Type II oestrogen binding site is associated with the major 4S oestrogen receptor isoform in breast tumours.

Using high resolution isoelectric focusing we have been able to identify a low affinity/high capacity oestrogen binding protein, which exhibits an apparent pI of 7.0. Using this system it can be separated from the previously described high affinity oestrogen receptor (ER) isoforms which focus at pI 6.

Steroid receptor status in malignant and non-malignant larynx.

We investigated for the first time the relationships among all the different steroid receptor classes and between steroid receptor status and lymph node involvement in laryngeal carcinoma. Androgen (AR), oestrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) and glucocorticoid (GR) receptors were assayed in the high-speed soluble fraction and in the nuclear extract from 73 carcinomas of the larynx. Forty-one, 26, 15, and 13 tumours expressed cytosolic GR, ER, AR, and PR, respectively, while 33, 26, 13 and 13 biopsies were nuclear-positive for GR, ER, AR, and PR, respectively.

Relation of cathepsin D level to the estrogen receptor in human breast cancer.

Seventy-three primary human breast cancers were analyzed to assess the presence of estrogen and progesterone receptors, the p29 protein, and the total cathepsin D status. No significant relationship was found between cathepsin D concentration and the presence of ER or PR, either by Fisher's exact test or Spearman's rank correlation (P greater than 0.1).

Automatic memory processes in patients with multiple sclerosis.

To better understand the nature of the memory deficit in patients with multiple sclerosis, we designed a study to compare automatic vs effortful memory processes. Forty-one patients with definite multiple sclerosis and 45 demographically matched normal control subjects were administered two tasks designed to assess both automatic (monitoring frequency and modality) and effortful (free and cued-recall) processing. Results indicated that patients with multiple sclerosis, as expected, were significantly impaired on memory measures requiring effort, but performed normally on automatic measures.

Retinyl ester hydrolases in retinal pigment epithelium.

In bovine retinal pigment epithelium membranes we have found three hydrolases which were active against trans-retinyl palmitate. This was possible by assaying different subcellular fractions as a function of pH in the range 3-9. Detection of these activities has been favored by the use in the enzyme assay of Triton X-100, which has an activating effect up to a concentration of 0.

Cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis. I. Frequency, patterns, and prediction.

Previous frequency estimates of cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis have ranged from 54 to 65 percent. These studies may overestimate the frequency in the general MS population, since the patients in these studies were recruited from clinic populations. In the present study, we administered a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery to 100 community-based MS patients and 100 demographically matched healthy controls.

Cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis. II. Impact on employment and social functioning.

We designed a study to assess the specific contribution of cognitive dysfunction to multiple sclerosis patients' problems in daily living. Based on the results of a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery, we classified 100 MS patients as either cognitively intact (N = 52) or cognitively impaired (N = 48). In addition to a neurologic examination, MS patients completed questionnaires on mood and social functioning, underwent a comprehensive in-home occupational therapy evaluation, and were rated by a close relative or friend regarding specific personality characteristics.

Tamoxifen binding sites heterogeneity in breast cancer: a comparative study with steroid hormone receptors.

Steroid receptors and tamoxifen binding sites (TBS) were assayed in the soluble fraction of 121 primary breast cancers. Scatchard analysis of TBS in high speed supernatant (100,000 g) showed one population of binding sites; however, biphasic plots were obtained in low speed supernatants (40,000 g). Isoelectric focussing of supernatants preincubated with radioactive tamoxifen identified two classes of TBS (pI 4.

Fine structural observations of the granulocytes involved in the tunic inflammatory-like reaction of Ciona intestinalis (Tunicata).

Erythrocytes injected into the tunic of Ciona intestinalis induced an inflammatory-like reaction which can cause lysis of the neighboring tissue. Electron microscopy observations of the granulocytes of the injured tunic show lysosomic figures and degranulations features suggesting granulocyte involvement in the destructive process.

Observation by 13C NMR of the EPSP synthase tetrahedral intermediate bound to the enzyme active site.

Direct observation of the tetrahedral intermediate in the EPSP synthase reaction pathway was provided by 13C NMR by examining the species bound to the enzyme active site under internal equilibrium conditions and using [2-13C]PEP as a spectroscopic probe. The tetrahedral center of the intermediate bound to the enzyme gave a unique signal appearing at 104 ppm. Separate signals were observed for free EPSP (152 ppm) and EPSP bound to the enzyme in a ternary complex with phosphate (161 ppm).

Suppression of clinical weakness in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis associated with weight changes, and post-decapitation convulsions after intracisternal-ventricular administration of 6-hydroxydopamine.

Selective depletion of central nervous system norepinephrine (NE) by the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in rats subsequently inoculated with myelin basic protein (MBP) and complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) produced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) without the usual expected degree of weakness. The preservation of strength occurred in spite of continued weight loss. Post-decapitation myoclonic convulsive kick latency and kick number, which are known to depend on spinal cord NE, agreed well with the degree of weakness through the clinical disease course.

On the nature of memory disturbance in multiple sclerosis.

Thirty-seven patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were compared to 26 normal controls of equivalent age, education, and verbal intelligence on measures of verbal learning and memory (Digit Span and Supraspan, Brown-Peterson Distractor Task, Selective Reminding Test, Story Recall, and Free Verbal Recall) and verbal fluency (Letter and Animal Fluency). The MS patients exhibited deficits on measures of secondary (long-term) memory and verbal fluency, but performed normally on measures of primary (short-term) memory, recognition memory, and rate of forgetting from secondary memory. These results suggest that the memory disturbance in MS results primarily from an imparied ability to access information from secondary memory, while encoding and storage capacity is intact.

Information processing speed in patients with multiple sclerosis.

We have recently proposed that the cognitive deficits of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) share numerous characteristics associated with the syndrome of subcortical dementia. One such characteristic, slowness of mental processing, was evaluated in the present study. Thirty-six MS patients were compared to 26 normal controls of equivalent age, education, and verbal intelligence on the Sternberg memory scanning test.

Cerebral disconnection in multiple sclerosis. Relationship to atrophy of the corpus callosum.

Left ear suppression to dichotically presented verbal stimuli has been observed in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Rubens and coworkers have suggested that a disconnection of the auditory callosal pathways may account for this finding. To examine this proposal, we compared the performance of 28 MS patients with significant corpus callosum atrophy (CCA) on midsagittal magnetic resonance scans, 16 MS patients without significant CCA, and 64 demographically matched normal control subjects on two laterality tasks: verbal dichotic listening (consonant-vowel syllables) and tachistiscopic object-naming latency.

Correlation of magnetic resonance imaging with neuropsychological testing in multiple sclerosis.

Previous research has suggested that cerebral lesions observed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of MS patients are clinically "silent." We examined the validity of this assertion by correlating neuropsychological test performance with MRI findings in 53 MS patients. We used a semiautomated quantitation system to measure three MRI variables: total lesion area (TLA), ventricular-brain ratio (VBR), and size of the corpus callosum (SCC).

Neuropsychological test findings in subjects with leukoaraiosis.

Focal periventricular white-matter changes (leukoaraiosis) have been identified incidentally on brain imaging in normal healthy individuals and more commonly in the elderly and in hypertensive individuals. It has been suggested that leukoaraiosis represents the early stages of Binswanger's leukoencephalopathy, a dementing process thought to be related to hypertensive cerebrovascular disease. To test this hypothesis, extensive neuropsychological tests were administered to 50 consecutive normotensive, middle-aged, healthy volunteers.

[Administration of cytostatic drugs by intra-arterial route. Theoretical basis].

The Authors discuss the theoretical principles of the intra-arterial administration route of antineoplastic drug in the treatment of primaries or metastatic diseases.

[Indications for regional lymphadenectomy in skin melanomas: a problem still in debate. Personal experience and review of the literature].

The Authors discuss indications to the regional dissection on the basis of personal experience and data reported in the literature concluding for the lack of specific advantages for elective operations.

Serologic and virologic analysis of type D simian retrovirus infection in a colony of Celebes black macaques (Macaca nigra).

Celebes macaques were tested for type D simian retrovirus (SRV) infection. SRV infection was first detected in one serum sample collected during 1980. By 1983, 32 of 46 monkeys (70%) were infected.

The reliability of alcohol abusers' self-reports of drinking and life events that occurred in the distant past.

This study investigated the test-retest reliability of 69 alcohol abusers' current reports about their past (approximately 8 years prior to interview) drinking behavior and life events. Drinking behavior was assessed by the Lifetime Drinking History (LDH) questionnaire and life events were assessed using the Recent Life Changes Questionnaire (RLCQ). Reliability coefficients for LDH variables were generally moderate to high (r = .