Influence of bathing or washing on skin barrier function in newborns during the first four weeks of life.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: After birth, skin barrier function is in state of flux and at risk of dysfunction. In a prospective clinical study, we compared the effects of 2 standard cleansing procedures on skin barrier function in newborns. METHODS: Fifty-seven healthy full-term neonates aged < or = 48 h were randomly assigned to either a bathing group (group B; n = 29), who were bathed with clear water twice weekly, or to a washing group (group W; n = 28), who were washed with a washcloth moistened with clear water twice weekly. Transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin pH, stratum corneum hydration (SCH) and sebum production were measured at days 2, 7 and 28 of life on the forehead, abdomen, upper leg and buttock. RESULTS: Group B showed significantly lower TEWL on the buttock and higher SCH on the abdomen and forehead compared to group W at day 28. CONCLUSIONS: Both skin care regimens do not harm the adaptation of the skin barrier in healthy neonates within the first 4 weeks of life. Skin barrier function differentiates after birth in a regionally specific fashion.

Bovine immunodeficiency virus expression in vitro is reduced in the presence of beta-chemokines, MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta and RANTES.

The inhibition of HIV expression in vitro by a cocktail of the beta-chemokines MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta and RANTES provided the initial evidence that HIV utilizes chemokine receptors as co-receptors for infection of cells. Bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV), a lentivirus, infects a wide variety of leukocyte populations, but the cellular receptor(s) utilized by this virus for infection of cells is not known. The purpose of this study was to determine whether MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta and RANTES affect BIV expression in vitro, as a prelude to identifying the cellular receptors utilized by this virus. Fetal bovine lung (FBL) cells were pretreated with serial dilutions of a cocktail of the chemokines, and then the cells were infected with BIV. Virus expression in these cells was determined by counting the syncytia that had developed in the cultures by five days after infection. A significant decrease in syncytium formation, corresponding to increasing concentrations of the chemokines, was the result. Reacting the chemokines with chemokine-specific neutralizing antibodies prior to treatment of the cells neutralized the effect of the chemokines on virus replication in a dose-dependent manner, restoring viral expression to a level similar to that of untreated cells. The presence of a CCR5 homologue on the surface of FBL cells was confirmed using an anti-CCR5 monoclonal antibody and FACS analysis. Collectively, these data provide preliminary evidence that BIV may utilize the CCR5 receptor for infection of cells in vitro, but additional studies are necessary to confirm this.

[Operative treatment of vulvar cancer]. / Zur operativen Behandlung des Vulvakarzinoms.

The study reported in this paper was concerned with the problems and results of surgical treatment of invasive vulval carcinoma. Surgery was performed on 228 patients, 101 of them (44.2%) with Stage III and Stage IV carcinoma. In 156 women radical vulvectomy was combined with pelvic and inguinal lymphadenectomy. Lymph node metastases were found postoperatively in 110 patients (48%). Thirty-six patients (32.7%) had lymph node metastases in the small pelvis. The operation coefficient was 82%; postoperative morbidity was 21.4%, postoperative mortality 0.4%. Among the 228 patients operated on the 5-year survival rate was 59.2% (135 patients), and the three-year survival rate 71% (163 patients).