Incorporation of fibronectin-impregnated vascular prostheses in the pig. Microscope study.

An interface near the endothelial extracellular matrix is necessary to augment and maintain endothelial cell attachment. The use of plasma lectins constitutes one of the present lines of research designed to improve this interface. We studied the incorporation of 2 series of arterial prostheses with a diameter of 4 mm and a mean length of 9 cm.

A case-control epidemiological study of MS in the Paris area with particular reference to past disease history and profession.

A retrospective case-control study was carried out on 230 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 230 controls matched for year of birth and sex. The geographical distribution of residence of MS patients and controls was similar. Two peak ages of onset of MS were observed among woman patients (20-24, 30-34 years).

Polyurethane arterial prosthesis: experimental evaluation.

Two types of microporous polyurethanes have been evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. In vitro polyurethane disks have been seeded by endothelial cells from bovine aortic origin and from fresh human greater omentum. Various pretreatments permit comparison of six different experimental groups.

Solitary plasmacytoma of the skull revealed by a mononeuritis multiplex associated with immune complex vasculitis.

We describe a patient with solitary plasmacytoma of the skull, in whom mononeuritis multiplex was the presenting manifestation. Some features of the POEMS syndrome (plasma cell dyscrasia with polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal [M] protein, skin changes), including thrombocytosis, were found. Muscle and nerve biopsies disclosed a small vessel hypersensitivity-type vasculitis and complement-fixing immune complex deposits in vessel walls.

Shear stress affects expression of major histocompatibility complex antigens on human endothelial cells.

Endothelialization of the inner face of a prosthesis appears to improve patency of small caliber arterial substitutes. The importance of understanding the factors that affect human endothelial cell behavior is highlighted by failure of vascular prosthetic grafts to endothelialize when implanted in man. In the present study, endothelial cells isolated from microvasculature are used for their ability to be easily selected from human adult fat, their proliferative capacity, and for their immunologic properties relevant to human pathology: allograft implantation, vessel injury or atherosclerosis.