An epitope shared by central nervous system myelin and peripheral blood macrophages

Lewis rats were immunized with a homogenate of human spinal cord. Splenocytes from the immunized rats were fused with cells from the SP2/0-Ag14 cell line to form hybrids that were subsequently screened immunohistochemically for secretion of antibodies against myelin. Thirty hybrids secreting anti-myelin antibodies were cloned. One secreted antibody (774) that immunohistochemically stained central nervous system (CNS) myelin but not peripheral nervous system (PNS) myelin also bound to the surface of peripheral blood macrophages. Hence we have identified an epitope that is shared by peripheral blood macrophages and CNS myelin.     

Retinal vessel dilatation and elongation precedes diabetic macular oedema

AIMS/BACKGROUND—Retinal vessel dilatation is a well known phenomenon in diabetes. In this study, the theory of whether excessive changes in diameter and length of retinal vessels occur in the development of diabetic macular oedema was tested, supporting a hypothesis that the development of diabetic macular oedema may be linked to hydrostatic pressure changes described in Starling's law.
METHODS—From fundus photographs of diabetic patients attending a regular eye screening programme, the diameter and segment length of retinal vessels were measured in three retinopathy groups (12 patients each) with diabetic macular oedema (DMO), background retinopathy and no retinopathy, over a period of approximately 4 years, ending at the time of diagnosis of diabetic macular oedema in the DMO group.
RESULTS—A statistically significant dilatation and elongation of retinal arterioles, venules, and their macular branches was found before the diagnosis of macular oedema in the DMO group. No significant changes were found in the other two groups.
CONCLUSION—It is suggested that Starling's law applies to the formation of oedema in the retina as in other tissues.

     

Down's syndrome and the acquisition of phonology by Cantonese-speaking children

ABSTRACT. The phonological abilities of two groups of 4–9-year-old intellectually impaired Cantonese-speaking children are described. Children with Down's syndrome did not differ from matched non-Down's syndrome controls in terms of a lexical comprehension measure, the size of their phoneme repertoires, the range of sounds affected by articulatory imprecision, or the number of consonants, vowels or tones produced in error. However, the types of errors made by the Down's syndrome children were different from those made by the control subjects. Cantonese-speaking children with Downs syndrome, as compared with controls, made a greater number of inconsistent errors, were more likely to produce non-developmental errors and were better in imitation than in spontaneous production. Despite extensive differences between the phonological structures of Cantonese and English, children with Downs syndrome acquiring these languages show the same characteristic pattern of speech errors. One unexpected finding was that the control group of non-Down's syndrome children failed to present with delayed phonological development typically reported for their English-speaking counterparts. The argument made is that cross-linguistic studies of intellectually impaired children's language acquisition provide evidence concerning language-specific characteristics of impairment, as opposed to those characteristics that, remaining constant across languages, are an integral part of the disorder. The results reported here support the hypothesis that the speech disorder typically associated with Down's syndrome arises from impaired phonological planning, i.e. a cognitive linguistic deficit.     

Prevention of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) by treatment with polyethylene glycol-conjugated type II collagen; distinct tolerogenic property of the conjugated collagen from the native one

Administration of a soluble protein into animals prior to challenge immunization induces immunological tolerance which is specific for the protein. In addition, chemical modification of proteins with polyethylene glycol (PEG) has been reported to convert the immunogenic proteins to become tolerogenic. However, differences in tolerogenic properties between PEG-modified proteins and the native counterparts have never been analysed. The ability of PEG-conjugated type II collagen (PEG-CII) to attenuate CIA, an animal model for rheumatoid arthritis, was compared with the native unconjugated CII. Groups of DBA/1 J mice were treated weekly with i.p. injections with PEG-CII, native CII, or vehicle alone for 3 weeks, before they were challenged with CII in adjuvants. The induction of tolerance was confirmed in both PEG-CII- and CII-pretreated mice when suppression of lymph node T cell proliferation in response to CII was noted. The degrees of suppression of T cell proliferation were comparable between the two pretreated groups. However, induction of arthritis and production of IgG anti-CII antibody were more markedly suppressed in PEG-CII-pretreated mice than in native CII-pretreated mice, although the severity of arthritis and antibody levels in the latter group were also lower than in control mice. IgG2a and IgG2b antibody levels were equally suppressed in the two pretreated groups, whereas the IgG1 level was significantly lower in the PEG-CII-pretreated group than in the native CII-pretreated group. The results provide the first evidence that attachment of PEG to CII renders the protein more tolerogenic.     

EAR General Assembly,Vienna, 8 March, 1995

News of the EAR

EAR General Assembly, Vienna, 8 March 1995President's Report     

Comparing sulindac with indomethacin for closure of ductus arteriosus in preterm infants

Objectives: A prospective study comparing the efficiacy and side-effects of oral sulindac with intravenous indomethacin in clinically stable preterm infants (<1750 g) requiring non-invasive closure of haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus.
Methodology: As maturity and birthweight are the two major determinants of ductal closure, infants were matched as closely as possible for these parameters. An eligible patient was first assigned to the sulindac group and a subsequent patient with similar gestational age (± 1 week) and birthweight (±100 g) to the previously recruited infant would automatically receive indomethacin. A total of eight infants were enrolled in each group.
Results: The ductus arteriosus was successfully closed in all eight infants receiving indomethacin, and in seven of eight infants receiving sulindac. No significant differences were found with regards to the ductal size between the two groups at diagnosis or on each of the consecutive days of treatment ( P >0.25). More renal adverse effects were encountered in the indomethacin group. Significant differences in changes from baseline value for urine output, plasma sodium, urea and creatinine concentrations were noted at 24, 48 and 72 h after commencement of treatment between the two groups ( P <0.05). All the parameters returned to normal or pre-treatment levels 48 h after stopping therapy. Unexpectedly, severe gastrointestinal complications were encountered in the sulindac group.
Conclusions: Sulindac is capable of promoting ductal constriction in clinically stable preterm infants without compromising the renal function. The spectrum of gastrointestinal complications observed in sulindac treated infants were similar to those described for indomethacin. The use of sulindac for ductal closure in the preterm infant should remain experimental.     

Fatal meningoencephalitis due to Bacillus anthracis

Abstract: We report the first case of fatal anthrax meningoencephalitis in Hong Kong over the past 60 years. A 13 year-old boy presented with right lower quadrant pain, diarrhoea and progressive headache. Lumbar puncture yielded gram positive bacilli initially thought to be Bacillus cereus, a contaminant. He was treated with ampicillin and cefotaxime, but died 3 days after hospitalization. The organism isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid was later identified as Bacillus anthracis.     

Effect of a structured asthma education program on hospitalized asthmatic children: A randomized controlled study

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of an intensive asthma education program (group B) with that of a standard asthma education program (group A). METHODS: A prospective randomized single blinded study was conducted in the pediatric department of a public hospital in Hong Kong. Children aged 2-15 years admitted to the pediatric department with an acute attack of asthma were recruited. A standard asthma education program (group A) or an intensive asthma education program (group B) for children were offered. The main outcome measures include the number of visits to the emergency department and the number of hospitalization for asthma during the 3 month follow-up period. RESULTS: A total of 45 children were in group A and 55 in group B. Group B had statistically significant reductions in the number of visits to the emergency department and the number of hospitalizations. Drug compliance was also significantly improved in group B. Parents' satisfaction rate was also higher in group B. CONCLUSION: The intensive asthma education program might be more cost effective than the standard asthma education program in the management of asthmatic children admitted to hospital in Hong Kong.