Cardiac beta-adrenoceptors, G-proteins and adenylate cyclase regulation during myocardial hypertrophy

Reactivity to Alcohol and Neutral Cues was compared in male, inpatient problem drinkers (N = 30). Subjects reported an overall desire not to drink alcohol which decreased in the presence of the Alcohol Cue. There were no cue-specific changes in heart rate, blood pressure and arousal level and a non-significant trend for increased stress in the Alcohol Cue condition. Subgroups of subjects reporting positive and negative desire for alcohol were identified. Subjects who reported negative desire for alcohol in the Alcohol Cue condition also reported greater self-efficacy to resist drinking in the future. These findings have implications for understanding the nature of self-reported desire for alcohol and its potential role in the treatment of alcohol dependence.     

Application of flow injection analysis in trace element determination of body fluids

Nucleophiles activated the catalytic actions of beta-galactosidases with neutral or positively charged substitutions for Glu-461. Aliphatic carboxylic acids increased the rate of hydrolysis of o-nitrophenyl beta-D-galactopyranoside if the pKa values of the carboxyl groups were > approximately 3.5. Amino compounds activated if their pKa values were < approximately 8.5. Imidazole, azide, and 2-mercaptoethanol also activated. Nucleophiles with high pKa values were able to activate the catalysis if the pH was high, and this showed that the lack of activation at pH 7.0 was because of protonation. Kinetic analysis showed that most of the nucleophiles that activated were bound to the active site, since the activation followed Michaelis-Menten type saturation kinetics. The binding seemed to be dependent upon the hydrophobicity; the longer the aliphatic chain, the stronger the binding. Gas-liquid chromatographic analysis showed that adducts of some type were formed during the reactions in the presence of many of the nucleophiles. Three of these adducts were purified and the nucleophiles were found beta-linked to D-galactose. This indicates that if an intermediate covalent bond is formed in the mechanism of beta-galactosidase action and if the nucleophile reacts to displace it, the intermediate covalent bond must have the alpha configuration and involve a group other than Glu-461.     

Serogrouping of Bacteroides nodosus isolates from 62 sources in the United States

Bacteroides nodosus isolates from 62 sources in the United States were obtained from sheep with infectious foot diseases. Serotypic analysis of these isolates revealed 21 serotypes (designated I-XXI). These serotypes were compared with British and Australian/New Zealand B nodosus strains by use of reciprocal tube agglutination tests. These tests, as well as the cross-matching tube agglutination tests of the US serotypes, resulted in arranging the US serotypes into 11 serogroups, and comparing these serogroups with their Australian/New Zealand serogroup and British serotype counterparts. Three US serogroups and 1 additional British serotype had little or no relationship to any of the Australian/New Zealand serogroups A-H (the vaccine strains). One or more of these unrelated serogroups were found in 29% of the sources studied. The most frequently found US serotype was serotype XV at 29%. The most frequently found US serogroups were the serogroups analogous to serogroup B (43.5%) and serogroup H (37%); the other serogroups were found in 22.6% or less of the sources studied. Evaluation of 3 sources revealed that multiple serotypes in a single flock are common, multiple serotypes from a single lesion are possible, B nodosus isolates obtained from goats (unlike those from cattle) appear identical to the isolates obtained from sheep, and disease can appear in vaccinated animals, even in a flock that appears to be harboring only a single serogroup-B serotype (the serogroup for which there are 3 strains in the current vaccine).     

Neuropsychiatric aspects of progressive supranuclear palsy

Administering the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), we examined the behavioral symptoms of 22 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), 50 patients with Alzheimer's disease, and 40 controls. PSP patients exhibited apathy (91%), disinhibition (36%), dysphoria (18%) and anxiety (18%), but rarely (< 9%) irritability, abnormal motor behaviors, or agitation. Apathy in PSP was significantly associated with executive dysfunction. The presence of high apathy and low agitation and anxiety scale scores correctly identified the PSP patients 85% of the time. Evaluating the behavioral abnormalities of patients with neurodegenerative disorders will aid diagnosis and facilitate management.     

Familial myeloproliferative syndrome

Familial chronic myeloproliferative syndrome (CMS) was observed in five members from two different generations of the same kindred. Diagnosis included agnogenic myeloid metaplasia (case 1), polycythemia vera (case 2), and essential thrombocythemia (cases 3-5). Cases 1-3 were siblings, case 5 was the daughter of case 1, and case 4 was the cousin of cases 1, 3. Age at diagnosis ranged from 28 to 75 years, cases 1 and 3 were male, and the others were female. The diagnosis was made after an episode of cerebral thrombosis in one patient, during a study for headache and dizziness in another, and fortuitously in the three remainders. All patients had splenomegaly and varying degrees of thrombocytosis. The cytogenetic exam was normal in all four cases. A woman patient was treated with interferon during a pregnancy. Fetal growth was retarded, and the newborn showed bone and genital malformations. No environmental leukemogen factor was found. This familial case strengthens Dameshek's theory of a common pathogenesis of CMS and suggests a genetic and hereditary etiology.     

Say no to inadequate tort reform

From his vantage point as president of a large multispecialty group practice. Dr Montgomery has observed the direct effects that medical malpractice liability has had on healthcare costs. Here he offers a counterpoint to the Clinton plan's malpractice provisions and enumerates his own recommendations for meaningful tort reform.     

Polymerase chain reaction amplification analyses of clonality in T-cell malignancy including peripheral T-cell lymphoma

Clonality in T-cell malignancy was investigated using T-cell receptor (TcR) V beta 1-20 family primers and polymerase chain reaction amplification (PCR) of cDNA prepared from tissue biopsies and blood involved with tumour. Secondary PCR amplification of the VDJ joints of primary PCR products was performed to distinguish clonal from polyclonal products, and clonal V beta gene products were confirmed by direct PCR sequencing in the majority of cases. In eight T-cell malignancies including T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) and T-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (T-CLL) shown to be clonal by Southern blot analysis, one or two primary PCR products were identified and shown to be clonal. In five cases of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) all V beta 1-20 families were identified after primary PCR amplification, and clonal products were identified in two cases after secondary amplification; TcR V beta clonal families could not be demonstrated in the remaining three cases. These data were in agreement with previous Southern blot analysis of these cases, and confirmed the presence of reactive T cells in PTCL as well as providing further evidence for the genotypic heterogeneity of this entity. In the remaining case, a blood lymphocytosis, primary PCR amplification produced predominant TcR V beta 6 and V beta 12 family products, of which the V beta 6 family proved clonal after secondary PCR amplification. There was no evidence for overrepresentation of TCR V beta families by the tumour populations in this study, furthermore the data confirm the involvement of reactive cells in T-cell malignancy and the genetic heterogeneity of PTCL.     

Accommodation of a D-Phe residue into a right-handed 3(10)-helix: structure of Boc-D-Phe-(Aib)4-Gly-L-Leu-(Aib)2-OMe, an analogue of the amino terminal segment of antiamoebins and emerimicins

Recently an unstable trinucleotide CTG repeat, located within the 3' untranslated region of a gene on 19q13.3 was discovered in kindreds with myotonic dystrophy (DM). The age-of-onset/severity of DM shows a good correlation with CTG repeat size, and pedigrees and data reported to date have shown a striking trend toward amplification of the size of the CTG repeat during transmission from parent to child. The amplification has been accepted as the biological explanation for anticipation in the clinical severity observed in many families with DM. In this paper we report on 3 families where CTG amplification decreased during transmission from parent to child. In one case there was a gene conversion event, while in the remaining 2 there was a simpler reduction in the size of the repeat length. The changes appear to have been accompanied by a reduction in clinical severity in the child when compared to the parent. These observations are discussed in terms of their clinical implications and the biases that may exist in much of the reported data.