Vascular graft infection by Staphylococcus aureus: efficacy of cefazolin, teicoplanin and vancomycin prophylaxis protocols in a rat model.

OBJECTIVES: Prophylactic efficiencies of cefazolin, teicoplanin and vancomycin in a dacron graft infection model caused by methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) or -resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were investigated. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, controlled animal study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Infections were established subcutaneously in the back of rats by implantation of Dacron prostheses followed by topical inoculation onto grafts of MSSA or MRSA. Experimental groups were as follows: Uncontaminated group (control), MSSA- or MRSA-contaminated and untreated groups, MSSA- or MRSA-contaminated groups treated with cefazolin, teicoplanin or vancomycin by one of three regimens (one day, two days, or three days regimen). Grafts were removed 7 days after the implantation and evaluated by using sonication and quantitative blood agar culture. RESULTS: Contaminated groups demonstrated graft infections. Cefazolin, teicoplanin and vancomycin profoundly prevented the graft infections in MSSA- or MRSA-contaminated groups. For each antibiotic regimen, the most effective prevention was achieved by the drugs given as three days regimen. For MSSA and MRSA, the order of the effectiveness was as follows: teicoplanin>vancomycin>cefazolin. CONCLUSION: As a prophylactic agent, teicoplanin seems to be more effective than vancomycin and cefazolin against vascular graft infections caused by MSSA and MRSA in rats.     

Follicular lymphoma cell lines,an in vitro model for antigenic selection and cytokine-mediated growth regulation of germinal centre B cells

In the periphery, B cells differentiate in germinal centres (GCs) of secondary lymphoid organs. Isolated GC cells die quickly in vitro by apoptosis. Therefore, cell lines originating from follicular lymphomas, which are the malignant counterparts of GC B cells, would provide a stable in vitro model to study the immunobiology of GC B cells. We have established three novel human follicular lymphoma cell lines that were characterized with special reference to immunophenotypic features, response to B-cell receptor (BCR) triggering, response to cytokines and cytokine mRNA expression. One of the cell lines, HF-1A3, has a phenotype of a centrocyte. It expresses surface immunoglobulin G (sIgG) and dies by apoptosis following BCR cross-linking. Co-stimulation with interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-15 or interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) rescues HF-1A3 cells from BCR-induced apoptosis. The second cell line, HF-28, also represents phenotypically an IgG+ centrocyte. Ligation of its BCR leads to the cell-cycle arrest at G1 instead of apoptosis. HF-28 cells express both CD45RA and RO isoforms, which is unusual in B lymphocytes apart from plasma cells, thus suggesting a transition to plasma cell phenotype. The third cell line, HF-4.9, which phenotypically represents an sIgM+ centroblast, responds by proliferation to BCR cross-linking. These cell lines offer a unique in vitro model to study antigenic selection and cytokine-mediated growth regulation of human GC B cells.     

Mortality from asthma in children and young adults in Louisiana.

BACKGROUND: Asthma mortality rates have been increasing despite our improved understanding of the pathophysiology of asthma and advanced methods of treatment. Although there are many national studies of asthma mortality rates, few studies have concentrated on subnational regions such as individual states. OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the trends in asthma mortality in children and young adults during the last 15 years in Louisiana. METHODS: Asthma mortality data were acquired from the Louisiana State Center for Health Statistics for the years 1983 through 1997. All asthma deaths coded International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision 493 were included in the data set along with year, sex, and rate characteristics. State population estimates obtained from the United States Bureau of Census for three 5-year periods (1983 to 1987, 1988 to 1992, and 1993 to 1997) were used to calculate crude and adjusted mortality rates. These time periods were compared with one another and with the period 1983 to 1987, which was used as a baseline. RESULTS: For all residents, the mortality rate increased from 0.41 deaths per 100,000 persons during the 1983 to 1987 time period to 0.49 and 0.63 deaths per 100,000 persons during 1988 to 1992 and 1993 to 1997 time periods, respectively. Mortality rates have increased in both the white and non-white populations over the 15-year study period, with the most pronounced increases among the non-white population. CONCLUSION: Asthma mortality rates in Louisiana have increased, particularly among the non-white population, over the last 15 years, although the results are not statistically significant. When compared with other states, asthma mortality in Louisiana is lower than in the northeast and central north states.     

Is human kallikrein-11 in gastric cancer treated with surgery and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy associated with survival?

Human kallikreins (hKs) have been reported to be involved in human cancers, and several hKs are promising biomarkers of various cancers, such as prostate, ovarian, breast, and testicular cancer. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of immunohistochemical expression of hK11 in patients with gastric cancer. The study included 55 (36 men and 19 women; 58 ± 10 years of mean age) patients with gastric cancer treated with surgery and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Tissue sections were evaluated immunohistochemically with a monoclonal anti-hK11 antibody. Of the 55 patients, 35 (63.6%) were hK11-positive and 20 (36.4%) were hK11-negative. Disease-free and overall survival rates were significantly higher in patients with hK11 positive than in those with hK-11 negative expression (24 months vs. 11 months, p: 0.043; 29 months vs. 13 months, p: 0.038, respectively). In conclusion, hK11 expression in gastric cancer appears to be associated with a better prognosis. hK11 may be a prognostic biomarker of gastric cancer. On the other hand, it is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the regulation of hK11 expression in gastric cancer.     

Effect of Recombinant Human Granulocyte/Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor on the Healing of Colonic Anastomosis in Rats

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of recombinant human granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rHuGM-CSF) on the wound healing of colonic anastomosis in rats. In total, 40 male Wistar rats were taken into this study. The control group (n = 20) received subcutaneous saline injection. The experiment group (n     

A rare complication of mechanical aortic valve replacement: Separation in the region of the mitral‐aortic intervalvular fibrosa

A 28‐year‐old man was admitted to our emergency service with a shortness of breath and palpitation. On admission, his blood pressure was high and he was in hypertensive pulmonary edema. His physical examination showed rales in both lungs and pansystolic murmur at mitral focus. His medical history included aortic valve replacement (AVR) because of native aortic valve infective endocarditis. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) showed normal functional aortic valve. Color flow imaging demonstrated severe mitral regurgitation with posterior eccentric jet. To examine in detail, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and three‐dimensional (3D) echocardiography were performed. TEE disclosed a separation in the subaortic curtain leading to severe mitral regurgitation from the left ventricle to the left atrium. In addition to severe mitral regurgitation with posterior eccentric jet, 26‐mm‐long pouch was seen in mitral‐aortic intervalvular fibrosa (MAIVF) at 120° TEE view. This pouch was separated from the mitral anterior leaflet junction releasing the mitral anterior leaflet and causing prolapse and chorda rupture in the A2 scallop of the mitral anterior leaflet. The MAIVF connects the anterior mitral leaflet to the posterior portion of the aortic annulus. The separation of the MAIVF represents a complication of the aortic valve replacement.     

Effects of octreotide and propranolol on colonic mucosa in rats with portal hypertensive colopathy

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of the study is to clarify the effects of octreotide and propranolol, agents used in the treatment of portal hypertension, on mucosal changes in portal hypertensive colopathy. METHODOLOGY: Portal hypertension was induced in all rats by partial portal vein ligation, and after the operation all rats were caged for a 10-week period. Then, animals were divided into three groups and for two weeks medical treatment were administered to the individual groups as follows: Control group, saline 0.5 mL/day, intraperitoneally. Octreotide group, octreotide 100 micrograms/kg/12 hours, subcutaneously. Propranolol group, propranolol 20 mg/kg/day, intraperitoneally. In order to assess the portal hypertensive colopathy, criteria such as mean diameters of dilated vessels in colonic mucosa, and the existence of mucosal edema, capillary ectasia, hyperemia and hemorrhage, inflammation were used. RESULTS: When parameters were compared for the control versus propranolol groups, mucosal edema and hyperemia and hemorrhage criteria were found to be significant for the propranolol group; control versus octreotide groups, mucosal edema, capillary ectasia, and hyperemia and hemorrhage criteria were found to be significant for the octreotide group; octreotide versus propranolol groups, capillary ectasia and mucosal edema criteria were found to be significant for the octreotide group. CONCLUSIONS: The mucosal changes in portal hypertensive colopathy could be corrected by drugs modifying portal blood flow, octreotide may find a place in the treatment of portal hypertensive colopathy.     

Clinical characteristics of pulmonary artery involvement in patients with Behçet’s syndrome: single-centre experience of 61 patients

Clinical Rheumatology - To report the clinical characteristics of pulmonary artery involvement (PAI) in patients with Behçet’s syndrome (BS) and to define the predictors of relapses. We...