Severe acute necrotizing pancreatitis associated with lipoprotein lipase deficiency in childhood.

An 11-year-old girl with lipoprotein lipase deficiency experienced recurring episodes of abdominal pain. She initially underwent appendectomy for suspected appendicitis; however, the appendix was normal. Pancreatitis was subsequently identified as the cause of her pain.

Stent implantation in acute myocardial infarction using a heparin-coated stent: a pilot study as a preamble to a randomized trial comparing balloon angioplasty and stenting.

Preliminary experience with primary stenting in myocardial infarction has suggested a greater benefit in clinical outcome than has been obtained with direct balloon angioplasty. However, subacute thrombosis (SAT) remains a limitation for this new mode of therapy. In the BENESTENT II Pilot and main trials, the incidence of SAT with the heparin-coated Palmaz-Schatz stent was only 0.

Complication rates and risk factors of 5802 transrectal ultrasound-guided sextant biopsies of the prostate within a population-based screening program.

Objectives: To evaluate the complication rates and possible risk factors of biopsy of the prostate, with the aim of improving patient counseling and the safety of the procedure. Biopsy of the prostate has to be a relatively safe procedure and the participants have to be well informed about the possible complications.

Methods: Within the biopsy protocol of the Rotterdam section of the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer, we evaluated 5802 transrectal ultrasound-guided systematic sextant biopsies.

Mutational and transcriptional analysis of the Campylobacter jejuni flagellar biosynthesis gene flhB.

A Campylobacter jejuni gene encoding a homologue of the flagellar biosynthesis gene flhB was identified downstream of the peroxide stress defence gene ahpC. Insertional mutagenesis of the flhB gene rendered C. jejuni non-motile, with most cells aflagellate, although a small number expressed truncated flagella.

Structure of Campylobacter jejuni lipopolysaccharides determines antiganglioside specificity and clinical features of Guillain-Barré and Miller Fisher patients.

Ganglioside mimicry in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) fraction of Campylobacter jejuni isolated from Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) patients was compared with isolates from patients with an uncomplicated enteritis. The antibody response to C. jejuni LPS and gangliosides in neuropathy patients and controls was compared as well.

Early prenatal sonographic diagnosis and follow-up of Jeune syndrome.

Jeune syndrome or asphyxiating thoracic dysplasia is an autosomal recessive osteochondrodysplasia. It is one of the six short-rib (polydactyly) syndromes. The disease has a wide spectrum of manifestations, ranging from a latent to a mild or lethal condition.

Acquired hemophilia A in women postpartum: clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment.

Acquired hemophilia A in women postpartum is diagnosed by a prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), low plasma levels of coagulant factor VIII, and the detection of an inhibitor against factor VIII in the Bethesda assay. Effective treatment of bleeding symptoms should be based upon the clinical situation and depends on the inhibitor characteristics against human and porcine factor VIII. Immunosuppression usually does not significantly affect the disappearance of the factor VIII inhibitor antibody.

Trends in the curative treatment of localized prostate cancer after the introduction of prostate-specific antigen: data from the Rotterdam Cancer Registry.

Objective: To investigate changes in the incidence and treatment of prostate cancer over the period in which new diagnostic tools were introduced and the attitude towards treatment was changing.

Patients And Methods: Information on the extent of disease and treatment of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer within the Rotterdam region was retrieved from the Rotterdam Cancer Registry.

Results: In the period 1989-95, 4344 patients were diagnosed with prostate cancer and the age-standardized incidence increased from 62 to 125 per 100 000 men.

Appropriate 3-dimensional echocardiography data acquisition interval for left ventricular volume quantification: implications for clinical application.

Unlabelled: Volume-rendered 3-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) acquired with small imaging intervals has been validated for accurate left ventricular (LV) volume measurement. However, its clinical application is often impeded by the lengthy acquisition time. The aim of this study was to examine the accuracy of LV volume measurement from 3DE data acquired at different intervals.

Attachment sites for particles in the urinary tract.

The adherence of crystals to the surface of renal tubule epithelial cells is one of the initial events in the development of nephrolithiasis. The accumulation of crystalline material in the kidney will sooner or later result in the formation of a stone. Calcium crystals occasionally are present in the urine of even healthy individuals, and mechanisms responsible for the selective attachment of crystals to the tubular epithelium of stone-forming individuals must exist.

Usefulness of three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiographic imaging for evaluating narrowing in the coronary arteries.

Coronary artery (CA) imaging has relied on invasive techniques for diagnosing stenotic lesions. Two-dimensional techniques are limited in obtaining optimal longitudinal views of all segments of the CA because of their spatial orientations. Three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) may produce any desired cross-sectional views and reconstruct 3-dimensional images from a volumetric data set.

Periconceptional use of folic acid amongst women of advanced maternal age.

Between February 1994 and February 1997 a group of 881 women completed a questionnaire on the use of folic acid. During the study period the percentage of women who had been informed about the benefits of folic acid rose from 41 per cent to 90 per cent and the percentage taking supplementation rose from 18 per cent to 60 per cent. Nevertheless, few women used folic acid at the right time and dose and although 90 per cent would have been willing to follow recommendations, correct use did not exceed 25 per cent.

Three-dimensional ultrasound study of carotid arteries before and after endarterectomy; analysis of stenotic lesions and surgical impact on the vessel.

Background And Purpose: It has been proved that symptomatic patients with severe carotid stenosis benefit from endarterectomy. Currently used methods for quantitation of the severity of carotid stenosis have limitations, and the impact of endarterectomy on the operated region of carotid artery remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of a 3-D ultrasound system for quantitation of stenotic lesions and to evaluate changes in regional vessel volume and cross-sectional area after carotid endarterectomy.

Rhinocerebral mycosis in immunocompromised patients. A case report and review of the literature.

Continuous awareness of systemic mycosis in immunocompromised patients is important. Early diagnosis is based on (direct) histologal examination and CT scan. Since treatment should start as early as possible, there is usually no time to await results of tissue cultures.

D-lysine reduction of indium-111 octreotide and yttrium-90 octreotide renal uptake.

Unlabelled: Indium-111-DTPA-octreotide (111In-DTPAOC) is used successfully for imaging somatostatin receptor-positive lesions. A new and promising application is its use in peptide-receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). For the latter purpose, [DOTA0,D-Phe1,Tyr3]octreotide (DOTATOC), which is suitable for stable radiolabeling with 90Y, is probably even more promising.

Recanalization of total coronary occlusions using a laser guidewire (the European TOTAL Surveillance Study).

The success rates of coronary angioplasty for the treatment of chronic total occlusions are less favorable than for coronary stenosis. Therefore, a new laser guidewire (LW) was designed to facilitate the crossing of chronic total occlusions. We report on the results of a European multicenter surveillance study, evaluating the laser guidewire performance.

Widely used, commercially available Chlamydia pneumoniae antigen contaminated with mycoplasma.

Mycoplasma contamination was detected in a widely used commercially available Chlamydia pneumoniae antigen preparation. Contamination was studied with a mycoplasma group-specific 16S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequence analysis. Several lots of the purified C.

Stromal inhibition of epithelial cell growth in the prostate; overview of an experimental study.

The paracrine influence of prostatic stroma on the proliferation of prostatic epithelial cells was investigated. Using a double-layer soft agar assay it was demonstrated that stromal cells from the human prostate inhibit the anchorage-independent growth of the prostatic tumor epithelial cell lines PC-3 and LNCaP. Anchorage-dependent growth was inhibited too as was shown in the semi-automated colorimetric MTT test performed on multiwell plates.

Screening for prostate cancer.

Over the past few decades it has become clear that prostate cancer is a serious health problem in elderly men. The population of most Western countries is ageing and the number of deaths from prostate cancer patients is increasing. The most promising way to deal with this problem seems to be through early detection of the disease, which can be accomplished through case finding and screening of the male population at risk.

Detection of PCR inhibitors in cervical specimens by using the AMPLICOR Chlamydia trachomatis assay.

To determine that susceptibility of AMPLICOR Chlamydia trachomatis PCR to inhibitory factors possibly present in cervical specimens, we obtained cervical specimens from 200 gynecology patients attending our outpatient clinic. The prevalence of C. trachomatis infection was 4.

Expression of lipocortins in human bronchial epithelial cells: effects of IL-1beta , TNF-alpha, LPS and dexamethasone.

In this study, we investigated the expression of lipocortin I and II (annexin I and I in the human bronchial epithelium, both in vivo and in vitro. A clear expression of lipocortin I and II protein was found in the epithelium in sections of bronchial tissue. In cultured human bronchial epithelial cells we demonstrated the expression of lipocortin I and II mRNA and protein using Northern blotting, FACScan analysis and ELISA.