Can radioactive iodine be used in the treatment of diffuse non-toxic goiter?

Traditional treatment modalities of diffuse nontoxic goitre are thyroid hormone suppression or surgery. When treating nodular nontoxic goitre with 131I treatment, a reduction in thyroid volume to about 50% is seen. In the present study we evaluated the effect of 131I treatment in 21 patients treated for a diffuse nontoxic goitre and followed by evaluation of thyroid volume measured by ultrasound. Thyroid volume declined in all patients from median of 66 ml (range 27-160 ml) to 21 ml (9-108 ml) over a year, a reduction of 62%. Three patients developed hypothyroidism in the follow-up period (14%), one of these had a temporary hyperthyroid fase. In conclusion, 131I treatment of diffuse nontoxic goitre reduces thyroid volume by approximately 60% within 12 months. Hypothyroidism developed in 14% during a limited follow-up period.     

The influence of stereoisomerism on the pharmacokinetics of Tc radiopharmaceuticals

The influence of stereoisomerism on the pharmacokinetics of Tc mono-oxo complexes is reviewed. Tc(V) monooxo complexes formed with N/S ligands have four donor groups from the ligands in an equatorial plane; the oxo ligand coordinates in an axial position. Stereoisomerism in Tc (V) mono-oxo complexes can be centered within the ligand (carbon atom in the chelate ring or ligating nitrogen of amine donors) or at the Tc. The metal center becomes chiral when an equatorial ligand has a head and a tail (i.e., the two ends of the ligand differ). All types of stereocenters can produce significantly different pharmacokinetic profiles for individual isomers. Thus, biological evaluation of separated stereoisomers is necessary to identify the optimal sterochemical configuration, particularly for radiopharmaceuticals targeted to receptor molecules with low specificity. Because of interspecies variation, there is ultimately no substitute for human testing. Although it is possible that the increase in non-specific binding of agents incorporating L-vs D-amino acids may more than offset any increased receptor binding, much more information is needed. Stereochemical factors can also lead to unpredictable differences in coordination geometry and thermodynamic preference of a single isomer; thus chemical characterization of stereoisomers continues to be an important component of radiopharmaceutical development.     

Thrombolytic therapy in Missouri hospital emergency departments: compliance with the National Heart Attack Alert Program guidelines

Adhesive interactions between leukocytes and endothelium are required for subsequent leukocyte extravasation toward inflammatory sites. Understanding the possible kinetic expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in the middle ear cavity during an inflammatory cascade in vivo may be important for clarifying local immunological responses in otitis media. Two inflammatory models were produced in the rat and involved acute middle ear mucosal and cutaneous inflammation induced after inoculation or intradermal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). After intravenous injection of both 125I-labeled anti-VCAM-1 and 131I-labeled control monoclonal antibody (mAb), the kinetic expression of VCAM-1 in the middle ear and skin was assessed by local radionuclide uptake. The biodistribution of an 125I-labeled anti-VCAM-1 mAb as a potential detector of focal inflammation was examined in normal rats. Both inflammatory lesions were characterized by early and sustained (up to 24 h) expression of VCAM-1, with maximal expression at 4 h after LPS stimulation. The kinetics of VCAM-1 expression was similar among the middle ear mucosa or skin specimens studied and different stimulation methods. A similar biodistribution and clearance of radioactivity between 125I-labeled anti-VCAM-1 mAb and 131I- or 99mTc-labeled control mAb were observed. The present result suggest that functional VCAM-1 induced by LPS is expressed in both middle ear tissue and skin lesions and may play a role in the initial stage of inflammatory response produced. Although VCAM-1 upregulation is a very early event in the inflammatory cascade, 125I-labeled anti-VCAM-1 mAb may be useful for the early detection of focal inflammation in the middle ear.     

Nuclear proteins from liver and kidney bind a 37 bp sequence in the 5' upstream region of the mGAT1 gene

The mouse GABA transporter (mGAT1) gene has been shown to be exclusively expressed in brain by Northern and Western blot analyses. The interactions between the 5' flanking region of the mGAT1 gene and nuclear proteins from different mouse tissues were studied by means of gel-shift assay. Our results show that nuclear protein factors from non-nervous tissues can specifically recognize a 37 bp sequence that is conserved in the 5' flanking region between the human and mouse GAT1 genes. Similar nuclear protein factors were also found to exist in rat, rabbit and pig.     

Reduced skin tumor development in cyclin D1-deficient mice highlights the oncogenic ras pathway in vivo

Cyclin D1 is part of a cell cycle control node consistently deregulated in most human cancers. However, studies with cyclin D1-null mice indicate that it is dispensable for normal mouse development as well as cell growth in culture. Here, we provide evidence that ras-mediated tumorigenesis depends on signaling pathways that act preferentially through cyclin D1. Cyclin D1 expression and the activity of its associated kinase are up-regulated in keratinocytes in response to oncogenic ras. Furthermore, cyclin D1 deficiency results in up to an 80% decrease in the development of squamous tumors generated through either grafting of retroviral ras-transduced keratinocytes, phorbol ester treatment of ras transgenic mice, or two-stage carcinogenesis.     

The small-cell variant of mycosis fungoides. A clinicopathological and quantitative electron microscopic study on 14 patients

Small-cell variants of Sézary syndrome and mycosis fungoides (MF) have been described. However, in these studies the nuclear area of the small-cell variant of MF (SC-MF) as compared to histological classical MF (CL-MF) was not characterized objectively by quantitative electron microscopy. In a 14-year follow-up period, of a total of 76 patch/plaque stage MF patients seen in the Department of Dermatology of the University Hospital Utrecht, 14 (18%) had an infiltrate composed of atypical lymphocytes characterized by a distinctly smaller cell diameter and smaller, hyperchromatic, deeply indented nuclei as compared to the usual cell type of MF. The aim of the investigation was to confirm this observation objectively using quantitative electron microscopy (morphometry) and to define SC-MF as compared to CL-MF. The study was performed on the 14 patients with SC-MF, and 10 patients with clinical and histological CL-MF and 4 patients with chronic eczema. Electron micrographs of sections obtained from each biopsy were analysed by computer to produce the following data: a nuclear contour index (NCI), the mean nuclear area (MNA), the mean nuclear area of the cells above the 75th percentile (P75NA) and the percentage of cells larger than 30 microm2. The values of MNA differed significantly between patients with SC-MF and those with CL-MF (17.6 vs 23.2 microm2; P = 0.02), as did the values of P75NA (20.7 vs 27.9 microm2; P = 0.01). The NCI of the SC-MF and CL-MF patients were similar. These results are consistent with our observations that SC-MF does indeed exist.     

Numerical evaluation of the derivative of the parabolic cylinderfunction

We have presented numerically useful expressions for calculating the derivative of the parabolic cylinder function D_p'(z) for the argument z=xe^-iπ/4 and order p=-1/2+iy, with x and y real. This case is needed for calculating the currents excited on a perfectly conducting parabolic cylinder by a TE plane wave and for calculating the scattered far-field pattern