AIDS Clinical Trials Group Study 094: a phase I/II trial of ABV chemotherapy with zidovudine and recombinant human GM-CSF in AIDS-related Kaposi''s sarcoma

The aim of this study was to evaluate psychosocial quality of life after heart transplantation. We examined 29 patients (25 M and 4 F), average age was 43.5 y (18-62 y). The age at time of heart transplantation was 43 years (17-55 y). The time after heart transplantation was 3.3 year (0.3-9 y). Spielberger's Questionnaire of Anxiety, Knobloch's inventory of neuroticism, Freiburg's Personality Inventory and Quality of Life Inventory were used, 33% of patients demonstrated increasing frequency and 29% of patients increasing intensity of neurotic symptoms. 23% of patients presented increasing levels of anxiety (as a state). The personality dimensions (depression, excitability and low emotional stability) displayed high frequency. The results showed that patients were more satisfied with family support, with sexual activities, and less satisfied with financial situation, social activities, social isolations, sleep, memory, excitability, fatigue. 41.5% of patients returned back to work. The results indicate that these psychosocial factors play an important role in quality of life after heart transplantation. That is why if is necessary to dedicate an increasing attention to them. (Tab. 1, Fig. 6, Ref. 14.)     

Recovery of hearing and vocal behavior after hair-cell regeneration

Postmitotic hair-cell regeneration in the inner ear of birds provides an opportunity to study the effect of renewed auditory input on auditory perception, vocal production, and vocal learning in a vertebrate. We used behavioral conditioning to test both perception and vocal production in a small Australian parrot, the budgerigar. Results show that both auditory perception and vocal production are disrupted when hair cells are damaged or lost but that these behaviors return to near normal over time. Precision in vocal production completely recovers well before recovery of full auditory function. These results may have particular relevance for understanding the relation between hearing loss and human speech production especially where there is consideration of an auditory prosthetic device. The present results show, at least for a bird, that even limited recovery of auditory input soon after deafening can support full recovery of vocal precision.     

Development of a method for direct quantification of cytomegalovirus antigenemia by flow cytometry

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigenemia was directly detected in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) from transplant recipients by using flow cytometry (FC). Two fixation and permeabilization methods and seven anti-CMV monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were evaluated. 1C3, SL20, and NEA-9221 MAbs were more efficacious. The antigenemia detection threshold of FC was 0.05% positive PMNLs, and percentages correlated well with DNA viral load and the appearance of clinical symptoms.     

Direct evidence for the deoxyribonuclease activity of the plant ribosome inactivating protein gelonin

Several plant ribotoxins, including gelonin, were reported to have additional weak nuclease activities on supercoiled DNA. The potential contribution of this activity to their cytotoxicity has not been given serious consideration due to concerns about contaminating nucleases in the protein preparations. We now report the degradation of single-stranded DNA by preparations of native plant gelonin and recombinant gelonin produced in E. coli. The DNase activity of both preparations is similarly modulated by zinc. An SDS-PAGE DNase assay identifies gelonin as the polypeptide responsible for deoxyribonuclease activity.     

Lasers in plastic surgery: current practice

A wide variety of lasers provides the plastic surgeon with treatment options that were not available previously. Appropriate, safe use of lasers complements the many therapeutic treatment options available to plastic surgeons. Lasers have introduced a new therapeutic modality. Because of the ways the skin and its defects may be altered with lasers, they will be an increasingly important part of plastic surgery.     

Histopathologic changes in human small intestine during storage in Viaspan organ preservation solution

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the histopathologic changes that occur in human small intestine or time when preserved in Viaspan organ preservation solution. DESIGN: Short segments of human small intestine were placed in standard organ preservation solution (Viaspan) and stored in conditions that mimic the clinical situation associated with clinical organ procurement, preservation, and transplantation. The intestinal segments were removed at sequential time points and placed in 10% formalin. Specimens underwent histopathologic examination to determine time-related changes. SPECIMENS: Short intestinal segments were obtained from seven multiorgan cadaver donors. Specimens were obtained in a way that exactly mimicked small intestinal organ retrieval. RESULTS: Small intestinal histology remained normal for the first 6 hours. After 6 hours, vacuolar separation began to occur between the epithelium and the basement membrane in the upper half of the villi. After 9 hours of cold preservation, epithelial detachment extended deep into the crypts with occasional shedding of cells and villi. CONCLUSIONS: Currently used small intestinal preservation using Viaspan results in considerable histopathologic changes in human jejunum after 9 hours of cold storage. The histopathologic pattern appears normal for the first 6 hours and suggests that preservation times should be limited to this time period when possible.     

Chromosomal anomalies in stage D1 prostate adenocarcinoma primary tumors and lymph node metastases detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization

We previously reported a HPLC assay method using fluorimetric detection for the simultaneous determination of urinary N2-(3-aminopropyl)biopterin (oncopterin, a natural pteridine newly found in urine from cancer patients), biopterin and neopterin. We now have observed that an unknown substance, which may be derived from methotrexate, in urine from a patient with stomach cancer interfered with the assay of oncopterin and demonstrated that oncopterin could be completely separated from the unidentified substance by HPLC using a Nucleosil 100-5SA strong cation-exchange column. Furthermore, oncopterin was not detectable by this HPLC-fluorimetric method in urine samples from patients with stomach cancer who were not treated with methotrexate. The content of urinary oncopterin from cancer patients is supposed to be very low, with less than 1 mumol/mol creatinine. The present results indicate that the peak found with elution from the C18 column was a methotrexate-derived compound and co-eluted with the analyte oncopterin.