Intravascular histiocytosis

The majority of cases of intravascular lymphomatosis are B-cell lymphomas with only the occasional case being of T-cell type. We report a case of intravascular lymphomatosis in which the proliferating cells were of histiocytic type; the tumour has recurred following treatment.     

Poisoning of dairy heifers by mercurous chloride

Mercury poisoning was diagnosed in four dairy heifers, three of which died. The clinical signs were variable and included salivation, excessive thirst, extreme depression and severe diarrhoea. Postmortem examinations revealed inflammation and ulceration of the alimentary tract, pulmonary and cardiac haemorrhages, pallor of the kidney cortices and perirenal oedema. The kidney mercury concentrations were in the range 58 to 91 micrograms/g wet tissue. It is believed that the animals were poisoned by the ingestion of soil contaminated with mercurous chloride.     

Prevalence and risk factors for diabetic retinopathy in the multiethnic population of Mauritius

This study examines the prevalence of, and risk factors for, diabetic retinopathy in Asian Indian, Chinese, and Creole Mauritians in whom there is an increasing prevalence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). As part of a population-based survey on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius in 1992, glucose tolerance was classified using a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test on 6,553 persons. Subjects with newly diagnosed (n = 358) or known diabetes (n = 388), and a random sample of one in four subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (n = 165), had stereoscopic 45 degrees retinal photographs taken of three fields in the right eye after mydriasis. Photographs were graded according to a modified version of the Airlie House criteria. The prevalence of nonproliferative and proliferative retinopathy was: 14.5% and 0.3%, respectively, in newly diagnosed diabetic subjects; 42.0% and 2.3%, respectively, in known diabetic subjects; and 9.1% and 0%, respectively, in persons with impaired glucose tolerance. Muslim Indians had the lowest prevalence of retinopathy (10.8% and 34.0% for new and known diabetes, respectively), but after adjusting for other factors, this was significantly different only to Creoles (18.8% and 53.8%, respectively). Univariate analysis revealed significant differences between diabetic subjects with and without retinopathy in mean age, body mass index, fasting and 2-hour plasma glucose levels, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting triglycerides, serum creatinine, and urinary albumin levels. For known diabetes, mean duration of diabetes and the proportion using insulin were also greater in those with retinopathy. Multivariate analysis using logistic regression confirmed that increasing duration of diabetes, fasting plasma glucose, systolic blood pressure, and urinary albumin concentration, and decreasing body mass index, were independently associated with retinopathy. The high prevalence of diabetic retinopathy observed in all major ethnic groups in Mauritius portends a serious public health problem, given the relative recency of the NIDDM epidemic in that country and the limited resources for laser photocoagulation. Strategies to minimize this problem among those already known to have diabetes should include strict control of plasma glucose and blood pressure.     

Gonadotropic and luteotropic cells in chickens treated with estrogen after hatching

IgA concentrations were determined in saliva from epileptic patients taking phenytoin and in saliva from healthy controls, by single radial immunodiffusion technique. Mean salivary IgA in epileptic children was 7.23 mg/ml; in healthy children, 16.44 mg/ml. Corresponding values for adults were 13.53 and 19.48 mg/ml, respectively. In 14 out of 84 samples, salivary IgA levels were too low for quantitative analysis. Salivary IgA levels were normal in untreated patients and fell during treatment with phenytoin. Gingival inflammation was commonly accompanied by an increase of salivary IgG and serum-derived IgA, whereas compensatory increase of IgM was infrequent. Phenytoin-induced deficiency of salivary IgA can result in increased susceptibility to gingival inflammation, which is considered one of the predisposing factors for subsequent development of gingival hyperplasia.     

Antibacterial and antifungal activity of aromatic constituents of essential oils

Five aromatic constituents of essential oils (cineole, citral, geraniol, linalool and menthol) were tested for antimicrobial activity against eighteen bacteria (including Gram-positive cocci and rods, and Gram-negative rods) and twelve fungi (three yeast-like and nine filamentous). In terms of antibacterial activity linalool was the most effective and inhibited seventeen bacteria, followed by cineole, geraniol (each of which inhibited sixteen bacteria), menthol and citral aromatic compounds, which inhibited fifteen and fourteen bacteria, respectively. Against fungi the citral and geraniol oils were the most effective (inhibiting all twelve fungi), followed by linalool (inhibiting ten fungi), cineole and menthol (each of which inhibited seven fungi) compounds.     

Characterization of insulin receptor substrate 4 in human embryonic kidney 293 cells

We recently cloned IRS-4, a new member of the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) family. In this study we have characterized IRS-4 in human embryonic kidney 293 cells, where it was originally discovered. IRS-4 was the predominant insulin-elicited phosphotyrosine protein in these cells. Subcellular fractionation revealed that about 50% of IRS-4 was located in cellular membranes, and immunofluorescence indicated that IRS-4 was concentrated at the plasma membrane. Immunoelectron microscopy conclusively established that a large portion of the IRS-4 was located at the cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane in both the unstimulated and insulin-treated states. IRS-4 was found to be associated with two src homology 2 (SH2) domain-containing proteins, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and Grb2, the adaptor to the guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Ras. On the other hand, no significant association was detected with two other SH2 domain proteins, the SH2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 and phospholipase Cgamma. Insulin-like growth factor I acting through its receptor was as effective as insulin in eliciting tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-4, but interleukin 4 and epidermal growth factor were ineffective.