Renal transplantation following renal failure due to urological disorders.

Background: Renal allograft outcome, during an 8 year period (1985-1992), has been assessed in 56 renal transplants performed in 55 patients who had end-stage renal failure as a consequence of urological abnormalities. The abnormalities were: primary vesicoureteric reflux (VUR) or renal dysplasia (26 patients); posterior urethral valves (PUV) (15); neuropathic bladders (6); vesico-ureteric tuberculosis (5); bladder exstrophy (3); and prune belly syndrome (1). Six patients had augmented bladders, and eight transplants were performed in seven patients with urinary diversions.

Limbs: a model for pattern formation within the vertebrate body plan.

Giant strides have been made in identifying the molecular basis of limb development. The four main phases are initiation of the limb bud, specification of limb pattern, differentiation of tissues and shaping of the limb, and growth of the miniature limb to the adult size. We will focus on the exciting advances that have been made in initiation and specification of limb pattern.

The effect of the ectoderm on the dorsoventral pattern of epidermis, muscles and joints in the developing chick leg: a new model.

In order to investigate the effect of the ectoderm on the pattern of mesodermal components in the chick leg, the ectoderm of the early limb bud was dorsoventrally reversed with respect to the mesoderm. The dorsoventral pattern was assessed by examination of the muscles, skeleton and epidermal differentiation. The earlier the stage at which the recombinants were made, the more complete was the reversal of the dorsoventral pattern of the limb mesoderm to conform with the ectoderm, and distal regions showed more complete reversals than proximal ones.

The development and characterization of an in vitro system to study strain-induced cell deformation in isolated chondrocytes.

A model system has been developed to investigate cell deformation of chondrocytes in vitro. Chondrocytes were isolated from bovine articular cartilage by enzymatic digestion and seeded in agarose (type VII) at a final concentration of 2 x 10(6) cells.ml-1 in 3% agarose.

Circadian body temperatures and the effects of a cold stress in elderly and young subjects.

To determine whether there is a decrement in normal resting body temperature with age, 11 healthy elderly and 11 young adults were studied together for 48 h in warm (21 degrees C) ambient conditions. The resting levels and daytime rhythms of urine and oral temperature were similar, but night-time body temperature fell to a lower value in the young. There were time-of-day effects of increasing skin temperature and metabolic rate in both groups with resting levels higher in the young.

Effect of FGF on gene expression in chick limb bud cells in vivo and in vitro.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are central to signaling in the developing limb. FGF-2 and FGF-4 can substitute for the apical ectodermal ridge to maintain both limb bud outgrowth and polarizing region signaling. Here, we have repeated and extended previous studies and investigated local effects of the apical ectodermal ridge on gene expression of Msx-1, 5' members of the HoxD complex, and Bmp-2 in the limb bud mesenchyme and tested whether members of the FGF family can substitute for the ridge to maintain their expression patterns.

Mesenteric venous thrombosis due to coagulation deficiencies - a case report.

Mesenteric venous thrombosis is a rather rare condition posing diagnostic problems and very often with an obscure etiology. Recently, various coagulation deficiencies were found as the main etiologic factor. A case of a 75-year-old man with acute abdomen is presented.

Vertebrate limb development.

The recent identification of Wnt-7a as a signalling molecule in dorsal/ventral patterning means that we now have a known signal for control of each of the three limb axes. Fibroblast growth factors can allow proximal/distal patterning and Sonic hedgehog gene expression signals anterior/posterior patterning. Networks of these signals not only coordinate cell responses, but also mutually maintain each other.

The association of combined alpha and beta fibrinogen genotype on plasma fibrinogen levels in smokers and non-smokers.

Objective: To determine in healthy men: (1) whether an extended genotype of the fibrinogen gene cluster using the G/A-455 and the BclI polymorphism of the beta fibrinogen gene and TaqI of the alpha fibrinogen gene explains a significantly larger proportion of variance in plasma fibrinogen levels in either smokers or non-smokers than a single polymorphism (G/A-455); (2) whether there is any evidence for genotype-smoking interaction in the determination of fibrinogen levels.

Design: A cross sectional study of healthy, white men recruited at the screening for entry into the Thrombosis Prevention Trial.

Setting: The subjects were drawn from four general practices in the United Kingdom.

Alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenoreceptor actions of phentolamine and prazosin on breathing movements in fetal sheep in utero.

1. We studied the effects of systemic administration of the alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenoreceptor antagonist phentolamine and the selective alpha 1-adrenoreceptor antagonist prazosin on fetal breathing movements (FBM) and electrocortical activity (ECoG) in fetal sheep. In one group of fetuses (group I; n = 7) the effects of phentolamine were measured during normoxia and hypoxia.

The social disablement of men in hostels for homeless people. II. A comparison with patients from long-stay wards.

Background: Some authors have argued that hostels for homeless people are increasingly taking over the role of psychiatric long-stay wards, and that this creates a problem. We set out to test this hypothesis.

Method: The social disablement of a random sample of 101 homeless men, described in Part 1, was compared with that of a sample of 66 psychiatric patients from a long-stay ward.

The social disablement of men in hostels for homeless people. I. Reliability and prevalence.

Background: Studies of mental health problems of homeless people have used diagnosis as the sole measure of these problems. In this study, the feasibility and reliability of measuring social disablement in the psychiatric assessment of homeless people was investigated.

Method: A random sample of 101 homeless men living in four long-stay hostels were assessed for their social disablement by the Social Behaviour Schedule (SBS).

Fibroblast growth factors induce additional limb development from the flank of chick embryos.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) act as signals in the developing limb and can maintain proliferation of limb bud mesenchyme cells. Remarkably, beads soaked in FGF-1, FGF-2, or FGF-4 and placed in the presumptive flank of chick embryos induce formation of ectopic limb buds, which can develop into complete limbs. The entire flank can produce additional limbs, but generally wings are formed anteriorly and legs posteriorly.

Attachment and proliferation of osteoblasts and fibroblasts on biomaterials for orthopaedic use.

Using a variety of cell types, cell attachment and growth was studied on prospective (polyethersulphone (PES) and polyetheretherketone) and currently used (titanium 318 alloy, cobalt chrome molybdenum alloy and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)) orthopaedic biomaterials. Proliferation of fibroblasts and osteoblasts was measured using incorporation of tritiated thymidine into total DNA. Attachment of cells was assessed by indirect immunofluorescent labelling of vinculin, a component of the cell's focal adhesion plaque.

Low adrenal androgens in men with HIV infection and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry we have studied the ratios of steroid metabolites and 24-hour urinary steroid excretion rates in 37 men of whom 14 where positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; group A), while 9 had acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS; group B). Controls were sick non-AIDS patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) and healthy volunteers. In groups A and B and the ICU controls, there was a reduction in the excretion of adrenal androgen metabolites and a reduced ratio of 5 alpha to 5 beta androgen metabolites.

Selective expression of V beta families by T cells in the blood and salivary gland infiltrate of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: The T cell infiltration of the salivary gland of patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) has been implicated in the pathogenic process of the disease. We examined the representation of V beta subsets in the blood and salivary tissue of patients with SS.

Methods: Circulating T cells from 12 patients and paired samples of blood and labial salivary glands obtained from 8 patients were studied.

Proteoglycan depletion alone is not sufficient to stimulate proteoglycan synthesis in cultured bovine cartilage explants.

Articular cartilage comprises a small number of cells embedded within a matrix primarily composed of collagen and proteoglycan (PG). The functional integrity of the tissue is highly dependent on the maintenance of matrix structure, which, in turn, is controlled by the chondrocytes. In normal tissue there is a slow but steady turnover of matrix components such that their levels remain constant.

Growth inhibition of human endothelial cells by human recombinant tumor necrosis factor alpha and interferon-gamma.

We investigated the effect of recombinant tumor necrosis factor-alpha (rTNF-alpha) on the proliferative response of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) to normal human serum (NHS), in the absence or the presence of interferon (IFN)-gamma. rTNF-alpha significantly impaired NHS-stimulated HUVEC growth at a dose as low as 0.1 U/ml.

Disadvantage in physically disabled adults: an assessment of the causation and selection hypotheses.

An area survey of West Beirut provided the opportunity to study whether disadvantage among people with physical disabilities is attributed to social class of origin (causation) or is due to the social consequences of disability (selection and drift). Adults who were disabled from poliomyelitis in childhood were compared to West Beirut residents and to age and sex matched sibling controls. The typical finding of a substantially greater proportion of disabled people in the lower social class groups was noted.