Gallium scans in the management of patients with Hodgkin's disease: a study of 101 patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the utility of periodic gallium (67Ga) scans in the management of patients with Hodgkin's disease.

Patients And Methods: From 1990 to 1994, 101 patients treated for Hodgkin's disease (stage I to II, n = 67; stage III to IV, n = 34) had a positive 67Ga scan at the time of diagnosis. Treatment included chemotherapy in 27 patients, radiation therapy in 28, and combined modality therapy in 46.

Future challenges in the clinical development of thymidylate synthase inhibitor compounds.

Thymidylate synthase (TS) is a folate-dependent enzyme that plays a critical role in providing the thymidylate nucleotide precursors essential for DNA biosynthesis. Given the increased metabolic demands that accompany malignant cell proliferation, it has been well-appreciated that TS represents an important target for cancer therapy. The fluoropyrimidines were the first class of agents to be directed against TS.

The reported health and functioning of children maltreated while in family foster care.

The ability to assess accurately risk factors for maltreatment while in family foster care is essential for developing prevention and intervention strategies. Yet information about children involved in maltreatment episodes while in foster care is severely limited. This correlational study reports on characteristics, health, and functioning parameters of all 78 children with substantiated maltreatment reports between 1984-1988 in an urban foster care program as compared to a random sample of 229 nonmaltreated children in foster care in the same time period.

p-Glycoprotein expression as a predictor of breast cancer recurrence.

Background: Many new prognostic factors for breast cancer have been described, and yet the ability to predict patient outcomes remains poor. Overexpression of p-glycoprotein (p-gp), the multidrug resistance efflux pump, confers a worse prognosis to patients with certain leukemias and other tumors. The purpose of this study was to analyze the potential usefulness of p-gp expression as a prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer.

Expression of parathyroid hormone-related peptide and its receptor messenger ribonucleic acid in human amnion and chorion-decidua: implications for secretion and function.

Objective: Our purpose was to define the location and packaging of parathyroid hormone-related peptide in amnion-chorion and the potential target tissues for its action in fetal membranes.

Study Design: We studied fetal membranes by use of light microscopic immunocytochemistry with three monoclonal antibodies against distinct regions of the parathyroid hormone-related peptide molecule. For electron microscopy immunogold analysis with a monoclonal antibody specific to the 109-141 fragment was used to observe parathyroid hormone-related peptide intracellularly in amnion membrane and in the chorion layers.

Experimental assessment by high frequency ultrasound of articular cartilage thickness and osteoarthritic changes.

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by progressive loss of articular cartilage in the involved joint. Accurate, reproducible measurement of the thickness of the cartilage in vivo, however, is difficult. Because development of an ultrasonic imaging device for intraarticular use is feasible and would permit acquisition of information that could complement the assessment of articular cartilage made at arthroscopy, we evaluated the efficacy of high frequency ultrasound in assessing the thickness and subsurface characteristics of normal and OA cartilage.

[Isosorbide-5-mononitrate in silent ischemia].

Thirty six patients with documented coronary artery disease and exercise-induced silent ischemia were evaluated in a double-blind randomised placebo-controlled crossover study. The effect of once daily 60 mg sustained-release isosorbide-5-mononitrate (IS-5-MN) was tested on exercise-induced and ambulatory silent ischemia. After a wash-out period in which no cardioactive drugs were administered, each patient received IS-5-MN for the first week, followed by placebo for the second week, or vice versa.

Neoplastic hormone-producing cells of the placenta produce and secrete parathyroid hormone-related protein. Studies by immunohistology, immunoassay, and polymerase chain reaction.

Background: Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) was originally discovered as a product of tumors associated with hypercalcemia. Subsequent studies have demonstrated the widespread production of PTHrP in both fetal and adult tissues, among them the placenta, where it has been identified in amniotic epithelial cells and trophoblasts. However, studies of PTHrP production by the neoplastic placenta have not been reported.

Parathyroid hormone-related protein in the cardiovascular system.

PTH-related protein (PTHrP) is expressed in a stretch-responsive manner in several types of smooth muscle. We previously demonstrated the production of PTHrP in adult rat heart muscle. In this study, we demonstrate the production of PTHrP in the cardiovascular systems of several mammalian species, including human.

Types and frequency of child maltreatment by family foster care providers in an urban population.

Types and frequency of child abuse and neglect reports in family foster care in Baltimore, Maryland as compared to reports among nonfoster families are reported. Data on maltreatment incidents in foster homes were abstracted from Child Protective Services investigation records for the years 1984-1988. Comparisons were made to community reports.

Is it time to reassess the risk for the growth-retarded fetus with normal Doppler velocimetry of the umbilical artery?

Objective: Previous studies demonstrate an association between abnormal umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry and the birth of a small-for-gestational-age infant and between abnormal result and adverse neonatal outcome. The hypothesis is that preterm growth-retarded infants with normal antenatal velocimetry have outcomes similar to other preterm infants, whereas preterm small-for-gestational-age infants with abnormal Doppler results define a subgroup with increased morbidity.

Study Design: For 100 live-born infants, at risk for fetal growth retardation and undergoing antenatal Doppler and targeted ultrasonographic examinations, we assessed a number of complete neonatal outcome parameters.

Chromogranin A peptide-specific antisera and high-performance size exclusion chromatography demonstrate amino-terminal and carboxy-terminal fragments of the native molecule in human cell lines.

We have studied the pattern of amino-terminal and carboxy-terminal protein processing of chromogranin A (CgA) in five human cell lines, four derived from lung cancers: NCI-H478, NCI-H1011, NCI-H727, and BEN; and one derived from human medullary thyroid carcinoma: TT. This was accomplished by fractionation of cell extracts by high-performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) and measurement of CgA in the fractions by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Three RIA's were used, one specific for the amino-terminus of CgA, one specific for the carboxy-terminal region, and a monoclonal antibody-based assay that recognizes only the native CgA molecule.

Parathyroid hormone-like protein: alternative messenger RNA splicing pathways in human cancer cell lines.

Parathyroid hormone-like protein (PLP) is expressed in a wide variety of cancers and exerts diverse biological effects in addition to hypercalcemia. We studied the expression of the gene for PLP in cancer cell lines derived from different tissues that produce PLP. We used the polymerase chain reaction to evaluate the PLP mRNA species produced in these various cell lines by differential transcription initiation and alternative splicing pathways.

Fully automated assay of glycohemoglobin with the Abbott IMx analyzer: novel approaches for separation and detection.

We describe a novel assay for measuring glycohemoglobin directly from anticoagulated whole blood with the Abbott IMx analyzer. The glycohemoglobin is labeled with a soluble polyanionic affinity reagent and the anionic complex is then captured with a cationic solid-phase matrix. Glycohemoglobin is quantified by measuring the quenching by heme of the static fluorescence from an added fluorophore.

Parathyroid hormone-like protein is a secretory product of atrial myocytes.

Parathyroid hormone-like protein (PLP) was originally identified from tumors associated with hypercalcemia. Recently, it has been found to be expressed in a stretch-responsive manner in several types of smooth muscle. We studied adult rat heart muscle for the presence of the PLP.

[Calcium antagonists in therapy of arterial hypertension].

Calcium antagonists reduce the peripheral vascular resistance thus lowering an elevated blood pressure. Due to their properties they are regarded as basic antihypertensiva. They do not affect metabolism, cause a regression of left ventricular hypertrophy and improve the vascular compliance.

The parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) gene preferentially utilizes a GC-rich promoter and the PTHrP 1-139 coding pathway in normal human amnion.

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is an oncofetal protein that is widely expressed in mammalian tissues. The PTHrP gene is a complex with three transcriptional start-sites, two TATA boxes and a GC-rich region, and three predicted polypeptide products, PTHrP 1-141, PTHrP 1-139, and PTHrP 1-173. The originally discovered form of PTHrP, PTHrP 1-141, and the classical TATA box promoters are generally assumed to be the major pathways of PTHrP gene expression.

Reduction of the severity of canine osteoarthritis by prophylactic treatment with oral doxycycline.

Objective: In vitro studies have indicated that levels of neutral metalloproteinases in osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage are elevated and that doxycycline (doxy) inhibits collagenolytic and gelatinolytic activity in extracts of OA cartilage. The purpose of the present study was to test the effect of oral doxy administration on the severity of cartilage degeneration in OA.

Methods: OA was induced in 12 adult mongrel dogs by transection of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) 2 weeks after dorsal root ganglionectomy.

Exclusion of atrial thrombus by transesophageal echocardiography.

To determine whether transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is useful in ruling out the presence of atrial thrombus, we performed TEE in 20 patients immediately before valve replacement or valve repair and within 3 days of an autopsy in one patient. Mitral stenosis was the predominant lesion in three patients, mitral regurgitation was seen in 11 patients, five patients had mitral prosthesis malfunction, one patient had a tricuspid prosthesis malfunction, and one patient had aortic stenosis. Eight patients were in atrial fibrillation.

All major lung cancer cell types produce parathyroid hormone-like protein: heterogeneity assessed by high performance liquid chromatography.

We examined the production of parathyroid hormone-like protein (PLP) by all major lung cancer cell types, including epidermoid, small cell, and adenocarcinoma. We demonstrated that cell lines derived from each cell type released PLP into culture medium. To determine the predominant species of PLP produced by the cell lines, guanidine hydrochloride extracts were prepared and analyzed for PLP by high performance size exclusion chromatography under denaturing conditions.

Is pulsed Doppler velocimetry useful in the management of multiple-gestation pregnancies?

Few studies have addressed the significance of umbilical artery pulsed Doppler velocimetry in multiple gestation. Level II ultrasonography and pulsed Doppler studies were performed in 94 twin pairs and seven sets of triplets, which yielded data on 207 fetuses. A systolic/diastolic ratio was calculated for each fetus; abnormal pulsed Doppler velocimetry showed high correlation with adverse pregnancy events.

Calcium-stimulated parathyroid hormone-like protein secretion: potentiation through a protein kinase-C pathway.

The effect of altering intracellular calcium levels on PTH-like protein (PLP) secretion was assessed in the NCI-H727 cell line. Ionomycin stimulated PLP secretion in a dose- and time-dependent manner, with a maximum rate of secretion occurring within minutes. Phorbol esters (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and phorbol 12,13-didecanoate) stimulated PLP secretion at 10(-7)-10(-5) M, whereas forskolin treatment had no effect.