Use of focus point for plane acquisition to improve reproducibility in fetal biometry

OBJECTIVE

To assess the reproducibility of ultrasound measurements of fetal biometry using a 'focus point' to assist the acquisition of the relevant plane.

METHODS

This was a study of 80 women with a singleton non-anomalous pregnancy who attended University College London Hospital, London, UK, between 18 and 37 weeks' gestation. Planes to measure head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC) and femur length (FL) were obtained four times by two different sonographers with different levels of experience, who were blinded to one another; the first set of images was obtained with reference to a standard image, and the second set of images was obtained using the focus point technique. The focus point was defined as a unique fetal anatomical landmark in each plane (cavum septi pellucidi for HC, two-thirds of the umbilical vein for AC and one of the two extremities of the diaphysis for FL). Once identified, the focus point was maintained in view while the sonographer rotated the probe along three axes (x, y, z) to acquire the relevant plane. Sonographers were either in training or had > 3000 scans worth of experience. Intra- and interobserver reproducibility were assessed using Bland-Altman plots, and absolute values and percentages for mean difference and 95% limits of agreement (LoA) were reported.

RESULTS

Overall reproducibility was good, with all 95% LoA < 8%. Reproducibility was improved by use of the focus point compared with the standard technique for both intraobserver comparison (95% LoA, < 4% vs < 6%) and interobserver comparison (95% LoA, < 7% vs < 8%). These findings were independent of sonographer seniority and plane acquired.

CONCLUSIONS

Reproducibility of fetal biometry assessment is improved with use of the focus point for plane acquisition, regardless of sonographer experience. We propose that this method should be implemented in clinical practice and training programs in fetal biometry. © 2023 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG) Ig: report on a patient and review of the literature

We report a new patient with CDG Ig and review the five other known patients. From the data on this small number of patients, it seems that the association of psychomotor retardation, male hypogenitalism and decreased serum IgG in a patient with a type 1 pattern of serum sialotransferrins might be a clue to the diagnosis of CDG Ig.

Levels of soluble CD27 in sera and synovial fluid and its expression on memory T cells in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritides

OBJECTIVE

CD27 is a member of tumour necrosis factor receptor family. Its expression is predominantly confined to mature lymphocytes and is strongly enhanced after cell activation. Shedding of the CD27 from the surface of activated cells is related to their effector phase. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the levels of soluble CD27 in sera and synovial fluids, together with its expression on circulating and synovial fluid (SF) memory T cells, in children with JIA.

METHODS

Sera from 40 patients with active JIA were studied for soluble CD27. Paired SF samples were available in 20 patients. Sera from 12 age-matched patients affected with various acute infectious diseases and 12 age-matched healthy subjects were used as controls. In 8 JIA patients freshly isolated circulating and SF lymphocytes were stained for CD27 in CD4+CD45 RO+ T cell subpopulation and analyzed by cytometry.

RESULTS

Soluble CD27 serum levels were significantly higher in patients with polyarticular JIA and acute systemic infectious diseases than in patients with active oligoarticular or healthy controls. Both polyarticular and oligoarticular JIA patients showed increased levels of soluble CD27 in SF when compared with paired serum samples (p = 0.01). In all the patients tested a significant enrichment of CD27- T cells was seen in the SF (median 39.5%, range 18-56%) when compared to paired CD4+CD45RO+ peripheral lymphocytes (median 19.5%, range 5-43%; p = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

A clear enrichment of CD4+ memory SF T cells with a CD27-phenotype is observed when compared to correspondent circulating T lymphocytes. This issue is conceivably related to re-activation and recruitment of memory T cells to the site of inflammation, and to the subsequent expansion of a subpopulation of "effector" memory T cells.

Involvement of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in children with oligoarticular-onset idiopathic arthritis

Adult patients with rheumatic arthritis and other rheumatic disorders show inappropriate cortisol secretion and peculiar CRH promoter gene polymorphisms. So far, no data are available about this topic in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). We have studied a series of 13 prepubertal patients (10 female, 3 male) affected with oligoarticular JIA (o-JIA) without clinical and biological signs of disease activity (ESR and IL-6). ACTH plasma concentrations were significantly increased at 8 a.m. in o-JIA patients, whereas no differences were found in cortisol plasma concentrations. The ACTH/cortisol ratio was significantly increased in o-JIA patients with respect to the normal population both at 8 a.m. and at noon. DHEAS and testosterone plasma concentration did not statistically differ in the two populations. The genetic study was aimed at defining the prevalence of polymorphisms A1 and A2 in o-JIA patients, but we failed to find allelic or genotypic differences. Our study suggests the presence of a partial resistance to ACTH with a dysregulated pattern of secretion also in inactive o-JIA patients. These preliminary data need further confirmation in larger pediatric studies.

Brain functional involvement by perfusion SPECT in systemic sclerosis and Behçet's disease

Involvement of the central nervous system is frequent in systemic immune-mediated diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, Behçet's disease (BD), and systemic sclerosis (SSc). Structural brain examinations, such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, may be useful in diagnosing and following-up these cerebral syndromes in some cases, but they are more often inconclusive. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with perfusion tracers is a powerful method that can disclose brain involvement in many clinical situations, even in patients with subtle neurological symptoms. In fact, perfusion tracers can disclose regional hypoperfusion caused by both ischemia due to vascular narrowing and neuronal metabolic derangement due to direct neuronal damage. The latter phenomenon occurs because the blood flow to the brain is strictly regulated by metabolic demands, so that hypometabolism is reflected by hypoperfusion in most instances. SPECT findings in 42 mainly neurologically asymptomatic patients with SSc and in eight mainly neurologically symptomatic patients with BD are reported. SPECT was shown to be very sensitive and disclosed brain functional deficits in approximately half of SSc patients without neurological complaints and in all patients with BD, who had various neurological symptoms but usually inconclusive structural brain examinations.

Serum and synovial fluid concentration of vascular endothelial growth factor in juvenile idiopathic arthritides

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the pathogenesis of local joint inflammation in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).

METHODS

Sera from 50 patients affected with JIA and 10 age-matched healthy controls were tested with a commercial ELISA for VEGF. Corresponding synovial fluid (SF) concentrations of VEGF and p75 soluble tumour necrosis factor receptor (sTNFR) were evaluated in 20 active JIA patients.

RESULTS

Serum concentrations of VEGF were significantly higher in patients with active polyarticular disease than in patients with active and inactive oligoarticular disease and healthy controls. In JIA patients, serum concentrations of VEGF displayed a significant correlation with a number of clinical and laboratory parameters of disease activity. VEGF concentrations in SF were significantly higher than those detected in corresponding sera. Moreover, a clear correlation was found between corresponding SF and serum VEGF concentrations. In SF, VEGF showed a strong positive correlation with p75 sTNFR.

CONCLUSIONS

Concentrations of VEGF in SF in patients with JIA are higher than corresponding serum concentrations, suggesting that this pro-angiogenic factor may have a major role in the outgrowth of hyperplastic pannus and tissue damage at the site of tissue inflammation.

Brain perfusion spect in juvenile neuro-Behçet's disease

Regional cerebral blood flow was evaluated by (99m)Tc-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime SPECT in 7 patients (age range, 7--18 y; mean age, 9.1 y) affected with Behçet's disease and signs or symptoms of central nervous system involvement at different times of their clinical history.

METHODS

Three patients suffered from seizures, 3 patients were affected with severe persistent headache that was refractory to common analgesic and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, and 1 patient had recurrent episodes of acute intracranial hypertension. Electroencephalography was performed on all patients, MRI on 5 patients, and CT on 1 patient. Brain SPECT was performed using a high-resolution, brain-dedicated camera. After conventional visual analysis by 2 expert readers, 2 transaxial sections were drawn parallel to the bicommissural line: the first across the thalami and the second across the temporal lobe at the level of the mesiotemporal structures. Cortical regions of interest were drawn automatically on the cortical ribbon on the 2 sections, whereas other regions of interest were drawn by hand around the basal ganglia, the thalami, and the mesiotemporal structures. Asymmetry analysis was then applied, and hypoperfusion was considered when the asymmetry value was >10%.

RESULTS

Hypoperfusion was observed in all patients by visual and asymmetry analyses; this finding was localized mainly in the basal ganglia, the thalami, and the temporal cortex, including its mesial portion. Temporal hypoperfusion was found primarily in patients with seizures, and hypoperfusion of deep gray nuclei was found mainly in the other patients. Electroencephalography disclosed brain functional impairment in 5 of 6 patients, where- as MRI showed multiple bilateral white matter lesions in 1 patient suffering from persistent headache.

CONCLUSION

As in adults, perfusion SPECT seems to be very sensitive in disclosing brain abnormalities in children and adolescents with Behçet's disease and signs or symptoms of central nervous system involvement, even with negative findings on brain MRI.

Increased gut permeability in juvenile chronic arthritides. A multivariate analysis of the diagnostic parameters

OBJECTIVE

This study was aimed at evaluating intestinal permeability (IP) in patients with oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (o-JIA), spondyloarthropathy (SpA) associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other forms of juvenile-onset chronic arthritiis (OIA) using the lactulose/mannitol (L/M) test in comparison with other non-invasive parameters of gut involvement.

METHODS

A series of 26 children affected with o-JIA and 14 with either SpA/IBD or OIA were assessed for IP. The urinary L/M ratio was measured by gas chromatography. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C reactive protein (CRP), and faecal alpha 1 antitrypsin concentrations were also evaluated. Ten o-JIA patients displayed active arthritis while in 16 the disease was under control. Among the OIA patients, 11 were affected with psoriatic arthritis and the remaining 3 with chronic reactive arthritis. 14 patients with SpA-IBD had active synovitis or spine inflammation. 14 eo-pJCA and 22 OIA and SpA-IBD patients, respectively, were receiving NSAID therapy.

RESULTS

The mean L/M ratios for the Spa-IBD (0.07 +/- 0.02, mean +/- SD), OIA (0.05 +/- 0.02) and o-JIA (0.04 +/- 0.02) patients were significantly higher (p < 0.001, p = 0.022 and p = 0.01, respectively) than those found in controls (0.02 +/- 0.01). Logistic regression analysis disclosed a positive correlation between the L/M ratio and the presence of gastrointestinal manifestations (p = 0.011). The type of disease (p = 0.28), the disease activity in the JCA patient group (p = 0.24) and NSAID administration (p = 0.210) did not seem to significantly influence the L/M ratio.

CONCLUSIONS

All of the subtypes of juvenile chronic arthritides that we studied displayed an increased IP. Hence, gut wall inflammation (albeit asymptomatic) may also be present in o-JIA patients. The SpA-IBD patients with gastrointestinal symptoms displayed the highest mean L/M ratio values. The L/M test seemed to correlate with histopathological features of the gut mucosa. The L/M ratio was shown to be a highly sensitive but poorly specific test for predicting gut inflammatory disease compared to other non-invasive screening tests.

Tumor necrosis factor induced adhesion molecule serum concentrations in Henoch-Schönlein purpura and pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus

OBJECTIVE

Animal models of immune complex mediated tissue injury have shown that tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and TNF induced adhesion molecules play an important role in the pathogenesis of tissue damage mediated by IgG, but not in that mediated by IgA, immune complexes. We compared possible differences in the behavior of 2 TNF induced adhesion molecules (VCAM-1 and ICAM-1) in Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), which is characterized by the formation of IgA immune complexes, versus systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), which is mostly associated with the vascular deposition of IgG immune complexes.

METHODS

Serum concentrations of soluble (s)VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 were determined by ELISA methods in 20 patients with pediatric SLE showing variably active disease, 20 active patients with active HSP, and 19 healthy controls. TNF-alpha as well as p55 and p75 soluble receptors (sTNF-R) were simultaneously tested by enzyme amplified sensitivity immunoassay in 22 patients (12 SLE, 10 HSP).

RESULTS

Serum sVCAM-1 concentration was significantly higher in patients with SLE (mean +/- SD, 608 +/- 76 ng/ml), than in patients with HSP (501.9 +/- 63.3 ng/ml) and controls (446.8 +/- 139.2 ng/ml) (p < 0.001). In SLE patients, sVCAM-1 correlated positively with ESR (r = 0.45, p = 0.02) and negatively with C4 serum levels (r = -0.57, p = 0.004), platelets (r = -0.38, p = 0.03), and lymphocyte count (r = -0.42, p = 0.03). No differences in sICAM-1 serum concentrations were detected among SLE, HSP, or control groups. Soluble VCAM, but not sICAM-1, showed a positive correlation with TNF-alpha (r = 0.71, p = 0.01), p55 (r = 0.63, p = 0.02), and p75 (r = 0.7, p = 0.01) sTNF-R serum concentrations in SLE, but not in patients with HSP.

CONCLUSION

Our study provides additional evidence of a possible differential involvement of TNF and TNF induced adhesion molecules in the pathogenesis of tissue damage between pediatric SLE and HSP.

Clinical and biological characteristics of immunopathological disease-related erythema nodosum in children

We report a series of 22 children with idiopathic, drug unrelated erythema nodosum (EN) admitted to our Department. In 5 of them an history of streptococcal pharyngitis was referred; the remaining patients came to us with a diagnosis of "EN of unknown origin". Acute phase reactants, immunoglobulins, stool alpha1 antitrypsin, ANA, anti dsDNA antibodies and ANCA assay, chest roentgenogram, tuberculin test, and ophthalmologic assessment were performed in all patients. Etiologic diagnosis was made in 16 patients: Streptococcal pharyngitis (5 cases), chronic inflammatory bowel disease, IBD (3 cases), Behçet syndrome (2 cases), Yersinia enteritis (2 cases), infectious mononucleosis, atypical mycobacterial infection, immunodeficiency related infection, and SLE-like syndrome due to C4 deficiency (1 case each). We found oral/scrotal aphthae in 3 cases, gastrointestinal symptoms in 5 cases, arthritis in 3 cases. Acute phase reactants were positive in 16 patients without correlation to the underlying disease. Conversely, the increased alpha1 antitrypsin stool excretion and IgA serum concentration seemed to represent helpful indicators of IBD and Behçet syndrome, respectively. Proinflammatory cytokine pattern showed increased IL6 serum concentrations both in infectious and in non infectious disease-related EN, whereas a minor involvement of TNF was found in these patients.

Serum interleukin 12 concentration in juvenile chronic arthritis

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate serum interleukin (IL) 12 concentration in patients with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA), according to disease subtype, activity, and duration. IL12 has been demonstrated to prime the selective expansion of T helper (Th) cells with a Th1-type pattern of cytokine production.

METHODS

Sixty eight serum samples from 50 JCA patients (12 systemic, 12 polyarticular, 26 pauciarticular), 20 serum samples from age matched healthy controls were tested with two different immunoassays specific for total IL12 (p40 and p70 heterodimer) and for IL12 (p70) heterodimer, respectively. The following disease activity parameters were evaluated: (a) presence of arthritis at least in one joint, (b) physician global estimate of disease activity, (c) disability index according to the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ), (d) C reactive protein (CRP).

RESULTS

Total IL12 (p40 and p70 heterodimer) was significantly higher in JCA active patients than in those on clinical remission and in healthy controls (p < 0.001). Conversely, detectable concentrations of IL12 (p70) heterodimer were found in three active JCA patients only. Moreover, total IL12 (p40 and p70 heterodimer) showed a significant negative correlation both with time from disease diagnosis (r = -0.29, p = 0.04) and, for the pauciarticular subgroup, with disease activity duration (r = -0.71, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that the p40 moiety of IL12 is increased in serum samples from active JCA patients, especially in the earliest phases of the disease, whereas biological active IL12 (p70) heterodimer is virtually undetectable.

Synovial fluid T cell clones from oligoarticular juvenile arthritis patients display a prevalent Th1/Th0-type pattern of cytokine secretion irrespective of immunophenotype

The aim of the present study was to investigate the patterns of cytokine production by T cell clones raised from in vivo activated synovial fluid (SF) mononuclear cells (MNC) of five patients with oligoarticular juvenile arthritis (JA). Freshly isolated SF T cells were cultured in vitro with low dose recombinant IL-2 and subsequently cloned by limiting dilution. Sixty-four clones were obtained from the five patients studied. Fifty-nine clones were TCR alpha/beta+, either CD4+ (n = 43) or CD8+ (n = 15). The remaining five clones were TCR gamma/delta+, CD4-, CD8-. Clone immunophenotypes differed in the individual patients. Forty-four T cell clones were stimulated with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and supernatants tested for the presence of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5 and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) by ELISA or bioassays. Cytokine mRNA accumulation was tested by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Most of 44 clones tested released large amounts of IFN-gamma irrespective of the immunophenotype. Of these, 27 were classified as Th1-type and 17 as Th0-type based upon the IFN-gamma/IL-4 ratio in culture supernatants. Finally, when 10 representative T cell clones were tested for pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, gene expression by RT-PCR, all of them were found to express the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-10 and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta1) genes, and half of them IL-6 and IL-8 mRNA. In conclusion, T cell clones, that represent the progeny of in vivo activated SF T cells from oligoarticular JA patients, display heterogeneous immunophenotypes, but all share the ability to produce large amounts of IFN-gamma, with a predominant Th1/Th0 pattern. The expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine genes in these clones suggests that in vivo activated SF T cells modulate joint inflammation in a complex fashion.

[18q syndrome with deficiency of myelin basic protein (MBP)]

The Authors present a patient with 18q- Syndrome in which lymphatic cell karyotype could resume development of extrapyramidal degeneration signs before they appeared. Severity range of phenotypic manifestations in the 18q- syndrome is correlated with chromosomic breakpoint and with genetic background. Many chromosome 18's distal arm genes have been mapped Myelin Basic Protein gene (MBP) has been located in 22-23 position; it forms about 30-40% of myelinic sheath proteins. Failure in MBP gene expression would be correlated in the central white matter with extrapyramidal system degeneration signs: in 18q- patients with involuntary movements studied by MRI or by post-mortem autopsy unmyelinated areas in central white matter tracts have been put in evidence. As MBP absence in peripheral nervous system does not appear to have a functional effect, it has been suggested that some specific component of peripheral myelin is functionally equivalent to MBP and capable to substitute this protein in its absence.

Laboratory culture of Palaemon elegans (Rathke, 1837). (Crustacea decapoda) (third contribution)

A certain amount of Palaemon elegans larvae is bred in the laboratory under controlled conditions (at four different salty concentration rates). They were hatched from a number of egg laying females, which had previously been gathered along the Ligurian littoral. The larval development carried on for 25 to 30 days at an average temperature of ambient of 20 degree C during the seasonal period from May 23rd to June 23rd, 1980. Two hundreds out of the five hundreds larvae hatched from the eggs have been insulated and held for an adaptation period of about ten hours at the salinity of their home environment. Thus, the resistance of these froms to the salinity variations is evident. The results are confirmed by the biostatistical control.