Pseudogout attack associated with chronic thyroiditis and Sjögren's syndrome.

A 66-year-old woman, diagnosed with chronic thyroiditis at age 63, presented with anorexia and fatigue. Therapy for the chronic thyroiditis consisted of levothyroxine sodium (100 microg/day). Her symptoms were attributed to the insufficient supply of levothyroxine sodium.

[Studies on the conditions of blood sampling and storage for the liposome-based CH50 assay].

The CH50 values in the serum and plasma, especially those from chronic hepatitis caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV), are strongly affected and reduced through a process known as cold activation. We attempted to optimize the conditions of blood sampling and storage for the CH50 assay with a recently developed liposome-based assay kit. The bloods were obtained from HCV hepatitis patients as well as healthy donors.

Subclinical Fabry's disease occurring in the context of IgA nephropathy.

A 28-year-old male patient with both IgA nephropathy and an unusual case of Fabry's disease has been followed for 10 years. Diagnosis of both these diseases was made by histological examination of renal biopsy tissues and the enzyme activities of alpha-galactosidase A. Serial biopsies revealed the hithertofore unrecognized process of glomerular glycolipid accumulation peculiar to Fabry's disease at the initial stages of the disease.

Effects of interferon gamma on cultured synovial cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis: inhibition of cell growth, prostaglandin E2, and collagenase release.

The effects of recombinant interferon gamma (rIFN gamma) on the in vitro growth of adherent synovial fibroblast-like cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and also on the release of prostaglandin E2 and collagenase from these cells stimulated with recombinant interleukin-1 beta (rIL-1 beta) were investigated. The growth of adherent synovial cells from six of nine samples, determined by [3H]thymidine incorporation, was inhibited by rIFN gamma in a manner dependent on dose. The release of prostaglandin E2 and collagenase from adherent synovial cells stimulated with rIL-1 beta was also suppressed by rIFN gamma in all samples tested, though the basal release of these inflammatory mediators was little influenced.