Adult supraglottitis due to herpes simplex virus.

Changes in the concepts regarding epiglottis have occurred over the last two decades. Supraglottis, once thought to occur exclusively in the pediatric population, is now recognized in adults. Supraglottis is a well-defined syndrome usually caused by a bacterial infection by Haemophilus influenzae type B. Recently, other organisms have been implicated as etiologic agents in cases of supraglottitis. Documented viral supraglottitis is very rare, and adult supraglottitis due to herpes simplex virus-I has not been reported to our knowledge.

Nonabsorbable radioactive material in the treatment of carcinomas by local injections.

Nonabsorbable radioactive material was used in treating malignant lesions by local injection. One hundred thirty-five Lewis Wistar rats were inoculated subcutaneously with tumor cells. After 7 days, the rats grew tumors of approximately 1 X 1 X 1 cm at the injection site. The rats then were divided into two groups; 50% were kept as a control group while the other 50% received single injections of 1 mCi yttrium 90 (90Y) microspheres directly into the center of the tumor. This study shows a significant reduction of the tumor growth rate in treated animals. Tumor sizes after 4 days averaged 1.31 ml in the treated rats and 9.74 ml in the control group. Excluding animals that had complete regression of the tumor, treated rats lived an average of 30.8 days from the day of treatment compared with the control rats, which lived an average of 17.4 days. Pathology examinations showed no effects from injected radioactive materials in the liver, bone marrow or the kidney. Examination of the injected area after 6 months showed that microspheres remained locally and that the tumor was replaced with collagen tissue.

Cystic metastasis from occult tonsillar primary simulating branchiogenic carcinoma: the case for tonsillectomy as a "grand biopsy".

The occult primary is a problem well known to head and neck surgeons. Less frequently discussed, but well documented, is cystic degeneration of metastatic nodes. When these conditions combine, they can suggest tumor arising in a pre-existing cervical cyst. This is a controversial condition, rare if it occurs at all, and is not to be invoked lightly.

Antitumor activity with nontoxic doses of protein A.

This report confirms our previous observation that IV inoculation of purified protein A causes regression of rat mammary adenocarcinomas. In treated tumors, we have obtained histological evidence of changes indicating tumor cell destruction. Protein A treatment does not cause reduction in the body weight or organ weights of rats; nor does it cause any decrease in activity of the enzymes of the microsomal mixed function oxidase system in the liver. Protein A stimulates peripheral white cell counts in normal rats, but not in tumor-bearing rats. We found that protein A infusion reduced (P less than 0.0005) the level of circulating plasma immune complex concentration. A homing study with 125I-labeled protein A indicated that liver, spleen, and kidney tissues are the major sites of protein A accumulation. Therefore, protein A seemed to exert its antitumor effects without causing any generalized toxicity to the system. It is postulated that the action of protein A may be related to its ability to cause a drastic reduction in circulating plasma immune complex concentration, thus potentiating the immune reactivity of the host observed earlier.

Gallium localization in peritonitis. Two case reports.

Diffuse abdominal localization of gallium was found in two patients with peritonitis, one due to M. tuberculosis and the other presumably pyogenic. Gallium scanning may be useful in the diagnosis of peritonitis and perhaps of other serosal infections.

Congenital aortic intimal thickening: Its occurrence in a case of twin-transfusion syndrome.

The intima of the elastic arteries undergoes progressive thickening with aging under hemodynamic stress. The earliest changes in humans have been recorded soon after birth, but rare intrauterine fetal cases are on record. We studied a case of intimal thickening that occurred during fetal life in the aorta of the hypervolemic partner of a pair of twins afflicted with placental transfusion syndrome. These in utero changes suggest that intimal thickening of elastic arteries may also occur any time during fetal life if the walls of these vessels are exposed to factors known to cause endothelial damage.

Age-related changes resembling fibrocystic disease in iodine-blocked rat breasts.

It has been reported that dietary restriction and chemical blockade of iodine causes histopathologic changes in peripubertal female rat breasts. This study extended the age range to include midreproductive life and perimenopausal rats; there is a wider spectrum of structural alterations that are associated with the older breast, with sodium perchlorate as the blocking agent. In 16-week-old rats, breasts showed general increased parenchymal activity and growth, regressing after removal of the block. In 42-week-old rats, breasts showed noticeable calcospherite deposition, intralobular fibrosis, and cystic changes resembling human fibrocystic disease. In 52-week-old rats, breasts exhibited atypical lobules cytologically, papillomatosis, sclerosing adenosis, calcifications, and a lobular transformation of a histologically dysplastic type. It is the older rat that experiments will more closely parallel the human condition.

Demonstration of effective antitumor immunity in an autochthonous host bearing primary colon tumors induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine dihydrochloride.

The role of host defense mechanisms in preventing the development of subclinical tumors into invasive tumors in an autochithonous host was studied in a model of rat colon carcinoma induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine dihydrochloride (DMH). Multiple gastrointestinal (GI) tumors were induced in inbred WF female rats exposed to DMH. In vitro and in vivo data suggested that the excision of the "first" GI tumor induced specific antitumor immune responses. After a complete excision of the first GI tumor, only 2 additional GI tumors were observed in 10 rats, whereas 13 and 12 additional GI tumors in 10 and 9 rats, respectively, were observed if the first GI tumor was left in situ or permitted to grow in an isolated segment of the colon. Furthermore, immunosuppression with antithymocyte globulin decreased the effectiveness of antitumor immunity induced by the immunizing first GI tumor. These experiments supported the view that an effective antitumor immunity is induced against successive tumors of an organ after a complete excision of a tumor originating in the same organ. The results of these experiments are discussed in relation to the observations of multiple primary neoplasms in humans.