bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Antithrombin-III deficiency in a Dutch family
Authors: Van Der Meer J. , Stoepman-Van Dalen E. A. , Jansen J. M. S. 
Published: June 2007

A Dutch family (family A) with inherited antithrombin-III deficiency and an increased incidence of venous thrombosis was investigated. Antithrombin-III levels were measured by means of a coagulation assay in plasma and by single radial immunodiffusion in plasma and serum.Three groups could be distinguished: group I comprised the relations-in-law of family A, group II the members of family A with a plasma antithrombin-III level higher than 90% of normal, when determined by the immunoassay, and group III the members of family A with an antithrombin-III level of less than 60%. To group III belonged all eight adults with an abnormal tendency to thrombosis, and furthermore nine children, all having a parent with abnormally low antithrombin-III levels. Mean plasma and serum antithrombin-III levels were significantly decreased in group III. However, the results of the coagulation assay showed some overlap between groups II and III. In addition, the immunoassay appeared to be much less laborious than the coagulation assay. Therefore, the former assay is recommended in any search for similar families.The results of our family investigation confirm the findings of Egeberg (1965) that inherited antithrombin-III deficiency, giving rise to plasma levels between 50 and 60% of normal, causes thrombophilia and that the pattern of inheritance is autosomal dominant.
Current trends and problems in health screening
Authors: Wilson J. M. G. 
Published: June 2007

Automation in clinical chemistry is a powerful tool. Like most innovations it is posing many questions as well as resolving some. Its use in population screening has led to questioning the validity of the old system of `normal values' and to the search for better methods of indicating the significance of laboratory tests. This in itself is likely to have a good effect in that it is leading to a rigorous examination of the clinical value in diagnosis of the ever increasing number of laboratory tests.The ease and cheapness with which laboratory screening can be carried out is in itself a danger; it can readily lead to an increasingly large diagnostic effort but diminishing returns, including some inconvenience or even harm to a fair proportion of the people screened. It is, therefore, important to examine thoroughly, through population surveys and intervention studies, the validity of all novel forms of prescriptive screening, including those of clinical chemistry. Cheapness of testing needs to be examined in the wider context of the overall cost-effectiveness of screening.
The demonstration of plasma cells and other immunoglobulin-containing cells in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues using peroxidase-labelled antibody
Authors: Taylor C. R. , Burns J. 
Published: June 2007

A method is described for the demonstration of specific immunoglobulin in plasma cells and other lymphoid cells in sections taken from routine surgical histology specimens which have been formalin fixed and paraffin embedded.An indirect sandwich technique was employed using specific rabbit antihuman immunoglobulin antisera (anti-K, L, G, A, and M) and a swine antirabbit serum Ig G, conjugated with horseradish peroxidase. The presence of plasma cells was revealed by staining the tissue-bound peroxidase-labelled antibody, having previously stained the endogenous peroxidase a contrasting colour.It was possible to demonstrate clearly immunoglobulin in the plasma cells of tissues processed and embedded several years previously.Some of the potential uses of the method are discussed.
The small intestine in dermatitis herpetiformis
Authors: Fry Lionel , Seah P. P. , Harper P. G. , Hoffbrand A. V. , McMinn R. M. H. 
Published: June 2007

Small intestinal biopsies from 43 patients with dermatitis herpetiformis have been studied. The diagnosis of dermatitis herpetiformis was made on clinical and histological criteria and the presence of IgA deposits in the uninvolved skin. The macroscopic appearance of the intestinal biopsy was flat in 13, convoluted in 10, leaves only in eight, and fingers and leaves in 12. Twenty small intestinal biopsies from patients who did not have dermatitis herpetiformis or gastrointestinal disorder showed leaves only in three and fingers and leaves in 17. The mean total lymphocyte count per 1000 epithelial cells for this control group was 159 ± SE 13; for the dermatitis herpetiformis patients with flat biopsies it was 464 ± SE 27; for the convoluted biopsies 365 ± SE 59; for leaves only 535 ± SE 39; and for the fingers and leaves biopsies 301 ± SE 31. The counts for all four groups are significantly greater than the control group (P < 0.001). Three of the 43 patients with dermatitis herpetiformis had lymphocyte counts below 200 per 1000 epithelial cells, and four of our controls had counts greater than 200 but none above 300.In the control group the mean counts for lymphocytes per 1000 epithelial cells in the basal position of the intestinal epithelium was 79 ± SE 8; in the dermatitis herpetiformis flat biopsies it was 89 ± SE 11; for the convoluted biopsies 93 ± SE 12; for the leaves only biopsies 121 ± SE 18 and for the fingers and leaves 98 ± SE 13. However, the mean lymphocyte count in the perinuclear position was 81 ± SE 7 for the controls, 362 ± SE 23 for the flat dermatitis herpetiformis biopsies; 251 ± SE 46 for the convoluted specimens; 402 ± SE 43 for the leaves only specimens, and 195 ± SE 25 for the fingers and leaves biopsies. The mean lymphocyte count for the supranuclear position was 0·55 ± SE 0·22 for the control group; 13·7 ± SE 2·3 for the flat dermatitis herpetiformis biopsies; 20·0 ± SE 6·9 for the convoluted biopsies; 14·5 ± SE 3·3 for the leaves only biopsies; and 8·3 ± SE 2·6 for the fingers and leaves biopsies. Thus in gluten-sensitive enteropathy the increase in lymphocytes in the intestinal epithelium is in the perinuclear and supranuclear position. The ratio of basal lymphocytes to peri- and supranuclear lymphocytes appears to be 1:1 in normal intestinal epithelium, but approximately 1:4 in the gluten-sensitive enteropathy of dermatitis herpetiformis.
Micro method for manual analysis of true glucose in plasma without deproteinization
Authors: Bauminger B. B. 
Published: June 2007

A sensitive micro method for the manual estimation of true glucose in 10 μl plasma by an enzymatic technique is described. Protein precipitation is avoided.The method is simple to perform, accurate and precise. Agreement with a glucose oxidase autoanalyzer method is excellent, even with haemolysed and icteric specimens.
Bacterial flora of the appendix fossa in appendicitis and postoperative wound infection
Authors: Leigh D. A. , Simmons Kate , Norman Edelgard 
Published: June 2007

Bacteria were isolated from 153 (47·5%) swabs of the appendix fossa in 322 patients undergoing appendicectomy. The commonest organism was Bacteroides species found in 78% of specimens. Other Gram-negative bacilli such as Klebsiella, or Enterobacter, andEsch. coliwere present in 29 and 27% respectively. Gram-positive cocci were less frequently isolated.A positive culture was obtained more commonly in perforated appendicitis (79%) than where chronic fibrosis, lymphoid hyperplasia, or acute appendicitis was present or when the appendix was normal. Bacteroides was isolated twice as often in perforated appendicitis.The incidence of wound infection was 19% and varied according to the state of the appendix, being 63% in perforated appendicitis and 9·5% where lymphoid hyperplasia was present. Bacteroides was isolated from over 90% of the wound infections.In the patients with perforated appendicitis where effective chemotherapy was given the incidence of wound infection was 15% whereas in untreated or inappropriately treated patients it was over 50%.The isolation of bacteroides requires special precautions to be taken both in the collection of the specimen and laboratory culture. It is important that the chemotherapy of postappendicectomy infections include an antibiotic active against bacteroides.
Resistotyping ofProteus mirabilisand a comparison with other methods of typing
Authors: Kashbur I. M. , George R. H. , Ayliffe G. A. J. 
Published: June 2007

Resistotyping ofP. mirabilisusing 10 compounds is reported. The method was tested for reproducibility and specificity and results were compared with those obtained by serological, bacteriophage, and proticine typing methods and the Dienes test. The possible relationship between resistance to the chemicals used in the test and antibiotics was also studied.The method was found to be simple, reproducible, show good specificity, and compare favourably with other typing methods. No linkage between resistance to the chemicals and antibiotic resistance was detected.
The isolation of anaerobic bacteria from wound swabs
Authors: Peach Susan , Hayek L. 
Published: June 2007

The isolation of anaerobic bacteria from routine wound swabs by three procedures was evaluated.Recovery of anaerobic organisms was doubled by immediate incubation of seeded plates, and the recovery could be further dramatically improved by the use of prereduced media, in conjunction with an anaerobic chamber.Recommendations for the treatment of swabs and cultures for anaerobic investigation are made.
A clinicopathological review of 100 cases of primary malignant tumours of the liver
Authors: MacSween R. N. M. 
Published: June 2007

One hundred cases of primary malignant tumour of the liver coming to necropsy in the period 1900-1969 have been reviewed. The overall tumour incidence was 0·46% of all necropsies. The overall tumour incidence in hepatic cirrhosis was 12·3%, but the corresponding male and female incidences were 17·5 and 4·4% respectively. There was no significantly increased tumour incidence in haemochromatosis.An increasing incidence of primary malignant tumours of the liver has been noted since 1940 and appears to be due to a corresponding increase in incidence of hepatic cirrhosis. Hepatocellular carcinomas outnumbered cholangiocarcinomas by 8 to 1, were more common in males than females (6 to 1), and in 77% of cases occurred in cirrhotic livers. Tumours supervened as a complication of macronodular or predominantly macronodular cirrhotic patterns.
Necropsy studies on adult coeliac disease
Authors: Thompson H. 
Published: June 2007

The distribution of mucosal changes in adult coeliac disease have been studied in 24 cases within four hours of death. There were six patients on a normal diet who showed flat mucosa in the jejunum, convolutions in the middle third, and digitate villi in the terminal ileum. A more extensive distribution of flat mucosa and convolutions involving most of the small intestine was noted in one case. Eighteen patients had been treated with a gluten-free diet and 11 had responded well clinically and histologically. No evidence of flat mucosa was discovery at necropsy in six of these.Attention is drawn to the high incidence of malignancy in this series (13 out of 24 cases). Other complications of adult coeliac disease are discussed briefly.
A new method for the assay of factor XI in plasma and the preparation and use of a new artificial substrate
Authors: Blewitt R. E. 
Published: June 2007

An improved method for the one-stage assay of factor XI in plasma has been proposed; it is reproducible and compares well with an old, established method.A short investigation into the preparation and use of artificially prepared factor XI-deficient plasma has been carried out: this substrate can be used as an alternative to the congenitally deficient substrate.
HBsAg, chronic lymphoproliferative disorders, and cirrhosis of liver
Authors: Heimann R. , Ray M. B. , Desmet V. J. 
Published: June 2007

This study reports the incidence of HBsAg in a series of chronic lymphoproliferative disorders in which a high incidence of cirrhoses had been previously observed. Twenty-three cases were collected from the necropsy records. The type of lymphoma was reviewed in the light of the new functional classifications of non-Hodgkin malignant lymphomas introduced by Lennert and Lukes. The presence of HBsAg in the liver was investigated by the indirect immunofluorescence technique. Eleven cases showed plasmocytoid features and were considered as immunocytomas. Seven cases showed cirrhosis of the liver; six of them belonged to the immunocytoma group. Four cases were positive for HBsAg. Three of them were found among the group combining cirrhosis and immunocytoma. They presented the abundant nodular distribution of HBsAg typical of inactive cirrhosis.A parallel is drawn between the often reported association of Waldenström's syndrome and cirrhosis and the association of immunocytoma and cirrhosis observed in this study. The analogy is all the more justified since most of the lymphomas associated with Waldenström's syndrome happen to be immunocytomas. Therefore the association between HB virus infection and cirrhosis on the one hand and chronic lymphoproliferative disorders on the other may not be purely coincidental. A chronic antigenic stimulus such as persisting HBsAg could trigger the proliferation of a malignant lymphoid clone.
Specific and non-specific folate binding protein in normal and malignant human tissues
Authors: Corrocher R. , De Sandre G. , Ambrosetti A. , Pachor M. L. , Bambara L. M. , Hoffbrand A. V. 
Published: June 2007

Binding of tritiated folic acid by supernatants prepared from extracts of normal and leukaemic leucocytes, normal mucosa, and malignant tumours from different parts of the gastrointestinal tract has been measured using Sephadex-gel filtration and albumin-coated charcoal techniques. Non-specific binding (measured by Sephadex G-75 gel filtration) was almost invariably greater than specific binding measured by albumin-coated charcoal separation of bound and unbound folate. In nine normal leucocyte extracts, binding measured by Sephadex G-75 filtration ranged from 1·3 to 18·2 (mean 8·2) pg/mg protein and by albumin-coated charcoal from 1·0 to 14·8 (mean 6·7) pg/mg protein. Raised specific binding was found in the extracts from leucocytes of eight of 14 patients with chronic granulocytic leukaemia, in four substantially so (389, 121, 108, 59·7 pg/mg protein), but was only marginally increased in one of eight cases of acute myeloid leukaemia and in two of five cases of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Binding was normal in the extracts of all three cases of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia tested.Among the tissues of the gastrointestinal tract binding was greatest by the duodenal mucosa and liver. Extracts of carcinoma of the stomach and colon bound greater amounts of3H-folic acid than the corresponding normal mucosal extracts but the differences were not large. Sephadex G-200 gel chromatography showed more than one binding peak in the extracts of liver and duodenum but only one peak in the other tissues of the gastrointestinal tract, and only one peak, of molecular weight either about 50 000 or over 200 000, in the leucocyte extracts.
An evaluation of simultaneously administered free and intrinsic factor bound radioactive cyanocobalamin in the diagnosis of pernicious anaemia in the elderly
Authors: Pathy M. S. , Kirkman S. , Molloy M. J. 
Published: June 2007

The definitive diagnosis of pernicious anaemia (PA) in the elderly is by no means always straightforward, particularly when inappropriate medication has been introduced before the institution of specific investigatory procedures. A detailed haematological study was carried out on 301 patients aged 60-95 with a serum B12concentration at the laboratory's lower level of normal of 150 ng per litre (Euglena gracilisassay).The diagnosis of PA was based on strict predetermined haematological criteria. All patients were subsequently studied by the simultaneous oral administration of the dual isotopes57Co-labelled B12bound to intrinsic factor and free58Co-labelled B12(Dicopac test), and urine was collected over 24 hours after an intramuscular dose of 1 mg nonradioactive B12for estimation of the57Co/58Co B12ratio; 255 patients satisfied all criteria for final analysis.The Radiochemical Centre, Amersham suggests an upper limit of the normal range for the57Co/58Co ratio of 1·3 with a lower limit for PA of 2·0. We were unable to show a sharp borderline in the57Co/58Co B12ratio between those patients shown by other criteria to have PA and those who do not have PA; 34% of the 71 established patients had a ratio below 2·0. From our series a ratio borderline drawn at 1·4 gave only one false negative (1·4% of the PA group). Of the 175 non-PA cases, nine (5%) gave false positive results; four of these had58Co excretion levels high enough to make misdiagnosis unlikely.In a proportion of patients the57Co/58Co B12ratio was estimated at regular intervals for 36-hour periods. Maximum accuracy of isotope measurement on a single specimen was obtained 8-20 hours after isotope dosing.The Dicopac investigation is a useful simple screening test in the differential diagnosis of patients with a megaloblastic bone marrow and combined low serum B12and folate concentrations. When carried out by the standard technique, the degree of discrimination between normal and abnormal ratios is of limited diagnostic significance in one-third of patients.
Studies of plasma zinc, copper, caeruloplasmin, and growth hormone
Authors: Andrews G. S. 
Published: June 2007

The levels of plasma zinc, copper, caeruloplasmin, and growth hormone were determined in a group of normal people and in four groups of patients who were suffering from carcinoma of the bronchus, other forms of malignancy, chest illnesses, and diseases other than chest illness or malignancy. The plasma zinc was higher, and the plasma copper lower, in people without malignancy below the age of 30 years than they were in other age groups.It was confirmed that about 66% of patients with carcinoma of the bronchus had plasma zinc levels less than 11·5 μmol/l but low levels were also found in 23% of other cases of malignancy and in 9% of the other patients. In carcinoma of the bronchus the low plasma zinc was found to be associated with epidermoid and anaplastic tumours and was to some extent related to the duration of the disease.In carcinoma of the bronchus the plasma copper was found to be higher than in all other groups, and values higher than 26·5 μmol/l were considered to support a diagnosis of carcinoma of the bronchus. There was, however, no relationship between the increase in the plasma copper and the decrease in the plasma zinc.Raised caeruloplasmin levels above 420 mg/l were found in 65% of cases of carcinoma of the bronchus, and these high levels were usually associated with raised plasma copper. Growth hormone was normal in all groups except six patients with carcinoma of the bronchus with secondary carcinoma of the liver, in whom it was raised. Surgical operations lowered plasma zinc and raised growth hormone but did not affect plasma copper.A plasma zinc below 11·5 μmol/l is helpful in the diagnosis of carcinoma of the bronchus, but by itself it is not sufficiently specific to be considered diagnostic or to form a reliable screening test. A raised plasma copper and a raised plasma caeruloplasmin were useful supportive findings.
Diagnostic value and biological significance of antibody-coated bacteria in urine
Authors: Mengoli C , Arosio E , Bonato D , Spiazzi G , Pancera P , Montesi G , Lechi A , Scuro LA 
Published: June 2007

The incidence of antibody-coated bacteria (ACB) in the urinary sediments as an indication of the site of urinary tract infections (UTI) was investigated in 103 adult subjects with persistent bacteriuria by means of a direct immunofluorescence technique.ACB were found in 49 of 58 (84·5%) subjects with long-standing upper urinary tract obstruction and in 5 of 45 (11·1%) with lower UTI; this difference was statistically significant (X2= 51·79; P<0·001). The group with upper UTI was further subdivided according to renal function (patients with renal insufficiency had both bilateral obstruction and bilateral renal damage); 21 positive results were obtained in 27 (77·8%) patients with normal renal function, whereas 28 positive cases were observed among 31 (90·3%) patients with chronic renal insufficiency. Thus the degree of renal involvement also seemed to influence the outcome of the test. Within the group of lower UTI, a higher rate of `false-positive' results was obtained in 14 patients with symptomatic long-standing infection (21·4%) than in 31 subjects with asymptomatic bacteriuria (6·4%). The three major immunoglobulin classes and the secretory component were studied in 42 cases. Of these, 29 were found to be positive for ACB. The constant presence of IgA and secretory component on the surface of ACB suggests that the secretory immune system plays an important role in UTI.
Urinary excretion of glycosaminoglycans and hydroxyproline in Paget's disease of bone, compared with neoplastic invasion of bone
Authors: Bower Lynne , Manley Gerald 
Published: June 2007

Urinary glycosaminoglycan and hydroxyproline excretion was studied in 11 patients with clear evidence of Paget's disease of bone. Urinary hydroxyproline, cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC)-precipitable uronic acid and CPC-precipitable hexosamine were expressed as ratios to urinary creatinine. Urine samples were concentrated × 1000 by vacuum dialysis and the glycosaminoglycans examined by electrophoresis on cellulose acetate followed by staining with alcian blue. All the cases studied showed markedly raised hydroxyproline excretion, whereas the uronic acid excretion was normal or only slightly raised in 10 of the 11 cases studied. One patient who had a raised uronic acid and raised hydroxyproline concentration was shown to have osteosarcoma as a complication of Paget's disease.The very high hydroxyproline: creatinine ratio in all cases of Paget's disease (mean 241·8 mmol hydroxyproline/mol creatinine) contrasted sharply with the cases of disseminated neoplasm, where the ratio was either normal or slightly raised (mean 29·3 mmol hydroxyproline/mol creatinine). The ratio of hydroxyproline to CPC-precipitable uronic acid was also markedly raised in cases of Paget's disease (mean 77·3 mmol hydroxyproline/mmol uronic acid) and was lower in the neoplastic group (mean 14·1 mmol hydroxyproline/mmol uronic acid) but showed no advantage over the hydroxyproline: creatinine ratio in differentiating the two groups.The urinary hydroxyproline: creatinine ratio promises to be of value in differentiating between Paget's disease of bone and neoplastic invasion of bone. A marked rise in CPC-precipitable uronic acid excretion alone is more suggestive of neoplastic invasion of bone, and if associated with a marked increase in hydroxyproline excretion, it raises the possibility of neoplastic change in Paget's disease of bone. The results of this study also suggest that bone collagen, rather than bone tissue in general, is primarily affected in Paget's disease.