substantial degrees of demethylation were detected in all latent and lytic Epstein-Barr virus promoters examined. Immunohistochemistry suggested activation of a previously silent viral antigen expression in one instance. CONCLUSION: Pharmacologic reversal of dense CpG methylation in tumor tissue can be achieved in patients.     

Apoptotic-regulatory and complement-protecting protein expression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: relationship to in vivo rituximab resistance.

PURPOSE: Rituximab has clinical activity in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and has a variety of proposed mechanisms, including apoptosis, complement-dependent cell lysis (CDC), and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Here we examine pretreatment biologic features that promote resistance to apoptosis and CDC in CLL patients and correlate it with clinical outcome to rituximab-based therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Pretreatment samples from 21 CLL patients treated on a prospective, single-agent rituximab trial were examined for quantitative expression of apoptotic and CDC regulatory proteins, and the level of expression of these proteins was correlated with clinical outcome. RESULTS: Of the 21 patents for whom samples were available, 10 attained a partial response and 11 failed to respond to rituximab therapy. The mean pretreatment expression of Bcl-2, Mcl-1, XIAP, and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax were higher but not statistically increased in nonresponding patients versus those responding to treatment. In contrast, the pretreatment Mcl-1/Bax ratio was significantly elevated (0.82 +/- 0.28 v 0.39 +/- 0.29, P <.016) in nonresponding patients compared with patients responding to rituximab therapy. Although pretreatment expression of CD55 and CD59 was not associated with response to rituximab therapy, significantly higher levels of CD59 were observed in the CLL cells that were not cleared from the blood at completion of therapy than the level observed at baseline levels (P =.02). CONCLUSION: These data indicate that baseline expression of the Mcl-1/Bax ratio, but not CD55 and CD59, predict for clinical response to rituximab therapy in CLL patients. Further study of disrupted apoptosis in CLL as a potential mechanism of resistance to rituximab appears warranted.