Bamboo joint-like appearance of stomach in Korean patients with Crohn's disease]

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Bamboo joint-like (BJL) appearance is an endoscopic finding characterized by swollen longitudinal folds transversed by erosive fissures or linear furrows on the lesser curvature side of gastric body and cardia. It has been reported to be associated with Crohn's disease (CD). This study was aimed to evaluate the incidence of BJL appearance in Korean patients with CD. METHODS: From January to December in 2005, we performed esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) in patients diagnosed as CD and ulcerative colitis (UC) in our hospital. Non-inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) subjects with upper gastrointestinal symptoms who underwent EGD were consecutively enrolled during the same period. One endoscopist performed all the endoscopic examinations to avoid inter-observer variation. A dye-spraying technique with 0.4% indigocarmine was used to allow the detection of subtle changes during the endoscopic examination. RESULTS: A total of 21 patients with CD (mean age+/-SD, 40+/-15 yr; M/F, 13/8), 28 patients with UC (42+/-15 yr; 21/7), and 685 non-IBD subjects (49+/-14 yr; 354/331) were enrolled. EGD findings in CD patients were gastric erosions (11/21), chronic superficial gastritis (5/21), chronic atrophic gastritis (1/21), duodenal erosions or ulcers (2/21), and normal (2/21). Incidence of BJL appearance was significantly higher in patients with CD (47.6%, 10/21) than others (UC, 3.6%, 1/28; non-IBD, 0.1%, 1/685) (p< 0.0001). Among patients with CD, incidence of BJL appearance was not significantly different according to the sex, status of H. pylori infection, Vienna classification for phenotype, medications or EGD findings. CONCLUSIONS: BJL appearance on the gastric body and cardia can be a diagnostic clue to CD.     

Uroscopy in the 21st century: high-field NMR spectroscopy

From the experiments described, it can be seen that there are different research approaches that can be taken and these are summarized in Table 1. Whereas much scientific research is principally hypothesis led, there remains, nevertheless, an important place for exploratory research. High resolution NMR can measure, directly and simultaneously, a wide range of endogenous metabolites in biological fluids and has the unique capability of providing structural information on the metabolites detected. It has proved to be a powerful research tool with which to study inherited metabolic diseases, renal disease, drug metabolism, and toxicity, and can be used to monitor the effects of drug therapy. For instance, by using a library of experimental toxins one can map the metabolic profile of site-specific nephron injury. With this approach in man one could eventually take an unknown disease such as Balkan nephropathy and predict the initial site of tubular injury, the mode of injury and therefore the kind of toxin capable of producing that injury. NMR spectroscopic techniques are still advancing rapidly, with ever increasing sensitivity and sophistication of NMR pulse sequences to enhance structural elucidation in complex mixtures. Given the advances in directly coupled HPLC-NMR and even HPLC-NMR-mass spectroscopy it is likely that these technologies in conjunction with pattern recognition will make major contribution to our understanding of renal processes and provide new diagnostic insights in the 21st century.      

Toxoplasma gondii infection inhibits the development of lupus-like syndrome in autoimmune (New Zealand Black x New Zealand White) F1 mice

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of autoantibodies and lupus nephritis. In the present study using New Zealand Black (NZB) x New Zealand White (NZW) F1 (NZBW F1) mice, we planned to investigate the effects of Toxoplasma gondii infection on the progress of lupus nephritis. Female NZBW F1 mice at the age of 2 months were perorally infected with T. gondii. The T. gondii infection reduced the number of mice developing proteinuria and immune complex deposits in their kidneys and prolonged their life span. A marked decrease in the levels of IgM and IgG anti-DNA antibodies, especially IgG2a and IgG3 subclasses, was observed in T. gondii-infected NZBW F1 mice at 9 months of age. The level of anti-HSP70 IgG autoantibody in the sera of NZBW F1 mice was significantly higher than that in control mice at 9 weeks after T. gondii infection. Moreover, NZBW F1 mice treated with anti-self heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) monoclonal antibody were substantially protected against the onset of glomerulonephritis. Further, down-regulation of intracellular expression of IFN-gamma and IL-10 was shown in spleen cells of T. gondii-infected NZBW F1 mice. This was consistent with the previous data indicating the involvement of Th1-type and Th2-type cytokines in the development of lupus-like nephritis. These results suggest that T. gondii infection is capable of preventing the development of autoimmune renal disorder in NZBW F1 mice.     

Correlation between the presence of anti HPV33 VLP antibodies and HPV DNA in cervical neoplasia patients

Summary. The L1 capsid proteins derived from human papillomavirus (HPV) type 33 were expressed in a recombinant baculovirus system using Sf9 insect cells. Selected sera originating in women from case-control study carried out in Spain and Colombia found negative and positive for HPV16, 18, 31, 33 and 35 DNA were tested in ELISA for the presence of IgG antibodies to purified virus-like particles (VLP). The reactivity was type-restricted with the possible exception of HPV31. Received July 4, 1996 Accepted September 17, 1996     

Effect of biphenyl dimethyl dicarboxylate on the humoral immunosuppression by ethanol

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of biphenyl dimethyl dicarboxylate (PMC) on the humoral immunosuppression by ethanol (EtOH) in ICR mice. PMC at a dose of 6 mg/kg was orally administered to mice daily for 28 consecutive days, and the control mice were given vehicle. Mice treated with EtOH were given freely with 20% EtOH instead of water. The results of this study are summarized as follows; a gain of body weight and the relative weights of spleen and liver were significantly increased by combination of PMC and EtOH, as compared with those in mice treated with EtOH alone. Splenic plaque forming cells (PFC) and hemagglutination (HA) titers to sheep red blood cells (SRBC), and the secondary IgG antibody response to bovine serum albumin (BSA) were decreased by the treatment of EtOH alone, then restored to normal level by PMC treatment. The elevations of serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (S-GPT) and total protein levels caused by EtOH were reduced to normal level by the combination of PMC and EtOH. In addition, lower serum albumin and A/G ratio were also increased to normal level. These findings indicate that PMC has a protective effect against EtOH-induced humoral immunosuppression.     

Quality control of storage phosphor digital radiography systems

Quality control (QC) of storage phosphor devices is important in assuring that the image information entered into an Image management and communication (IMAC) system is sufficient for diagnosis. QC of storage phosphor digital radiography systems is complex because of the self-corrective nature of the image-processing software used in these machines. Currently, one must produce hard copy to perform adequate QC. Inspection of images with reject analysis and inspection of cassettes and imaging plates has helped us in our QC program. For those QC tests using control limits, the appropriate settings for these limits are unknown. Starting approximations are given. Recommended tests are described.     

TLR2 as an essential molecule for protective immunity against Toxoplasma gondii infection

To investigate the role of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family in host defense against Toxoplasma gondii, we infected TLR2-, TLR4- and MyD88-deficient mice with the avirulent cyst-forming Fukaya strain of T. gondii. All TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice died within 8 days, whereas all TLR4-deficient and wild-type mice survived after i.p. infection with a high dose of T. gondii. Peritoneal macrophages from T. gondii-infected TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice did not produce any detectable levels of NO. T. gondii loads in the brain tissues of TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice were higher than in those of TLR4-deficient and wild-type mice. Furthermore, high levels of IFN-gamma and IL-12 were produced in peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) of TLR4-deficient and wild-type mice after infection, but low levels of cytokines were produced in PEC of TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice. On the other hand, high levels of IL-4 and IL-10 were produced in PEC of TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice after infection, but low levels of cytokines were produced in PEC of TLR4-deficient and wild-type mice. The most remarkable histological changes with infiltration of inflammatory cells were observed in lungs of TLR2-deficient mice infected with T. gondii, where severe interstitial pneumonia occurred and abundant T. gondii were found.