The Scimitar syndrome: CT findings in partial anomalous pulmonary venous return

An anomalous pulmonary vein draining into the subdiaphragmatic inferior vena cava was initially demonstrated on computed tomographic (CT) scans. The diagnosis of scimitar syndrome was confirmed with digital subtraction angiography. In retrospect, the anomalous vein and dextroposition of the heart were shown on chest radiographs.     

Folic acid in the treatment of acute watery diarrhoea in children: a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial

One-hundred and six male children aged 6-23 months with a history of acute watery diarrhoea of less than 72 h duration were randomized to receive either folic acid in a dose of 5 mg at 8-h intervals or placebo for 5 d. There were 54 children in the folic acid group and 52 in the placebo group. The admission characteristics were comparable between the two groups. No significant differences were observed in the intake of oral rehydration solution or stool output between the groups. The mean ± SD of total stool output (g kg⁻¹) was 532 ± 476 vs 479 ± 354 and the duration (h) of diarrhoea was 108 ± 68 vs 103 ± 53 in the folic acid vs placebo group, respectively. The findings, therefore, should have a positive influence on preventing the inappropriate use of folic acid in acute diarrhoea.     

Splenic pseudocyst: aspiration or cyst decapsulation

A 12 year old boy with a splenic pseudocyst is reported. Percutaneous drainage resulted in complete emptying but rapid reaccumulation. Cyst decapsulation with splenic preservation was curative and is recommended for definitive therapy of splenic pseudocysts.     

Elastin point mutations cause an obstructive vascular disease, supravalvular aortic stenosis

Supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS) is an inherited obstructive vascular disease that affects the aorta, carotid, coronary and pulmonary arteries. Previous molecular genetic data have led to the hypothesis that SVAS results from mutations in the elastin gene, ELN. In these studies, the disease phenotype was linked to gross DNA rearrangements (35 and 85 kb deletions and a translocation) in three SVAS families. However, gross rearrangements of ELN have not been identified in most cases of autosomal dominant SVAS. To define the spectrum of ELN mutations responsible for this disorder, we refined the genomic structure of human ELN and used this information in mutational analyses. ELN point mutations co-segregate with the disease in four familial cases and are associated with SVAS in three sporadic cases. Two of the mutations are nonsense, one is a single base pair deletion and four are splice site mutations. In one sporadic case, the mutation arose de novo. These data demonstrate that point mutations of ELN cause autosomal dominant SVAS.      

Biochemical modulation of tumor-growth, metastasis and host metabolism

Exogenous nutrients, hormones and metabolites can significantly alter tumor growth, metastasis, and host nutritional status. Arginine, serine and methionine are critical amino acids required for protein, DNA and RNA synthesis and, thus, for cellular proliferation. To determine the effect of these specific amino acids on host metabolism, primary tumor growth and metastasis, 48 Lewis rats bearing the mammary adenocarcinoma MAC-33 were randomized to receive similar diets with 3% supplements of serine, arginine, methionine or glycine (control). After 25 days on each diet, animals were sacrificed to determine primary tumor biochemical composition and growth kinetics, number of lung metastases and carcass weight. A significant reduction in lung metastases occurred with serine and methionine supplementation (p<0.01) with no significant change in primary tumor size. However, increased mortality (p<0.001) and low carcass weight (p<0.05) were found in the methionine group indicating significant host toxicity. Serine-supplemented animals had a mortality rate and carcass weight comparable to the control group. Arginine supplementation had no effect on primary tumor growth, metastasis or carcass weight; however, increased mortality was observed in this group compared to controls. These results suggest that serine supplementation selectively supports host growth and inhibits metastasis in tumor-bearing animals. This study demonstrates the potential to differentially effect host and tumor growth with exogenous amino acid supplements.     

Nutritional status and diarrhoeal pathogen in hospitalized children in Bangladesh

We studied the relationship between nutritional status and infection due to specific enteropathogens in young children with diarrhoea. Overall, 26% of the children were severely underweight, 27% were severely wasted and 19% were severely stunted. Children with Shigellae and V. cholerae O1 were significantly more severely underweight, wasted and stunted than those with rotavirus diarrhoea ( p < 0:0001). Our results indicate that an effective nutrition programme for young children might have greater impact on diarrhoeal illness caused by Shigella and V. cholerae than by rotavirus diarrhoea.     

Isolation and characterization of propagable cell lines (HUNC) from the androgen-sensitive Dunning R3327H rat prostatic adenocarcinoma

The Dunning H rat prostate tumor (R3327H) is a widely used experimental model of human prostatic adenocarcinoma (CaP). The Dunning H tumor has been characterized as androgen-sensitive, androgen-receptor (AR) positive, prostate-specific antigen and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) positive. To date, the tumor has been maintained by serial passage in vivo because of the lack of an in vitro cell line that retains the characteristics of the in vivo tumor. The objective of the present study was to establish a propagable cell line from R3327H adenocarcinoma that maintained androgen sensitivity and expression of AR, PSA and PAP. Tissue harvested from an in vivo R3327H tumor was dissociated with collagenase and placed into Richter's improved media (with supplements). A cytokeratin-positive epithelial cell line (HUNC- E) and a vimentin-positive stromal cell line (HUNC-S) were generated from the primary culture, subcultured continuously for >300 days, and passaged >50 times. Survival of the HUNC-E cell line in vitro depended on several media supplements, including nicotinamide, insulin, transferrin, selenium and epidermal growth factor (EGF). HUNC-E cells expressed AR and produced PSA and PAP throughout the culture period, as confirmed by immunocytochemistry and Western blot analyses. Addition of 14 nM testosterone (T) or dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to HUNC-E cells, stimulated DNA synthesis as well as anchorage-independent growth and PSA production, which demonstrated the androgen-sensitive nature of the cells in vitro. When HUNC-E and HUNC-S cells were combined in a 3:1 ratio and introduced subcutaneously into syngeneic male hosts, tumors formed in 2/3 animals with an average latency of 7 months. RT-PCR and immunocytochemical characterization of the HUNC cell lines revealed that the cells expressed several growth factors and their cognate receptors, including HGF, TGF-alpha and the TGF-betas, indicating the establishment of potential autocrine loops in the neoplastic cells. The HUNC-E and HUNC-S CaP cell lines, which retain the characteristics of the epithelial and stromal components of the in vivo R3327H tumor, will allow a more thorough and informative molecular and biological analysis of prostatic adenocarcinoma.      

Inhibition of cigarette smoke-related lipophilic DNA adducts in rat tissues by dietary oltipraz

The present study investigated the effects of dietary oltipraz on cigarette smoke-related lipophilic DNA adduct formation. Female Sprague- Dawley rats were exposed daily to sidestream cigarette smoke in a whole- body exposure chamber 6 h/day for 4 consecutive weeks. One group of rats was maintained on control diet while another group received the same diet supplemented with either a low (167 p.p.m.) or high (500 p.p.m.) dose of oltipraz, starting 1 week prior to initiation of smoke exposure until the end of the experiment. Analysis of lipophilic DNA adducts by the nuclease P1-mediated 32P-post-labeling showed up to five smoke-related adducts. Adduct no. 5 predominated in both the lung and the heart while adduct nos 3 and 2 predominated in the trachea and bladder, respectively. Quantitative analysis revealed that the total adduct level was the highest in lungs (270+/-68 adducts/10(10) nucleotides), followed by trachea (196+/-48 adducts/10(10) nucleotides), heart (141+/-22 adducts/10(10) nucleotides) and bladder (85+/-16 adducts/10(10) nucleotides). High dose oltipraz treatment reduced the adduct levels in lungs and bladder by >60%, while the reduction in lungs in the low-dose group was approximately 35%. In trachea, the effect of low and high dietary oltipraz on smoke DNA adduction was equivocal, while smoke-related DNA adducts in the heart were minimally inhibited by high-dose oltipraz. In a repeat experiment that employed a 3-fold lower dose of cigarette smoke, oltipraz (500 p.p.m.) was found to inhibit the formation of DNA adducts in rat lungs and trachea by 80 and 65%, respectively. These data clearly demonstrate a high efficacy of oltipraz in inhibiting the formation of cigarette smoke-induced DNA adducts in the target tissues.      

马蓝的化学成分研究

Seven compounds have been isolated from the whole plant of Strobilanthes cusia (Nees) O. Ktze. Three of them are triterpenes (Ⅰ～Ⅲ), two are indole alkaloids (Ⅳ, Ⅴ), two are quinazolinone alkaloids (Ⅵ, Ⅶ). On the basis of spectral analysis and physicochemical properties, their structures were established as lupeol (Ⅰ), betulin (Ⅱ), lupenone (Ⅲ), indigo (Ⅳ), indirubin (Ⅴ), 4 (3H)-quinazolinone (Ⅵ), 2, 4 (1H, 3H)-quinazolinedione (Ⅶ). Ⅵ and Ⅶ were found from natural plant for the first time.The results of the pharmacological tests demonstrate that compound Ⅴ has anticancer activity and compound Ⅵ has hypotensive action. Compound Ⅶ can be quantitatively determined by HPLC, which may serve as a quality control standard for materia medica and its preparations. Compounds Ⅵ and Ⅶ have been confirmed by means of synthesis.