The early bactericidal activity of rifabutin measured by sputum viable counts in Hong Kong patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Previously untreated patients with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis were randomly allocated to treatment with 600, 300, 150 or 75 mg doses of rifabutin (LM427, ansamycin), 600, 300 or 150 mg of rifampicin, 300 mg isoniazid or to no drug daily for 2 days. The fall in viable counts of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum collections during the 2 days, termed the early bactericidal activity (EBA), was estimated from counts of colony-forming units (cfu) on selective 7H-11 agar medium. The EBA for rifabutin ranged from -0.

Usefulness of immunotherapy in patients with severe summer hay fever uncontrolled by antiallergic drugs.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of immunotherapy (hyposensitisation) in patients with severe summer hay fever.

Design: A randomised, double blind, placebo controlled study of a biologically standardised depot grass pollen extract.

Setting: Allergy clinic, Royal Brompton and National Heart Hospital, London.

Q waves in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in relation to the distribution and severity of right and left ventricular hypertrophy.

The cause of abnormal Q waves in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy remains unclear. Myocardial wall thickness was assessed by two-dimensional echocardiography at 8 left ventricular and 10 right ventricular sites in 67 patients (mean age 40 years) with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and the findings were analyzed in relation to the presence of abnormal Q waves on the 12 lead rest electrocardiogram (ECG). Nineteen (28%) of the 67 patients had abnormal Q waves.

The effectiveness of external beam radiotherapy for acromegaly is not affected by previous pituitary ablative treatments.

Thirty-three acromegalic patients were treated with radiotherapy and followed up for at least 3 years (mean 6 years, range 3 to 12). Seventeen had not had previous pituitary ablative therapy and 16 had. The mean GH level for these two groups before radiotherapy was comparable at 98 and 119 mIU/l.

The relationship between regional variations in blood flow and histology in a transplanted rat fibrosarcoma.

The regional distribution of blood flow to the LBDS1 fibrosarcoma, transplanted into the subcutaneous site in rats, was investigated using the readily diffusible compound 14C-iodo-antipyrine (14C-IAP). Quantitative autoradiography was used to establish absolute values of specific blood flow F for 100 X 100 X 20 microns adjacent tissue volumes of the unperturbed tumour. Mean blood flow to whole tumours was found to decrease with increase in tumour size.