[Sjögren's syndrome: a new approach to treatment]. / Syndrome de Sjögren: enfin une nouvelle approche de traitement.

Södgren's syndrome treatment has essentially been based on symptomatic approach and has been of limited efficacy. Novel biological therapies targeting B cells, a key player in the pathophysiology of the syndrome, have recently been tested in controlled clinical trials and raise the hope of improving glandular and extraglandular manifestations of Söigren's syndrome.

[Addiction]. / Dépendances.

The news in addiction medicine for 2011 include new knowledges coming from the neurosciences, but also new clinical concepts, as the role of hospital addiction units in an integrated network of care. The issue of cocaine vaccination is discussed from an ethical point of view. Finally, the integration of mindfulness techniques is introduced as a useful approach in the treatment of the addictions.

Evaluation of the Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis instrument in a Swiss sample of drug abusers.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate a French language version of the Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis (ADAD) instrument in a Swiss sample of adolescent illicit drug and/or alcohol users. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The participants in the study were 102 French-speaking adolescents aged 13-19 years who fitted the criteria of illicit drug or alcohol use (at least one substance--except tobacco--once a week during the last 3 months). They were recruited in hospitals, institutions and leisure places. Procedure. The ADAD was administered individually by trained psychologists. It was integrated into a broader protocol including alcohol and drug abuse DSM-IV diagnoses, the BDI-13 (Beck Depression Inventory), life events and treatment trajectories. RESULTS: The ADAD appears to show good inter-rater reliability; the subscales showed good internal coherence and the correlations between the composite scores and the severity ratings were moderate to high. Finally, the results confirmed good concurrent validity for three out of eight ADAD dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: The French language version of the ADAD appears to be an adequate instrument for assessing drug use and associated problems in adolescents. Despite its complexity, the instrument has acceptable validity, reliability and usefulness criteria, enabling international and transcultural comparisons.

Electron spectroscopic imaging analyses of the distribution of phosphorus in Balbiani ring granules and in the surrounding nucleoplasm.

The in situ distribution of phosphorus was studied in unstained ultrathin sections of salivary glands of Chironomus tentans and Ch. thummi larvae using elemental mapping by means of an energy-filtering transmission electron microscope. This distribution was related to the structures observed using contrast enhancement with inelastically scattered electrons at 250 eV. This procedure demonstrated that a phosphorus-containing fibril about 2 nm thick is the common substructure of the following nuclear ribonucleoprotein structural constituents: the Balbiani ring granules, their precursor fibrils seen at the sites of transcription, especially at the Balbiani rings, and the fibres traversing the pore of the nuclear envelope. These phosphorus-containing thin fibrils are sensitive to RNase. Thicker substructural features of the Balbiani ring granules, occurring as a curved ribbon on a dense particle, appear to be formed by the dense packing of the fine fibrils. The Balbiani ring granules located near the nuclear envelope are often linked to it by fine filaments.

Phosphorus distribution in perichromatin granules and surrounding nucleoplasm as visualized by electron spectroscopic imaging.

The in situ distribution of phosphorus in perichromatin granules (PCGs), and in the surrounding nucleoplasm was investigated in rat liver cells by means of electron spectroscopic imaging of unstained preparations. A 2-3 nm fibril containing high concentration of phosphorus was found to be the main substructural feature of the PCGs revealed in the maps of phosphorus. This fibril is folded within the PCG with no apparent order. Fibrils of similar diameter and phosphorus content were also found in both the halo surrounding the PCG and dispersed in the nucleoplasm. Some of such fibrils are in continuity with those occurring within PCGs. Sometimes these fibrils are grouped forming a stalk connecting the PCG to chromatin. Some stalked PCGs are U-shaped or kidney-shaped, resembling Balbiani ring granules in the process of formation as observed in Chironomus salivary gland cell nuclei. The external fibrils are interpreted as perichromatin fibrils considered to be precursors of PCGs.

A new type of ribonucleoprotein constituent of the polytene nucleus of the salivary glands of Chironomus thummi and Ch. tentans.

Using electron spectroscopic imaging, a new type of small granular structural constituent has been observed in the extrachromosomal zone of the polytene nucleus of the salivary gland cells of Chironomus thummi and Chironomus tentans. These granules appear isolated or in small clumps and are often seen to be connected with surrounding thin fibrils. They are stained by the EDTA procedure, which is preferential for nuclear ribonucleoprotein (RNP) constituents, and by the bismuth oxynitrate method for visualizing phosphorylated compounds. The granules are 15-23 nm in diameter and are digested by prolonged post-embedding RNAse hydrolysis. These structural elements contain the highest concentration of phosphorus in the interchromosomal space as revealed by electron energy loss spectroscopy. The small granules exhibit several morphological and cytochemical features in common with interchromatin granules, but they are not labeled with antibodies directed against extranucleolar small nuclear RNPs (snRNPs), as are interchromatin granules.

Ultrastructural detection of calcium and magnesium in the chromatoid body of mouse spermatids by electron spectroscopic imaging and electron energy loss spectroscopy.

We studied at the ultrastructural level the presence of calcium and magnesium in the chromatoid body (CB) in mouse spermatids. In addition, the presence of these two cations was also examined in the nucleolus. By electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) and electron energy loss spectroscopic (EELS) analyses on glutaraldehyde/pyroantimonate-fixed material, we showed the association of pyroantimonate precipitate granules containing calcium and/or magnesium with the CB. The granules in both active (primary spermatocytes) and inactive (spermatids) nucleoli contain mainly calcium. Our results confirm that although the pyroantimonate technique used alone suffers from a lack of specificity, it can be useful for in situ immobilization of different cations that are further resolved with methods of elemental analysis. Without pyroantimonate fixation, only very few spots containing calcium can be localized by ESI and EELS.

Electron spectroscopic imaging and X-ray microanalysis of phosphorus in mouse sperm chromatin.

The influence of HCl hydrolysis on DNA detection in a Feulgen-type reaction using osmium ammine has been analyzed at the electron microscopic level by means of electron spectroscopic imaging, electron energy loss spectroscopy and X-ray microanalysis in energy dispersive spectroscopy. Both the stained DNA and the phosphorus mapping for a given hydrolysis condition were studied in parallel on the same nucleus. We have found that the pattern of osmium ammine-stained DNA and phosphorus imaging can be superimposed for a short hydrolysis time. After long HCl treatment, DNA is barely detectable by osmium ammine while phosphorus is still present in the thin sections. Taking into account the fact that the cells are embedded in a plastic resin, it is reasonable to think that in this case DNA depolymerization does not completely correspond to DNA loss. An incomplete loss of this highly denatured and depolymerized DNA from the plastic sections will explain both the presence of phosphorus and the poor stainability with a Schiff-type reagent.