Effect of disease modifying agents on the lipid profiles of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To determine the effect of intramuscular gold and oral hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) on the lipid profile of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Method: A prospective randomised clinical trial of 12 months' duration was performed in 100 RA patients. Data on clinical and laboratory parameters of disease activity, and fasting serum lipid samples was collected at baseline and at three monthly intervals over one year.

Poisoning of dairy heifers by mercurous chloride.

Mercury poisoning was diagnosed in four dairy heifers, three of which died. The clinical signs were variable and included salivation, excessive thirst, extreme depression and severe diarrhoea. Postmortem examinations revealed inflammation and ulceration of the alimentary tract, pulmonary and cardiac haemorrhages, pallor of the kidney cortices and perirenal oedema.

Prevalence of low body mass in rheumatoid arthritis: association with the acute phase response.

Objective: To ascertain the prevalence of low body mass in a rheumatoid arthritis (RA) population and to explore a possible relation with the acute phase response.

Methods: 97 patients who fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for RA were recruited. Change in weight from initial presentation was noted.

Protein modeling by multiple sequence threading and distance geometry.

The application of homology modeling is often limited by the lack of known structures with sufficiently high sequence similarity to the target protein. The recent development of threading methods now enable the identification of likely folding patterns in a number of cases where the structural relatedness between target and template(s) is not detectable at the sequence level. We devised a hybrid method in which fold recognition was performed using the Multiple Sequence Threading (MST) method.

Multiple sequence threading: conditional gap placement.

Preliminary work to improve on the gap placement in a novel multiple sequence threading method is presented here. Using the globin family, we construct measures for the assessment of gaps in a multiple sequence threading alignment based on the structural comparison of two of the proteins in the family. We take into account information from multiple sequence alignments on both the structure and sequence side of the problem.

Distance geometry based comparative modelling.

A distance geometry based protein modelling algorithm is presented which relies on the projection of simple model chain coordinates into Euclidean spaces with gradually decreasing dimensionality. Fast embedding was achieved by performing separate distance matrix projections on subsets of the model points. Structural equivalences between the unknown target and related proteins with known structures were deduced either from a mixed sequence/structure multiple alignment or from the output of various fold recognition (threading) approaches.

Effects of disease and corticosteroids on appendicular bone mass in postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis: comparison with axial measurements.

The potential value of measurements of peripheral bone mass in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as an assessment of long-term disease activity has recently received renewed attention. This study examines the effects of RA and corticosteroid therapy on newer methods of measuring peripheral bone mass, comparing the results with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at axial sites. Peripheral quantitative computed tomography of the radius, ultrasound of the calcaneus, and DXA of the hip and spine were compared between 29 controls and 46 women with RA of whom 25 were receiving low-dose corticosteroid therapy.

Is rheumatoid arthritis becoming a milder disease? Or are we starting second-line therapy in patients with milder disease?

The aim of the study was to see whether rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is becoming a milder disease. Information on the initial disease activity and patient function (modified Health Assessment Questionnaire-HAQ) was collected in all RA patients enrolled into studies of sulphasalazine since 1980 in two Glasgow teaching hospitals. Patients (352) were enrolled in trials in the decade 1980-1989, and were compared to 374 patients enrolled in 1990-1994.

Meningococcal disease in urban south western Sydney, 1990-1994.

Background: There has been a sustained increase in incidence of meningococcal disease throughout Australia since 1987. In south western Sydney the incidence is higher than the national rate and a cluster of cases occurred in 1991 resulting in a widespread vaccination programme.

Aims: To investigate the clinical demographics of patients with meningococcal disease treated in south western Sydney, and to differentiate meningococcal strains to understand better the epidemiology in this urban setting.

Unusual complications of cervical spine surgery for cervical myelopathy in rheumatoid arthritis.

Cervical myelopathy is a recognized complication of rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory arthropathies. In a significant proportion of patients, surgical stabilization of the cervical spine offers the best opportunity for improvement of symptoms and long-term survival. We report two cases that illustrate some potential complications of cervical spine surgery and which also emphasize the need for vigilance when caring for patients in this group.

Hepatocellular tumours in roe deer in Britain.

Between January 1992 and March 1994 the geographical distribution and prevalence of hepatocellular tumours in roe deer in Britain was studied. The highest prevalence was found in north east England and in the east of Scotland. An as yet unidentified dietary factor is thought to have been involved in the development of these tumours.

An evaluation of the in vitro activity of piperacillin/tazobactam.

Tazobactam is a new, irreversible inhibitor of bacterial beta-lactamases of staphylococci, plasmid-mediated beta-lactamases of the TEM and SHV types found in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species and beta-lactamases of anerobes such as Bacteroides species. Its combination with piperacillin, a broad spectrum ureido-penicillin, would be expected to improve the activity of piperacillin against staphylococci, TEM and SHV beta-lactamase producing Gram negative bacteria and anerobes. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of piperacillin/tazobactam were determined for 1952 individual patient isolates of Gram positive and negative bacteria causing significant infections and compared with MIC values for cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, imipenem, ticarcillin/clavulanic acid.

Isolation of a parapoxvirus from a grey seal (Halichoerus grypus).

A grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) developed cutaneous pocks which progressed to involve the skin extensively, necessitating euthanasia. Macroscopically and histologically the lesions resembled previous descriptions of parapoxvirus infections of seals and virus particles were observed in preparations of a scab and a skin lesion. Suspensions of the scab and skin lesion were prepared and inoculated on to monolayer cultures of grey seal kidney cells.

Necrotising enteritis in suckled calves.

Necrotising enteritis is a newly recognised disease affecting two to three-month-old suckled calves in Scotland. A cohort of 10 calves from an affected herd was closely monitored from birth until the risk period was over, and one case occurred. In addition, all the cases of dysentery in suckled calves reported to SAV Veterinary Services, St Boswells, from April to August of 1992 were investigated and a further five outbreaks of necrotising enteritis were identified.

Slow-acting antirheumatic drugs. Drug interactions of clinical significance.

The slow-acting antirheumatic drugs (SAARDs) are being used in an increasing proportion of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The potential toxicity of each drug is well recognised. Many patients with RA will be on other medications and the potential for adverse drug interactions with SAARDs is not so well publicised.

Relative changes in blood flow with functional electrical stimulation during exercise of the paralyzed lower limbs.

Eight spinal cord injured (SCI) patients performed three sets of exercise with two conditions, 60% and 80% of VO2peak, with an arm crank ergometer. Functional neuromuscular stimulation was used to induce static leg contractions in two of the above sets of exercise. The three exercise sets were performed with no functional neuromuscular stimulation (NOS); with functional neuromuscular stimulation at 40 milliamperes; and with functional neuromuscular stimulation at 80 milliamperes (HIS).

Variances in the Measurement of Ceramic Powder Properties.

Variances in the measurement of properties used to characterize ceramic powders are discussed in the context of the International Energy Agency's study, Annex II, Subtask 2, which includes chemical and physical measurements for five powders: two grades of silicon nitride, and one grade each of silicon carbide, silicon, and zirconia. The analysis presented here includes results for 39 properties reported by 25 laboratories using approximately 700 samples of the powders. Measurement uncertainties are discussed in the contexts of measurement variations within given laboratories (within-laboratory variance, sometimes called repeatability), among different laboratories (between-laboratory variance, also called reproducibility), and among different measurement techniques (between-methods variance).