Blackfoot disease is a peripheral vascular disease resulting in gangrene of the lower extremities. Though extensive epidemiological study has implicated that high arsenic content in artesian well water of the endemic area bears some important connection with the disease, the etiology of the disease is still unknown. In this study, attention is paid to multielement determination in order to find out whether the trace elements in hair of Blackfoot disease patients are different from those of the controls. Experimental results indicate that the concentrations of As and Se in hair of patients are significantly higher than those of the controls, but Ca and Zn are significantly lower than those of the controls. The possible connection of these elements with the etiology of the disease is discussed.

Arsenic↗

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Longitudinal changes in Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, and Zn in breast milk of women in Taiwan over a lactation period of one year.

The study of the composition of human milk has attracted worldwide interest, since it represents the pattern of nutrients most suitable for the younger infant. In the present study, the concentration of Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, and Zn was measured in a total of 211 samples of human milk. The analytical technique of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) was used for the analysis. From the results, it indicates that the mean concentration of Zn is highest in the colostrum with decreasing concentrations as the lactation progressed. The effects of age, parity, and lactation history on the results are also analyzed. It shows that the Zn concentration in the colostrum in the older mothers (>30 yr) was higher than that of the younger ones (20-30 yr).

Adult↗

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Arsenic, selenium, and zinc in patients with Blackfoot disease.

Blackfoot disease is a peripheral vascular disease resulting in gangrene of the lower extremities. Extensive epidemiological study implicates that high arsenic content in artesian well water is the responsible causal factor of the disease. In the present study the concentrations of arsenic, selenium, and zinc in the body fluids and hair of patients with Blackfoot disease, in comparison to age- and sex-matched normal controls, are investigated. Two analytical techniques that include atomic absorption spectrometry and neutron activation analysis were used for the analysis of urine, serum, hair, and whole blood. The analytical results indicate that hair arsenic of the patients is significantly higher than that of the controls, but still below the critical value of 1 microgram/g. In addition, the patients showed significantly lower concentrations of Se and Zn in the urine and blood than the normal controls. The possible connection of these elements with the etiology of the disease is discussed.

Arsenic↗

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Effect of two-round Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation on lymphocyte subsets and natural killer activity of umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells.

Umbilical cord blood (CB) mononuclear cells (MNCs) obtained from Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation (FDGC) are frequently contaminated with erythrocytes and nucleated erythroid precursors. The authors investigated the effect of two-round (2-r) FDGC on lymphocyte subsets and natural killer activity of CB and adult peripheral blood (APB) MNCs, in comparison with those obtained from conventional one-round (1-r) separation. The percentage of CD45-expressing CB MNCs was greatly increased after the second density step (p < .01), indicating the efficacy in purification. The percentages of CD3/CD4, CD3/CD8, and CD16/56 double-positive staining CB MNCs were significantly increased after 2-r FDGC, as compared to those after 1-r separation. However, the percentages of CD34+ stem cells and CD19+ B cells were not affected by 2-r FDGC. MNCs obtained from 2-r FDGC had higher natural killer (NK) activity than did MNCs obtained from 1-r separation (p < .01). In contrast, 2-r FDGC did not affect lymphocyte subsets and NK activity of APB MNCs as compared to 1-r FDGC. Thus, 2-r FDGC are recommended to obtain CB MNCs for flow cytometric analysis and NK cytotoxicity assays.

Cell Survival↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Microcomputer FORTRAN programs for calculating percentage points from t or F distributions.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Genetics, Population↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Usefulness of AgNOR score in differentiating benign from malignant pulmonary aspiration cytology.

OBJECTIVE: Malignant cells are known to display greater argyrophil staining for nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) than for benign cells due to their active proliferation. In this study we assessed the diagnostic value of AgNOR staining on 47 fine needle aspiration cytologic specimens of lung previously stained with the May-Grünwald-Giemsa (MGG) method. METHODS: Cytologic specimens obtained from fine needle aspiration of the lung in 47 proven cases prestained with the MGG technique were destained and restained with the AgNOR method. Seventeen of them were benign and 30 malignant. To differentiate malignant from benign entities, the highest median value for AgNOR number (AgNOR score) obtained from the benign cases was chosen as a cutoff point (test specificity, 100%). RESULTS: AgNOR scores of malignant cases were significantly higher than those of benign cases (P < .001). There was no significant difference between two subgroups of benign diseases or among four subgroups of malignant diseases. The sensitivity of the AgNOR score was 93% (28/30) in providing a diagnosis of malignancy when the cutoff value was set at 6. CONCLUSION: The AgNOR technique may be of considerable value in aiding a diagnosis of malignancy, especially when the score is > 6.

Biopsy, Needle↗

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Overexpression of p53 and rare genetic mutation in mesenchymal chondrosarcoma.

Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma is extremely rare and accounts for less than 2% of all chondrosarcomas. The pathogenesis and the molecular genetic events which contribute to the development of mesenchymal chondrosarcoma are not well elucidated, due in part to the lack of sufficient tumor tissue available. To characterize the involvement of the p53 gene abnormality in this disease, we analyzed expression and sequence alteration of p53 by immunohistochemical analysis of the protein expression and quantitative DNA/PCR and PCR-SSCP assays of the gene in 33 paraffin-embedded tissue specimens. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that 19 (61.3%) of 31 had nuclear overexpression of p53 while 7 (22.6%) showed cytoplasmic expression. The remaining 5 (16.1%) were negative for p53 staining. The nuclear positivity of p53 was observed within a range of 22-64% (mean 37.3%) of tumor cells and showed a positive staining in mesenchymal components as well as chondroid components. Quantitative DNA/PCR analysis revealed that 6 (18.2%) of the 33 specimens carried significantly reduced or undetectably low levels of p53 indicating the genomic deletion of the gene in these tumors. In contrast, however, DNA/PCR-SSCP analysis failed to detect any types of mutations resulting in amino acid substitution within exons 5-9 regions of the gene. Taken together, our data suggests that genetic alteration of p53 is a relatively rare event in mesenchymal chondrosarcomas but substantial fraction of this type of tumors carries abnormal overexpression of p53, which might result from as yet unidentified epigenetic mechanism(s).

Chondrosarcoma, Mesenchymal↗

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A follow-up study of systemic-onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in children.

We analyzed the clinical and laboratory features, treatment, and course of twenty-one children with systemic-onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (S-JRA) encountered at our institution over the past ten years. There were eleven boys and ten girls. The mean age at onset was 11.6 +/- 4.2 years. The mean duration of symptoms prior to diagnosis was 5.5 +/- 1.7 months, and the mean follow-up period was 45.7 +/- 9.5 months. The clinical and laboratory features at presentation were similar to previous reports, except that peripheral blood smear revealed toxic granulation of neutrophils in 60% of our patients. Although systemic manifestation could be readily controlled by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with or without additional steroids, nine patients suffered from chronic arthritis (duration > 6 months) requiring disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Of the nine children with chronic arthritis, six (67%) had a monocylic systemic course, and seven (78%) had polyarticular disease (five or more joints affected) at the disease onset. Five patients developed severe destructive polyarthritis, with persistent anemia, thrombocytosis, elevated serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and marked functional limitation during follow-up. One of the five patients with severe arthritis developed systemic lupus erythromatosis after 8-year follow-up, and died of sepsis. Our study indicated significant morbidity in children with S-JRA in Taiwan.

Adolescent↗

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Intraarticular triamcinolone hexacetonide injection in children with chronic arthritis: a survey of clinical practice.

To assess the efficacy of the intraarticular steroid(IAS) injection in the management of arthritis and the possible related complications in children with chronic arthritis. We evaluated 11 children of chronic arthritis (4 girls and 7 boys), age of onset ranged from 2-13.6 years, who had persistent arthritis treated with IAS from November 1994 to June 1997. The results of injections showed that the beneficial effect was noted within one day to 2 weeks without significant adverse reactions, remission exceeding 6 months was seen in 10 of 11 patients (in 14 of 18 joints). According to subgroups of chronic arthritis, the remission rate of IAS injection in children with pauciarticular arthritis reached 100%. A significant fall in C-reactive protein (CRP) between pre- and post-IAS injection (p = 0.03), but there were no differences in hemoglobin (Hb), white blood cells (WBCs), thrombocytes (Plts), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and osteocalcin level. No injection-related complications were found. In conclusion, the IAS injection was an effective and safe treatment in children with chronic arthritis with no obvious complications especially in pauciarticular arthritis.

Adolescent↗

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Sequential changes to clinical parameters and adhesion molecules following intravenous pulse cyclophosphamide and methylprednisolone treatment of refractory juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

It is believed that the systemic subtype and the positive rheumatoid factor, polyarticular subtype of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) show the least favorable outcomes for therapy; patients with systemic JIA are often resistant to recommended therapeutic modalities. We report the sequential changes to clinical and laboratory findings from pulse therapy with monthly intravenous cyclophosphamide (0.5 g/m2 body surface area) administration combined with methylprednisolone (30 mg/kg; 1 gm maximum) for 6 months, following which the medication interval was elongated to 3 months for a total of from 7 to 12 courses. Among 4 children suffering from refractory systemic JIA, 3 demonstrated clinical improvement, 2 of whom achieved clinical remission. Furthermore, we also adminstered this therapy to a girl suffering from refractory polyarticular JIA, following which she revealed clinical remission subsequent to 9 courses of such therapy. From our experience, we suggest that patients afflicted with JIA that is unresponsive to traditional medication may experience benefit from this type of pulse therapy.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Heavy metals in traditional Chinese medicine: ba-pao-neu-hwang-san].

Heavy metal intoxication of newborn infants fed with "Ba-Pao-Neu-Hwang-San" has been reported every year by many hospitals in Taiwan. About nine years ago, the National Laboratories of Foods and Drugs of the Department of Health, Executive Yuan, received one case report of a five month old female infant who died as a result of long term feeding with "Ba-Pao-Neu-Hwang-San". The drug was found to have contained lead 44,000 ppm. Although this unfortunate incident was propagated by most newspapers, the prescription of this ancient Chinese medicinal preparation is still widely accepted by ordinary people. Herbal medicine doctors prefer complex mineral drugs as did their ancestors thousands of years ago. In the last two years, we have collected 5 samples of "Ba-Pao-Neu-Hwang-San" from different manufacturers and measured the concentration of 16 heavy metals (including Cadmium, Mercury, Arsenic, Lead, Chromium, Manganese, Selenium, Germanium, Nickel, Calcium, Magnesium, Aluminum, Iron, Copper, Zinc, and Vanadium) in these drugs with Inductively-Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry and Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. The result of our survey revealed that the first sample (from Tainan) contained mercury 52,800 ppm, the fourth (from Ping-tung) contained mercury 34,500 ppm, and the fifth (from Sin-chu) contained mercury 65,700 ppm. The mercurial contents of these samples were apparently too high to be a safe drug.

Humans↗