Changes in the ultra-fine structure of capillaries of the embryonic brain in the presence of schizophrenia in the mother

The report is concerned with a study of fine structures of brain capillaries in 9 embryos received during medical abortions from schizophrenic mothers. The authors established some traits in the ultrastructure of endothelial cells in most of the studied cases--an increase of the surface of endothelial cells at the expense of a tortuosity of their plasmatic membranes and a formation of growths, vacuolization of the cytoplasma. There were also some changes in the structure of basal membranes. In 2 cases there were also peculiar pathological changes in the vascular endothelium: granules of an unknown nature in the endothelial cells and a focal lysis of the plasmatic membranes of endothelial cells.     

Muscle proton T2 relaxation times and work during repetitive maximal voluntary exercise

We studied the effects of progressive maximal voluntary handgrip contractions (MVCs) on muscle proton spin-spin (T2) relaxation times and work, measured as the integrated force vs. time curve (FTI). Six healthy volunteers performed 10, 20, 40, and 80 MVCs in a 0.35-T magnet on four separate occasions. Repeated measures analyses of variance of increases in T2 and FTI during successive bouts were significant (P < 0.005 and P < 0.001, respectively). FTI increased with successive bouts to a greater extent than did muscle T2 (P < 0.05). For T2, the Helmert contrast judged the 10-MVC response lower than the mean of the remaining responses (P < 0.005), and the differences between all others compared with the means of subsequent responses were not significant, indicating a "flattening" of the T2 response after the increase from 10 to 20 repetitions. For FTI, all the single degree of freedom Helmert contrasts were significant (P < 0.001), indicating a continual increase in response over increased MVCs. The curved nature of the T2 response conformed best to a hyperbolic function, suggesting that a limit of approximately 32% exists for the change in T2 during progressively longer bouts of MVCs. A limit in the T2 response is consistent with the existence of a limit in the amount of water that muscle can take up from the vasculature during exertion.     

Oncogene rearrangement in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with a 14q+ chromosome of unknown origin

Southern blot analysis was performed with a panel of DNA probes to detect rearrangements of c-myc, bcl-1, bcl-2 and bcl-3 in 14 cases of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) with a clonal cytogenetic rearrangement involving the chromosome 14q32 locus and no known donor chromosome [t(14;?)(q32;?)]. In our experience, 21% of all chromosomal abnormalities involving the 14q32 locus in B-cell NHL are of this type. We found oncogene rearrangements in five of the 14 cases: bcl-1 rearrangement on one mantle zone lymphoma, bcl-2 rearrangements in two follicular lymphomas, and c-myc rearrangements in two small noncleaved cell lymphomas. We conclude that a 14q32+ abnormality of unknown origin is a relatively frequent karyotypic finding in B-cell NHL. In one third of the cases, known oncogenes that have been previously described in reciprocal translocations involving the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus were shown to be involved in the 14q32+ abnormality. The translocations in the other cases are likely to have involved one of the above oncogenes with breakpoints not revealed by the probes employed, other known oncogenes, or oncogenes that have not yet been identified.     

Surgical sperm retrieval and intracytoplasmic sperm injection as treatment of obstructive azoospermia

Male genital tract obstructions may result from infections, previous inguinal and scrotal surgery (vasectomy) and congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD). Microsurgery can sometimes be successful in treating the obstruction. In other cases and in cases of failed surgical intervention, the patient can be treated by microsurgical or percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (MESA, PESA) or testicular sperm extraction (TESE) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). We present the results of 39 ICSI procedures for obstructive azoospermia in 24 couples. The aetiology of the obstruction was failed microsurgery in 11 patients, CBAVD in nine and genital infections in four. Sperm retrieval was accomplished via MESA in four cases, PESA in 18 cases and via TESE in 11 cases. TESE was only applied when PESA failed to produce enough spermatozoa for simultaneous ICSI. In six patients, the ICSI procedure was performed with cryopreserved spermatozoa after an initial PESA procedure. Fertilization occurred in 47% of the metaphase II oocytes; embryo transfer was performed in 92% of procedures and resulted in a clinical pregnancy in 13/39 procedures. Ongoing pregnancy was achieved in 10/39 procedures. One pregnancy was terminated early after prenatal investigation showed a cytogenetic abnormality (47,XX+18, Edwards syndrome). The other nine pregnancies resulted in the live birth of 10 children, without any congenital abnormalities. Epididymal and testicular retrieved spermatozoa were successfully used for ICSI to treat obstructive azoospermia, and resulted in an ongoing pregnancy in 10 of 24 couples (41.6%) after 39 ICSI procedures, a success rate of 25.6% per treatment cycle and of 27.7% per embryo transfer.     

Design, synthesis, and conformational analysis of a novel series of HIV protease inhibitors

A combination of structure-based design and both solution, and solid-phase synthesis were utilized to derive a potent (nM) series of HIV-1 protease inhibitors bearing a structurally novel backbone. Detailed structural analysis of several inhibitors prepared in this series has suggested that rigidification of the P1/P2 region of this class of molecules may result in compounds with improved potency.     

Percutaneous large-core biopsy of papillary breast lesions

Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae possess the ability to cleave human IgA1 antibodies, and all successfully colonize and occasionally invade the human upper respiratory tract. N. meningitidis invades the bloodstream after a period of nasopharyngeal colonization. We directly compared levels of IgA1 protease activity in strains (n=52) derived from the cerebrospinal fluid or blood of patients with meningococcal disease with strains of N. meningitidis obtained from asymptomatic carriers (n=25). IgA1 protease activity was determined by a sensitive semiquantitative ELISA assay. Levels of IgA1 protease activity were significantly higher (P<0.0001) in strains associated with invasive meningococcal disease (98% with detectable activity, mean = 580 mU) than with those obtained from asymptomatic carriers (76% with detectable activity, mean = 280 mU). Despite marked variation in enzyme activity, almost all strains (96%) possessed the gene for IgA1 protease. Given the panmictic population structure of the bacterial isolates investigated, these data, obtained from two groups infected with N. meningitidis, but with markedly different clinical outcomes, provide the first quantitative evidence that IgA1 protease activity is a virulence determinant that contributes to the pathogenic phenotype, and suggest IgA1 protease as a potential target for prophylaxis.     

Vascular infections: medical and surgical therapies

Vascular infections are a serious problem, often associated with high morbidity and mortality. This article reviews the etiology, pathophysiology, risk factors, and treatment of surgical wound infections, prosthetic graft infections, aortoenteric fistulas (AEFs), and infected vascular ulcers. The primary cause of surgical wound infections is contamination by skin organisms during surgery. Prosthetic graft infections typically result from a progressive wound infection. Comorbid conditions are also related to vascular infections. Nurses should identify vascular patients at increased risk for infection, monitor them closely, and intervene to optimize the healing environment.     

Deletion of cell division cycle 2-like 1 gene locus on 1p36 in non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Our laboratories have documented a significantly high occurrence of chromosome 1p36 rearrangements in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The cell division cycle 2-like 1(CDC2L1) (also known as TP58 or PITSLRE) gene, a protein kinase implicated in apoptotic signaling, is located at the very distal region of chromosome 1p36 and is likely to be disrupted by structural rearrangements involving 1p36. To determine the molecular consequences of the recurrent involvement of the 1p36 region, we examined metaphases containing 1p36 abnormalities from 31 specimens derived from 26 patients for the possible deletion of CDC2L1 by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using the TP58clk-1 DNA probe. Twenty-three cases exhibited the loss of CDC2L1 from the abnormal chromosome 1. In 2 of 26 cases, the gene locus was translocated to the partner chromosome, and in four specimens, all derived from one case, CDC2L1 was not deleted. This pilot investigation suggests that 1p36 rearrangements, and consequently the loss of the CDC2L1 gene locus, is important in NHL. This work also opens avenues for further molecular studies and prognostic correlations.