Surgical resections in parous patients with distal ileal and colonic Crohn's disease.

The surgical resection rates among parous women with distal ileal and colonic Crohn's disease have been compared with resection rates among distal ileal (n = 197) and colonic (n = 332) Crohn's disease patients. Thirty of 44 parous women with distal ileal Crohn's disease and 28 of 44 with colonic Crohn's disease had achieved their first pregnancy on average 8 years and 6.2 years respectively before the diagnosis of Crohn's disease was established. Resections for each patient were negatively correlated with parity in both groups. (Distal ileal disease (p = 0.034, rs = 0.3207), colonic disease (p = 0.051, rs = -0.2960)). Patients with distal ileal Crohn's disease and a history of pregnancy at diagnosis (n = 30, mean follow up = 15 years) had fewer resections/patient when compared with the published resection group: mean (SD); 1.17 (0.65) v 1.57 (1.05), p = 0.006. Patients with colonic Crohn's disease and a history of pregnancy at diagnosis (n = 28, mean follow up = 16.5 years) had fewer resections/patient when compared with the published resection group: mean (SD); 0.68 (0.77) v 1.05 (0.77), p = 0.019. In summary, patients with distal ileal and colonic Crohn's disease, who had been pregnant in the past subsequently need fewer surgical resections. Pregnancy could influence the natural history of Crohn's disease either by decreasing immune responsiveness or by retarding fibrous stricture formation, which is the commonest indication for surgical intervention.     

Multiple coronary artery-left ventricular fistulae: clinical, angiographic, and pathologic findings

Multiple fistulae between all 3 major coronary arteries and the left ventricle were found at cardiac catheterization in a 69-year-old woman presenting with typical angina. Subsequent necropsy showed abnormal intramyocardial vessels communicating with the left ventricular lumen. This is the first report to document clinical, angiographic, and pathologic findings in this anomaly.     

Fear of falling and postural control in Parkinson's disease.

This study investigated the relationship between fear of falling (FOF) and qualitative and quantitative postural control in Parkinson's disease (PD). Fifty-eight nondemented PD patients were studied along with age-matched healthy controls. The degree of FOF was estimated using the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale. Qualitative postural control was evaluated using a component of the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale. Postural control was quantified, using centre of pressure measures obtained from a force plate, for eight standing balance tests of different challenges. The results showed that FOF was more evident for PD patients when compared with healthy individuals of similar age. Furthermore, FOF was significantly associated with a qualitative estimate of postural control in PD; individuals with PD who had a greater degree of posture impairment reported greater FOF. The results also showed that an estimate of FOF may help to explain quantitative postural instability in PD. FOF, when coupled with a qualitative estimate of postural control, was able to explain a greater amount of variation in quantitative balance performance for five of the eight balance tests. When considered independently, the qualitative measure of postural control, in general, could not well predict quantitative balance performance. The greater degree of FOF and its possible association with altered postural control suggests that FOF should be considered as an important, independent risk factor in the assessment and treatment of postural instability in patients with PD.     

Probiotics as flourishing benefactors for the human body.

This article provides a comprehensive review of the beneficial effects of various strains of probiotics in preventing and treating certain diseases. Currently, changed lifestyles as well as the increased use of antibiotics are significant factors challenging the preservation of a healthy intestinal microflora. The concept of probiotics is to restore and uphold a microflora advantageous for the human body. Probiotics are found in a number of fermented dairy products, infant formula, and dietary supplements. In the presence of prebiotics, which are nondigestible food ingredients favorable for probiotic growth, their survival in the intestine is ameliorated.     

The effect of growth hormone on the development of diabetic kidney disease in rats.

BACKGROUND: Nephropathy is the most severe complication of diabetes mellitus. We investigated the effect of exogenous growth hormone (GH) administration on renal function and matrix deposition in the streptozotocin (STZ) model of type I-diabetic rat. METHODS: Adult female STZ-diabetic rats (D), non-diabetic control rats injected with saline (C) and control and diabetic rats injected with bovine GH for 3 months (CGH and DGH, respectively) were used. RESULTS: The usual renal hypertrophy seen in D animals was more pronounced in the DGH group. Creatinine clearance increased only in the D rats, but not in the other groups, including DGH. Albuminuria was observed in the D animals but was significantly elevated in the DGH group. Glomeruli from DGH animals showed more extensive matrix accumulation (manifested as an increase in mesangial/glomerular area ratio). Renal extractable insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) mRNA was decreased in the D and DGH groups, but renal IGF-I protein was not significantly increased. Renal IGF binding protein-1 was increased in the D groups and further increased in the DGH group, at both the mRNA and protein levels. CONCLUSIONS: GH-treated diabetic rats had less hyperfiltration and more albuminuria, concomitant with more glomerular matrix deposition, when compared with regular diabetic animals. This was associated with a significant increase in renal IGFBP-1, and dissociated from IGF-I changes. Thus, in this model, GH exacerbates the course of diabetic kidney disease.     

Comparison of Benchtop Microplate Beta Counters with the Traditional Gamma Counting Method for Measurement of Chromium-51 Release in Cytotoxic Assays

The most traditional method used to measure the lytic activity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes or natural killer (NK) cells is the chromium release assay (CRA). No study has been reported that systematically compares the traditional gamma counting method with various benchtop microplate scintillation formats to measure chromium release. Here we investigated the utilization of microplate beta counters in comparison with the traditional gamma counting method to quantitate antigen-specific cytolysis, lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) activity, and NK activity in the CRA. Supernatants from standard CRA (n = 7) were directly transferred to a 96-well microplate containing either a solid scintillant (Lumaplate) or a liquid scintillant (flexible beta plate). Samples were quantified by using two benchtop microplate beta counters, Wallac Microbeta Trilux (Lumalux and Trilux methods, respectively) and Packard TopCount instruments (TopCount method). These results were then compared with data from an identical assay run in parallel using the traditional gamma counting method (LKB). The lytic activity for influenza virus-stimulated effectors measured in the benchtop microplate beta counters using Lumalux and Trilux methods exhibited excellent correlations with the one measured in the traditional LKB (r = 0.967 and 0.968, respectively). The TopCount method demonstrated a similar correlation (r = 0.966). Similar findings were observed for LAK and NK activity. The 96-well microplate format, specifically the dry-scintillant Lumaplates, offers several advantages over the traditional gamma counting format. Most notable are the reductions in sample volume needed and in the total sample preparation and counting time. Furthermore, this system reduces the amount of dry and mixed radioactive waste generated while using the same instrument for gamma- and beta-emitting isotopes.