Materials collected from the tympanic cavity before operation and from the mastoid antrum during operation of 58 discharging ears of patients with chronic otitis media were cultured, and the bacteria in these two cavities were compared. Staphylococcus aureus was the commonest organism in the tympanic cavity, and S epidermidis in the mastoid antrum. Anaerobic bacteria were found only in the mastoid antrum of patient with cholesteatoma. In 32 (55 per cent) of the 58 ears examined, bacteria were detected in both the tympanic and mastoid cavities. In 17 ears (53 per cent), the bacterial strains in the two cavities differed. The results indicate the necessity of bacteriologic examination of the mastoid cavity during operation to select antibiotics for postoperative treatment.

Actinomycetales↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The fate of homologous nasal septal cartilages in tympanoplasty.

We have used homologous nasal septal cartilage for tympanoplasty for the last 8 years and obtained satisfactory results. In order to demonstrate the fate of homograft cartilage implanted into the middle ear, mucopolysaccharides have been studied by means of enzyme digestion. The matrix of normal septal cartilage was divided into three regions: 1) pericellular region; chondroitin sulfate B, 2) distal interstitial region; hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfates, 3) peripheral interstitial region; collagen. In preserved cartilage, chondroitin sulfate B was lacked out, but hyaluronic acid and collagen remained intact though the amount of mucopolysaccharides diminished slightly when compared with normal septal cartilage. Homograft cartilages evidenced depletion of mucopolysaccharides. Homograft cartilages should be used for the purposes mentioned, though not as material for columella, nor for reconstruction of large bone defect.

Alcian Blue↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cathepsin activity in cholesteatoma.

Collagenolytic cathepsin, presumed to play an important role in bone destruction of cholesteatoma, was investigated in cholesteatoma epithelium, subepithelial granulation tissue, skin from the bony external auditory meatus and, temporal bone. The enzyme extracted from tissues was proven to be lysosomal cathepsin B by SDS gel electrophoresis in the use of human type I and type III collagen. alpha-N-benzoyl-DL-arginine-2-naphthylamide HCl (BANA) was supposed to be specific for cathepsin B, and so BANA-hydrolase activity was measured as collagen-degrading cathepsin. The results showed that tissues had cathepsin B with its optimal pH 6.0, and that cathepsin B activity revealed a significant increase in the subepithelial granulation tissue. A strong activity of acid phosphatase found in the subepithelial granulation tissue seems to reflect the existence of an active metabolism of substances in the granulation tissue. These findings suggest that collagen is resorbed in the subepithelial granulation tissue in the presence of cholesteatoma.

Acid Phosphatase↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-I) in family members of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) patients in non-ATL-endemic Hokkaido of Japan.

Family members of patients with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) in non-ATL-endemic Hokkaido, the northernmost part of Japan, were assessed for the prevalence of HTLV-I infection. Immunofluorescence assay showed that 53 out of 133 (39.8%) healthy family members of 23 ATL patients were positive for antibodies to HTLV-I. When general inhabitants in Hokkaido were examined, 3 out of 18 (16.7%) family members of 5 seropositive healthy persons had HTLV-I antibodies. The overall seropositivity in Hokkaido was 0.7%. Of 26 family members of 6 patients with non-T-cell leukemia seroconverted by blood transfusion, none (0%) was seropositive.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-I) in adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) in non-ATL-endemic Hokkaido of Japan.

Sera and peripheral blood lymphocytes of 40 adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) patients in non-ATL-endemic Hokkaido were examined for the prevalence of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-I). All patients had HTLV-I-specific antibodies. When the peripheral lymphocytes were assessed after short-term cultivation, HTLV-I antigens and virus particles were detected. The seroprevalence in 96 cases of non-T-cell leukemias and lymphomas and in 30,056 healthy individuals in Hokkaido were 3.1% and 0.7%, respectively. HTLV-I seropositive inhabitants of Hokkaido can be estimated at about 40,000, and one out of every few thousand HTLV-I carriers is likely to develop ATL.

HTLV-I Antibodies↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-I) in general inhabitants in non-adult T-cell leukemia (ATL)-endemic Hokkaido, Japan.

In contrast to adult T-cell leukemia (ATL)-endemic southwestern Japan, the northernmost island Hokkaido has a small number of ATL patients annually. In this study, we surveyed 32,587 healthy inhabitants throughout Hokkaido for antibodies to human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-I). Only 244 individuals (0.8%) were seropositive as HTLV-I carriers; 0.6% (123 of 19,512) in males and 0.9% (121 of 13,075) in females. In some areas, however, the inhabitants had relatively high seropositivity (> 2%). The highest rate was 5.2% with a cluster of ATL patients in a certain town of the Hidaka area near the Pacific Ocean, in southeast Hokkaido.

Adolescent↗