Anti-serum amyloid component P antibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus correlate with disease activity.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the presence of raised titres of anti-serum amyloid P component (SAP) antibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to evaluate their correlation with clinical disease by the SLEDAI and clinical manifestations. METHODS: 452 samples were screened for raised anti-SAP antibody titres by an ELISA. Clinical measures and SLEDAI scores were independently reviewed from medical records. 21 serial samples from 7 patients with SLE were assessed for a change in anti-SAP antibody titres after treatment. RESULTS: Raised anti-SAP antibody titres were detected in 145/328 (44%) SLE samples. In 112 randomly selected samples, 69/112 (62%) patients had raised anti-SAP antibodies and anti-dsDNA antibody titres, whereas only 32/112 (28%) had raised anti-dsDNA antibody titres without raised anti-SAP antibody titres. The mean titre of anti-SAP antibodies in patients with active disease was higher than in patients with inactive disease and controls. SLEDAI scores, assessed in 54 patients, were raised in 26/31 (84%) patients with raised anti-SAP antibody titres. A SLEDAI score >or=8 was found in 16/31 (52%) patients with raised anti-SAP antibody titres but in only 5/23 (22%) patients without raised titres. No specific pattern of disease was detected in patients with or without raised titres of anti-SAP antibodies. Serial sampling from patients with active SLE and raised anti-SAP antibody titres showed that anti-SAP antibody titres decreased after treatment and correlated with clinical improvement. CONCLUSION: Raised anti-SAP antibody titres detected in patients with SLE correlate with disease activity and decrease with improvement of clinical disease, and thus may serve as an additional prognostic marker.

Applications of impulsive stimulated scattering in the Earth and planetary sciences.

The elastic, thermodynamic, and transport properties of crystals and fluids at high temperature and pressure play a central role in the earth and planetary sciences as well as in a variety of technologies. These properties also constitute a principal experimental constraint on the description of intermolecular interactions at short distances. Aspects of "impulsive stimulated scattering," when adapted to measurements in the diamond-anvil high-pressure cell, provide an approach to the determination of a subset of equilibrium and dynamic properties at high density.

Sound velocities in olivine at Earth mantle pressures.

The independent elastic constants of an upper mantle mineral, San Carlos olivine [(Mg(1.8)Fe(0.2))SiO(4)], were measured from 0 to 12.5 gigapascals. Evidence is offered in support of the proposition that the explicit temperature dependence of the bulk modulus is small over the range of temperatures and pressures thought to prevail above the 400-kilometer discontinuity, and thus the data can be extrapolated to estimate the properties of olivine under mantle conditions at a depth of 400 kilometers. In the absence of high-temperature data at high pressures, estimates are made of the properties of olivine under mantle conditions to a depth of 400 kilometers. In contrast with low-pressure laboratory data, the predicted covariance of shear and compressional velocities as a function of temperature nearly matches the seismically estimated value for the lower mantle.

Velocity of sound and equations of state for methanol and ethanol in a diamond-anvil cell.

The adaptability of laser-induced phonon spectroscopy to the determination of acoustic velocity and the equation of state in the diamond-anvil high-pressure cell is demonstrated. The technique provides a robust method for measurements at high pressure in both solids and liquids so that important problems in high-pressure elasticity and the earth sciences are now tractable. The velocity of sound and the density of methanol at 25 degrees C have been measured up to a pressure of 6.8 gigapascals. These results imply a higher density (by approximately 5 percent) for liquid methanol above 2.5 gigapascals than that given in existing compilations. The adiabatic bulk modulus increases by a factor of 50 at a maximum compression of 1.8. The thermodynamic Grüneisen parameters of methanol and ethanol both increase with increasing pressure, in contrast to the behavior of most solids.

Oxitropium bromide, a new anticholinergic bronchodilator.

Oxitropium bromide (OB) is a quaternary ammonium congener of hyoscine with anticholinergic properties. We studied its bronchodilating properties in 14 patients with chronic obstructive lung disease without features of asthma in whom theophylline and other bronchodilators were withheld. Five doses of OB(20, 40, 100, 200, and 400 micrograms) as well as 150 micrograms of isoproterenol (ISO) and placebo were administered by metered-dose inhaler on separate occasions in a double-blind fashion. Pulmonary function (flow volume loops and airways resistance), blood pressure, and pulse rate were measured at baseline and periodically for eight hours after drug administration. Onset of bronchodilator effect was within five minutes for OB (P less than .025). Duration of action of OB was at least eight hours (P less than .025). The dose response characteristics of OB were examined by correlating the log dose with the areas under the time-FEV1 curve (r = .97, P less than .01), the time-forced vital capacity curve (r = .98, P less than .01), and the time-SGAW curve (r = .83, P less than 0.1). For FEV1, doses of 40 to 400 micrograms were significantly better than placebo and 100 to 400 micrograms were better than ISO (P less than .01). For forced vital capacity, all doses of OB were better than placebo (P less than .05). For SGAW, the response to the 100- and 400-micrograms doses were significantly better than placebo and isoproterenol (P less than .05). There were no significant effects of OB on pulse, blood pressure, or electrocardiogram. No side effects were noted from the use of OB.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Urographic imaging in neonatal period: radionuclide scan and x-ray.

A retrospective study of efficacy of radioisotopic renal scan intravenous urogram in 10 infants with various urologic diseases showed the scan to be more rapid and accurate in depicting the lesions. Since the radioisotopic renal scan requires less irradiation than the intravenous pyelogram, it should be used first as a screening test in infants suspected of having urologic problems.