Detection of neurone-specific enolase in long-term cultures of human corneal endothelium.

Background: Human corneal endothelial cells cultivated in monolayer culture for protracted periods undergo morphological dedifferentiation, whereby they assume a more fibroblast-like appearance. These cultures may also become overgrown with contaminating stromal fibroblasts and/or with keratocytes, when non-selective media are employed, thus rendering identification of actual endothelial cells difficult on a strictly morphological basis.

Methods: The endothelium of the human cornea stains for neurone-specific enolase (NSE) in situ, and we therefore wished to study the expression of this marker in primary and long-term monolayer cultures of these cells.

Hypoxia of diabetic feet with abnormal arterial blood flow.

Necrotic ulcers of the feet are a dangerous complication of the diabetic foot syndrome. Besides peripheral vascular disease (PVD) peripheral neuropathy is an important factor in the pathogenesis of necroses. We examined whether the reserve of circulation during reactive hyperemia at the feet of patients with type I diabetes mellitus with abnormal blood flow (n = 17) is decreased compared with diabetic (n = 14) and nondiabetic (n = 20) controls.

Decrease of macrovascular hyperemic response of blood flow in diabetics with arterial neuropathy.

Doppler sonographic examination of 51 diabetic subjects showed that the macrovascular hyperemic response of the pedal blood flow was negatively correlated to the duration of the disease (p less than 0.01). In comparison with non-diabetic controls (n = 20), the response was increased by more than 210% in newly detected diabetics, but decreased by more than 20% in long-term diabetics.

Measurement of Doppler velocity in diagnosis of peripheral vascular disease in diabetics with peripheral pulse deficit.

Forty-nine diabetics (aged 50-69 yr, with a pulse deficit in 54 legs) were examined for peripheral vascular disease (PVD). In relation to pulse deficits PVD was proved by oscillography in 24 (44%), by qualitative Doppler velocity measurements in 19 (51%) and by quantitative Doppler in 28 (35%) cases. The overall rate of the agreement in the diagnosis between the two Doppler techniques and oscillography was 76.