Report of the European Working Group on Dementia Drug Guidelines Meeting--Brussels, November 1997

A case of bilateral symmetric osteochondroma of the peroneal tubercle in a 24-year-old woman is presented. This lesion is discussed along with its etiology and related findings.     

Epidemiology of ROP in the Stockholm area of Sweden

A prospective, population-based study of the epidemiology of ROP in a well-defined geographical area of Sweden was performed. Two hundred and sixty children with a birth weight of 1500 g or less, and surviving for at least eight weeks, were included in the study. ROP was seen in 40.4% of the children. We suggest that prematurely born children with a gestational age of 32 weeks or less ought to be screened for ROP.     

Report on the 74th Congress of the Society of Bavarian Surgeons e. V. 24-26 July 1997 in Landshut]

Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) are the most abundant immune cells in inflammatory gingival sites of patients with early onset periodontitis, localized juvenile periodontitis, and rapidly progressive periodontitis (RPP). In the latter, the large number of PMN in connective tissue may explain the marked gingival destruction. Because interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a potent PMN chemoattractant, we evaluated circulating levels and gingival mRNA expression of IL-8. We found high IL-8 plasma levels as well as strong IL-8 mRNA expression in both epithelial and connective gingival cells from patients with RPP. Moreover, the gingival PMN themselves contained IL-8 mRNA, suggesting an autoamplification of PMN recruitment and activation in the gingiva. We also measured the expression of adhesion molecules at the PMN surface as well as the oxidative burst in whole blood from 14 patients with RPP, using flow cytometry to avoid irrelevant stimulations and to analyze single cells. In RPP patients, resting PMN showed reduced L-selectin, Lewis x, and sialyl Lewis x antigen expression as well as increased H2O2 production. These modifications of PMN adhesion molecule expression, together with their increased basal oxidative burst and excessive IL-8 production, may contribute to the noxious inflammatory reaction, which may in turn be autopotentiated by PMN production of IL-8. In addition, PMN showed a lack of increased response (H2O2 production) to formyl peptides after ex vivo priming with IL-8, possibly owing to IL-8 desensitization that may be involved in the increased susceptibility of RPP patients to infection. After appropriate treatment of RPP, the reduction in inflammation was associated with a return to control levels of both plasma IL-8 and PMN functions, suggesting that these features are linked.     

Lessons from the First European Congress of Psychology.

Describes J. P. Hall's experience at the First European Congress of Psychology and ways in which this experience altered Hall's perceptions of psychology. It is concluded that European psychology is strong and in some significant ways less conflicted than American psychology. A more international approach to the discipline is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Report of the Ethics Committee, 1997.

Presents the 1997 annual report of the Ethics Committee. Significant activities in 1997, in addition to the processing of cases, included meetings of the Board of Directors Ad Hoc Committee on Ethics Procedures (CEP) and the Ethics Code Task Force (ECTF), as well as revision of the Board of Director's resolution regarding barring resignations during ethics investigations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

General Report on the European Union Concerted Action Workshop on 11q23, London, UK, May 1997

The phenomenological interpretation of characteristics of the blood reaction flocculation is proposed. Variations of the blood reaction flocculation are comparable to transformations of magnetosphere-ionosphere current systems. Short- and longtime changes of reaction flocculation parameters are correlates with ionospheric current modifications and ionospheric composition.     

Report on: East European Conference of the International Society for Invertebrate Neurobiology (ISIN)--Simpler Nervous Systems--held 9-12th September 1997, Moscow, Russia

The beta-synuclein protein is highly homologous to the alpha-synuclein protein for which two mutations were reported in some familial cases of Parkinson disease. It has been shown that both alpha- and beta-synucleins may be able to inhibit phospholipase D2 selectively. We have observed that the beta-synuclein gene (HGMW-approved symbol, SNCB) is highly expressed in brain including the substantia nigra, the main region of neuronal degeneration in patients with Parkinson disease. We have determined the intron-exon structure of the beta-synuclein gene and established sequencing assays that will facilitate the search for mutations in the beta-synuclein gene in patients with Parkinson disease or other neurodegenerative disorders.     

Gunshot fatalities in Stockholm, Sweden with special reference to the use of illegal weapons

During the years 1980-1992 the Swedish legislation regarding possession and use of firearms has remained fairly unchanged. Simultaneously the reported incidence of both stolen firearms and confiscation of illegally possessed handguns has increased significantly. In order to determine the impact of this trend on gunshot mortality, all victims of firearm fatalities subjected to medicolegal autopsy in the Stockholm area 1980-81 and 1990-91 were studied. The overall two-year rate increased from 50 to 65, homicides and suicides contributing seven new cases each; accidents and "not determined" comprising only 0 to 2 cases in each period. Suicides were four times as common as homicides in the former period; ca. three times as common in the latter. Thus, a 70% increase in homicidal shooting has occurred (from 10 to 17), and the fatal use of illegal firearms increased from 50% to 93%. As expected, there was a definite male dominance (96%) among perpetrators as well as among victims (85%). Concerning suicides, the rate in the latter period was 18% above that in the former; illegal guns were used in 30% in 1990-91 as compared to 20% 1980-81. The pattern of wounding in suicides was similar to that reported in earlier studies; confirming that entrance wounds in the back, extremities and lower abdomen are indicative of homicide. Thus, common sense knowledge of firearm fatalities are confirmed: More widespread access to illegal weapons conveys a higher rate of gunshot fatalities. The perpetrator is likely to be male. Suicidal shots are usually aimed at the head (mouth, temple, forehead) or precordium. Most gunshot suicides are committed by means of legally possessed firearms.     

11th European Cell Cycle Conference: April 23-26, 1997, Gardone Riviera (Italy) and Symposium on Cell Cycle Regulation (17th International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology): August 24-29, 1997, San Francisco, CA

In the following pages I have summarized some of the findings presented at two recent 'cell cycle gatherings'. I have focused on those topics which in my opinion represent a substantial advancement in our understanding of the cell cycle regulatory pathways.     

Injury panorama and medical consequences for 1158 persons assaulted in the central part of Stockholm, Sweden

This retrospective study describes assaults, type of trauma, injury panorama, the abbreviated injury scale score and medical consequences for 1158 assaulted persons. All patients were examined by surgeons at the Emergency Department, Sabbatsberg's Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden, which is open around the clock. The police were not notified. The study group included all assaulted patients who attended and were examined at the Emergency Department from 1 April 1992 to 31 March 1993: 84% men and 16% women. Their median age was 25 years (range 13-86 years). Sixty-eight percent arrived at the Emergency Department between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. In 44% the hospital staff registered in the case notes that the victims were drunk. Blunt trauma of low-energy type predominated, 44% were hit by fists and 30% by kicks. Penetrating trauma occurred in 10% of the assaults (knife 8%), and a combination of blunt and/or cutting trauma (bottle/ glass) in 10%. Eighty-two percent of the victims suffered an injury to the head, resulting in concussion in 116 cases, 4 skull fractures, 1 intracerebral contusion, 74 fractures of nose bones, 17 fractures of other face bones, and 6 mandible fractures. Two persons died because of knifestab wounds. Eighty-two percent of the victims had minor injuries, and 16% had moderate injuries according to the score on the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). The present study shows that assault in the central part of Stockholm, Sweden, is mainly a problem involving young men, especially late in the evening, and that many of the victims are drunk. Injuries to the head due to low-energy trauma are the most common (hit by fists and kicks), but severe injuries seldom occur.     

European Congress of Radiology (ECR), European Association of Radiology (EAR), European Society of Radiology (ESR): European Radiology between the past and the future

OBJECTIVE: To screen patients with SLE for malabsorption. METHODS: Twenty-one patients fulfilling the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for SLE were enrolled in the study. Patients were screened for malabsorption by the D-Xylose test (DXT) and by microscopic examination of the stool for fat droplets. All patients underwent upper GI endoscopy with biopsy from the second portion of the duodenum. The specimen was examined for morphologic abnormalities and for the presence of IgG, IgM, IgA, and kappa and lambda light chains. Ten patients without SLE served as controls. RESULTS: A history of abdominal pain and occasional diarrhea was elicited in 2/21 patients. These patients were found to have an abnormal DXT and excessive fecal fat excretion. In one of these patients, histologic examination revealed flattened and deformed villi with an inflammatory infiltrate. Two other patients showed isolated excessive fecal fat excretion with a normal microscopic appearance of the mucosa. In 20/21 patients the small bowel histology was normal. In all patients, immunoperoxidase staining revealed a normal quantity and distribution of the immunoglobulins and light chains within the intestinal mucosa. No correlation was demonstrated between CH50, C3, C4, anti-dsDNA levels and the malabsorption. CONCLUSION: In this series of SLE patients, the prevalence of malabsorption was 9.5%, and was even higher if isolated fat malabsorption was considered. A search for malabsorption in patients with SLE, and in particular in those with abdominal complaints, is recommended. The pathogenesis is not yet clear and warrants further investigation.