Bacterial attachment to oropharyngeal epithelial cells in breastfed newborns

Dopaminergic agents and carbidopa/levodopa have become the preferred treatment for both the restless legs (RL) syndrome and for periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMS). For once-nightly treatments with carbidopa/ levodopa, a problem with morning end-of-dose rebound increases in leg movements has been reported to occur in the about one-fourth of the patients. In our clinical studies a previously unreported but far more significant problem of markedly augmented RL symptoms occurred in the afternoon and the evening prior to taking the next nightly dose. A systematic prospective evaluation of this augmentation in 46 consecutive patients treated with carbidopa/ levodopa for RL syndrome or PLMS disorder found this augmentation to be the major adverse effect of treatment. Augmentation occurred for 31% of PLMS patients and 82% of all RL patients. It was greater for subjects with more severe RL symptoms and for patients on higher doses (> or = 50/200 mg carbidopa/levodopa) but was unrelated to gender, age or baseline severity of PLMS. This augmentation was severe enough to require medication change for 50% of the RL patients and 13% of PLMS patients. Augmentation resolved with cessation of the medication and could be minimized by keeping the dose low.     

Disaster-readiness of medical facilities in Aichi Prefecture

One month following the Great Hanshin Earthquake of January 17, 1995, we conducted a survey of 173 hospitals in Aichi Prefecture to pinpoint problems related to their actual disaster-readiness and the medical backup systems in place to deal with such disasters. This study revealed that staff at 50% of the surveyed hospitals could reach the hospital within an hour, but that communication is almost entirely dependent on phone lines, suggesting that cordless/portable/mobile phones, radio systems, Internet, communications satellites and the like should be studied in the days to come for possible use as effective communication alternatives in times of disaster. Whereas 92% of the surveyed hospitals had manuals dealing with fire outbreaks, other areas were less well represented. For example, only 36.9% of surveyed hospitals had manuals for earthquakes, 31.7% had manuals for power outages and 14.2% had manuals to deal with flooding and water disasters. New manuals must be developed incorporating the key points garnered from experience (especially Hanshin) and be ready for use immediately. It is the time for each hospital to seriously rethink the measures it should take to deal with disasters.     

Antitubercular activity of lomefloxacin in an experiment

The effect of lomefloxacin was studied on mice with experimental infection due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The antibiotic was administered in doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg. It was shown that the use of lomefloxacin for a month provided a lower death rate of the animals with progressing acute generalized tuberculosis, a lower level of the lesions in the internal organs and a lower number of the Mycobacterium isolates from them. The efficacy of the treatment depended on the drug dose. When lomefloxacin was used in a dose of 200 mg/kg, the survival rate was much higher and the number of the epithelial unicellular granulomas in the tissue of the lung and spleen was markedly decreased while with the lower dose the indices did not differ from those in the control.     

Task-relevant late positive component in rats: is it related to hippocampal theta rhythm?

In the last 2 years (1994-95), two symposium volumes and three reviews have been published that were fully devoted to peptide antibiotics (antibacterial peptides or antimicrobial peptides). Since the field has been growing rapidly, this review is largely a follow-up of new results published in the last 2 years. Sequencing of the 16S RNA of the small ribosomal subunit indicate that the microbial world is much larger than generally appreciated. The importance of the natural flora is stressed and its effect on the evolution of peptide antibiotics and immunity in general is discussed.     

Decision by the Principle Board of the Polish Allergy Society

A review of isolates of Neisseria meningitidis and other laboratory evidence of meningococcal infection was carried out for the period 1990-1995. Thirty-three patients with evidence of meningococcal disease were identified over the six year period. Group B organisms were the most commonly identified, but an increase in Group C has occurred and is almost equal in number. Data from clinical, laboratory and public health sources should be centralized in a National Surveillance Centre.     

Patient characteristics, MRI examination, and dopaminergic drug response in clinical possible Parkinson''s disease

As hypersensitivity to natural rubber latex (NRL) has become an increasingly recognized problem in children, identification of all groups at risk seems important. In this study hypersensitivity to NRL was evaluated in 337 children with potential risk factors. We identified by questionnaire children's underlying diseases, history of surgical procedures, evidence of atopy and patient's history of NRL-specific reactions. Hypersensitivity to NRL and other allergens relevant in the Düsseldorf area was evaluated by skin prick test and specific IgE. In 9.2% of all children hypersensitivity to NRL was observed. Significant risk factors for hypersensitivity to NRL were, among the underlying diseases, spina bifida (odds ratio 29.2), hydrocephalus internus (10.1), gastrointestinal malformation (5.2) and atopy (2.2). Surgical procedures with significant risk were the implantation of a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt (15.7) and surgery of the gastrointestinal tract (3.1). Frequency of surgical procedures correlated (p < 0.001) with risk of hypersensitivity. Frequent surgery and atopy were found to have an additional effect on the risk of hypersensitivity. Information about previous NRL-specific reactions obtained by questionnaire was of little predictive value when performing multivariate analysis. For children at high risk for hypersensitivity to NRL preoperative evaluation and, in case of hypersensitivity, preventive measures seem to be advised.     

Enantioselective antiplatelet actions of nipecotamides

This investigation retrospectively examined changes in marital satisfaction following stroke. The relationship between such changes and other pertinent factors were also examined, including severity of aphasia, knowledge of aphasia, number of months after stroke, and length of the marriage. The subjects were 40 spouses of patients with aphasia grouped according to severity of the aphasia (mild, moderate, severe). Spouses completed two different measures of marital satisfaction--the Marital Satisfaction Scale (MSS) and the Marital Comparison Level Index (MCLI). These measures were completed in both a prestroke (retrospective reporting) and a poststroke format to allow for change to be assessed. In addition, a Knowledge of Aphasia questionnaire was completed by the normal spouses to evaluate their understanding of the disorder of aphasia. There was a significant difference between prestroke and poststroke scores on both the MSS and the MCLI, indicating a lower level of satisfaction following the stroke. The amount of change between prestroke and poststroke MSS and MCLI scores was not related to either number of months poststroke or number of years married. Although there was no relationship between changes in prestroke and poststroke scores on the MCLI and Knowledge of Aphasia scores, there was a significant correlation between changes in these scores on the MSS and Knowledge of Aphasia scores. Hence, the more knowledge spouses had regarding aphasia, the less the negative impact the stroke had on marital satisfaction, as measured by the MSS. Results are discussed in terms of the interdisciplinary treatment needs of aphasic patients and the implications for future investigations.     

Carcinoembryonic antigen in diagnosis and monitoring of colorectal cancer]

Female SJL mice are more susceptible than male mice to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced by myelin basic protein (MBP)-specific T lymphocytes. In the present study, we examined mechanisms involved in this gender-related difference in disease susceptibility. MBP-specific T lymphocytes derived from spleens of males during the effector phase of adoptive EAE produced significantly higher levels of IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine in EAE. A protective effect of testosterone was then shown. Females implanted with dihydrotestosterone pellets demonstrated a significantly less severe course of EAE as compared with females implanted with placebo pellets. Finally, MBP-specific T lymphocytes derived from dihydrotestosterone-implanted females produced significantly higher levels of IL-10 than those from placebo. Together these data indicate that testosterone exerts a protective effect in EAE that is mediated at least in part by enhanced production of IL-10 by autoantigen-specific T lymphocytes.