Changes in acromial morphology with age.

It has not been determined whether acromial morphology is an innate anatomic characteristic or whether it represents a degenerative process with type I acromions changing to type III acromions over time. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of the three types of acromial morphology with respect to age. The acromial morphology of 272 patients (176 patients with no signs of mechanical impingement or rotator cuff disease and 96 patients with mechanical impingement) was determined by supraspinatus outlet radiographs.

Activation of cells of cochlear nucleus by electrical stimulation of lateral hypothalamus.

Effects of electrical stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus (HS) were examined in 67 cells of the dorsal or ventral cochlear nucleus. Both short latency activity in the 10-20 ms post-stimulus period and late activity in the > 20 ms post-stimulus period were elicited in response to HS. A greater percentage of units exhibited the short latency response in dorsal (89%) than ventral (68%) cochlear nucleus.

Alcohol and head injury: an issue revisited.

The pathophysiologic changes associated with acute and chronic alcohol exposure in the setting of traumatic brain injury are complex. Experimental data indicate that ethanol intoxication can exacerbate brain injury through several mechanisms including hemodynamic and respiratory depression, blood-brain barrier disruption, and derangements in hemostasis. Alcohol, however, is also a potent inhibitor of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated excitotoxicity, and thus is neuroprotective.

bcl-2 expression decreases methyl mercury-induced free-radical generation and cell killing in a neural cell line.

Methyl mercury neurotoxicity is associated with a broad range of neuropathologic and biochemical disturbances which include induction of oxidative injury. Treatment of the hypothalamic neural cell line GT1-7 with 10 microM methyl mercury (MeHg) for 3 h resulted in increased formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and decreased levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), associated with 20% cell death. Cells transfected with an expression construct for the anti-apoptotic proto-oncogene, bcl-2, displayed attenuated ROS induction and negligible cell death.

Candida in pancreatic infection: a clinical experience.

Pancreatic infection remains a significant clinical problem, with substantial morbidity and mortality. Published case reports of Candida species identified in these infections prompted a review of 17 consecutive patients recently treated for peripancreatic infection by scheduled relaparotomy. Six patients were transferred from other hospitals, all having undergone prior operative intervention (median stay elsewhere: 58 days).

Identification of short latency auditory responsive neurons in the cat dentate nucleus.

Intracellular recordings of activity in response to acoustic stimuli were obtained from units of the dentate nucleus of conscious cats. Twelve units with short latency responses to 70 dB clicks or hisses were injected intracellularly with biocytin and identified morphologically. The identified cells were small, relatively aspinous, multipolar cells with diameters < 20 microns.

Interleukin 10: ability to minimize postoperative intraperitoneal adhesion formation in a murine model.

Objective: To determine the ability of interleukin 10 (IL-10) to suppress postoperative intraperitoneal adhesion formation.

Design: Randomized, controlled trial.

Setting: University animal research facility.

Bullatacin--in vivo and in vitro experience in an ovarian cancer model.

The cytotoxicity and antitumor effects of the acetogenin Bullatacin were evaluated in vitro in multiple ovarian cancer cell lines and in vivo in a murine ovarian teratocarcinoma (MOT) model in C3HeB/FeJ mice. The in vitro cytotoxicity of Bullatacin against four human ovarian epithelial tumor cell lines (OC-194, OC-222, OVCAR-3, and A-2780) was assessed in 48- and 72-h tetrazolium-dye (MTT) cytotoxicity assays. The percentage of cytotoxicity was determined on the basis of the mean optical density of the respective untreated cells and the dose effective against 50% of the cells (ED50) was calculated for each cell line.

Pitfalls in the cytologic diagnosis of angiosarcoma of the breast by fine-needle aspiration: a case report.

This paper describes a case of angiosarcoma of the breast in a 26-yr-old female. The tumor, originally thought to be granulation tissue on fine-needle aspiration biopsy, was correctly identified as a malignant neoplasm of probable mesenchymal origin on a repeat FNA biopsy 4 mo later. A diagnosis of angiosarcoma was made on a subsequent excisional biopsy.

Application of nonisotopic RNA in situ hybridization to detect endogenous gene expression in pathologic specimens.

Detection of endogenous messenger RNA in surgical pathology tissue samples is a useful technique for identifying or characterizing populations of normal or neoplastic cells. Potential problems with this technique include degradation of target RNA in routinely processed specimens, and low concentration of target RNA sequences in the cells, necessitating the use of radiolabeled probes for detection. In this report, we demonstrate detection of nonmuscle actin messenger RNA in fixed, paraffin-embedded lymphoid tissues and bone marrow aspirate smears, using routinely obtained surgical and hematologic specimens.

Collagen shields impregnated with gentamicin-dexamethasone as a potential drug delivery device.

We investigated the ability of collagen shields impregnated with gentamicin sulfate and dexamethasone to deliver medication into rabbit eyes. We compared the aqueous humor gentamicin and dexamethasone levels delivered by collagen shield and subconjunctival injection therapy at five time points over a ten-hour period, by using a fluorescence polarization immunoassay and high-pressure liquid chromatography. Our in vitro studies showed that impregnated collagen shields released most of the gentamicin within the first 30 minutes of elution, whereas dexamethasone was released gradually over a ten-hour period.

Methyl mercury increases intracellular Ca2+ and inositol phosphate levels in cultured cerebellar granule neurons.

In an effort to explain the previously observed methyl mercury (MeHg)-induced stimulation of protein phosphorylation in cerebellar granule neuron cultures, the effect of MeHg on protein kinase activities in cell-free assays and on second messenger systems in cultured neurons has been examined. Using cell-free assays for several protein kinases, no stimulation of enzyme activity was found at any concentration of MeHg tested. After 24 h exposure, 1-5 microM MeHg was found to have no significant effect on neuronal cyclic AMP levels.

Sequential differentiation of sensory innervation in the mystacial pad of the ferret.

The mystacial pad of the ferret has an elaborate sensory innervation provided by three types of terminal nerves that arise from the infraorbital branch of the trigeminal nerve. Deep and superficial vibrissal nerves innervate nearly exclusive targets in the large follicle-sinus complexes (F-SCs) at the base of each tactile vibrissa. Dermal plexus nerves innervate the fur between the vibrissae.

Assay of acyl-CoA dehydrogenase activity in frozen muscle biopsies: application to medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency.

The acyl-CoA dehydrogenases (ACDs) are mitochondrial enzymes that dehydrogenate acyl-coenzyme A esters of different chain lengths. Inherited deficiencies of these dehydrogenases are commonly associated with muscle weakness and lipid storage. Numerous assays including spectrophotometric, fluorometric, chemical, and radiochemical procedures have been used, but there is need for a rapid, reproducible assay for the different acyl-CoA dehydrogenases in small frozen samples of human muscle biopsies.

Sensory innervation in the inner conical body of the vibrissal follicle-sinus complex of the rat.

The innervation of the inner conical body of the vibrissal follicle-sinus complex of the rat was examined by high-voltage and conventional transmission electron microscopy of serial and semi-serial sections. The inner conical body is innervated by axons supplied almost exclusively by several superficial vibrissal nerves that arise from the infraorbital branch of the trigeminal nerve and converge upon the neck of the follicle-sinus complex. Each superficial vibrissal nerve contains a few A delta myelinated axons and several bundles of 20-30 unmyelinated axons.

Neuropathology of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS): report of 39 autopsies from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Neuropathological findings from 39 acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) autopsies of primarily neurologically symptomatic patients and 7 brain biopsies from AIDS patients performed at St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia are reported. Autopsy findings included human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV)-type multinucleated giant cell (MNGC)-associated encephalitis seen in 17 patients, toxoplasmosis in 7 patients, and cytomegalovirus encephalitis and/or microglial nodule-associated nuclear inclusions in brain parenchyma in 9 patients.

Standardization of skeletal muscle ischemic injury.

Observations on skeletal muscle function after a timed ischemic interval suggests significant interanimal variability. The purpose of this study is to compare the use of function versus time as a method for standardizing the degree of ischemic injury. Muscle function was measured by recording the isometric contraction to direct supramaximal tetanic stimulation of the anterior tibialis muscle (AT).

Paradoxical potentiation by low extracellular Ca2+ of acute chemical anoxic neuronal injury in cerebellar granule cell culture.

Acute chemical anoxic injury was produced in primary cerebellar granule cell cultures incubated with iodoacetate (IAA) alone or IAA combined with potassium cyanide (KCN). Cytotoxicity was assessed using Trypan blue exclusion or LDH release. Four millimolars of KCN induced approx 30% neuron death at 3 h, whereas greater than 50% cell death was produced by 0.

The dentate nucleus is a short-latency relay of a primary auditory transmission pathway.

Recordings of unit activity showing 4-6 ms latency responses to a click stimulus provided evidence that the dentate nucleus could function as a short-latency auditory relay. On the basis of these findings, plus fiber fillings from injections of phaseolus leucoagglutinin into the dentate, a new auditory pathway between dorsal and ventral cochlear nuclei, dentate nucleus, and rostral thalamus is proposed. The pathway could provide direct, short-latency transmissions to the motor cortex that bypass the classical auditory receptive cortex.

Normal and dystrophic rat retinal pigment epithelia display different sensitivities to plant lectins.

Previous studies showed that cultured retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells from the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat incorporate 50% less fucose into a number of cell-surface glycoproteins compared with controls. The cause of reduced fucose incorporation may be a generalized defect in glycoprotein processing in the RCS rat RPE. This hypothesis has been further explored by comparing the relative sensitivities of normal and dystrophic rat RPE to the toxicity of plant lectins of various specificities.