Interatrial block predicts atrial fibrillation in patients with carotid and coronary artery disease.

Background: Interatrial block (IAB) has been previously shown to predict atrial fibrillation (AF) in cardiac populations. This study sought to evaluate the relationship between IAB and new-onset AF in a population of patients undergoing clinically indicated coronary angiography who received carotid ultrasonography.

Methods: A population of 355 subjects undergoing coronary angiography and carotid ultrasound were retrospectively studied.

Reduced P-wave Voltage in Lead I is Associated with Development of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: Reduced P-wave voltage in lead 1 (PVL1) has been associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence.This study sought to determine the association between reduced PVL1 and AF in the NSTEMI population and the correlation between reduced PVL1 and interatrial block (IAB)/coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: Data were recorded for clinical, echocardiographic, angiographic, electrocardiographic and outcome variables.

Comparison of the Extent of Coronary Artery Disease in Patients With Versus Without Interatrial Block and Implications for New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation.

Interatrial block (IAB) represents delay or block of conduction between the atria. IAB has been shown to predict the development or recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in various clinical scenarios. Few studies have examined the correlation between coronary artery disease and the prevalence of IAB and its impact on AF.

Maternal thyroid peroxidase antibodies during pregnancy: a marker of impaired child development?

Women with antibodies against the enzyme thyroid peroxidase [TPO-Ab; formerly microsomal antibodies (MsAb)] are at particular risk for developing postpartum thyroid dysfunction; the latter is significantly associated with postpartum depression. Although the negative effect of postpartum maternal depression on child development is well documented, the consequences of elevated titers of TPO-Ab during pregnancy and subsequent postpartum thyroid dysfunction on child development are not known. In a prospective study of a cohort of 293 pregnant women, the occurrence of TPO-Ab during gestation, thyroid dysfunction, and depression was investigated.

Androgen turnover during marathon running.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of prolonged physical stress on peripheral androgen turnover. Venous blood samples were taken from 18 athletes 24 h before finishing a competitive marathon run and directly after running the race. Serum cortisol, testosterone (T), dehydroepiandrosteronesulfate (DHEAS), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and 5 alpha-androstane- 3 alpha, 17 beta-diolglucuronide (3 alpha-AdiolG) were determined and corrected for hemoconcentration.

Rheumatoid factor production by mononuclear cells derived from different sites of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

To investigate the origin of circulating rheumatoid factor (RF) and the relation between RF production at different sites in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), mononuclear cells derived from bone marrow, synovium and peripheral blood of patients with RA were examined for the presence of plasma cells and for their capacity to produce RF and other immunoglobulins in vitro. Analysis of culture supernatants for the presence of immunoglobulins demonstrated that cells derived from bone marrow, synovium and peripheral blood were all found to be capable of producing every immunoglobulin and RF isotype investigated. No significant correlations were found between concentrations of immunoglobulin isotypes produced by cells derived from different sites of one individual.

Microsomal antibodies during gestation in relation to postpartum thyroid dysfunction and depression.

Rationale: Microsomal antibodies have been related to postpartum thyroid dysfunction and postpartum depression.

Objectives: To detect the value of microsomal antibodies during gestation in a random population, as a risk factor for thyroid dysfunction and depression during the postpartum period.

Main Findings: The presence of microsomal antibodies was investigated in a random population of 293 women at 32 weeks' gestation.

IgA rheumatoid factor in mucosal fluids and serum of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: immunological aspects and clinical significance.

In order to gain insight into the production and clinical significance of IgA rheumatoid factor (IgA-RF) in mucosal fluids of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we examined tear fluid, saliva and serum from 80 patients with RA. Significant correlations were found between IgA-RF levels in tear fluid and saliva (P = 0.002, r = 0.

Reactivity and self-association in vivo of a human monoclonal IgG rheumatoid factor.

In order to study the pathogenic potential of IgG rheumatoid factor (IgG-RF) we generated a human monoclonal IgG4-RF-producing cell line, OR-1, by Epstein-Barr virus transformation of B cells derived from a healthy donor. Characterization of OR-1 RF specificity demonstrated that this RF binds only to IgG and not to dsDNA or seven different proteins tested. Although both OR-1 RF and C1q bind to the Fc part of IgG, no influence could be observed of OR-1 RF on the complement-fixing potential of heat-aggregated IgG, suggesting that OR-1 RF does not interfere with C1q binding to IgG.

[Incidence of postpartum thyroid function disorders in The Netherlands].

In a longitudinal study the incidence of postpartum thyroid dysfunction in the Netherlands was investigated in an unselected open population. There were 293 women who were screened by repeated assessments of thyroid function until 34 weeks postpartum at 6-week intervals. Thyroid dysfunction was defined as abnormal TSH values accompanied by abnormal FT4 and (or) FT3 values.

Subclass distribution and size of human IgA rheumatoid factor at mucosal and nonmucosal sites.

Elevated serum levels of IgA, IgA1, and IgA2 rheumatoid factors (RF) were demonstrated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 69%, 73%, and 36%, respectively, of 100 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), whereas fewer than 5% of 100 healthy donor sera contained elevated levels of these RFs. In serum samples from 125 controls with 4 different chronic diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus, ankylosing spondylitis, bronchial asthma, and polyarteritis nodosa), levels of IgA-, IgA1-, and IgA2-RF were found to be increased in 7%, 7%, and 8%, respectively. Comparison of RF levels in samples of serum, synovial fluid (SF), and saliva from RA patients indicated local production of both IgA-RF subclasses in salivary glands and in synovial tissue.

Caries experience and treatment needs of five-year-old caucasian nursery school children in Pretoria.

The caries experience of five-year-old caucasian children at various sites in the world at the present time could be termed moderate to low, and a declining tendency has been noted in the past decade. The aim of this study was to determine the current status and trends of caries experience of 5-year-old caucasian nursery school children in Pretoria. The results from this study, conducted in 1987, showed that 50.

Androstanediolglucuronide: a parameter for peripheral androgen activity before and during therapy with cyproterone acetate.

Serum 5 alpha-androstane-3 alpha,17 beta-diolglucuronide (3 alpha-AdiolG) levels were measured and the degree of hirsutism was scored in female outpatients complaining of excessive hair growth before and during treatment with cyproterone acetate. In a group of 16 patients with idiopathic hirsutism and in a group of 9 patients with either polycystic ovary syndrome and hirsutism or 21-hydroxylase deficiency and hirsutism, the serum 3 alpha-AdiolG levels were significantly increased (p less than 0.01) as compared with the serum 3 alpha-AdiolG level in a control group of 13 apparently healthy women: 3 alpha-AdiolG levels, median (range), being 5.

Significance of rheumatoid factor isotypes in seronegative rheumatoid arthritis.

In a cross-sectional study of 124 patients with definite or classical rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and negative agglutination assays, rheumatoid factor (RF) isotypes were measured using an ELISA technique. Elevated levels of IgA-RF were found in 55 patients (44%), IgG-RF in 99 (80%), and IgM-RF in 20 (16%). The levels of IgA- and IgM-RF correlated with each other (P less than 0.

Decreased fucose incorporation in cell surface carbohydrates is associated with inhibition of invasion.

Invasion of malignant MO4 cells into embryonic chick heart fragments in an organ culture assay was arrested for at least 7 days when the temperature was lowered to 28 degrees C. Prolonged culturing of MO4 cells at 28 degrees C on tissue culture substrates showed no recuperation of fucose incorporation into cell surface glycopeptides. However, invasion was restored after 10 days of organ culture in confrontation with chick heart tissue at 28 degrees C.

Treatment of amiodarone induced hyperthyroidism with potassium perchlorate and methimazole during amiodarone treatment.

To exploit the antiarrhythmic effect of amiodarone when patients develop the side effect of thyrotoxicosis three patients with hyperthyroidism induced by amiodarone were given simultaneously 1 g potassium perchlorate a day for 40 days and a starting dose of 40 mg methimazole a day while they continued to take amiodarone. As hyperthyroidism might have recurred after potassium perchlorate treatment was stopped the dose of methimazole was not reduced until biochemical hypothyroidism (raised thyroid stimulating hormone concentrations) was achieved. The patients became euthyroid (free triiodothyronine concentration returned to normal values) in two to five weeks and hypothyroid in 10 to 14 weeks.

Establishment and characterization of long-term primary mouse urothelial cell cultures.

Long-term mouse urothelial cell cultures were routinely established from explants of neonatal mouse bladders. Foci of proliferating cells could be observed one week after the initiation of the explant cultures. These persisted throughout the culture period and up to one year.

Modification of cell surface carbohydrates and invasive behavior by an alkyl lysophospholipid.

The effect of the alkyl lysophospholipid racemic-1-O-octadecyl-2-O-methyl glycero-3-phosphocholine on the expression of cell surface carbohydrates of four matched pairs of normal and malignant cells was studied using chromatographic techniques. After treatment with alkyl lysophospholipid, glycopeptides proteolytically derived from normal and malignant cells displayed a shift in the size distribution profiles obtained by gel filtration. These drug-induced changes in molecular weight distribution were expressed most strongly in untransformed cells and resembled the carbohydrate alterations found after their malignant transformation.

Mitogenic and antimitogenic effects of cholera toxin-mediated cyclic AMP levels in 3T3 cells.

The effect of time-controlled exposures to cholera toxin (CT) on intracellular levels of cyclic AMP (cAMP) and on the proliferative response of serum-stimulated 3T3 cells was investigated. Continuous exposure to CT caused up to 8-fold raises in cAMP content and inhibited DNA replication by delaying G1-S transition and by reducing the fraction of cells committed to DNA replication. In contrast, short exposures to CT during G0-G1 transition increased the fraction of cells responding to serum stimulation and potentiated the serum-induced morphological changes in the cell monolayer.

Specific inhibition of human natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity by sialic acid and sialo-oligosaccharides.

We have tried to identify carbohydrate structures involved in recognition and/or lysis of K562 target cells by human natural killer (NK) cells. Inhibition studies were performed with mono-, di- and trisaccharides, and with glycopeptides and glycoproteins of known carbohydrate composition. When tested with various monosaccharides, lysis of K562 cells was inhibited only by N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc).

Effect of cancer-related and drug-induced alterations in surface carbohydrates on the invasive capacity of mouse and rat cells.

The effect of alterations in cell surface carbohydrates on invasion of mouse and rat cells into embryonic chick heart fragments in organ culture was studied. Matching pairs of malignant and nonmalignant cells, including all categories of carcinogenic induction (i.e.