[Surgical repair of varicose veins of the lower limbs by saphenous vein stripping].

For a long time, high ligation and stripping of the saphenous trunk was the only technique used to deal with primary varicose veins when surgical treatment was recommended. Duplex ultrasound has demonstrated that this attitude is not well-founded in many cases. Alternative techniques have been proposed and performed.

[Forensic medical implications in surgery of chronic venous insufficiency of the legs].

Current literature and personal experience with these complications are discussed. Complications with medicolegal implications have been analyzed in three studies, in France by J. Natali and A.

Antibody responses to hepatitis C envelope proteins in patients with acute or chronic hepatitis C.

Antibody responses to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope proteins E1 and E2 were analyzed using two original assays in sera from 86 patients in different stages of disease. A Western blot assay and an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) were developed using envelope proteins produced, respectively, in Escherichia coli and in CV1 cells infected with a recombinant SV40. As a third method, the INNO-LIA HCV Ab III assay including E2 synthetic peptides was used.

Cloning and characterization of human urocortin.

Urocortin, a new member of the CRF peptide family which also includes urotensin I and sauvagine, was recently cloned from the rat midbrain. The synthetic replicate of urocortin was found to bind with high affinity to type 1 and type 2 CRF receptors and, based upon its anatomic localization within the brain, was proposed to be a natural ligand for the type 2 CRF receptors. Using a genomic library, we have cloned the human counterpart of rat urocortin and localized it to human chromosome 2.

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and glucocorticoids modulate the expression of type 1 CRF receptor messenger ribonucleic acid in rat anterior pituitary cell cultures.

Previous studies involving radioreceptor and functional assays have shown that CRF and glucocorticoids are able to modulate CRF receptors of the brain and anterior pituitary. In this study, we analyzed the effects of CRF, vasopressin (AVP), dexamethasone (DEX), and corticosterone on the regulation of CRF receptor (CRF-R1) messenger RNA (mRNA) levels in cultured rat anterior pituitary cells. CRF decreased CRF-R1 mRNA levels in a time- and concentration-dependent manner.

Structural modifications of non-mammalian gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) isoforms: design of novel GnRH analogues.

Three natural forms of vertebrate gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) provided the structural basis upon which to design new GnRH agonists: [His5,Trp7,Leu8]-GnRH, dogfish (df) GnRH; [His5,Asn8]-GnRH, catfish (cf) GnRH; and [His5,Trp7,Tyr8]-GnRH, chicken (c) GnRH-II. The synthetic peptides incorporated the position 6 dextro (D)-isomers D-arginine (D-Arg) or D-naphthylalanine (D-Nal) in combination with an ethylamide substitution of position 10. The in vitro potencies for LH and FSH release of these analogues were assessed using static cultures of rat anterior pituitary cells.

Mother-to-child transmission of human T-lymphotropic virus type II.

Objective: To determine the frequency of mother-to-child transmission of human T-lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) and to explore its association with breast-feeding.

Design: Prospective study of children born to a cohort of HTLV-II-infected pregnant women and a cross-sectional study of older siblings of these children.

Methods: Maternal sera were screened with an HTLV-I enzyme immunoassay that detects antibody to both HTLV-I and HTLV-II.

Urocortin, a mammalian neuropeptide related to fish urotensin I and to corticotropin-releasing factor.

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), a peptide first isolated from mammalian brain, is critical in the regulation of the pituitary-adrenal axis, and in complementary stress-related endocrine, autonomic and behavioural responses. Fish urotensin I and amphibian sauvagine were considered to be homologues of CRF until peptides even more closely related to CRF were identified in these same vertebrate classes. We have characterized another mammalian member of the CRF family and have localized its urotensin-like immunoreactivity to, and cloned related complementary DNAs from, a discrete rat midbrain region.

Potent, structurally constrained agonists and competitive antagonists of corticotropin-releasing factor.

Predictive methods, physicochemical measurements, and structure activity relationship studies suggest that corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF; corticoliberin), its family members, and competitive antagonists (resulting from N-terminal deletions) usually assume an alpha-helical conformation when interacting with the CRF receptor(s). To test this hypothesis further, we have scanned the whole sequence of the CRF antagonist [D-Phe12,Nle21,38]r/hCRF-(12-41) (r/hCRF, rat/human CRF; Nle, norleucine) with an i-(i + 3) bridge consisting of the Glu-Xaa-Xaa-Lys scaffold. We have found astressin [cyclo(30-33)[D-Phe12,Nle21,38,Glu30,Lys33]r/ hCRF(12-41)] to be approximately 30 times more potent than [D-Phe12,Nle21,38]r/hCRF-(12-41), our present standard, and 300 times more potent than the corresponding linear analog in an in vitro pituitary cell culture assay.

Dental injuries among schoolchildren aged from 6 to 15, in Rennes (France).

A representative sample of 2020 schoolchildren, aged 6 to 15 years, was randomly selected from 85 state and private schools in Rennes and distributed in 10 groups, according to their age. Type and prevalence of dental injuries were determined in each group, using Ellis & Davey's classification, giving rise to a subset of 345 subjects. Simple enamel fracture was the predominant injury (59.

Transformation of grapevine rootstocks with the coat protein gene of grapevine fanleaf nepovirus.

Control of fanleaf disease induced by the Grapevine Fanleaf Nepovirus (GFLV) today is based on sanitary selection and soil disinfection with nematicides. This way of control is not always efficient and nematicides can be dangerous pollutants. Coat protein (CP) mediated protection could be an attractive alternative.

Identification of a second corticotropin-releasing factor receptor gene and characterization of a cDNA expressed in heart.

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF; corticoliberin) regulates the secretion of corticotropin (ACTH) and beta-endorphin and has a broad range of effects on the nervous, endocrine, reproductive, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and immune systems. Recently, human, rat, and mouse CRF receptors (CRF-R) have been cloned and functionally and anatomically characterized. We report here the cloning of a second CRF-R cDNA (CRF-RB), which encodes a protein of 431 amino acids, which is 16 amino acids longer and 68% similar to the previously cloned CRF-R, CRF-RA.

Ligand requirements of the human corticotropin-releasing factor-binding protein.

CRF-binding protein (CRF-BP), identified as a 37-kilodalton human serum protein, binds human (h) CRF (Kd = 0.17 +/- 0.01 nM) and blocks hCRF's ability to stimulate ACTH release by pituitary cells in vitro.

[Oral and dental health status in a population of schoolchildren aged 5 to 15 years in Wallis].

This study was performed in 1992 with three aims: to assess precisely the prevalence of dental carries in the child population of Wallis Island; to evaluate the need for dental care; and create a database allowing the oro-dental status to be followed and the effectiveness of preventive programmes to be assessed. The total population of the Wallis Islands according to the 1990 (the most recent) census was 8,973 living in twenty villages. The population was classified into four ethnic groups: Wallisian (94.

The thermal biology of the white-tailed rat Mystromys albicaudatus, a cricetine relic in southern temperate African grassland.

This study examines the hypothesis that Mystromys albicaudatus, a cricetine relic in southern Africa, has thermal characteristics typical of a rodent adapted to a cold temperature regime. Metabolic rate (oxygen consumption) of M. albicaudatus was measured using open-flow respirometry at ambient temperatures ranging from 5 degrees C to 35 degrees C.

Evidence for a short-term stimulatory effect of insulin on cholesterol synthesis in newly insulin-treated diabetic patients.

To gain further insight into the effects of insulin on cholesterol synthesis in humans, 19 newly insulin-treated diabetic patients were studied before any insulin treatment (study day 1) and after a few days of optimized glycemic control with a continuous intravenous insulin infusion (study day 2). The patients were divided into two groups according to their clinical characteristics and laboratory disorders. Groups I and II consisted, respectively, of 10 newly diagnosed type I diabetic patients and nine type II diabetic patients with secondary failure to oral antidiabetic drugs.

Distribution of corticotropin-releasing factor receptor mRNA expression in the rat brain and pituitary.

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a major hypophysiotropic peptide regulating pituitary-adrenal response to stress, and it is also widely expressed in the central nervous system. The recent cloning of cDNAs encoding the human and rat CRF receptors has enabled us to map the distribution of cells expressing CRF receptor mRNA in rat brain and pituitary by in situ hybridization. Receptor expression in the forebrain is dominated by widespread signal throughout all areas of the neo-, olfactory, and hippocampal cortices.

Cryoglobulinemia in chronic liver diseases: role of hepatitis C virus and liver damage.

Background/aims: Mixed cryoglobulinemia is frequently associated with liver diseases. The respective role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and liver damage in the pathogenesis of cryoglobulinemia is investigated in this study.

Methods: The prevalence of cryoglobulinemia in 226 consecutive patients with chronic liver diseases (hepatitis C, 127; hepatitis B, 40; other diseases, 59) was studied, and the epidemiological, biological, histological, and virological features in these three groups were analyzed.