Head circumference of rural Nigerian children--the effect of malnutrition on brain growth.

Objective: To compare head circumference measurements of the well nourished with those of the malnourished children for each sex.

Design: Cross sectional.

Setting: Imesi, Ile-Ife village, Nigeria.

Secular trends in the growth of children aged 0-6 years in a rural Nigerian community.

Cross-sectional anthropometric measurements were taken between 1987 and 1990 in 673 children aged 0-6 years in Imesi Ile village, Nigeria. The height and weight curves obtained fall behind corresponding growth curves in the same community three decades previously. Mid-upper arm circumference values indicated moderate to severe malnutrition in 25.

Delayed sexual maturation in sickle cell anaemia patients--observations in one practice.

Pubic hair and breast appearance ratings, testicular volumes and age at menarche were determined in 24 sickle cell anaemia patients aged from 8.5 to 27 years between February and September 1994 in the Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa, Nigeria. Only three of the six females aged 15 or more years had experienced menarche and this was at the mean (SD) age of 18.

Anthropometric measurement in children aged 0-6 years in a Nigerian village.

Seven hundred and three Nigerian village children in their first six years of life were subjected to anthropometric measurements and physical examination in early 1988. The heights of 66.9% and weights of 60.

Stimulation of phagocytic activity of murine Kupffer cells by tuftsin.

Tuftsin (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg) is a natural immunomodulating peptide. We have investigated for the presence of a specific tuftsin receptor on murine Kupffer cells using fluorescein-labeled tuftsin, which retains full biological activity. After incubation with fluorescein-labeled tuftsin, Kupffer cells displayed clear binding of this compound on the plasma membrane.

Mechanisms of Kupffer cell cytotoxicity in vitro against the syngeneic murine colon adenocarcinoma line MCA26.

We have previously demonstrated that in vivo activation or inhibition of Kupffer cell (KC) cytotoxic function can reduce or enhance, respectively, the hepatic tumor burden in a syngeneic murine colon adenocarcinoma (MCA26) tumor model. In the current study, we have performed in vitro experiments to define the possible mechanisms of KC cytotoxicity against MCA26 cells. Addition of either anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) or anti-interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) antisera reduced KC cytotoxicity in coculture against MCA26 targets in a dose-dependent fashion; addition of these sera together resulted in approximately additive inhibition, suggesting the existence of parallel pathways for these effector molecules.

Murine Kupffer cells and hepatic natural killer cells regulate tumor growth in a quantitative model of colorectal liver metastases.

This investigation aimed to develop a biologically relevant murine model of colorectal liver metastases and determine if Kupffer cells (KC) and hepatic natural killer cells (hNKC) regulate tumor growth. The model involves the injection of murine colon adenocarcinoma 26 (MCA 26) tumor cells into the portal vein of female-specific pathogen-free BALB/c mice. Metastases developed in all animals, and the growth was limited entirely to the liver.

Relapse of tetanus in a child: a case report.

This report concerns the relapse of a case of tetanus which occurred one week after complete cessation of initial symptoms which had taken 4 weeks to nurse. Eventual and lasting resolution of the symptoms followed the removal of a foreign body from the left foot on the 58th day of admission.

The health, growth and educational performance of sickle cell disease children.

In a study by questionnaire and anthropometric measurements of the effect of sickle cell disease on the health growth and education of 102 Nigerian children aged between 9 months and 17 years, the first symptoms of the disease had occurred by the age 1 1/2 years in 58.8% of them. Strenuous exercise and exposure to cold water and weather commonly precipitated illness episodes which occurred in 81.

Human Kupffer cells are cytotoxic against human colon adenocarcinoma.

Colorectal liver metastases are a common clinical problem and require more effective therapy. Kupffer cells (KC) perform many important homeostatic functions within the liver and may also possess the ability to mediate tumor cytotoxicity. We investigated the ability of human KC to mediate cytotoxicity against human colon adenocarcinoma targets (HT 29) in vitro.

Bilirubin as an inhibitor of cartilage metabolism: effect on avian chondrocyte proliferation in cell culture.

Elevated levels of bilirubin and other tetrapyrroles are common to a number of chronic hematologic and liver diseases that can result in growth failure. This report establishes a cellular model system for the study of these endogenous growth inhibitors. Primary chondrocyte cultures were prepared from embryonic chick cartilage; cells were incubated (0.

Bilirubin and heme as growth inhibitors of chicken embryos in ovo.

The increased morbidity during pregnancies complicated by hematologic or liver disease has generally been attributed to the metabolic abnormalities of the illness itself. Because tetrapyrrole concentrations are elevated in these conditions, we introduced bilirubin or heme (prepared as 10 mM solutions) into the air sac of fertilized chicken eggs to study their effect on the growth of normal chicken embryos. In 9-d eggs, the injection of 0.

Hematoporphyrin can inhibit the metabolism and growth of embryonic chicken cartilage in vitro.

Hematoporphyrin (HP) derivatives have been recognized chiefly as growth inhibitors of neoplastic tissues within the context of tumor phototherapy. We investigated the possibility that HP may also modify the growth potential of rapidly growing nonneoplastic tissues and describe the effect of HP on the metabolism and growth of embryonic chick cartilage in vitro. In the embryonic chick pelvic rudiment prolonged organ-culture bioassay, pelvic rudiment growth was significantly inhibited when HP 0.

Bilirubin inhibits cartilage metabolism and growth in vitro.

The potential effect of bilirubin on cartilage metabolism and growth in vitro was studied using embryonic chick and hypophysectomized rat cartilage bioassays, both very sensitive to cartilage growth factors and growth inhibitors. In chick cartilage, 0.25 mmol/L bilirubin caused significant but reversible inhibition of growth.

Hemoglobin as a direct inhibitor of cartilage growth in vitro.

Growth retardation is a feature of several diseases associated with chronic hemolysis (i.e., uremia and the hemoglobinopathies).

Heme inhibits cartilage metabolism and growth in vitro.

The present study was designed to investigate the potential role of heme as a direct inhibitor of cartilage metabolism and growth. We used the embryonic chick pelvic rudiment bioassays and the hypophysectomized rat cartilage sulfation bioassay, both sensitive to growth factors and growth inhibitors. In the chick bioassay pelvic rudiment growth was inhibited when heme was added to the culture medium at 0.

Heme overload inhibits the growth of normal rats.

We have developed a model with which to evaluate the direct metabolic effect of circulating heme in chronic hemolytic diseases. Normal rats were injected with heme intraperitoneally (IP) using different treatment schedules and then killed so their growth parameters could be measured; heme injections were well tolerated, but final body weight was decreased in the heme treated groups. In one experiment, we used heme 40 mg/kg IP 2x/d for 8 d and found that overall growth was significantly inhibited (weight increment in the heme-treated group +45 +/- 3g vs +65 +/- 3g in the controls, P less than .

Tetrapyrroles as inhibitors of normal cartilage metabolism: relative potency of different compounds.

The present study was designed to explore the role of different tetrapyrroles as inhibitors of cartilage metabolism. We studied the effects of tetrapyrroles on the incorporation of [35S]sulfate into proteoglycans, [14C]-leucine into protein, and [3H]uridine into the RNA of normal cartilage from two different vertebrate classes using the embryonic chicken pelvic rudiment bioassay and the hypophysectomized rat costal cartilage bioassay, both very sensitive to cartilage growth factors and growth inhibitors. We compared the relative potencies of the following compounds: both metalloporphyrins (heme and chlorophyllin), linear tetrapyrroles (bilirubin), and heme proteins (hemoglobin, myoglobin, and cytochrome c).

Effect of promethazine on the metabolism of chloroquine.

Co-administration of promethazine hydrochloride and chloroquine phosphate resulted in increased blood levels of chloroquine and its metabolites. However, there is no statistical difference between the means obtained for the initial rate of excretion and the total drug excreted within three hours.

Cartilage sulfation inhibitor from rat liver: partial characterization of properties and biologic action.

Cartilage sulfation (somatomedin) inhibitors (CSI) from rat liver produce reversible inhibition of cartilage growth. After gel filtration Sephadex G-200, CSI appear to have MW approximately 100,000 and they are urea- and trypsin-labile factors. To explore further the mechanism of CSI action, we used the chick pelvic rudiment bioassay and studied the effect of CSI on the incorporation on 35S-sulfate (proteoglycan synthesis), 14C-leucine (protein synthesis), 3H-uridine (RNA synthesis), and 3H-thymidine (DNA synthesis).

Cartilage sulfation inhibitor from rat liver curtails growth of embryonic chicken cartilage in vitro.

We studied the effect of high MW cartilage sulfation (somatomedin) inhibitors from rat liver on cartilage growth in vitro. Pelvic rudiments from 11-day-old chicken embryos (5.70 mg average weight) were incubated in an organ-culture system with defined tissue-culture medium; after two days (T0-2), media were changed and incubation continued for another three days (T2-5).