Immunogenic properties of an anti-DNA antibody-derived peptide, 88H.64-80: location of a dominant idiotope defined by T and B cells

Plasma interleukin-1 beta (Il-1 beta) interleukin-6 (Il-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) concentrations were measured in 26 women with Anorexia Nervosa (AN), nine of the restricted type (AN-R) and 17 of the binge-eating/purging type (AN-BP), in 24 women with Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and in 26 healthy age- and sex-matched controls. Concentrations of the cytokines were measured at the beginning of the study before starting any treatment and then after 1 and 3 months of combined cognitive-behavioral and pharmacological therapy (fluoxetine for AN-R and AN-BP, amineptine for AN-BP and BN, and fluvoxamine for BN). Basal values of Il-1 beta, Il-6 and TNF-alpha, were the same in patients and controls and did not change during treatments, in spite of the improvement of the mental disorders. This seems to exclude the possibility that alterations of basal plasma cytokine secretion are involved in the etiopathogenesis of AN and BN.     

Diagnosis of fatty infiltration of the liver on contrast enhanced CT: limitations of liver-minus-spleen attenuation difference measurements

Fatty acid oxidation has been studied with the tritium release assay in cultured fibroblasts from patients with defects in beta-oxidation and in the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Cells from all patients with beta-oxidation defects and cells from 10 of 16 patients with respiratory chain defects showed an impairment of fatty acid oxidation. The result of the tritium release assay is not only dependent on the proper function of the beta-oxidation cycle but is also influenced by the reoxidation of reduced cofactors. The assay can thus be used to study the expression of respiratory chain defects in cultured fibroblasts.     

可回收式锥形肝静脉支架的动物实验研究

【摘要】 目的 通过动物实验评估可回收式锥形肝静脉支架的可行性、安全性及稳定性,探讨支架回收最佳时间。方法 健康家猪24头,随机分为4组,每组6头。全身麻醉下经右颈内静脉入路接受肝中静脉可回收式锥形支架置入术,术后3、7、11、15 d分别接受支架回收。采用t检验对比各组支架置入后、回收前所测得的支架内血流压力变化差异。采集支架中段相邻血管组织标本作病理学检查,测量计算新生血管内膜厚度,单因素方差分析对比各组间新生内膜厚度差异。结果 24枚支架均成功置入,技术成功率100%;支架回收技术成功率为50%（12/24）。肝中静脉内压力测量显示,3 d组支架置入后与回收前比较,差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）;7 d组、11 d组、15 d组支架置入后与回收前比较,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。各组间支架中段相邻组织新生内膜平均厚度两两比较,差异均有显著统计学意义（F＝338.29,P＜0.001）。结论 可回收式锥形支架置入家猪肝静脉安全、可行,其最佳安全回收时间为3 d,最长不宜超过7 d。

     

The Pulfrich spatial frequency phenomenon: a psychophysical method competitive to visual evoked potentials in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis

The results of a study in which visual evoked responses (VERs) and a modified Pulfrich method were compared showed that both methods are very effective for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. With VERs, 97% of the multiple sclerosis cases were diagnosed correctly, while the corresponding value for the Pulfrich method was 93%. In contrast to VERs, the Pulfrich method allows only measurement of latency differences between the two visual pathways. This method involves measuring the speed required to cause a shift in the apparent depth location of a large, moving, striped pattern observed with a neutral density filter over one eye. A pathological transmission time was inferred when the patients observed a shift in the depth of the moving pattern either without any filter at all or with a filter whose attentuation was no more than 0.2 log units. A further criterion for pathology was a difference of more than 10% between the two eyes in the retinal speed required for a depth displacement using a 1.5 log unit filter. This test requires about 15 minutes, and can be carried out by a technical assistant.     

Distribution of HLA antigens in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Divergent observations suggest that genetic factors contribute to the susceptibility to or clinical course of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. To determine whether there is an association between the major histocompatibility (HLA) system and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the distribution of 35 antigens of HLA loci A and B was determined among 33 white patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and 329 healthy white control subjects. Although certain antigens tended to be more prevalent among patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis compared with control subjects, there were no significant differences in the phenotype frequencies of the HLA-A and HLA-B antigens between these 2 groups. Thus, although subtle associations may exist between the HLA loci and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, these results indicate that antigens of the HLA-A and HLA-B loci are not linked with major risk factors in this disease.