Octreotide acetate inhibits motility in the rabbit distal colon.

Octreotide, the long-acting somatostatin analogue, has been reported to modulate gastrointestinal motility in both animals and humans. A role in colonic peristalsis and a possible clinical application in common disorders, such as chronic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome, have not been evaluated. It has been previously suggested that octreotide promotes the descending relaxation of the peristaltic reflex arc.

Morbidity pattern, health care utilization and per capita health expenditure in a rural population of Tamil Nadu.

Background: Information on the existing morbidity pattern, pattern of health care utilization and the per capita health expenditure is essential to provide need-based health care delivery to a rural population. To obtain this information we performed a study in the K.V.

Anion exchanger 1 (band 3) is required to prevent erythrocyte membrane surface loss but not to form the membrane skeleton.

The red blood cell (RBC) membrane protein AE1 provides high affinity binding sites for the membrane skeleton, a structure critical to RBC integrity. AE1 biosynthesis is postulated to be required for terminal erythropoiesis and membrane skeleton assembly. We used targeted mutagenesis to assess AE1 function in vivo.

Perforation of the gastro-intestinal tract by a foreign body. A case report.

Most ingested foreign bodies pass through the gastro-intestinal tract without giving rise to complications. If they become lodged in a narrow segment of the gastro-intestinal tract, perforation may occur. The resulting morbidity depends on the further route of the penetrating object and whether septic sequelae ensue.

Screening of in vitro antibacterial activity from Syzygium Guineense (Willd) hydrosoluble dry extract.

Diarrhoea is one of the most important causes of infant mortality in the world. As modern drugs are expensive or unavailable in developing countries, many people use traditional medicines in Africa for the treatment of several diseases. In our study, we investigated the antibacterial activity of Syzygium Guineense extract in order to assess its activity on some bacterial strains involved in diarrhoeal diseases and to justify its use.

The importance of late infections for the long-term outcome after liver transplantation.

We investigated the late infections of 400 consecutive liver transplantations performed in 368 patients. After a mean follow-up of 45 months, a total of 180 late infections occurred in 110 liver recipients. Frequent agents were CMV, enterococcus, candida and staphylococcus.

p53 overexpression in myeloid leukemic disorders is associated with increased apoptosis of hematopoietic marrow cells and ineffective hematopoiesis.

Recent evidence has shown that p53 overexpression in leukemic cells may be a consequence of p53 gene mutation or can occur via posttranslational modification mechanisms. While mutant forms of p53 may stimulate cell proliferation and transformation, wild-type p53 may inhibit DNA synthesis and cause leukemic cells to enter apoptosis. Nine bone marrow biopsies of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with known p53 overexpression were analyzed for evidence of apoptosis of both leukemic blasts and of background hematopoietic cells.

Correlation between presence of clonal rearrangements of immunoglobulin heavy chain genes and B-cell antigen expression in Hodgkin's disease.

Southern blot analysis of Hodgkin's disease (HD), although often compromised by the small number of abnormal cells present in the tissue, have tended to favor a B-cell derivation of the Hodgkin's and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells in cases of nodular sclerosis (NS) and mixed cellularity (MC) Hodgkin's disease. Eighteen frozen and 29 paraffin-embedded sections of lymph node specimens from 29 patients with pretreatment HD (22 NSHD and 7 MCHD) were studied by molecular analysis and immunohistochemistry to determine the phenotype of HRS cells. All cases were reviewed and showed typical morphology and CD45-, CD30+, CD15+, BLA.

Ank3 (epithelial ankyrin), a widely distributed new member of the ankyrin gene family and the major ankyrin in kidney, is expressed in alternatively spliced forms, including forms that lack the repeat domain.

We cloned a novel ankyrin, Ank3, from mouse kidney cDNA. The full-length transcript is predicted to encode a 214-kD protein containing an 89 kD, NH2 terminal "repeat" domain; a 65 kD, central "spectrin-binding" domain; and a 56 kD, COOH-terminal "regulatory" domain. The Ank3 gene maps to mouse Chromosome 10, approximately 36 cM from the centromere, a locus distinct from Ank1 and Ank2.

In vivo effects of recombinant human stem cell factor treatment. A morphologic and immunohistochemical study of bone marrow biopsies.

Bone marrow (BM) aspirate and biopsy specimens from seven female patients with advanced or metastatic breast cancer and preserved marrow function treated on a phase I trial of recombinant methionyl human stem cell factor (r-metHuSCF; SCF) were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining before and after treatment with SCF. Doses of SCF included 10 g/kg/day in 2 patients, 25 micrograms/kg/day in 2 patients, and 50 micrograms/kg/day in 3 patients administered as subcutaneous bolus injections for 14 days. Following treatment, bone marrow cellularity increased up to 1.

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase staining in acute leukemia and normal bone marrow in routinely processed paraffin sections.

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) is a nuclear protein widely used as a marker for the diagnosis and classification of acute leukemia. The usual methods for detecting TdT require smears, imprints, or cryostat sections of unfixed tissue. A polyclonal rabbit anti-TdT serum was used to immunostain 54 routinely processed bone marrow sections from patients with acute leukemic disorders, using a recently described antigen-unmasking technique based on microwave oven heating.

Assessment of cell proliferation in paraffin sections of normal bone marrow by the monoclonal antibodies Ki-67 and PCNA.

Assessment of the proliferative index of human bone marrow using immunohistology in tissue sections offers practical advantages over other techniques. It is simpler to perform and can be applied to archival material. Progress in this area has been hampered by technical problems.

Prescription patterns and cost analysis of drugs in a base hospital in south India.

Background: In the rural areas of developing countries the cost of drugs is a major concern to both physician and patient; yet there are few data on prescribing patterns and expenditure. We examined the cost of commonly prescribed drugs in a community health care programme in a base hospital of the Christian Medical College, Vellore.

Methods: The study was carried out over a period of 3 months during which 2756 prescriptions were analysed.

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase staining of malignant lymphomas in paraffin sections.

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) represents a useful marker for the diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma. It is usually assayed in fresh tissue or cell suspensions by enzyme analysis, immunofluorescence, or immunoperoxidase. We have obtained satisfactory staining for TdT in routinely processed paraffin sections using a recently described antigen retrieval pretreatment based on microwave oven heating of the sections and a polyclonal rabbit anti-TdT serum.

In vitro effect of vegetable and fruit juices on the mutagenicity of 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline, 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline and 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline.

The antimutagenic potencies of the juices of 28 fruits and 34 vegetables commonly consumed in Germany were investigated with respect to the mutagenic activities induced by 2-amino-3-methyl[4,5-f]-quinoline (IQ), and in part by 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (MeIQ) or 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx) in Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100. With IQ, weak to strong antimutagenic activities were found in 68% of the fruits and 73% of the vegetables that were tested. In fruits, strong antimutagenic activities were detected in bananas, blackberries, blueberries, sweet and sour cherries, blackcurrants and redcurrants, pineapple and watermelon.

CD34 immunostaining of bone marrow biopsy specimens is a reliable way to classify the phases of chronic myeloid leukemia.

Flow cytometry studies have shown that high expression of CD34 antigen in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is indicative of accelerated or blastic phases. It has also been suggested that similar information can be obtained by CD34 immunostaining of bone marrow biopsy specimens. To test this hypothesis, the authors studied 59 conventionally fixed, paraffin-embedded bone marrow trephine biopsy specimens, representing the three phases of the disease (stable, accelerated, and blast crisis).

A brief historical perspective and a comparison of the current systems of surgical training in Great Britain, Germany and the United States of America.

The surgical training programs of Great Britain, Germany and the United States were designed with some considerable exchange of ideas between these countries. However, although they share certain similarities, these training schemes have developed their own unique features and characteristics. Since the profession of surgery has entered a new period of transition, the education of its trainees will require judicious modifications in the near future.

Combined spectrin and ankyrin deficiency is common in autosomal dominant hereditary spherocytosis.

The common autosomal dominant form of hereditary spherocytosis (HS) has been genetically linked to defects of the erythroid ankyrin gene in a few families; however, the frequency of ankyrin deficiency and its relationship to red blood cell (RBC) spectrin content are unknown. To test these questions, we measured RBC spectrin and ankyrin by radioimmunoassay in 39 patients from 20 families with dominant HS. Normal RBCs contained 242,000 +/- 20,500 spectrin heterodimers and 124,500 +/- 11,000 ankyrins per cell.

Frequent p53 overexpression in therapy related myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemias: an immunohistochemical study of bone marrow biopsies.

p53 overexpression was studied immunohistochemically in paraffin-embedded bone marrow biopsies using a recently described technique for antigen retrieval based on microwave oven heating of paraffin sections. Using a monoclonal antibody (PAb1801) that reacts with human cellular p53, nuclear staining was detected in 7/11 (63%) therapy-related myelodysplastic syndromes and in 3/4 (75%) therapy-related acute myeloid leukemias. Conversely, staining for p53 was seen only in 9/40 (22%) cases of "primary" hematologic conditions (P < 0.

Predictive value of ASA classification for the assessment of the perioperative risk.

To assess the predictive value of the ASA classification for morbidity and mortality during the whole time of post-operative hospitalization, data of 2248 patients undergoing elective surgery were analyzed prospectively. The incidence of post-operative morbidity, considering surgical as well as non-surgical complications, rose from 3.9% in ASA class I to 33.

Hematopoietic precursor cells within the yolk sac tumor component are the source of secondary hematopoietic malignancies in patients with mediastinal germ cell tumors.

Background: Patients with mediastinal germ cell tumors (MGCT) have a high incidence of hematologic malignancies unrelated to cytotoxic chemotherapy. It has been suggested that these leukemic conditions originate from a MGCT progenitor cell capable of undergoing non-germ cell (hematopoietic) differentiation.

Methods: To assess this hypothesis, histologic material from six patients with MGCTs associated with leukemia was examined using monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies capable of labeling cells of the different marrow cell lineages.

Lactobionic and gluconic acid complexes of FeII and FeIII; control of oxidation pathways by an organ transplantation preservant.

Lactobionic acid, [4-beta-(galactosido)-D-gluconic acid] = LBA, is the major component of the Wisconsin organ transplantation preservant fluid and may suppress oxygen radical-induced tissue damage upon reperfusion by the control of FeII autoxidation. FeII and FeIII complexes of LBA and the related gluconic acid (GLC) have been studied herein by titrimetric, infrared, and electrochemical methods (CV; DPP). FeII(GLC) forms quickly at pH 7, but FeII(LBA) reacts in two steps, the second requiring 4 hr.

[Preoperative risk assessment with the ASA classification. A prospective study of morbidity and mortality in various ASA classes in 2,937 patients in general surgery].

The value of ASA classification in assessment of perioperative risk, i.e. especially postoperative morbidity, was analyzed prospectively using the data of 2937 patients.

The teaching of behavioural sciences.

Medical science over the last few decades has undergone vast changes. Technologically it has advanced at a rapid pace. There has been a realization as well that the behaviour of individuals and communities also influences the occurrence of disease.