Children, adolescents and anger management strategies.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Goldstein.
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The localization and subcellular distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi nitric oxide synthase was investigated in epimastigote cells by immunocytochemistry at electron and light microscope level, using a polyclonal antibody to neuronal nitric oxide synthase, and also, at light microscope level, by the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase histochemical reaction. The immunoreactivity was ultrastructurally localized by electron microscopy in the inner surface of cell membranes and in free cytosolic clusters in the body, flagellum and apical extreme. Light microscopy showed that immunoprecipitates, specific for the Trypanosoma cruzi nitric oxide synthase, co-localized with the formazan precipitates generated by the diaphorase reaction in the same areas identified by electron microscopy. These results, taken together with previous finding from our laboratory could help to explain the involvement of the nitric oxide transduction pathway in T. cruzi epimastigote motility.
OBJECTIVE: To report neurologic complications in a large population of pediatric lung transplantation patients. METHODS: A retrospective review of the first 135 patients to undergo lung transplantation at St. Louis Children's Hospital from July 1990 to December 1997. RESULTS: Sixty-one (45%) patients had neurologic complications. The most common presenting symptoms were seizures (27%), followed by encephalopathy, headache, depression, and focal neurologic deficits. Cyclosporine toxicity (7%) and hypoxia-ischemia (7%) constituted the most commonly identified etiologies, followed by stroke, metabolic, and infectious causes. Risk factor analysis found that patients with interstitial lung disease had a higher frequency of hypoxic-ischemic events and patients with seizures had significantly elevated trough cyclosporine levels. Patients with stroke and hypoxia had a poor neurologic prognosis, whereas patients with cyclosporine toxicity uniformly had a good outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Neurologic complications occur frequently after lung transplantation in pediatric patients, with seizures being the most common presenting symptom. Except in patients with stroke and hypoxia, prognosis is generally favorable. Seizures not accompanied by an irreversible structural etiology are unlikely to require long-term treatment with antiepileptic medications. Cyclosporine neurotoxicity typically resolves without requiring discontinuation of immunosuppressive therapy.
Metastases to the female genital tract from extragenital cancers are uncommon. The ovaries are most often affected with the breast and gastrointestinal tract being the most common sites of the primary malignancy. Metastases to the uterus from extragenital cancers are significantly rarer than metastases to the ovaries and in the majority of cases the ovaries are also involved. A case of metastases restricted to the uterine corpus, cervix and vagina from breast carcinoma, without involvement of the ovaries, is described. The patient who had been on tamoxifen therapy presented with postmenopausal bleeding. The diagnosis of uterine metastases was established during endometrial ablation and confirmed by total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. This case illustrates that abnormal uterine bleeding in a breast cancer patient, regardless of whether she is receiving or not receiving tamoxifen, should always alert the physician to consider the possibility of uterine metastases from breast carcinoma.
Previous studies demonstrate that the delta-like (dlk) and preadipocyte factor 1 (Pref-1) genes encode similar proteins. Pref-1 is downregulated during adipocyte differentiation, and expression of ectopic Pref-1 inhibits adipogenesis. We explored whether dlk functions similarly to Pref-1 and studied the role of alternately spliced dlk variants encoding membrane-associated or -secreted forms. We also studied whether enforced downregulation of dlk/Pref-1 may enhance the differentiation response of non-committed cells. Ectopic expression of a potentially secreted dlk variant, conditioned media from dlk expressing cells or several individual epidermal-growth-factor-dlk peptides inhibited 3T3-L1 differentiation. This demonstrates that dlk and Pref-1 are functionally equivalent. dlk gene mRNA encoding for secreted variants decreased much faster than total dlk gene mRNA during differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells. In fact, total dlk or membrane-associated dlk protein expression increased during the first hours of differentiation. Cells sorted for lowest levels of dlk protein diminished or lost their ability to differentiate. These data suggest that membrane and secreted dlk protein variants play opposite roles in the control of adipogenesis. In addition, enforced downregulation of dlk protein expression in the weakly adipogenic Balb/c 3T3 cell line dramatically enhanced adipogenesis in response to insulin. These results indicate that dlk protein not only participates in processes leading to inhibition of adipogenesis but that the control of its expression and different spliced variants is essential for the adipogenic response to extracellular signals.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the benefits of acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine (AAC) in the treatment of severe, disabling migraine attacks, in a population of migraine sufferers for whom over-the-counter (OTC) medications are appropriate. BACKGROUND: Subjects (n = 1220) who met the International Headache Society criteria for migraine with or without aura were included in three independent clinical studies. DESIGN/METHODS: Post-hoc analysis of 172 subjects who met the criteria for severe, disabling migraine reported a history of migraine attacks characterized by at least severe pain and severe disability, and treated attacks with severe pain and at least severe disability. Subjects who usually vomited with 20% or more of their migraine attacks, and those with incapacitating disability (subjects who required bed rest for more than 50% of their attacks) were not eligible for enrollment. RESULTS: From 1 h and continuing through 6 h postdose, the proportion of responders was significantly greater (p< or =0.01) for AAC than placebo. The pain intensity difference from baseline was significantly greater (p< or =0.05) for AAC than placebo from 0.5 h through 6 h. The proportion of subjects reporting improvement in functional disability, photophobia, and phonophobia was significantly greater for AAC than placebo from 2 h through 6 h postdose. CONCLUSIONS: The nonprescription combination of AAC was well tolerated and effective.
High K+ medium and glutamate elicited a significant [3H]-GABA release in the golden hamster retina. High K+ -induced GABA release was largely calcium-dependent, while the effect of glutamate was Ca2+ -independent. After replacing Na+ by Li+, glutamate-evoked [3H]-GABA release was abolished, while high K+ -evoked release remained unchanged. The effect of glutamate was completely blocked by DNQX but not by APV. Furthermore, kainate induced [3H]-GABA release, whereas NMDA was ineffective. Assessment of endogenous GABA efflux further confirmed results obtained for [3H]-GABA. GABA-like immunoreactivity was observed in amacrine cells, in neurons localized in ganglion cell layer, as well as in fibers and terminals at the inner plexiform layer. In addition a few horizontal cells showed GABA-like immunolabeling. The present results suggest the existence of at least two pools of GABA in the hamster retina, compatible with both vesicular and carrier-mediated mechanisms of transmitter release, being the amacrine cells the main gabaergic source in this tissue.
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Endo-beta-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.103) is an enzyme that hydrolyzes internal endo-beta-galactosyl linkages in keratan sulfate, and glycoconjugates with N-acetyl-lactosamine repeating units. Here, we report the cloning of the endo-beta-galactosidase-encoding gene from Flavobacterium keratolyticus, its expression in Escherichia coli and the purification of the enzyme. The enzyme was purified over 15000-fold to apparent homogeneity. The purified endo-beta-galactosidase consists of a single band of about 43kDa on SDS-PAGE and has a specific activity of 148micro/mg. Based on peptide sequences derived from the purified enzyme, a full-length clone encoding endo-beta-galactosidase was isolated from F. keratolyticus genomic DNA. The gene contains a single open reading frame coding for a protein of 422 amino acid residues with a putative N-terminal signal peptide. Its authenticity was confirmed by colinearity of deduced amino acid sequences with the peptide sequences, and synthesis of enzyme in E. coli.
Prodrug esters of the indolocarbazole CEP-751 (KT-6587) were prepared with the goal of identifying water soluble, stable but cleavable forms for intravenous dosing. A dipeptide proform Lys-beta-Ala (16, CEP-2563/KT-8391) was identified for advancement to clinical trials.
BACKGROUND: Studies on transplantation of porcine meniscus and articular cartilage into monkeys are important for evaluating the possible use of such tissues in humans. In addition, such studies shed light on the chronic xenograft rejection process in primates. Transplantation of porcine cartilage into cynomolgus monkeys for 2 months results in a many-fold increase in anti-Gal activity and in a strong cellular inflammatory response of T lymphocytes and macrophages within the implants. The objective of this study was to determine whether elimination of Galalpha1-3Galbeta1-4GlcNAc-R (alpha-gal epitopes) from the xenograft may alter the immune response and the inflammatory reaction. METHODS: Porcine meniscus and articular cartilage specimens were treated with recombinant alpha-galactosidase (100 U/ml), and the absence of alpha-gal epitopes was assessed by the binding of the monoclonal anti-Gal antibody M86. The treated cartilage specimens were transplanted into the suprapatellar pouch of cynomolgus monkeys. The immune response to cartilage was monitored in the serum and the inflammatory reaction was assessed in the xenografts, which were explanted after 2 months. RESULTS: Incubation with alpha-galactosidase resulted in complete removal of alpha-gal epitopes from the cartilage. The increase in anti-Gal activity in the transplanted monkeys was marginal. However, most monkeys produced antibodies to antigens specific to porcine cartilage. The inflammatory response within the alpha-galactosidase-treated xenografts was much lower than in nontreated cartilage and the proportion of T lymphocytes within the cellular infiltrates was greatly reduced. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of cartilage xenografts with alpha-galactosidase successfully removes alpha-gal epitopes from porcine cartilage. Transplantation of the treated cartilage results in the production of only anti-porcine cartilage-specific antibodies and a reduced inflammatory response consisting primarily of macrophages infiltrating into the cartilage.
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OBJECTIVE: Rapid, inexpensive, reliable tests are needed to facilitate the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection. We evaluated the accuracy of the new FlexSure HP whole blood test (SmithKline Diagnostics, Inc.), a rapid, qualitative in-office test for the detection of antibodies to H. pylori utilizing whole blood obtained from a fingerstick. METHODS: Five North American sites enrolled patients not previously treated for H. pylori who underwent upper endoscopy. Patients had not received antibiotics, bismuth, or proton pump inhibitors within 4 wk before study enrollment. Bacterial infection was established by the presence of H. pylori in gastric biopsies (minimum of two) or positive rapid urease test of antral tissue. The presence of IgG antibodies was determined using FlexSure HP whole blood tests with blood obtained by fingerstick and FlexSure HP serum and ELISA (HM-CAP) tests with serum obtained from venipuncture. RESULTS: Three hundred ninety-three patients were enrolled (56% male; mean age, 46.8 +/- 16.0 yr). H. pylori infection was present in 187 (48%). Compared with the standard of histology and rapid urease test, sensitivity for FlexSure HP whole blood, FlexSure HP serum, and HM-CAP EIA were, respectively, 84%, 90%, and 95% (p < 0.05 compared with FlexSure HP whole blood). There were no statistical differences in specificity or overall accuracy between the three tests. CONCLUSIONS: FlexSure HP whole blood demonstrated an accuracy not significantly different from the FlexSure HP serum test but had sensitivity significantly lower than the HM-CAP EIA. FlexSure HP whole blood may be useful for in-office H. pylori diagnosis.
A close relationship exists between adipocyte differentiation of stromal cells and their capacity to support hematopoiesis. The molecular basis for this is unknown. We have studied whether dlk, an epidermal growth factor-like molecule that intervenes in adipogenesis and fetal liver hematopoiesis, affects both stromal cell adipogenesis and B-cell lymphopoiesis in an established pre-B-cell culture system. Pre-B-cell cultures require both soluble interleukin-7 (IL-7) and interactions with stromal cells to promote cell growth and prevent B-cell maturation or apoptosis. We found that BALB/c 3T3 fibroblasts express dlk and function as stromal cells. Transfection of these cells with antisense dlk decreased dlk expression and increased insulin-induced adipocytic differentiation. When antisense transfectants were used as stroma, IL-7 was no longer required to support the growth of pre-B cells and prevent maturation or apoptosis. Antisense dlk transfectants of S10 stromal cells also promoted pre-B-cell growth in the absence of IL-7. These results show that modulation of dlk on stromal cells can influence their adipogenesis and the IL-7 requirements of the pre-B cells growing in contact with them. These results indicate that dlk influences differentiation signals directed both to the stromal cells and to the lymphocyte precursors, suggesting that dlk may play an important role in the bone marrow hematopoietic environment.
When 251 relapsing-remitting patients with multiple sclerosis were randomized to receive daily subcutaneous injections of glatiramer acetate, previously called copolymer 1 (Copaxone; n = 125) or placebo (n = 126) for 24 months, there were no laboratory abnormalities associated with glatiramer acetate treatment and it was well tolerated with few side effects. Patients receiving glatiramer acetate had significantly fewer relapses and were more likely to be neurologically improved, whereas those receiving placebo were more likely to worsen. This study was extended for 1 to 11 months (mean of 5.2 months for the glatiramer acetate group and 5.9 months for the placebo group). The blinding and study conditions used during the core 24-month study were unchanged throughout the extension. The results of this extension study confirm the excellent tolerance and safety profile of glatiramer acetate for injection. The clinical benefit of glatiramer acetate for both the relapse rate and for neurologic disability was sustained at the end of the extension trial.