Natural family planning: suitability of the CUE method for defining the time of ovulation.

The purpose of this study was to compare the CUE method for family planning with the Ovulation Detection Method for defining the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle. We evaluated 42 cycles from 10 women in Monterrey, Mexico, who were monitored by basal body temperatures, urinary LH, pelvic ultrasound, and the CUE monitor. The fertile phase of the cycle was adequately defined in all cycles using the CUE method, and in 35 cycles (83.3%) by the Ovulation Method. Using our protocol, the period of recommended abstinence with the CUE method is 9 days and with the Ovulation Method 11 days. The CUE method accurately defines the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle, thus improving the predictability of ovulation for women who use natural methods of birth control.

PIP: To evaluate the potential utility of the CUE method in natural family planning (NFP), this method was compared with a standard NFP technique, the Ovulation Method, in 39 cycles of 10 women from Monterrey, Mexico. All women had more than 2 years' experience with the Ovulation Method. In the CUE method, ovulation prediction is based on a peak in salivary electrical resistance and its confirmation by a rise in vaginal resistance as monitored by a hand-held electronic instrument attached to a specially designed sensor. The CUE method defined the fertile period of all 39 cycles adequately, while the Ovulation Method resulted in incorrect definition of the fertile phase in 4 (10%) of 39 cycles. The salivary peak predicted ovulation an average of 8 days in advance of its occurrence and the increase in vaginal readings in the periovulatory period was seen within 1 day of follicle collapse in all subjects. The duration of abstinence required by the CUE method would have averaged 9.0 +or- 1.5 days (range, 6-13 days). In contrast, the average duration of abstinence associated with the Ovulation Method was 11.0 +or- 2.9 days (range, 6-16 days). 82% of cycles monitored by the CUE method compared with only 53% of those monitored by the Ovulation Method would have required a period of abstinence of 10 days or less. The simplicity and objectivity of the CUE method, combined with its requirement for fewer days of abstinence, offer the potential for improving NFP compliance and continuation.

Reduction of interleukin 1 and interleukin 2 production by patients with advanced cancer.

1. The concentrations of interleukin 1 (IL-1) and interleukin 2 (IL-2) produced in the supernatants of peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures from patients with advanced cancer were measured to identify some of the causes of the immunological impairment characteristic of malignant disease. 2. Mononuclear cells obtained from 19 cancer patients were stimulated to produce IL-1 and IL-2 and compared with those of healthy controls. A severe reduction of both IL-1 and IL-2 activity was observed. 3. There was no correlation between the lower number of OKT4+ cells observed in these patients and the levels of IL-2 production. The removal of monocytes did not bring IL-2 levels to normal. Impaired IL-2 production could not be restored to normal by addition of IL-1. 5. These results suggest that exogenous IL-1 and IL-2 may be useful in cancer immunotherapy.

Reduction of interleukin 1 and interleukin 2 production by patients with advanced cancer

The concentrations of interleukin 1 (IL-1) and interleukin 2 (IL-2) produced in the supernatants of peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures from patients with advanced cancer were measured to identify some of the causes of the immunological impairment characteristic of malignant disease. Mononuclear cells obtained from 19 cancer patients were stimulated to produce IL-1 and IL-2 and compared with those of healthy controls. A severe reduction of both IL-1 and IL-2 activity was observed. There was no correlation between the lower number of OKT4+ cells observed in these patients and the levels of IL-2 production. The removal of monocytes did not bring IL-2 levels to normal. Impaired IL-2 production could not be restored to normal by addition of IL-1. These results suggest that exogenous IL-01 and IL-2 may be useful in cancer immunotherapy

Modulating action of Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) on the humoral immune response.

The effect of Escherichia coli enterotoxin STa on the primary and secondary immune response in F1 (CBA x C57 B1/10) mice immunized against sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was investigated. Modulating action on the IgM and IgG response was found to be dependent on the dose-time administration of the toxin. Immunosuppression of the primary response on the 4th day after immunization was observed when the toxin was injected 15 min before the SRBC, followed by immunostimulation on the 6th day after antigen (Ag) injection. Moreover, toxin administration 48 h before SRBC caused immunosuppression of the primary immune response on the 4th and 6th days. On the other hand, the IgM and IgG secondary immune response, determined 6 days after boosting, was greatly enhanced by toxin administration 15 min before priming (day 0) or boosting (day 26) and 48 h before priming. The same response was suppressed by toxin administration 48 h before booster antigen injection.

Differentiation between monoclonal antibody-defined antigens on a human osteogenic sarcoma cell line (791T) and tumor-localizing properties of the anti-791T/36 antibody.

Two monoclonal antibodies (anti-791T/36 and anti-791T/48) prepared against an osteogenic sarcoma cell line (791T) following xenogeneic immunization, reacted against the immunizing tumor, but not against normal cells from the tumor-donor, using an indirect 125I-protein A binding assay. Both antibodies cross-reacted with a small number of other osteogenic sarcomas and a few unrelated cell lines from an extensive panel, but the specificity of these cross-reactions was different. Both antibodies were labelled with 125I to detect direct binding to target cells, and the specificity of their reactivity was essentially identical to that observed in the indirect assay. Direct binding of each labelled antibody was inhibited by pretreating target cells with its unlabelled counterpart, but the two antibodies could not inhibit each other. The binding of anti-791T/36 was also not inhibited by pretreating the target cells with sera from the 791-T-tumor donor, which were shown to contain antibody reacting with the autochthonous tumor. It is concluded that 791T has two distinct tumor-associated antigens recognized by the monoclonal antibodies, and furthermore that at least one of these antigens is independent of those recognized by the patient from which the tumor cell line was derived. The efficacy of anti-791T/36 antibody labelled with radioactive iodine was demonstrated for localizing tumor deposits growing in immunodeprived mice.