Secondary psoas abscess twenty-seven years after nephrectomy.

Abscesses of the psoas muscle are due to a hematogenous dissemination, to the spread of infection from adjacent intestinal structures, to osteomyelitis of the spine or to tuberculous infection of a disc space. In contrast, psoas abscesses related to the urological tract have only been described on exception. The present report focuses on a right psoas abscess which developed 27 years after a nephrectomy.

Femoropopliteal bypass with a compliant, composite polyurethane/Dacron graft: short-term results of a multicentre trial.

A new, compliant, highly porous, non-woven, polyurethane vascular prosthesis has been developed in an effort to improve on the performance of currently available prosthetic grafts for infrainguinal reconstruction. From April 1990 to August 1991, 57 femoropopliteal bypass grafts were implanted in 47 patients by surgeons at five university centres. In all instances, the saphenous vein was unavailable, unusable or reserved for use elsewhere.

Increased yield in GST-P-positive liver pre-neoplastic foci induced by DENA or ENU in rats pre-treated with estradiol or tamoxifen.

We investigated the mechanisms by which partial hepatectomy (PH) increases the ability of chemical hepatocarcinogens to induce pre-neoplastic liver foci. Comparison of the effects of pre-treatment with PH, estradiol (E2) or tamoxifen (TAM) on the yield in glutathione-S-transferase(GST-P)-positive preneoplastic foci in rat liver induced by subsequent treatment with ethylnitrosourea (ENU) or diethylnitrosamine (DENA) showed that pre-treatment with E2 increased the yield in foci induced by subsequent treatment with ENU or DENA, as compared with that in animals not pre-treated, the increase being of similar magnitude with either carcinogen. Compared with that of PH, the effect of the hormone was much more pronounced than would be expected from the relative mitogenic effect of the hormonal and surgical pre-treatments if the mitotic rate were the cause.

Protein and steroid levels in embryonic cavities in early human pregnancy.

Biochemical analysis including concentrations of urea, creatinine, human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG), oestradiol, progesterone, and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and the affinity of AFP for Concanavalin A (Con A)-Sepharose were performed on samples of exocoelomic and amniotic fluids retrieved by transvaginal puncture and maternal serum from 25 normal pregnancies between 5 and 12 weeks of gestation. Biochemical assays showed that during this period of gestation no differences in urea concentration were found between fluids from the three compartments, whereas creatinine concentration decreased significantly (P < 0.001) from maternal serum to amniotic fluid.

Electrochemical behavior of zopiclone.

The electrochemical properties of zopiclone, an anxiolytic and hypnotic drug, have been investigated by different techniques. The compound is reduced in two 2-electron steps in the pH range 0-12. The first step, which corresponds to the reduction of the pyrazine ring, is reversible in acidic and neutral solutions.

Identification of the cellular protein encoded by the human Wilms' tumor (WT1) gene.

A putative tumor-suppressor gene (wt1) located at chromosome 11p13 and involved in Wilms' tumor development has recently been identified as a zinc finger polypeptide-encoding gene. The purpose of this study was to characterize the protein encoded by the human wt1 gene. The region spanning the entire zinc finger domain was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subcloned in the pATH 3 expression vector.

Influence of human chorionic gonadotrophin, oestradiol and progesterone on uteroplacental and corpus luteum blood flow in normal early pregnancy.

A transvaginal colour and pulsed Doppler study was performed on 44 women with normal pregnancies between 5 and 16 weeks of gestation. Maternal levels of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG), free alpha-HCG subunit, free beta-HCG subunit, 17 beta-oestradiol and progesterone were determined in sera obtained at the time of Doppler examination. Uterine peak systolic velocity (PSV) and alpha-HCG and 17 beta-oestradiol levels increased significantly (P < 0.

Comparison of two extraction procedures for urinary organic acids prior to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

We have compared a new isolation procedure for urinary organic acids using strong anion-exchange columns with a solvent partition (ethyl acetate) method. Urinary samples from two healthy children and from nine children with organic acidurias were analysed by both procedures. Although the solid-phase extraction is more efficient for polyhydroxy acids, some polar acids, and some glycine derivatives, clinically important compounds such as oxalic, methylcitric, pyruvic, glyoxylic and 2-ketoglutaric acids, are not recovered or are only poorly recovered.

Multifetal pregnancy reduction: comparison of obstetrical results with spontaneous twin gestations.

Thirty-two multifetal pregnancies were reduced to twin gestations. Our control group was composed of 32 spontaneous twin gestations. The comparison of these two groups did not show that the procedure altered obstetrical results as far as duration of gestation, birth weight and rate of dismaturity are concerned.

Apoptosis, cell proliferation and c-ras expression during and after cyproterone acetate (CPA) induced liver hyperplasia.

Cell proliferation and cell death appear in several systems as mutually exclusive, which raises the assumption that a same factor or secondary signal(s) might exert opposite control on the two processes. To test this assumption we investigated the time-course evolution of the S phase and apoptotic indices in rat liver during cyproterone acetate (CPA) induced hyperplasia and during the recovery of normal liver mass provoked, respectively, by cyproterone acetate (CPA) treatment and withdrawal. The levels of c-myc and c-ras transcripts were also followed in view of the indications of a positive role of these oncogenes in proliferation.

Biochemical composition of exocoelomic fluid in early human pregnancy.

Exocoelomic fluid (N = 25) and amniotic fluid (AF) (N = 17) were retrieved by transvaginal puncture from 30 normal pregnancies being terminated for psychosocial reasons between 5-13 weeks of gestation. Biochemical analyses were performed on each sample including concentrations of urea, total protein, potassium, sodium, creatinine, hCG, and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). The results were compared with values in maternal serum obtained at the same time.

Kinetics of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate generation in dog-thyroid primary cultured cells stimulated by carbachol.

The action of carbachol on the generation of inositol trisphosphate and tetrakisphosphate isomers was investigated in dog-thyroid primary cultured cells radiolabelled with [3H]inositol. The separation of the inositol phosphate isomers was performed by reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography. The structure of inositol phosphates co-eluting with inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate [Ins(1,4,5)P3] and inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate [Ins(1,3,4,5)P4] standards was determined by enzymatic degradation using a purified Ins(1,4,5)P3/Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 5-phosphatase.

Effects of 17 beta-estradiol on c-myc and c-Ha-ras expression in the liver of ovariectomized female rats.

Twenty four hours after i.p. injection of 17 beta-estradiol (E2) (500 micrograms/100 g b.

Oxcarbazepine disposition: preliminary observations in patients.

We describe a preliminary retrospective study based on the concentration of two hydroxylated metabolites of oxcarbazepine (OCZ), a new anticonvulsant substance, measured in the plasma of 15 patients with epilepsy. Their ages ranged from 8 to 68 years, 6 of them also received phenobarbital and/or phenytoin as co-medication. The concentration of 10-hydroxy-10,11-dihydrocarbamazepine (HCBZ) or of trans-10,11-dihydroxy-10,11-dihydrocarbamazepine (DHCBZ), the metabolites measured, are significantly correlated with the dose of OCZ (p less than 0.

Adsorptive stripping voltammetry applied to drug analysis: a powerful tool.

A brief review of the principles and instrumentation of adsorptive stripping voltammetry is presented and the advantages of the method are described. As for many highly sensitive techniques applied to the analysis of complex media, severe interferences may occur. Different approaches can be used to circumvent these problems, exemplified by several applications in biological fluids.