Prevention of postoperative adhesions by single intraperitoneal medication

Postoperative adhesions account for a significant morbidity after abdominal, gynecological, or cardiac surgery. A large number of compounds have been suggested to prevent such adhesions, but none is generally accepted. We have compared eight different substances that could be beneficial for the prevention of postoperative adhesions in a new standardized rabbit model with measurement of the areas of adhesion. In 10 groups of 20 rabbits an area of abrasion of the serosa of the ileum, the appendix, and the abdominal wall measuring 10,000 mm2 was created by an emery piston during celiotomy. The controls received no medication. The treatment groups received a single intraperitoneal administration of 1 ml per 100 g body wt of normal saline (NaCl), 5 mg taurolidine (T), 0.5 U plasmin/300 U DNase (PD), 2000 IU streptokinase/500 IU streptodornase (SS), 7 mg phosphatidylcholine (PC), 4 mg hyaluronic acid (HA), 7 mg sphingolipid (SL), 7 mg galactolipid (GL), or 0.5 ml tetrachlorodecaoxide (TCDO), respectively. Ten days later the extent of adhesions was quantified by morphometry. The total area of adhesions (+/- SEM) was found to be 1998 +/- 124 mm2 in controls. The application of NaCl reduced the adhesions to 1368 +/- 58 mm2, of T to 1012 +/- 48 mm2, of PD to 673 +/- 33 mm2, of SS to 360 +/- 44 mm2, of PC to 335 +/- 84 mm2, of HA to 328 +/- 76 mm2, of SL to 278 +/- 80 mm2, of GL to 261 +/- 67 mm2, and of TCDO to 240 +/- 45 mm2. The effects of PD, SS, PC, HA, SL, GL, and TCDO were significant in comparison to controls and NaCl. Our experimental data suggest that the two new lipid substances, SL and GL, are the most likely candidates for routine clinical use in the prevention of postsurgical adhesions.     

Prolonged STAT1 activation related to the growth arrest of malignant lymphoma cells by interferon-alpha

Multiple biologic effects of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), including cell growth inhibition and antiviral protection, are initiated by tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT proteins. Although this signal pathway has been intensively investigated, the relevance of STAT signal persistence has received scant attention. Using paired isogenic lymphoma cells (Daudi), which either are sensitive or resistant to growth inhibition by IFN-alpha, we found comparable initial tyrosine phosphorylation of multiple STAT proteins; however, the phosphorylation durations and associated DNA-binding activities diverged. Phosphorylation and DNA-binding capacity of STAT1 decreased after 4 to 8 hours in resistant cells, as compared with 24 to 32 hours in sensitive cells, whereas phosphorylation of STAT3 and STAT5b was briefer in both lines. Functional significance of the prolonged STAT1 signal, therefore, was explored by experimental interruption of tyrosine phosphorylation, either by premature withdrawal of the IFN-alpha or deferred addition of pharmacologically diverse antagonists: staurosporine (protein kinase inhibitor), phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (growth promoter), or aurintricarboxylic acid (ligand competitor). Results indicated that an approximately 18-hour period of continued STAT1 phosphorylation was associated with growth arrest, but that antiviral protection developed earlier. These differences provide novel evidence of a temporal dimension to IFN-alpha signal specificity and show that duration of STAT1 activation may be a critical variable in malignant cell responsiveness to antiproliferative therapy.     

Heterogeneity of human papillomavirus DNA in a patient with Bowenoid papulosis that progressed to squamous cell carcinoma

Bowenoid papulosis (BP) of the genitalia, characterized by the histological findings of a squamous cell carcinoma, follows a largely benign clinical course. The detection of oncogenic human papilloma viruses (HPV) from BP points to an aetiological role of these viral infections. A 47-year-old man with multiple genital skin lesions was seen over a 10-year period with the diagnosis of BP. Recently, he attended again with a recurrent genital tumour that was diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma. His genital lesions progressed and became polymorphic in appearance, from a wart-like tumour to a reddish invasive plaque. To screen for the presence of different HPV sequences from different skin lesions and to correlate each HPV type with distinct clinical manifestations, polymerase chain reaction and single-strand conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) were performed. PCR-SSCP revealed the presence of several types of HPV from different genital lesions. Sequencing results disclosed that he had a mixed infection of HPV6b, HPV16, HPV18 and HPV33, respectively. Interestingly, the clinical findings were fairly well correlated with the oncogenic potential of HPV found from each lesion.     

Protease production by Streptomyces thermovulgaris grown on rapemeal-derived media

Mild hypertension is currently defined as systolic blood pressure between 140 and 160 mm Hg. The prevalence of systolic hypertension (including this mild category) in individuals 65 and older is 21% for men and 23% for women. Risk factors include obesity, excessive sodium and alcohol consumption, and possibly calcium and bone metabolism. Determinants of arterial wall rigidity and subsequent increase in pulse-wave velocity are also clearly factors. Much of the associated disease occurs in individuals with systolic pressures between 140 and 159 mm Hg. A particularly high-risk group appears to be those with an elevated systolic blood pressure and a low diastolic blood pressure. Systolic hypertension has now been found to be related to the progression of peripheral atherosclerosis, with lower progression rates among treated individuals. In addition, the beneficial effects of antihypertensive therapy have been found to be strongest among individuals with evidence of subclinical peripheral atherosclerosis. The high prevalence of mild systolic hypertension and its clear association with atherosclerotic disease suggests that older individuals with early systolic hypertension should be identified and treated. Clinical trials to test the efficacy of such treatment should be a high priority, perhaps in subgroups with early subclinical disease.     

Chromosomal localization of mouse Cenpa gene

Using a previously isolated mouse centromere protein A (Cenpa) probe, we have localized the gene to the proximal region of mouse Chromosome 5, between the known Il6 and Yes1 loci near [Adra2C-D5H4S43-Hdh]. Comparison of this localization with that of human CENPA, which maps to chromosome 2, is consistent with the presence of a new region of conserved synteny between the two species.     

Controlled external lumbar drain as treatment for therapy resistant intracranial hypertension--case report

The study investigated the psychological health level and related psychosocial factors of nurses. Through cluster sampling, 650 clinical nurses, who come from 5 city hospitals in Changsha, were interviewed with the Symptom Check List-90 (SCL-90), The Life Event Scale, Type A Behavior Questionnaire, and The Social Support Rating Scale. The results indicated that subjects' average symptom score and most factor scores of SCL-90 were significantly higher than that of the chinese norm. Somatization, depression, and obsession are common psychological problems of the clinical nurses, and the psychological health level of middle age group was significantly lower than that of other groups. Regression analysis (both single factor and multiple factors) suggested that TH and CH scores on Type A Questionnaire as well as life event score on the life event score were negatively related to psychological health level while social support score was positively related to it. The influences of psychosocial factors on psychological health level of clinical nurses were discussed.     

Chlordane as a neurotoxin in humans

Our goal was to: 1) modify poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels intended for use in a synthetic cornea to absorb ultraviolet light and 2) develop molding procedures for the fabrication of the device. Two ultraviolet light-absorbing monomers were incorporated by copolymerization. The resulting hydrogels protected against ultraviolet light, were not toxic to corneal fibroblasts, and the protection did not diminish during prolonged aqueous exposure. A novel keratoprosthesis molding procedure was developed that made use of the phase transition properties of mixtures of poly(vinyl-trifluoroacetate) and acetonitrile. In this procedure the keratoprosthesis was shaped and a fibrous skirt was bonded to it in a single operation. Composite keratoprostheses were designed and prepared for in vivo testing.