Development of a scintillation proximity assay for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis KasA and KasB enzymes involved in mycolic acid biosynthesis.

Tuberculosis remains a global health problem, and programs dedicated to discovery of novel compounds against Mycobacterium tuberculosis require robust assays for high-throughput screening of chemical and natural product libraries. Enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of mycolic acids, vital components of the mycobacterial cell wall, have received much attention as potential drug targets. KasA and KasB, examples of the beta-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase I/II (KASI/II) class of condensing enzymes of the M. tuberculosis fatty acid synthase II system have been the focus of several studies designed to biochemically characterize these enzymes. Whilst robust methods have been developed for FabH-like proteins, fast and sensitive assays for high-throughput screening of KASI/II enzymes have not been available. Here we report the development of a direct scintillation proximity assay (SPA) for the KASI/II enzymes, KasA and KasB. The SPA was more sensitive than existing assays, as shown by its ability to measure activity using less enzyme than other assay formats, and the SPA was validated using the known KAS inhibitor thiolactomycin. In addition, the KasA and KasB SPA was adapted for use with Staphylococcus aureus FabF to show the versatility of this assay format to KAS enzymes from other pathogenic organisms.

The epidemiology of women's rugby injuries.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify all injuries to members of an elite women's rugby team and to compare these injuries with published data on injuries in other women's contact and collision sports. DESIGN: This was a prospective cohort observational study conducted using a monthly log completed by the team's certified athletic therapist to closely monitor attendance at practices and games along with the type and severity of injuries. SETTING: Rugby games and practices held in Ontario, Quebec, and the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: Forty members of the Ontario Women's Senior Provincial Rugby Team over the 1997 season and the 1998 World Championships. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: An injury was defined as a rugby-related event that kept a player out of practice or competition for >24 hours or required the attention of a physician (e.g., suturing lacerations) and in addition included all dental, eye, and nerve injuries and concussions. RESULTS: There were a total of 35 injuries in 4,958 player-hours and 2,926 athletic exposures. This resulted in a rugby injury rate of 7.1+/-0.4 per 1,000 player-hours and 12.0+/-2 per 1,000 athletic exposures. CONCLUSION: The incidence of injuries in women's rugby is comparable with that in other women's contact and collision sports, indicating that the sport may be safer than stated in the literature and media.

Spinal injuries in ice hockey.

SportSmart Canada maintains a registry of spinal injuries in hockey and has documented 214 cases of fracture or dislocation of the spine, occurring mainly in North America since 1966. The current annual incidence is approximately 15 cases per year and may be declining as a result of intense prevention programs. Most of the injuries have been to the cervical spine in players 16 to 20 years of age playing supervised games. Checking from behind causing impact of the head against boards has been an important cause of injury, especially for those injuries resulting in neurological deficit.

New spinal injuries in hockey.

OBJECTIVES: In this study, we wished to examine the nature and incidence of major spinal injuries sustained by ice hockey players and to add reported cases to a permanent registry. DESIGN: The study was a retrospective review of questionnaires returned by physicians reporting spinal injuries due to ice hockey. SETTING: Canada primarily, with reported cases from other nations. PATIENTS: Two hundred forty-one cases of fracture or dislocation of the spine have been reported. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The registry includes annual incidence and mortality incidence as well as documentation of sex, age, mechanism of injury, vertebral level of injury, neurologic deficit, type of event, and type of fracture for most cases. RESULTS: Between 1982 and 1993, an average of 16.8 ice hockey related major spinal injuries were reported each year. Many of these injuries occurred to the cervical spine of players aged 16-20 years who were playing in supervised games. CONCLUSIONS: Prevention programs are beginning to become effective in decreasing the number of severe injuries and the number of injuries caused by a check from behind, although there has not been a significant decrease in the total number of injuries reported annually.

The use of DMSO in tennis elbow and rotator cuff tendonitis: a double-blind study.

Over a 1-yr period, 102 patients with a clinical diagnosis of either medial or lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) or rotator cuff tendonitis were treated with topical applications of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). A double-blind controlled study was carried out on these patients in the private practice of an orthopaedic surgeon to determine the efficacy of this material in the treatment of these two common clinical conditions. Beneficial effects were assessed with respect to improvement in pain, tenderness or swelling, and increase in the range of motion. Forty patients were treated for each of the two ailments; patients treated with the 70% DMSO aqueous solution did not receive any more beneficial effect from the drug than patients who received 5% DMSO aqueous placebo solution.