Wooden sticks as the source of a pseudoepidemic of infection with Rhizopus microsporus var. rhizopodiformis among immunocompromised patients

Wooden sticks used to suspend feces obtained for surveillance cultures were found to be the source of Rhizopus microsporus var. rhizopodiformis causing a pseudo-outbreak among 17 immunocompromised patients cared for in three different wards. Nonsterile wooden products should therefore not be used for collecting, handling, and processing specimens for microbiological examination.     

Psoralen photochemotherapy

Psoralens and sunlight have been used by the Egyptians and Indians for hundreds of years for treating vitiligo. The combination of oral psoralens and artificial ultraviolet A (PUVA) therapy was approved for managing severe psoriasis by the Food and Drug Administration in 1982. Since then, PUVA therapy has been an effective modality for treating many cutaneous conditions (psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, vitiligo, and mycosis fungoides). However, proper knowledge and administration of PUVA therapy are vital to treatment success and reducing side effects.     

Biochemical alterations of the tunica albuginea in impotence

PURPOSE: The objectives of this study were to quantify the immunohistochemical stainings of collagen types I, III and IV, and investigate the value of glycohistochemical staining with 3 lectin types specific to a particular glycan structure, Arachis hypogaea, Triticum vulgare and concanavalin A, as a method of defining possible changes in the collagen structure of the tunica albuginea in potent and impotent patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved 4 normal men, 4 with pure venous leakage and 4 with pure arterial disease. Collagen types I, III and IV, and lectins Arachis hypogaea, Triticum vulgare and concanavalin A were studied using a cell image processor. The labeling index relates to the percentage of staining and mean optical density relates to the staining intensity. RESULTS: Mean labeling index values for the 3 types of collagen and lectins were similar (p > 0.05). Mean optical density value relating to collagen type I was significantly higher in the arteriogenic group than in the other groups (p < 0.05), while mean optical density value of collagen type IV was significantly higher in the venogenic group than in the 2 other groups (p < 0.05). Mean optical density values relating to the 3 lectin types were similar in the 3 clinical groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: An alteration in the distribution and structure of the various collagen types and lectins in the tunica albuginea of impotent patients has been shown that may interfere with normal function and lead to impotence.     

Isolation and characterisation of Caribbean ciguatoxins from the horse-eye jack (Caranx latus)

The toxins involved in ciguatera (fish poisoning) in the Caribbean Sea were isolated from Caranx latus, a pelagic fish often implicated in ciguatera in the Caribbean region, and purified by mouse bioassay directed fractionation. Five toxins were separated by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In order of increasing hydrophobicity, these toxins included a sleep-inducing fraction (< 1% of total toxicity), a major Caribbean ciguatoxin (C-CTX-1, 65% of toxicity), a minor Caribbean ciguatoxin (C-CTX-2, 13% of toxicity), a minor toxin (approximately 1% of toxicity) and a hydrophobic, fast-acting toxin (approximately 19% of toxicity). The i.p. injection into mice of each toxin induced signs typical of site-5 sodium channel activator toxins such as the Pacific ciguatoxins and brevetoxins. C-CTX-1 and C-CTX-2 were purified to homogeneity (LD50 = 3.6 and approximately 1 microgram/kg, respectively) and subjected to ion spray mass spectrometry. Both lost up to five H2O molecules and each had a [M+H]+ ion, m/z 1141.7, suggesting that C-CTX-1 and -2 are diastereomers that differ from the Pacific family of ciguatoxins. Turbo-assisted HPLC-mass spectrometry identified C-CTX-1, C-CTX-2 and three C-CTX-1-related compounds in an enriched fraction but no Pacific ciguatoxins were detected. The presence of different families of ciguatoxins in ciguateric fish from the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean probably underlies the clinical differences in the ciguatera syndrome reported in these two regions. A Caribbean strain of the benthic dinoflagellate, Gambierdiscus toxicus, is suspected as source of these ciguatoxins. The extent to which these toxins are biotransformed as they pass through the marine food chain remains to be determined.     

The in vivo metabolic pattern of low-grade brain gliomas: a positron emission tomographic study using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose and 11C-L-methylmethionine

OBJECTIVE: The object of the present study was to identify metabolic differences between low-grade astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas and to improve their diagnosis and noninvasive assessment, because both types of tumors look very similar from the point of view of clinical and radiological data (as assessed by computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging). METHODS: Before any aggressive treatment, 22 patients with primary low-grade gliomas (astrocytomas in 12 patients and oligodendrogliomas in 10) were investigated with positron emission tomography for both glucose metabolism (18F-fluorodeoxyglucose) and amino acid uptake (11C-L-methylmethionine). An original software that allows a full metabolic analysis of the tumor region of interest (defined from the T1-weighted magnetic resonance image) and compares tumor tissue uptake tracer concentrations with average healthy tissue values has been implemented for data processing. Heterogeneity of each individual tumor has been taken into account and was expressed in histograms, which provided data about the mean and also extreme and intermediate values of tracer concentrations and the way these values are distributed among the full tumor mass. RESULTS: It has been shown that both tumor types exhibit a glucose hypometabolism (slightly more pronounced with astrocytomas), whereas they strongly differ in methionine uptake, which is high in all oligodendrogliomas and either decreased, normal, or moderately increased in astrocytomas. This latter metabolic difference between both tumor populations may be partially explained by their different cell densities. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that despite similar radiological and clinical presentations, these two kinds of low-grade gliomas are metabolically different and could therefore have specific responses to different therapies. Moreover, their in vivo metabolic follow-up with positron emission tomography should rely on different parameters, depending on their histological type; methionine uptake may be more relevant than glucose metabolism in the follow-up of oligodendrogliomas.     

Cryopreservation of all prezygotes in patients at risk of severe hyperstimulation does not eliminate the syndrome, but the chances of pregnancy are excellent with subsequent frozen-thaw transfers

In-vitro fertilization patients (n = 15) at risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) (oestradiol > or =4500 pg/ml on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin administration and 25 or more follicles of intermediate or large size) underwent aspiration of all follicles and cryopreservation of all fertilized oocytes at the pronuclear stage. Patients were monitored for up to 2 weeks post-retrieval. Subsequent transfer of cryopreserved-thawed embryos was performed in programmed cycles using exogenous oestrogen and progesterone for endometrial preparation. Two patients (13%) developed OHSS necessitating hospitalization and vaginal aspiration of ascitic fluid. Two other patients (13%) developed moderate OHSS requiring ascitic fluid vaginal aspiration in the office setting, with dramatic improvement of the condition. Subsequent transfer of cryopreserved-thawed embryos yielded a clinical pregnancy rate of 58% per transfer and ongoing or delivery rates of 42 and 67% per transfer and per patient respectively. By eliminating pregnancy potential with cryopreservation of all prezygotes and examining the pregnancy potential with subsequent cryopreserved-thawed transfers, it is concluded that OHSS is reduced, but not eliminated for patients at risk. Subsequent transfer of cryopreserved-thawed prezygotes in a programmed cycle with exogenous steroids yields an excellent pregnancy rate.     

High-dose busulfan, melphalan, thiotepa and peripheral blood stem cell infusion for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer

The purpose of this study was to determine the outcome of patients with metastatic breast cancer treated with high-dose busulfan (Bu), melphalan (Mel) and thiotepa (TT) followed by peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) infusion. Fifty-one patients with chemotherapy refractory (n = 32) or responsive (n = 19) metastatic breast cancer received Bu (12 mg/kg), Mel (100 mg/m2) and TT (500 mg/m2) followed by PBSC collected after chemotherapy and growth factor (n = 43) or growth factor alone (n = 8). The 100 day treatment-related mortality was 8% including one death from cytomegalovirus pneumonia, one from aspiration pneumonia and two from regimen-related toxicity (RRT). Seven of 28 refractory (25%) and 5/7 (71%) responsive patients with evaluable disease achieved a complete response of all measurable disease or all soft tissue disease with at least improvement in bone lesions (PR*). Fifteen of 51 patients (29%) are alive and progression-free a median of 423 days (range 353-934) after treatment, 5/32 (16%) with refractory disease and 10/19 (53%) with responsive disease. The probabilities of progression-free survival (PFS) at 1.5 years for the patients with refractory (n = 32) and responsive (n = 19) disease were 0.24 and 0.53, respectively. These preliminary data suggest that high-dose Bu/Mel/TT has significant activity in patients with advanced breast cancer and may be superior to some previously published regimens.     

Effects of the neem tree compounds azadirachtin, salannin, nimbin, and 6-desacetylnimbin on ecdysone 20-monooxygenase activity

The effects of azadirachtin, salannin, nimbin, and 6-desacetylnimbin on ecdysone 20-monooxygenase (E-20-M) activity were examined in three insect species. Homogenates of wandering stage third instar larvae of Drosophila melanogaster, or abdomens from adult female Aedes aegypti, or fat body or midgut from fifth instar larvae of Manduca sexta were incubated with radiolabeled ecdysone and increasing concentrations (from 1 x 10(-8) to 1 x 10(-3) M) of the four compounds isolated from seed kernels of the neem tree, Azadirachta indica. All four neem tree compounds were found to inhibit, in a dose-dependent fashion, the E-20-M activity in three insect species. The concentration of these compounds required to elicit a 50% inhibition of this steroid hydroxylase activity in the three insect species examined ranged from approximately 2 x 10(-5) to 1 x 10(-3).     

Adverse effects of dental local anaesthesia

This paper considers the adverse effects that a patient may suffer as a result of anticipating an injection of dental local anaesthetic. Although most of these are extremely rare (a testimony to good technique), the dental practitioner should be aware of the possibility of their occurrence and of ways to deal with them.     

Attitudes of women of childbearing age towards prenatal diagnosis in southeastern France

The objective of this study was to explore women's attitudes towards prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 21 and to examine some of the factors possibly responsible for these attitudes before implementing in real practice serological screening of pregnant women at risk for trisomy 21. We carried out a telephone survey on a representative sample of women who had recently had a normal livebirth delivery in the Marseille district in 1990. The participation rate was 80 per cent and the average age of the mothers was 28.9 years. Among the 514 women interviewed, 78 per cent stated that they would ask for an amniocentesis for a 1 per cent risk of trisomy 21 at their next pregnancy. When adjusting for confounding factors, the decision to have or not to have an amniocentesis was found to depend not only on the women's attitude towards induced abortion, but also on their understanding of the risk involved and on the social context (knowing a handicapped child, discussion with the father). It also depended on the women's age and on what they knew about amniocentesis from the medical point of view. The risk of miscarriage can influence a woman's choice but this objection was not found to affect the women's decisions significantly in our survey. The data showed the existence of a high potential demand for fetal karyotyping.