Ketanserin and anxiety levels: influence of gender, estrous cycle, ovariectomy and ovarian hormones in female rats.

The influence of gender, estrous cycle, ovariectomy and ovarian hormones on the behavioral effects of the 5-HT2 receptor antagonist, ketanserin (KET), was studied. Intact males, female rats in the four stages of the estrous cycle and ovariectomized (OVX) female rats 14 days after surgery were used. The OVX rats received progesterone [PROG, 25 mg/kg, subcutaneously (SC)] and/or estradiol benzoate (EB, 10 micrograms/kg, SC).

Infectious bronchitis: effect of viral doses and routes on specific lacrimal and serum antibody responses in chickens.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the effect of various infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) (strain H-120) vaccine doses and routes of immunization on specific lacrimal and serum antibody responses. The results of the first trial showed that the maximum dose, 10(6) median embryo infective doses (EID50s), delivered by the ocular route elicited both a systemic and a local antibody response in the vaccinated chickens. Lower doses of vaccinal virus, 10(4) (median dose) and 10(2) (minimum dose) EID50 delivered by the same route did not induce a detectable systemic antibody response.

Hypopigmented macules in acantholytic disorders.

Background: Widespread hypopigmented macules are rarely seen in heavily pigmented patients with Darier's disease. Previous hypotheses concerning the cause of decreased pigmentation suggest it is a postinflammatory phenomenon or that the hypomelanosis is evidence of subclinical acantholysis.

Patients: This report presents 2 patients: a new case of disseminated guttate leukoderma in a black patient with Darier's disease and the first such case in a patient with transient acantholytic dermatosis (Grover's disease).

Jejunoileal bypass-induced liver dysfunction and bacterial translocation: effect of intraluminal glutamine-infusion.

We tested the effect of long-term intraluminal administration of glutamine on jejunoileal bypass (JIB) induced abnormalities in the plasma-liver profile in rats. Male Sprague Dawley rats (200-250 g) were subjected to an end to side JIB followed by daily intraluminal infusions of either 8 ml saline (n = 5), infused over a 4-hour period, or 8 ml saline containing 1g/Kg body weight glutamine (n = 7) for 3 weeks. Thirteen unoperated rats and four JIB rats without infusions served as controls.

Eosinophilic hepatitis: a new feature of the clinical spectrum of the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome.

The eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome associated with L-tryptophan-containing products is highlighted by eosinophilia, incapacitating myalgias, and diverse multisystemic manifestations. In addition to involvement of the skin, skeletal muscle, and peripheral nerves, visceral damage has been quite prominent, particularly affecting the lungs, the heart, and the liver. Hepatic involvement has been manifested by altered liver tests but is clinically silent.

Fibroblast function in psoriatic arthritis. II. Increased expression of beta platelet derived growth factor receptors and increased production of growth factor and cytokines.

Objective: The main objective was to investigate the expression of platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) receptors, and production of growth factors and cytokines from psoriatic skin and synovium derived fibroblasts.

Methods: Fibroblast cultures were established from normal and psoriatic skin and synovium. Confluent cultures of fibroblasts were used for a receptor binding assay for PDGF, and then extracts were run on Western blot.

Fibroblast function in psoriatic arthritis. I. Alteration of cell kinetics and growth factor responses.

Objective: To explore the potential role of fibroblasts in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and its related arthritis. Specifically, we analyzed the cell cycle of psoriatic fibroblasts obtained from skin and synovium by flow cytometry, and we also studied their response to several growth factors.

Methods: Fibroblast cultures were established from normal and psoriatic skin, uninvolved and involved, and synovium.

Scurvy resembling cutaneous vasculitis.

Various conditions can imitate cutaneous vasculitis. Scurvy is a less appreciated cause of rash that can resemble vasculitis. Three patients were referred to our rheumatology service for "vasculitis," who subsequently were found to have scurvy.

Medulloblastoma metastatic to breast, diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy.

The extracranial spread of a primary intracranial tumor is an infrequent occurrence. The most common metastatic sites in order of frequency are bone, lymph nodes, and soft tissue. Analysis of the literature uncovered only two case reports of medulloblastoma that had metastasized to the breast.

Cost-benefit analysis for the use of Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine in Santiago, Chile.

Cost-benefit analyses can be integral to the evaluation of interventions in developing countries. The authors compare the potential benefits to the Chilean Ministry of Health, in terms of treatment costs averted, by prevention of Haemophilus influenzae type b (HIB) invasive disease, with the costs of adding HIB conjugate vaccine to the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) immunization routinely administered to infants. In their basecase model, over a 10-year period (1991-2000), vaccination against HIB will prevent 1,229 cases of HIB invasive disease, including 713 cases of meningitis, 107 of whom would suffer severe, long-term sequelae, and between 29 and 116 deaths.

Nevus of Ota acquisita of late onset.

Nevus of Ota is a melanotic pigmentary disorder characterized by its distinctive cutaneous distribution involving skin innervated by the trigeminal nerve. Most cases are clinically manifest at birth or around puberty; however, acquired lesions in adults have been reported. We report a case of nevus of Ota acquisita that occurred in an eighty-one-year-old man.

Psoriatic arthritis: clinical response and side effects to methotrexate therapy.

In the last decade, methotrexate (MTX) has emerged as a useful second line agent for a variety of arthritides. However, there still exists some reluctance for its wider use mainly because of concerns about its liver side effects. We describe our clinical experience with this drug in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

There is an association between human immunodeficiency virus infection and spondyloarthropathies.

The presence of inflammatory musculoskeletal manifestations during the course of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is well established. A wide spectrum of rheumatic disorders have been reported since the first reports of Reiter's syndrome with HIV infection. Other reported associations include forms of arthropathies, psoriatic arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, polymyositis-dermatomyositis, vasculitis, and septic arthritis.

Sipple syndrome with lichen amyloidosis as a paracrinopathy: pleiotropy, heterogeneity, or a contiguous gene?

A five-generation white family with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A had six affected members. Two, a mother and her daughter, had interscapular cutaneous pruritic lesions resembling macular/lichen amyloidosis. In the daughter, light microscopy showed homogeneous aggregates in the papillary dermis.

Eruptive vellus hair cysts and neurologic abnormalities: two related conditions?

A fifteen-year-old white boy with a history of seizure disorder, borderline cognitive function, academic difficulty, and explosive temper outbursts was evaluated for asymptomatic flesh-colored papules appearing on his chest, abdomen, and axillae. Examination of a biopsy specimen showed eruptive vellus hair cysts; results of genetic, endocrinologic, and neuropsychiatric evaluation revealed abnormalities suggestive of a previously undescribed neurocutaneous syndrome.

Dowling-Degos disease, hidradenitis suppurativa, and multiple keratoacanthomas. A disorder that may be caused by a single underlying defect in pilosebaceous epithelial proliferation.

We report a case in which one patient had Dowling-Degos disease (reticulate pigmented anomaly of the flexures), hidradenitis suppurativa, and multiple keratoacanthomas. Abnormal epithelial proliferation involving mainly the pilosebaceous apparatus has been recognized in all three conditions. We speculate that a single underlying defect in follicular epithelial proliferation, characterized by variable expressivity, accounts for the coexistence of these clinically distinct disorders of follicular derivation.

Characteristics and pathogenesis of myositis in human immunodeficiency virus infection--distinction from azidothymidine-induced myopathy.

Inflammatory muscle involvement during the course of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is described and guidelines are suggested for its differentiation from the myopathy associated with azidothymidine (AZT) therapy. Six patients infected with HIV presented with proximal muscle weakness, biochemical and electromyographic abnormalities consistent with myositis. One patient had a skin rash characteristic of dermatomyositis.

HIV associated arthropathy: HIV antigen demonstration in the synovial membrane.

Light and electron microscopic studies were performed on the synovial membranes of 5 patients with HIV associated arthropathy. An immunoperoxidase technique with the use of monoclonal antibodies against CD4, CD8, B and DR lymphocytes, and HIV p24 antigen was also used. Mild to moderate nonspecific proliferative changes and increased vascularity of the subsynovial space were seen.

Granulomatous myocarditis with unusual histologic features.

A 61-year-old white man was found to have granulomatous myocarditis associated with a carcinoid tumor in the ileum with local lymphatic metastasis, a mixed papillary and follicular carcinoma of the thyroid with regional lymph node metastasis, benign tubular cell adenomas of the kidneys, and chronic pancreatitis.

The hamster model of chronic Mycobacterium avium complex infection.

Male golden Syrian hamsters were evaluated as a model for the pathogenesis of human infection with Mycobacterium avium complex. Intratracheal inoculation produced a chronic, nonfatal, pulmonary and disseminated infection (overall rate, 86%). The frequency of infection in hamsters that received 5 x 10(8) versus 1 x 10(8) colony forming units (cfu) was not significantly different (87% and 92%, respectively), but 1 x 10(7) cfu produced infection in only 78% of inoculated animals (P = .

Human adjuvant disease following augmentation mammoplasty.

Two patients are described in whom a progressive systemic sclerosis-like illness developed several years after silicone augmentation mammoplasty. Both had removal of breast implants, followed by marked-to-complete recovery from clinical abnormalities. This entity is increasingly recognized and has become known as human adjuvant disease.

Dermatological manifestations of toxic agents.

A great variety of cutaneous disorders can be seen as reactions to toxic substances. To limit the extent of this review, cutaneous manifestations known to have an immunological mechanism are simply listed with pertinent references. The report has been focused to cover the cutaneous manifestations of toxic agents of non-immunological and unknown mechanisms.

Granuloma annulare-like eruption due to chronic Epstein-Barr virus infection.

A 32-year-old woman afflicted with a severe, chronic Epstein-Barr virus (CEBV) infection of 12 months' duration developed an unusual, granuloma annulare-like eruption. The cutaneous disorder, which paralleled the clinical course of her disease, was characterized by slightly raised, erythematous, annular lesions predominantly involving the face and arms, with sporadic involvement elsewhere. Histopathologic examination of biopsy material obtained from affected skin disclosed a granulomatous dermatitis.

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita. Direct immunofluorescence and ultrastructural studies.

A case of epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA), associated with inflammatory bowel disease in which cicatricial alopecia was present, was studied by electron microscopy and direct immunofluorescence microscopy. Direct immunofluorescence studies were performed on both clinically normal and perilesional skin, with and without previous separation of the epidermis from the dermis by incubation with 1 M sodium chloride. We propose the use of this separation technique to identify the level of antibody deposition in patients with EBA in whom circulating antibodies are lacking.