Carcinoma of the stomach following the Chernobyl nuclear accident

Medical consequences of many nuclear accidents on humans are well studied, but the results pertaining to gastric cancer patients who were exposed to radiation as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear accident have not been analysed. In this study, the outcome of the surgical treatment of 68 gastric cancer patients who were exposed to radiation as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear accident was compared with that of 117 consecutive gastric cancer patients from uncontaminated areas of the Ukraine. Patients in the study group was significantly younger than that of the control group. Comparative analysis showed the same frequency of regional metastases (65.7% versus 71.1%, P > 0.05), but a smaller number of distant metastases (23.8% versus 38.1%, P < 0.05) in the study group. 41.2% of patients in the study group underwent total gastrectomy compared to 19.6% of patients in the control group (P = 0.002). Postoperative complications developed in 13.2% of patients in the study group, while postoperative mortality in the study group was 7.3% compared to 1.7% in the control group. A significant decrease in CD16 cells was noted in patients from the study group following the operative procedure. Young age, invasive tumours with smaller number of distant metastases, frequent necessity for total gastrectomy and combined operations with adjacent organs, a higher level of postoperative morbidity and mortality and low levels of natural killer cells (CD16+) with a tendency to decrease after surgery are characteristic of patients with carcinoma of the stomach affected by the Chernobyl accident.     

Paclitaxel plus ifosfamide in advanced ovarian cancer: a multicenter phase II study

The Canadian Cancer Society requested that the Centre for Behavioural Research and Program Evaluation of the National Cancer Institute of Canada evaluate Reach to Recovery and CanSurmount, 1-on-1 peer-support programs that provide information and support to individuals with cancer and their families. Key informant interviews (with program participants and volunteer visitors) were conducted to gather qualitative data and to help us develop a framework and tools to evaluate these programs. We found that 1) there are program objectives from the perspective of volunteers and participants in addition to those outlined in the program materials; 2) there are variations in how the programs are delivered and how patients or family members are recruited into the program; and 3) there is evidence that Reach to Recovery and CanSurmount volunteers are in a unique position to deliver the programs, either because they have personally experienced cancer or have family members who have had cancer. We describe the key informant exercise developed for this evaluation project and present the results of preliminary data-gathering activities.     

Crevicular fluid level of beta-glucuronidase in relation to clinical periodontal parameters and putative periodontal pathogens in early-onset periodontitis

Analysis of beta-glucuronidase (betaG) in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) provides an indication of neutrophil influx into the crevicular environment. The aim of this study was to test the hypotheses that: (1) betaG is significantly elevated in individuals with early-onset periodontitis (EOP) and that betaG activity correlates with disease severity; and (2) betaG level may reflect the local bacterial challenge in the gingival crevice. The study subjects consisted of a sub-sample of individuals examined in the National Survey of Oral Health of United States Children, which was undertaken during the 1986/87 school year. A total of 249 individuals were selected based on presence or absence of clinical attachment loss at baseline. The individuals were examined a second time 6 years later and the clinical attachment loss was assessed, and subgingival plaque and GCF were collected. The subjects were classified into 3 types of EOP and a control group. BetaG activity in the GCF and the levels of 7 putative micro-organisms in the pocket were assessed. The generalized EOP group had the highest betaG activity, followed by the localized and incidental EOP groups, and the controls, respectively. There was a significant increase in betaG activity with the increase in probing depth. Also, sites with bleeding on probing had a significantly higher betaG activity than sites without bleeding. However, the effect of gingival inflammation on betaG activity was more evident in the generalized and localized EOP groups. Sites harboring high levels of one or more of the micro-organisms tended to have high betaG activity. There were moderate differences between the organisms with respect to their effect on betaG activity, but sites with high numbers of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, or Treponema denticola also had the highest betaG activity. The present findings suggest that betaG activity in GCF from patients with EOP can be of value in the early identification of individuals at higher risk of developing EOP The findings also suggest that host mechanisms leading to higher betaG activity in EOP represent systemic responses and are only partly related to the presence of local factors at the site-level.     

Effects of retinal laser photocoagulation on photoreceptor basic fibroblast growth factor and survival

PURPOSE: In an unpublished study, the authors found that immunoreactivity for basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is increased in rod photoreceptors adjacent to long-standing laser burns in human diabetic retinas. The goal of this study was to determine whether laser photocoagulation produces a similar increase in photoreceptor bFGF and promotes survival of these cells in dystrophic rodent retinas. METHODS: Threshold (whitening) and subthreshold (nonwhitening) laser burns were made in retinas of normal and Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats and normal and rds mice. The retinas were processed for immunocytochemical and morphometric analyses. RESULTS: In nonlasered normal rat and mouse retinas, bFGF immunoreactivity was prominent in the nuclei of Müller cells and astrocytes. Photoreceptors were bFGF negative except for a zone of bFGF-immunoreactive rods near the ora serrata. Some photoreceptors in nonlasered retinas of RCS rats and rds mice became bFGF immunoreactive. After laser treatment, bFGF immunoreactivity was markedly increased in all photoreceptors flanking the threshold burns and within the subthreshold burns in normal and mutant rats and mice. In RCS rat retinas, photoreceptor bFGF immunoreactivity remained elevated within subthreshold burns and flanking the threshold burns, and photoreceptor survival was prolonged. In rds mouse retinas, increased bFGF immunoreactivity in photoreceptors was not sustained and their degeneration was not retarded. CONCLUSIONS: Laser treatment of RCS rat retinas produced a sustained increase in bFGF immunoreactivity in photoreceptors and prolonged their survival, but laser treatment of rds mouse retinas did not have a long-term effect on photoreceptor bFGF immunoreactivity or survival. Although species differences in laser effects on photoreceptor bFGF and survival are apparent, the finding that rods flanking laser burns in human retinas have sustained increases in bFGF immunoreactivity suggests that laser treatment may be useful for prolonging survival of mutant photoreceptors in retinas of patients with retinitis pigmentosa.     

Stimulation of weak organic acid uptake in rat renal tubules by cadmium and nystatin

The uphill uptake of a weak organic acid, fluorescein, in superficial proximal tubules of the rat kidney was stimulated by CdCl2 (0.1 mM) or nystatin (20 microM) in the absence of metabolic substrates in the incubation medium. The stimulation could be observed during the initial period of incubation (up to 30 min) only and was prevented completely by ouabain (0.1 mM), fluoroacetate (1 mM), malonate (10 mM), alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate (0.1 mM), phenylpyruvate (1 mM), D-malate (2 mM) or phenazine methosulfate (20 microM). In the renal cortex fragment suspension, both Cd2+ and nystatin increased the ouabain-sensitive, basal oxygen consumption and inhibited the rate of glucose production from pyruvate, but not from lactate. In the presence of lactate (0.5-5 mM) in the incubation medium, Cd2+ and nystatin rather inhibited fluorescein uptake, while externally added pyruvate did not influence their stimulatory effects. Taken together, these data suggest that both activation of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and export of reducing equivalents from the mitochondria to the cytosol are necessary for the stimulatory effects of Cd2+ and nystatin on the weak organic acid uptake to develop.     

Potassium and sodium intake and excretion in calcium stone forming patients

We reviewed the results of 15 patients (16 feet) in whom a hallux valgus procedure had failed. Salvage was by proximal crescentic first metatarsal osteotomy with distal soft-tissue reconstruction. Results based on a clinical scale considering the level of pain, activity limitations, support requirement, footwear limitations, and alignment were good in 11, fair in two, and poor in three. Patients were satisfied with the results in 10 feet, satisfied with reservations in four feet, and dissatisfied in two feet. Complications were: transfer metatarsalgia in three, hallux varus in one, and osteotomy nonunion in one. One of the patients required reoperation to bone graft a proximal osteotomy. Metatarsal osteotomy was helpful in the salvage treatment of recurrent, symptomatic hallux valgus when the first metatarsophalangeal joint was functional and painless.     

Multimodal cognitive-behavioural treatment for workers with chronic spinal pain: a matched cohort study with an 18-month follow-up

The BCL7A gene, which maps to human chromosome 12q24.13, was cloned through its direct involvement with MYC and IGH in a three-way translocation in a Burkitt lymphoma cell line. Here, we describe the identification of two related human genes, BCL7B and BCL7C, which share 90% identity to the amino-terminal 51 amino acids of human BCL7A, as well as 41% identity in the same region to Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Brugia malayi EST sequences. This degree of relatedness in the amino-terminal domain suggests we have defined a new gene family of unknown function. There was little sequence conservation between the family members outside this conserved domain and no identified protein motifs could be deduced. Human BCL7B and BCL7C mapped to chromosome 7q11.23, and 16p11, respectively. No chromosomal rearrangements affecting BCL7B or BCL7C were detected in lymphoid malignancies. BCL7B did, however, map within the region of 7q11.23 which is commonly deleted in the congenital disorder, Williams syndrome.     

Effect of endurance exercise training on heart rate variability at rest in healthy young and older men

Heart rate variability (HRV) (SD of the RR interval), an index of parasympathetic tone, was measured at rest and during exercise in 13 healthy older men (age 60 to 82 years) and 11 healthy young men (age 24 to 32 years) before and after 6 months of aerobic exercise training. Before exercise training, the older subjects had a 47% lower HRV at rest compared with the young subjects (31 +/- 5 ms vs 58 +/- 4 ms, p = 0.0002). During peak exercise, the older subjects had less parasympathetic withdrawal than the young subjects (-45% vs -84%, p = 0.0001). Six months of intensive aerobic exercise training increased maximum oxygen consumption by 21% in the older group and 17% in the young group (analysis of variance: overall training effect, p = 0.0001; training effect in young vs old, p = NS). Training decreased the heart rate at rest in both the older (-9 beats/min) and the young groups (-5 beats/min, before vs after, p = 0.0001). Exercise training increased HRV at rest (p = 0.009) by 68% in the older subjects (31 +/- 5 ms to 52 +/- 8 ms) and by 17% in the young subjects (58 +/- 4 ms to 68 +/- 6 ms). Exercise training increases parasympathetic tone at rest in both the healthy older and young men, which may contribute to the reduction in mortality associated with regular exercise.