Cranial ultrasound and clinical studies in preterm infants

Serial ultrasound imaging of the brain was used to determine the ventricular index (VI), and the ratio (VR) of the VI to the cranial hemidiameter during the nursery course and first year post-term in preterm infants of less than 33 weeks gestation. Twenty-nine of the infant survivors with no intracranial hemorrhage or major medical complication during their nursery course composed group 1. Twenty-two survivors with intracranial hemorrhage unassociated with early ventricular dilation composed group 2. Group 3 was comprised of 10 other survivors who had neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage with early ventriculomegaly; all 10 infants had at least one major medical complication during their neonatal course. In groups 1 and 2 the VR decreased and the VI increased significantly with age post-conception. Infants in group 3, compared with those in groups 1 or 2, had decreased occipitofrontal growth during the early postnatal period and increased VR and VI during the neonatal period and first year post-term. These results suggest that the ventriculomegaly associated with neonatal intracranial hemorrhage cannot be explained by posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus alone and may also be related to cerebral atrophy or decreased brain growth or both. Neurodevelopmental assessments at 20 to 30 months of age disclosed significantly lower Bayley Motor Development scores in group 3 compared with groups 1 or 2. Four infants in group 3, but none in groups 1 or 2, had cerebral palsy. The neurodevelopmental deficits in group 3 infants may reflect the complex pathogenesis of the ventriculomegaly as well as the effects of the intraventricular hemorrhage and posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus.

Plasma catecholamines in pheochromocytoma: effect of urographic contrast media

Hypertensive crises have been provoked in pheochromocytoma patients by the injection of contrast media during angiography and venography. Fear of similar reactions to intravenous urographic contrast medium injection during computed tomography has led to studies without contrast enhancement when pheochromocytoma is suspected. With extraadrenal pheochromocytomas, intravenous contrast enhancement may be essential for tumor location by computed tomography. The catecholamine responses to injection of urographic contrast medium were examined in eight patients with pheochromocytoma and in 12 undergoing computed tomography for other reasons. Plasma norepinephrine concentrations fell in nonpheochromocytoma patients (p less than 0.005), while in pheochromocytoma patients the response was unpredictable, rising in six individuals, although the mean response was not significant (p greater than 0.35). In five patients the magnitude of the increase in norepinephrine concentrations was large enough to have led to a pressor effect had alpha adrenergic blockade not been used. It was concluded that intravenous urographic contrast medium may elevate plasma catecholamines in a significant proportion of patients with pheochromocytoma, but that with adequate alpha adrenergic blockade this should pose no threat.

Dermatological aspects of the use of Cyclosporin A for prophylaxis of graft-versus-host disease

Oral Cyclosporin A (CyA) was given for the prophylaxis of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) to sixty-seven patients receiving a bone marrow transplant, and was found to be extremely effective in reducing the severity of acute GVHD. Side-effects of CyA included hypertrichosis, gum hypertrophy, and a rare but serious 'capillary leak' syndrome.

Construction of a cDNA clone for a nuclear-coded subunit of cytochrome c oxidase from rat liver

A cDNA library for 6S-9S poly(A)-containing RNA from rat liver was constructed in E. coli. Initial screening of the clones was carried out using single stranded 32P-labeled cDNA prepared against poly(A)-containing RNA isolated from immunoadsorbed polyribosomes enriched for the nuclear-coded subunit messenger RNAs of cytochrome c oxidase. One of the clones, pCO89, was found to hybridize with the messenger RNA for subunit VIC. The DNA sequence of the insert in pCO89 was carried out and it has got extensive homology with the C-terminal 33 amino acids of subunit VIC from beef heart cytochrome c oxidase. In addition, the insert contained 146 bp, corresponding to a portion of the 3'-non-coding region. Northern blot analysis of rat liver RNA with the nick-translated insert of pCO89 revealed that the messenger RNA for subunit VI would contain around 510 bases.

Comparison of cultures of human lymphocytes obtained following NH4Cl induced red blood cell lysis and Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation

Lymphocyte thymidine uptake in leucocytes prepared by NH4Cl induced RBC lysis was compared with that of lymphocytes obtained following Ficoll-Hypaque centrifugation using polynomial regression dose response curves which adjusted for inherent subject variability. Eleven male subjects were studied. Heparinized blood was either layered in Ficoll-Hypaque or treated with 0.87% NH4Cl to induce RBC lysis. Phytohemagglutinin-P (PHA) dose response curves were determined for each subject using triplicate 5 day cultures. For each subject, at each Pha concentration ranging from 12.5 to 167micrograms/ml, triplicate mean cpm of Ficoll-Hypaque treated lymphocytes and NH4Cl treated lymphocytes were compared by the 2 tailed Student's T test. Responses of cultures of NH4Cl treated lymphocytes were significantly different (less than 0.05) from the responses of cultures of Ficoll-Hypaque treated lymphocytes for at least 2 PHA doses in 8 of the 11 subjects. The quadratic dose response curves were also significantly different (p less than 0.05) for 9 of the 11 subjects. A repeated measures quadratic regression was used to determine the best fit dose response curves for each of the experimental conditions. For Ficoll-Hypaque treated lymphocytes, mean cmp=44,977+1400.4 (PHA concentration)-5.90 (PHA concentration)2+ subject effect; s.e.=22,256; for NH4Cl treated lymphocytes, mean cpm=58,039+1022.8(Pha concentration)-5.32 (PHA concentration)2+ subject effect; s.e.=37,966. The p values from the F tests for significance of these quadratic regressions are different, F=1.91, d.f.=30,30; p less than 0.001. The lack of significance of the NH4Cl treated lymphocytes' does response quadratic regression and its larger s.e. indicates that the NH4Cl treated lymphocyte culture dose response curve is less predictable than that of Ficoll-Hypaque treated lymphocytes.

Ureaplasma urealyticum (T-mycoplasma) infection: does it have a role in male infertility?

Ureplasma urealyticum (T-mycoplasma) has been related to male infertility by some observers. To assess further this question 150 couples who presented for fertility had semen and cervical mucus cultures for mycoplasma. Positive cultures were obtained from 69 couples. There were no significant differences in the semen analyses among patients with positive or negative cultures. The presence of mycoplasma in the semen is probably the result of contamination at the time of ejaculation. Routine investigation for the presence of mycoplasma in subfertile men is unjustified. The routine use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in subfertile patients with positive mycoplasma culture is unnecessary.

Seminal fructose, citric acid and phosphatase levels and their relation to the sperm count in man

Seminal fructose, citric acid and phosphatase levels were estimated in 60 normal adults and compared with 60 oligospermic and 24 azoospermic Indian subjects. In normal group, the seminal plasma fructose level and acid phosphatase activity showed a fall as the sperm count increased. As compared to normals, significantly higher mean values for fructose and acid phosphatase activity were observed in oligospermic and azoospermic groups. Seminal alkaline phosphatase activity did not show any relationship with sperm count. Similarity in changes observed in seminal fructose and acid phosphatase levels with respect to seminal citric acid content and sperm concentration suggests that both these parameters are probably regulated by similar physiological mechanism.

Vitamin B12 and potential fertility in male lactovegetarians

Semen and serum vitamin B12levels in Indian lactovegetarian and non-vegetarian subjects were estimated along with routine semen examination. Lactovegetarians had distinctly lower serum and semen vitamin B12levels than the non-vegetarians. However, in normal and oligospermic subjects the ratio of semen vitamin B12to serum vitamin B12in the various diet groups was not significantly different and was always greater than one. In azoospermic subjects the serum vitamin B12levels were always higher than the corresponding semen vitamin B12values. Although semen vitamin B12content was related to serum vitamin B12level and sperm concentration in the normal and oligospermic groups. Further, in healthy lactovegetarians with low serum and semen vitamin B12content and oligospermia, treatment with hydroxocobalamin produced no significant improvement in semen quality.