Magnetic resonance imaging in the staging of solitary plasmacytoma of bone

PURPOSE: To assess prospectively the role of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the staging of patients with a solitary bone plasmacytoma (SBP). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twelve consecutive patients with an apparent SBP underwent MR imaging of both the primary tumor and the thoracic and lumbosacral spine to seek additional foci of marrow involvement that might have been undetected by standard skeletal survey. All patients received megavoltage irradiation (total dose, 40 Gy) to the primary lesion. RESULTS: MR imaging of the thoracic and lumbosacral spine showed additional foci of marrow replacement in four of 12 patients, with signal characteristics identical to those of the primary tumor. In all four patients, the abnormal protein persisted at greater than 50% of the pretreatment value following radiation treatment. In contrast, the myeloma protein disappeared or was reduced by greater than 50% in five of the six patients with secretory disease and without additional marrow abnormalities. One of four patients progressed to multiple myeloma 10 months after diagnosis with new lesions on conventional radiographs in the same areas as detected previously by MR imaging. CONCLUSION: Four of 12 patients considered to have a SBP by standard criteria may have been understaged, because MR imaging showed additional marrow abnormalities consistent with myeloma. MR imaging of the spine may contribute to the initial staging of SBP, especially since some patients may be cured with radiotherapy.     

Lymphocyte subpopulations in the mammary gland of the goat

Mammary glands of pregnant, lactating and resting goats were studied by immunohistochemistry for lymphocyte subpopulations using a panel of monoclonal antibodies. All T lymphocyte subpopulations that may have a role in the immune response, CD2+, CD4+, CD8+ and gamma delta T cells and subsets, were present in the mammary gland and were noted to increase in number progressively during pregnancy, decrease significantly during lactation, and then moderately increase during the resting period. CD4+ cells, the predominant cell type in the mammary gland, were located mainly in the connective tissue, whereas CD2+, CD8+ and TcR1-N24+ cells were predominant in the intraepithelial areas. TcR1-N6+ cells were detected almost exclusively during pregnancy, being localized mainly in the connective tissue. Their proportion decreased markedly following parturition. Very few WC1-N3+ and -N4+ cells were detected in the mammary gland. It is suggested that the majority of gamma delta T lymphocytes in the mammary gland of the goat are CD2+ CD8+ WCl-, a distinctive subset from that of the WCl+ subset in peripheral blood.     

Primary leiomyosarcoma of the fallopian tube

Chronic renal failure occurs in about 20% of long-term survivors treated with bone marrow transplant (BMT) regimens that include total-body irradiation (TBI); this syndrome is called BMT nephropathy. In a previous study in a syngeneic rat BMT model it was shown that captopril (an inhibitor of angiotensin-converting enzyme) could be used to treat experimental BMT nephropathy. Current studies were designed to determine whether captopril could also be used to prevent BMT nephropathy. Rats received 14 to 18.5 Gy TBI in six fractions over 3 days followed by syngeneic BMT. Seven days before TBI half the rats were started on captopril (500 mg/liter in the drinking water). Blood urea nitrogen, ratios of urine protein to creatinine, serum creatinine, and blood pressure were used to assess renal function. In animals receiving TBI alone, BMT nephropathy developed 3 to 6 months after transplant. At 6 months after TBI, captopril-treated animals had lower systolic blood pressure and better-preserved renal function than animals receiving TBI alone, with dose-modifying factors of about 1.3. The captopril treatment had no effect on bone marrow ablation by TBI. Captopril appears to be safe and effective in the prophylaxis of BMT nephropathy.     

The not-so-simple art of imitation: Pastiche, literary style, and Raymond Chandler

This analysis extends the tools of statistical analysis to the challenging task of distinguishing between genuine works by an author, the preeminent American writer of mysteries, Raymond Chandler, and deliberate attempts by others to mimic the author's style. Rendering the task all the more challenging, the analysis focuses exclusively on the main elements of Chandler's style rather than on his minor but telling stylistic idiosyncrasies. Statistical analysis establishes that indicators of these stylistic elements can successfully detect the pastiches.Lee Sigelman is Professor and Chair of Political Science at The George Washington University. His research interests range widely throughout the social sciences, including research methods, mass communication, political behaviour, and popular culture. With Ernest Yanarella, he co-edited Political Mythology and Popular Fiction, and has published several articles on political themes in popular literature.William Jacoby is an associate professor in the Department of Government and International Studies at the University of South Carolina. His work has focused substantively on mass political attitudes and behavior. He has a strong interest in statistical methods, and has written extensively on dimensional analysis.     

Felt versus enacted stigma: a concept revisited. Evidence from a study of people with epilepsy in remission

Epilepsy is, in the majority of cases, a short-lived and self-limiting clinical condition. However, individuals labelled as epileptic frequently continue to feel stigmatised, even after their seizures remit. This paper describes the nature and extent of stigma in a group of individuals with epilepsy in remission. The distinction between 'felt' and 'enacted' stigma is examined, and found to be supported by the data.