Enhancing adherence following abnormal Pap smears among low-income minority women: a preventive telephone counseling strategy.

Background: Although the incidence of precancerous conditions of the cervix has recently been increasing, prompt initial and long-term follow-up care can effectively reduce unnecessary morbidity and mortality. For example, the 4-year survival rates among those individuals at greatest risk for cervical cancer (i.e.

Combination intravenous ceftazidime and aminoglycosides in the treatment of pseudomonal scleritis.

Background: Pseudomonal scleritis is a serious and potentially blinding infection that usually is resistant to medical management.

Methods: Results for three patients with pseudomonal scleritis who were treated with both topical anti-infectives and a combination of intravenous ceftazidime and aminoglycoside are presented in this case series.

Results: All three patients had a rapid response to the addition of combination intravenous drug therapy to topical therapy; eradication of the infection and healing of the ocular surface occurred within 8 weeks.

Causes of uveitis in the general practice of ophthalmology. UCLA Community-Based Uveitis Study Group.

Purpose: Most uveitis case series have come from tertiary care centers, and the relative frequencies of disorders they report may reflect referral bias. We sought information about the types of uveitis encountered in the general practice of ophthalmology.

Methods: We prospectively examined 213 consecutive cases of general uveitis, defined as intraocular inflammation other than cytomegalovirus retinopathy, seen by a group of community-based comprehensive ophthalmologists.

The effects of posterior subtenon injection of triamcinolone acetonide in patients with intermediate uveitis.

Purpose: Periocular injection of corticosteroids is a common treatment for vision loss in patients with intermediate uveitis. However, this treatment has the potential for serious side effects. We sought to determine the effects of such injections in a series of patients.

LLETZ is an acceptable alternative to diagnostic cold-knife conization.

Large loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ) provides a pathologic specimen similar to a cold-knife cone (CKC) biopsy of the cervix. One hundred twenty women with indications for a cone biopsy were evaluated with LLETZ to determine if this procedure is an acceptable alternative to traditional cold-knife conization of the cervix. All patients had LLETZ performed in the clinic under local anesthesia.

Comparative efficacy of topical ciprofloxacin for treating Mycobacterium fortuitum and Mycobacterium chelonae keratitis in an animal model.

Mycobacterium fortuitum and M. chelonae are the two most common causes of nontuberculous mycobacterial keratitis, and they may be difficult to differentiate at diagnosis. Mycobacterium fortuitum is generally more sensitive to ciprofloxacin in vitro than is M.

Prospective randomized trial of LLETZ versus laser ablation in patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

Three hundred seventy-five patients with CIN on referral Pap and with a distinct cervical lesion on colposcopy were prospectively randomized to treatment with LLETZ or to standard colposcopic evaluation with directed cervical biopsies, endocervical curettage, and laser ablation of the transformation zone for biopsy proven CIN. Of the 195 patients that randomized to treatment with LLETZ, 32.5% had no evidence of dysplasia, 26.

Comparison of topical antibiotics for treating Mycobacterium fortuitum keratitis in an animal model.

The efficacy of three topical antibiotic treatments for Mycobacterium fortuitum (strain ATCC-6841) keratitis were compared in rabbits. Rabbits were treated with ciprofloxacin (3 mg/ml) or clarithromycin (20 mg/ml) or a combination of amikacin (100 mg/ml) and vancomycin (50 mg/ml). All three treatments significantly reduced the number of organisms in treated eyes compared to untreated, control eyes (all P values < .

Ocular tuberculosis.

In recent years tuberculosis has reemerged as a serious public health problem, raising the possibility that tuberculous eye disease may also become more prevalent. The predominant route by which tubercle bacilli reach the eye is through the bloodstream, after infecting the lungs. The pulmonary loci might not be evident clinically or radiographically.

The rhomboid transposition flap for repair of the perineal defect after radical vulvar surgery.

A detailed account is given of experience at a single institution with the rhomboid transposition flap used to repair the perineal defect after surgery for carcinoma of the vulva. In 13 of 15 assessable cases, the flaps healed completely or had insignificant separation of a segment of the flap. In 2 cases, more major breakdown occurred in association with infection, but in both cases, satisfactory healing occurred without further surgery.

A matched study of surgically treated stage IB adenosquamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix.

Thirty-eight patients with surgically treated stage IB adenosquamous carcinoma of the uterine cervix (AS) have been matched with patients with other histologic subtypes of adenocarcinoma (A) for stage, lesion size, node status, grade of adenocarcinoma and age at diagnosis. An additional six patients with AS were unable to be matched. Overall 5-year survival and disease-free survival for the matched AS and A were not significantly different, 83 vs.

A unique c-myc-targeted triplex-forming oligonucleotide inhibits the growth of ovarian and cervical carcinomas in vitro.

A 27-base pair triplex forming oligonucleotide (G27-oligonucleotide) targeted to the "puf" regulatory protein-binding domain of the human c-myc oncogene has been conjugated with the DNA-binding molecule acridine (G27-conjugate) in order to obtain a drug with high binding affinity as well as high sequence specificity. Both the triplex-forming oligonucleotide and its acridine conjugate are shown to form triple-stranded DNA at the site of the target sequence by DNase 1 footprinting. When the cervical carcinoma cell line HeLa was exposed to 4 microM concentrations of the G27-oligonucleotide the viable cell count fell to 89, 56, and 49% of control at 25, 50, and 72 hr.

Role of calcium in the adhesion and fusion of bilayers.

The interaction forces and fusion mechanisms of mixed zwitterionic-anionic phospholipid bilayers were measured with the surface forces apparatus. The bilayers were 3:1 mixtures of either dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine and dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol (DMPC/DMPG) or dilauroylphosphatidylcholine and dilauroylphosphatidylglycerol (DLPC/DLPG), and experiments were carried out in NaCl solutions with and without CaCl2. In NaCl solutions, the forces between either mixed bilayer system were consistent with the DLVO (Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek) theory of repulsive electrostatic and attractive van der Waals forces, and fusion did not occur.

Pyrazinoylguanidine: antihypertensive, hypocholesterolemic, and renin effects.

In a single-blind, placebo-controlled study of 12 subjects diagnosed as having mild to moderate hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, pyrazinoylguanidine (PZG) in a dose of 600 mg twice daily for 4 weeks reduced systolic blood pressure and heart rate. Pyrazinoylguanidine also reduced diastolic pressures, but to a lesser extent. Pyrazinoylguanidine reduced total serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL).

A matched comparison of single and triple incision techniques for the surgical treatment of carcinoma of the vulva.

Thirty-two patients with invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva (SCC) undergoing radical vulvectomy or radical local excision with bilateral superficial groin node dissection using a triple incision technique (TI) were matched for new FIGO stage, lymph node status, size of lesion, and site of lesion with patients with SCC undergoing traditional radical vulvectomy with en bloc bilateral groin (but not pelvic) node dissection using a single incision (SI) technique. Average operative time (134 min: 191 min), blood loss (424 ml: 733 ml), and hospital stay (9.7 days: 17.

Role of hydrophobic forces in bilayer adhesion and fusion.

With the aim of gaining more insight into the forces and molecular mechanisms associated with bilayer adhesion and fusion, the surface forces apparatus (SFA) was used for measuring the forces and deformations of interacting supported lipid bilayers. Concerning adhesion, we find that the adhesion between two bilayers can be progressively increased by up to two orders of magnitude if they are stressed to expose more hydrophobic groups. Concerning fusion, we find that the most important force leading to direct fusion is the hydrophobic attraction acting between the (exposed) hydrophobic interiors of bilayers; however, the occurrence of fusion is not simply related to the strength of the attractive interbilayer forces but also to the internal bilayer stresses (intrabilayer forces).

Phases of phosphatidyl ethanolamine monolayers studied by synchrotron x-ray scattering.

For the first time, phospholid monolayers at the air/water interface have been studied by x-ray diffraction and reflection all along the isotherm from the laterally isotropic fluid (the so-called LE phase) to the ordered phases. The model used to analyze the data, and the accuracy of the parameters deduced, were tested by comparing the results obtained with two lipids having the same head group but different chain lengths. Compression of the fluid phase leads predominantly to a change of thickness of the hydrophobic moiety, much less of its density, with the head group extension remaining constant.

[The problem of deeply situated parotid tumors].

Of 804 surgically treated parotid gland tumours, every fifth (19.9%) was situated medially from the 8th cranial nerve. Among these deep lobe tumours (DLT) there are more malignant tumours (36.

Measurement of ligand-receptor interactions.

One distinguishing feature of "life" is that the physical forces between biological molecules and membrane surfaces are often highly specific, in contrast to nonspecific interactions such as van der Waals, hydrophobic, and electrostatic (Coulombic) forces. We have used the surface-forces-apparatus technique to study the specific "lock and key" or "ligand-receptor" interaction between two model biomembrane surfaces in aqueous solution. The membranes were lipid bilayers supported on mica surfaces; one carrying streptavidin receptors, the other exposing biotin ligand groups.

Atomic force microscopy of hydrated phosphatidylethanolamine bilayers.

We present images of the polar or headgroup regions of bilayers of dimyristoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (DMPE), deposited by Langmuir-Blodgett deposition onto mica substrates at high surface pressures and imaged under water at room temperature with the optical lever atomic force microscope. The lattice structure of DMPE is visualized with sufficient resolution that the location of individual headgroups can be determined. The forces are sufficiently small that the same area can be repeatedly imaged with a minimum of damage.

Carcinoma of the cervix in women up to 35 years of age.

50 women aged up to 35 years were diagnosed as having carcinoma of the cervix in Brighton, England between 1980 and 1985. The overall 5-year actuarial survival was 65% and 73% for stage IB. The 5-year survival for those aged 29 years or less was significantly worse than for those aged between 30 and 35 years, 39% versus 80%.

Intraplacental choriocarcinoma: a case report.

A recent paper has again drawn attention to the occurrence of intraplacental choriocarcinoma. We present a similar case in which a small intraplacental choriocarcinoma was identified after delivery of a full-term stillborn fetus. Interpretation of this lesion was influenced by the presence of normal villi and its full significance appreciated only after diagnosis of choriocarcinoma in the mother.

External ocular inflammatory effects of lipoxygenase enzyme products.

We systematically observed the effects of lipoxygenase enzyme products (5-, 8-, 9-, 12-, and 15-HETE and leukotrienes (LT) C4, D4, and B4) on the external ocular inflammatory process in rabbits. Our results, using 1 and 10 micrograms enzymatic preparations topically applied to the conjunctiva, were consistent with the potent chemotactic activity of 12-HETE and LTB4. Modulation of the inflammatory process can be accomplished better, as a result of our findings, by inhibition of both the lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase pathways.