Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to B Bloch.
The CO2 laser was used to treat 300 patients with cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN). The patient characteristics, histological features, complications and follow-up are described and our experience is discussed. The CO2 laser appears to be safe and efficient for outpatient treatment of CIN, with a cure rate of 94%.
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Metronidazole tablets, benzoyl metronidazole suspension and tinidazole tablets each given as a single 2 g bolus dose in an open controlled prospective study were found to be effective forms of treatment for Trichomonas vaginalis vaginitis. The cure rates on wet smear preparations were 100%, 100% and 94,8% respectively, and symptomatic and observed improvements were excellent. There was a statistically significant difference between the response rates associated with both metronidazole preparations and tinidazole. The results of this study indicate that single-dosage bolus therapy can confidently be recommended in trichomonal infections and that it has a number of advantages.
A two-phase, double-blind study was performed to assess the efficacy of various drugs in the relief of postoperative pain. Oral analgesia with two compounds (paracetamol 320 mg, caffeine 32 mg, codeine phosphate 8 mg and meprobamate 150 mg (Stopayne; Rio Ethicals) and dipyrone 500 mg, pitofenone hydrochloride 5 mg and fenpiverinium bromide 0,1 mg (Baralgan HS; Albert)) was found to produce satisfactory pain relief, and it is suggested that these oral compounds may be used from 12 hours postoperatively in uncomplicated cases. Parenteral administration of either pethidine 100 mg or dipyrone 2500 mg was found to be an ineffective form of pain relief, and it is suggested that the use of these drugs should be reviewed. In both phases of the study side-effects were infrequent and mild, and smoking did not have an influence on the results.
In a preliminary open prospective study ketoconazole (Nizoral; Janssen) 200 mg twice daily for 5 consecutive days was found to be extremely effective in treating vulvovaginal candidiasis, producing cure rates of 96% at 7 days and 92% at 28 days. The oral route of administration has definite advantages over the vaginal route and improves patient compliance. No side-effects related to treatment were found in this study.
The messenger RNAs coding for opioid peptide precursors have been detected and mapped in histological sections by "in situ' hybridization using specific DNA probes labelled with 32P. Using bovine preproenkephalin A (PPA) cDNA, PPA mRNA was detected in adrenal medulla of bull, hamster and guinea pig. No signal was detected in adrenal of man, rat and cat. The pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA was detected in pituitary of man, bull, cat, rat and pig, in all cells of the intermediate lobe as well as in scattered cells of the anterior lobe producing POMC. Adequate controls demonstrated the specificity of the labelling. These results provide evidence of the expression of the gene coding for PPA in the adrenal and for POMC in the pituitary. They show cross-hybridization of one DNA probe with mRNAs of various mammals and then provide evidence that one single probe can be used to analyze expression of a given gene in tissues of several animal species by "in situ' hybridization.
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Serum and cerebrospinal fluid were obtained from a 6-year-old male with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). Specimens were collected over a 9-month period beginning in the unusually acute phase and ending in a more quiescent phase of the disease. Immune complexes, auto-antibodies and viral antibodies were measured by radio-immunoassays. Fluctuations in these humoral immune parameters coincided with cessation of the acute phase of this disease. The results show that neurological changes in SSPE patients can be reflected in immune responses within both the peripheral circulation and the central nervous system.
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The presence and production of transferrin in the adult rat brain have been investigated using both immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization in tissue sections. Indirect immunofluorescence with four distinct antisera against rat and human transferrin and one monoclonal antibody against human transferrin demonstrated labeling of the cytoplasm of oligodendrocytes (a category of glial cells) in most parts of the brain, especially in the white matter. In situ hybridization using rat transferrin 32P-labeled cDNA as a probe revealed the presence of transferrin mRNA in glial cells whose appearance, distribution, and organization exactly matched those of the cells decorated with the transferrin antibodies. These results provide evidence that the transferrin gene is expressed in the central nervous system and that transferrin is synthesized by and stored within oligodendrocytes in the adult rat brain. These data suggest that this molecule could have a specific function in nervous system activity.
Passive immunization of rats with an antiserum raised against rat growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) completely inhibited the growth hormone (GH) response to morphine and beta-endorphin but did not alter the prolactin (PRL) response to those two stimuli. These results demonstrate that opiate and opioid peptide stimulation of pituitary GH secretion is mediated through hypothalamic GRF and presents an animal model in which the stimulated secretion of GH and PRL can be specifically dissociated.
Techniques of in situ hybridization for the detection of mRNA on histological sections are described and commented upon. The main applications of the procedure are discussed and the potential uses of this new method for the analysis of gene expression in endocrine and nervous systems are presented.
In a pilot study involving 44 patients on combined chemotherapy for epithelial ovarian carcinoma, cul-de-sac aspiration cytology was compared with second-look surgery in the evaluation of disease status. There was a 92% correlation. Our preliminary conclusion was that an aspirate from the cul-de-sac or peritoneal cavity can be obtained with ease and that if this finding is confirmed in a larger series now in progress, the procedure may in part replace second-look operations in the management of these patients.
This report describes the histologic, immunocytochemical, and ultrastructural study of a multihormonal carcinoid tumor of the pancreas, secreting a growth hormone releasing factor (GRF) which provoked acromegaly. The patient presented a nonfamilial multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 1. The absence of radiologic signs of a pituitary adenoma in conjunction with elevated plasma levels of pancreatic polypeptide, glucagon, somatostatin, as well as growth hormone (GH), led to the discovery of the tumor. Its surgical excision produced a rapid disappearance of most of the clinical and biologic disorders. No immunoreactive GH was found in the tumor using radioimmunoassay and immunocytochemistry. In contrast, three peptides with GH-releasing activity were extracted and characterized. Immunocytochemistry showed that the GRF-reactive cells, together with rare somatostatin-storing cells, made up areas which demonstrated a medullary pattern of growth with extracellular amyloid deposits. Under electron microscopic examination, actively secreting cells were observed which carried endocrine granules of 100 to 150 nm in diameter. The other regions of the tumor presented a different type of growth and were composed of pancreatic polypeptide-, glucagon-, or somatostatin-reacting cells. Cells immunostained with antisera raised against beta-endorphin were also noted. These data suggest that GRF may be a new biologic marker for pancreatic endocrine tumors.
Thirty-two patients with progressive ovarian carcinoma which had not responded to primary therapy were treated with cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (CDDP) (50 mg/m2) and doxorubicin (50 mg/m2) on day 1 as second-line chemotherapy. An overall response rate of 28% was achieved, the mean duration of response being 5 months. These results are not significantly different from results achieved with other agents used in similar circumstances, but in the light of recent experience it is suggested that this combination warrants a trial as first-line therapy.
In our medically aware and litigation-conscious society, X-ray films of the lumbar spine are taken in many individuals. We have examined 1172 lumbar-spin X-ray films of young, healthy, predominantly male adults who were seeking employment. Abnormalities worthy of mention were found in 683 of these. These findings suggest that a correlation with the clinical condition of the patient should be carefully established before an abnormality found on an X-ray film is regarded as significant.
A rotavirus-like virus has been isolated from cases of neonatal diarrhoea in piglets. No antigenic relationship with known rotaviruses or with an American strain of a rotavirus-like virus has been demonstrated. Morphologically the virus is similar to known rotaviruses, but it differs in the ability to form syncytia of the enterocytes in the small intestine.