Helicobacter pylori; histological and cultural correlation in chronic gastritis.

Seventy seven antral biopsies were collected from patients attending endoscopy clinic at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during a period of six months between December 1988 to May 1989. Of these 69 (89.6%) showed chronic gastritis as well as Helicobacter-like organisms (HLOs) in the biopsy specimens while 63 (81.8%) of biopsies grew Helicobacter pylori on culture. These findings indicate a good correlation between the histological diagnosis of chronic gastritis and isolation of H. pylori on culture.     

The association between seated immobility and local lower-limb venous coagulability in healthy adult volunteers: a simulation of prolonged travel immobility.

This is the first study to examine the hypothesis that prolonged sitting is associated with procoagulant changes in the local lower-limb venous system. A comparison was made with upper-limb venous changes. Changes in markers of thrombin generation, fibrinolysis, endothelial perturbation and haemoconcentration were analysed as 10 healthy adult male participants sat for 8 h. The change in foot volume was estimated. Subjective venous thromboembolism assessment was undertaken hourly, along with 2-week and 4-week safety follow-up for clinical events.Expected increases in median prothrombin fragments 1 and 2, thrombin-antithrombin complex and D-dimer were not observed in either limb. An increase greater than 45% in the median tissue plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator-1 molar ratio (t-PA/PAI-1), and a decrease greater than 15% in median soluble thrombomodulin were noted in both limbs. Median haematocrit decreased minimally (1%) in the lower limbs, while the foot volume increased by 4%. Subjects experienced vague symptoms after 6 h of sitting, but none developed symptomatic venous thromboembolism. Upper and lower-limb changes in biomarkers did not correlate, except those in t-PA/PAI-1 ratio and plasminogen activator-1. Significant correlation was found between changes in the lower-limb t-PA/PAI-1 ratio and right foot volume.This study originally reveals that even in the lower limbs, prolonged daytime cramped sitting is not associated with significant procoagulant changes in healthy adult male volunteers, and confirms a previous observation that local lower-limb venous changes are not identically reflected in the upper limbs.     

Development of quality of care indicators for Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a major cause of disability. To date, there have been no large-scale efforts to measure the quality of PD care because of a lack of quality indicators for conducting an explicit review of PD care processes. We present a set of quality indicators for PD care. Based on a structured review of the medical literature, 79 potential indicators were drafted. Through a two-round modified Delphi process, an expert panel of seven movement disorders specialists rated each indicator on criteria of validity, feasibility, impact on outcomes, room for improvement, and overall utility. Seventy-one quality indicators met validity and feasibility thresholds. Applying thresholds for impact on outcomes, room for improvement, and overall utility, a subset of 29 indicators was identified, spanning dopaminergic therapy, assessment of functional status, assessment and treatment of depression, coordination of care, and medication use. Multivariable analysis showed that overall utility ratings were driven by validity and impact on outcomes (P < 0.01). An expert panel can reach consensus on a set of highly rated quality indicators for PD care, which can be used to assess quality of PD care and guide the design of quality improvement projects.     

Opioid peptides and receptors in joint tissues: study in the rat.

Using immunohistochemical and biochemical techniques, the occurrence of endogenous opioid peptides and their receptors in normal rat bone and joint tissues was investigated. Opioid receptors were detected, quantified, and characterized in homogenates from capsule/synovium and periosteum using radioligand binding assays. Receptor binding of the nonselective opioid [3H]naloxone to tissue homogenates was stereospecific and saturable, showing similar characteristics to that of brain tissue, although with lower binding capacities. By immunohistochemistry, the neuronal occurrence of four different enkephalins was demonstrated in synovium, bone marrow, periosteum, and juxta-articular bone, whereas no neuronal dynorphin immunoreactivity was detected. Double-staining studies disclosed that enkephalins coexisted with substance P in primary afferent fibers. The applied techniques can be used to assess changes in the distribution of endogenous opioids and their receptors in joint tissues in conditions associated with pain and inflammation. The endogenous opioid system now demonstrated might be targeted and exploited therapeutically to obtain peripheral control of symptoms in joint disorders.     

Diminution in Kerosene-Mediated Induction of Drug Metabolizing Enzymes by Asbestos in Rat Lungs

Abstract: In order to determine the pulmonary toxicity of kerosene and its ignition product (soot) in asbestos exposed subjects, the activities of phase I and phase II drug metabolizing enzymes in rat lungs after single intratracheal coexposure to Indian chrysotile asbestos and kerosene or its soot and Indian chrysotile were assayed. Exposure to kerosene or its soot resulted in a significant increase in the level of microsomal cytochrome P-450 and the activity of P-450 dependent monooxygenase, benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase, as well as in the activities of microsomal epoxide hydrase and cytosolic glutathione-S-transferase (GST). However, in chrysotile exposed animals a reverse pattern in these parameters was recorded. The co-exposure to chrysotile and kerosene or chrysotile and soot led to a significant depletion in cytochrome P-450 level and a decrease in the activities of benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase, epoxide hydrase and GST when compared to kerosene and soot controls, respectively. These results suggest that asbestos by altering the pulmonary drug metabolizing enzyme system may increase the toxic potential of kerosene and its ignition product in the respiratory system.     

Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type II diagnosed in a 69-year-old patient with iron overload.

Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type II is a rare disorder that is often diagnosed in patients before age 20 years. Patients with this disorder, which is also called hereditary erythroblastic multinuclearity associated with a positive acidified serum lysis test, may have symptoms of iron overload. The purpose of this case report is to alert physicians to consider the diagnosis of congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type II in elderly patients who have anemia and iron overload.     

Chronic brief restraint decreases in vivo binding of benzodiazepine receptor ligand to mouse brain

This study examines the effects of chronic brief restraint on in vivo benzodiazepine (BZD) receptor binding in mouse brain. Three groups of mice were used. Mice in group 1 were neither restrained nor injected (ACUTE control). Mice in group 2 were restrained for 5–6 s by grabbing the back skin and holding the subject upside-down at a 45° angle as if to be injected (CHRONIC SHAM control) for 7 d. Mice in group 3 (CHRONIC SALINE) received daily single intraperitoneal (ip) injections of saline (5 mL/kg) for 7 d. On d 8 BZD receptors were labeled in vivo by administration of 3 μCi [³H]flumazenil (ip). The levels of ligand bound in vivo to cerebral cortex (CX), cerebellum (CB), brain stem (BS), striatum (ST), hippocampus (HP), and hypothalamus (HY) were determined. Results indicated that the level of binding was significantly (p<0.01) lower by 30–50% (depending on the brain region) in saline-injected or sham control groups compared to acute control animals. Furthermore, the values for sham control were similar to the saline-treated group. Our data suggest that exposure to chronic mild restraint produces a decrease in in vivo binding of [³H]flumazenil in mouse brain and supports the hypothesis that chronic mild stress produces a decrease in BZD receptor binding sites.