Adrenergic secretory responses of submandibular tissues from control subjects and cystic fibrosis patients.

Adrenergic secretory responses of submandibular glands from control subjects and cystic fibrosis patients have been studied in vitro. In control tissues, isoproterenol (10 mumol/l) and noradrenaline (10 mumol/l) increased release of mucins and amylase to a similar extent (approximately 3-fold) and their actions were mediated by stimulation of beta-adrenergic receptors. In cystic fibrosis tissues, isoproterenol did not significantly increase release of mucins or amylase above the basal rate during 40 min incubation, whereas secretion in response to noradrenaline was not significantly different from that in control tissues.

Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in Labrador retrievers. II. Proliferative vitreoretinopathy.

We observed proliferative vitreoretinopathy in Labrador retrievers with spontaneous rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Cellular membranes and their associated connective tissue matrix were prominent on the surfaces of the detached formed vitreous and on the retina. Membrane contraction folded the underlying vitreous and retina and exerted traction on the structures to which they attached.

Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in Labrador retrievers. I. Development of retinal tears and detachment.

We used clinical and pathologic methods to examine ten Labrador retrievers with ocular and skeletal abnormalities. The major ocular findings were axial myopia; cataract; vitreous abnormalities, including liquefaction, detachment, and vitreoretinal traction; retinal tears; rhegmatogenous retinal detachment; and proliferative vitreoretinopathy. The appendicular skeleton showed retarded bone growth, bone dysplasia, and degenerative arthropathy.

Toddler diarrhoea: observations on the effects of aspirin and loperamide.

Aspirin reduced plasma concentrations of prostaglandin (PG) F alpha in 11 of 12 children with toddler diarrhoea, and usually, but not always, controlled the symptom. Loperamide consistently controlled toddler diarrhoea in 10 patients but had no effect on plasma PGF alpha. In eight patients experiencing spontaneous remission of symptoms, plasma PGF alpha was significantly lower than during diarrhoeal episodes.

Fat and energy content of breast milk of malnourished and well nourished women, Brazil 1982.

An investigation of the fat content of breast milk was carried out in 71 Brazilian women from a poor socio-economic background and in 10 from a high social class. All were breastfeeding their infants without supplements. Of the 81 women, 28 "poor" women were assessed as "malnourished" according to weight-for-height criteria, and varying proportions as "malnourished" when other criteria were used.

The nutritional state and nutrition.

Cystic fibrosis children tend to have a low birth weight and their mean height and weight during childhood is below that for the general population. They also tend to have a delayed bone age and puberty. The degree of underweight correlates more closely with the respiratory condition than with the degree of malabsorption.

Pathologic studies of the blood--retinal barrier in the spontaneously diabetic BB rat.

The BB rat spontaneously develops a diabetic state that closely resembles human type I diabetes. The authors studied the pathologic changes of the retina and retinal pigment epithelium of four normal and nine diabetic BB rats using (1) light and electron microscopy with the horseradish peroxidase tracer technique, and (2) trypsin digest preparations of the retinal vessels. They observed a retinal pigment epitheliopathy characterized by (1) derangement of the plasmalemma infoldings; (2) patchy organelle degeneration leading to focal necrosis; (3) increased permeability to horseradish peroxidase; and (4) repair of the pigment epithelium.

Theophylline inhibits platelet aggregation, prostaglandin and thromboxane production by a mechanism which is independent of cyclic AMP.

Theophylline (0.05-1.0 mM) greatly enhanced the inhibition of platelet aggregation by prostaglandin E1 and at higher concentrations (1.

Cystic fibrosis serum stimulates mucin secretion but not calcium efflux from rat submandibular acini.

Cystic fibrosis serum stimulated release of mucins from rat submandibular acini to a significantly greater degree than did control serum. This action was not due to non-specific cell lysis, as monitored by lactate dehydrogenase release and was not accompanied by increases in 45Ca2+-efflux. The actions of cystic fibrosis serum and control serum in stimulating amylase release from rat exocrine pancreatic acini could not be distinguished.

Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis in South Glamorgan 1970-9. Effects of changes in feeding practice.

In a retrospective analysis of cases of surgically confirmed infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) in South Glamorgan in the decade 1970-9 the incidence rose sharply in 1976 reflecting a general increase reported throughout Wales and from other parts of the United Kingdom. The increase was mainly among boys and although it occurred at a time when breast feeding had become more popular, it affected bottle fed infants more than breast fed infants. The apparent correlation between incidence of IHPS and incidence of breast feeding may coincidental and changes in infant milk formulae that became general in 1976 may be more important.

Experience with ceftazidime in cystic fibrosis.

Twelve adults and children with cystic fibrosis received a total of 17 courses of ceftazidime for the treatment of an acute exacerbation of respiratory tract infection. In 6 cases ceftazidime was given as the sole antibiotic. All patients who were clinically assessable were considered to be cured of the acute infection, or improved.

Duodenal bile acids in diagnosis of congenital biliary atresia.

This diagnostic study was useful in distinguishing between complete and partial biliary obstruction in a small number of cases. It has been used widely in Japan and is published here to bring it to the attention of other investigators.

A case of sarcoid arthritis in a child.

An 8-year-old girl presented with dyspnoea, weight loss, erythema nodosum, and an arthritis. A diagnosis of sarcoidosis with joint involvement was made. The clinical features of this unusual arthritis in a child and the response to corticosteroid therapy are described.

Introducing a community health center at Mosgiel, New Zealand: effects on use of the hospital accident and emergency (A & E) department.

The effects of introducing a community health center on utilization of the accident and emergency (A & E) department of a New Zealand hospital are examined. Use by the recipient community during the 3 years before the health center existed was compared with use over the succeeding 3 years and with that by a nearby city served by traditional forms of primary care. Results from the study did not support the postulated reduction in overall use by the health center population, nor did they confirm a reduction in use during the hours that the health center was open or by those subgroups thought likely to find the new facility a preferred alternative.

The functional and phylogenetic significance of dinoflagellate eyespots.

The eyespots or stigmas from five species of dinoflagellates fall into three distinct categories: independent eyespot which is not membrane bound; independent eyespot which is surrounded by three membranes; eyespot situated at the periphery of a chloroplast. In all cases the eyespot is situated behind the longitudinal groove or sulcus and there is a strand of microtubules between the eyespot and the cell covering or theca. In two cases the strand has been clearly shown to originate near the base of the longitudinal flagellum, which is the one passing over the eyespot and is also responsible for directional movement of the cell.

Screening for cystic fibrosis.

Practicable methods are now available for whole population screening of neonates for cystic fibrosis. Although diagnosis and treatment of the disease from birth has not yet been unequivocally shown to improve prognosis, existing evidence suggests that this is likely. Further ethical reasons are proposed in support of neonatal diagnosis and early treatment.

Toddler diarrhoea and prostaglandins.

Chronic, non-specific `toddler diarrhoea' in young children is often accompanied by an increase in plasma prostaglandins, particularly PGFα. Although treatment with drugs is generally unnecessary, aspirin is effective in most children with high prostaglandins, and treatment with loperamide is effective in most children with toddler diarrhoea, regardless of the plasma prostaglandin levels. The source of the increased plasma prostaglandins is not known.