[A man with painful shins].

A 55-year-old man was evaluated at the outpatient rheumatology clinic with painful shins since 6 weeks. He also had a maculopapular rash on his trunk. Bone scintigraphy showed bilateral tibia periostitis.

Comparison of 2 Dosages of Intraarticular Triamcinolone for the Treatment of Knee Arthritis: Results of a 12-week Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

Objective: To determine whether a double dose of intraarticular triamcinolone acetonide is more effective for knee arthritis than a 40-mg dose.

Methods: In this 12-week randomized controlled clinical trial, 40 mg and 80 mg of intraarticular triamcinolone acetonide were compared in patients with knee arthritis. Evaluated variables included a Likert burden scale, visual analog scale pain scale, degree of arthritis activity, presence of swelling, and presence of functional limitation.

Wild-type p53-function is not required for hyperthermia-enhanced cytotoxicity of cisplatin.

The objective was to test the hypothesis that wild-type p53-function is required for the enhancement of the cytotoxicity of cis-diammine-dichloroplatinum(II) (cDDP) cytotoxicity by hyperthermia (HT). Human colorectal carcinoma cells (RKO) with wild-type p53-function and transfectants with HPV16-E6 or with a dominant negative mutant p53 were used. Cells were treated with HT (60 min at 41 degrees C, 43 degrees C, 45 degrees C: HT41, HT43, HT45).

Overexpression of components of the Frizzled-Dishevelled cascade results in apoptotic cell death, mediated by beta-catenin.

Frizzled (fz) functions as a 7-transmembrane receptor in the Frizzled-Dishevelled signal transduction cascade. It is involved in architectural control of development in species as divergent as Drosophila and vertebrates. Regulation of multicellular architecture requires control of cell alignment, but also involves an equilibrium among cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis.

Perceived control by "powerful others" in paranormal healers.

49 paranormal healers working by laying-on of hands (direct healing) and healing at a distance were compared with 56 nurses and a control group of 73 randomly selected persons on their locus of control and especially on the subscale Powerful Others of Levenson. The paranormal healers scored external in locus of control, and their scores differed significantly from those of the other two groups tested on the Powerful Others subscale. This finding may be associated with the dependent position of paranormal healers since their profession is tolerated by medical doctors and the law.

Demographic differences in coping with uncertainty about the future.

Age, gender, and regional differences in the responses of a Dutch population to the Prediction of Future Events Scale (Tobacyk, Nagot, & Mitchell, 1989) were explored. The factor structure of the scale was found to be identical to that in the U.S.

Laryngeal framework surgery for voice improvement.

Dysphonias resulting from incomplete glottis closure or inadequate vocal fold tension are eligible for phonosurgical correction. Many different phonosurgical techniques have been used for these indications, but the disadvantages associated with augmentation of the vocal folds by means of intracordal injections and the favourable reports concerning laryngeal framework surgery, have lead to a change in treatment policy in many centers. Most phonosurgeons presently advocate laryngeal framework surgery as the first treatment of choice.

Animal models for reactive amyloidosis.

For over 70 years animal experiments have been performed to elucidate the pathogenesis of reactive amyloidosis and to investigate the formation of the beta-pleated sheet-rich amyloid fibrils in general. In appropriate species, primarily rodents like mouse and hamster, amyloid is formed after stimulation with amyloid-inducing injections after a lag phase (secondary or reactive amyloid, AA amyloid). For the formation of this AA amyloid, elevated values in blood of its precursor protein, SAA, is the first prerequisite.

Information-processing styles of paranormal healers.

49 paranormal healers working by laying-on-of-hands (direct healing) and distance healing were compared with 56 nursing staff and a control group of 73 on the information-processing styles of field-dependence and reflexivity-impulsivity. Apparently paranormal healers scored as more field-dependent than the other groups which is consistent with observations of paranormal healers when working. No differences appeared among groups on reflexivity-impulsivity.

Experimental amyloidosis in the hamster: correlation between hamster female protein levels and amyloid deposition.

Reactive systemic AA amyloidosis was induced in female, male and castrated male hamsters either by repeated injection of casein or by injection of amyloid enhancing factor (AEF) followed by casein. The circulating concentrations of serum amyloid A protein (SAA), the putative precursor of the AA amyloid fibril protein, and of female protein (FP), the pentraxin homologue of serum amyloid P component (SAP) of other species, were measured and correlated with the speed and extent of amyloid deposition. The SAA responses of the three groups of hamsters were indistinguishable in both experiments but, in confirmation of previous reports, castrated males had FP levels higher than those of control males though still lower than in females.

The serum amyloid A stimulating factor (SAASF) in the hamster.

The acute phase SAA response was studied in hamsters. An SAA-stimulating factor (SAASF) was detected in the early acute phase blood plasma of hamsters which were subcutaneously injected with casein-LPS. The latter is routinely used in our laboratory for amyloid induction in hamsters.

C-reactive protein in dogs.

Serum concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) in dogs with various diseases or undergoing various procedures were measured by specific immunoassay. In 20 healthy dogs from various sources, values were all less than 5 mg/L, but in 22 healthy dogs from a single source, values ranged from less than 5 mg/L in 14 dogs and from 8 to 67 mg/L in 8 dogs. Increased concentrations of serum CRP were attained 24 hours after injection of casein (n = 9; median 188 mg/L), ovariohysterectomy (n = 11; median, 144 mg/L), or elective, nonacute orthopedic surgery (n = 10; median, 83 mg/L).

Amyloid-enhancing factor (AEF) in the pathogenesis of AA-amyloidosis in the hamster.

AA-amyloidosis was induced in hamsters receiving amyloid-enhancing factor (AEF) by daily subcutaneous injection with either an aged casein solution or casein supplemented with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Both amyloid inducers gave similar results with respect to amyloid development in spleen, liver and kidneys and to serum amyloid A (SAA) concentrations and plasma cathepsin D activities. AEF was isolated from amyloid-containing tissue by the method described by Hol et al.

Activities of lysosomal enzymes and levels of serum amyloid A (SAA) in blood plasma of hamsters during casein induction of AA-amyloidosis.

Casein-induced amyloidosis in hamsters was found to be of the AA-type, as shown by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and amino acid analysis of the major low-molecular weight component of the amyloid fibrils. Levels of serum amyloid A (SAA) and the activities of cathepsin D, beta-N-glucosaminidase, serine esterase, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) were measured in the blood plasma during induction of amyloidosis. During the pre-amyloid phase an increase was observed in all these parameters.

Isolation and characterization of C-reactive protein from the dog.

Using calcium-dependent affinity chromatography on Sepharose-bearing, covalently-coupled pneumococcal C-polysaccharide, a protein was isolated from the serum of dogs that had undergone general anaesthesia and major surgery. This protein was confirmed as the canine analogue of C-reactive protein (CRP) in other species by virtue of its electron microscopic appearance, subunit composition and behaviour as an acute phase reactant. Dog CRP had an apparent molecular weight of approximately 100,000 and was composed of five subunits of approximately 20,000 MW each.