Abnormalities of the thyroid in survivors of childhood Hodgkin's disease.

AIM: The progress made in the treatment of Hodgkin's disease (HD) has resulted in long-term survival rates >90%, therefore late sequelae of treatment, especially endocrine diseases, have become more important. Hypothyroidism is the most frequent thyroid disease but hyperthyroidism, thyroid nodules and cancer are also frequent. Thyroid cancer begins to appear 5-10 years after neck irradiation and risk persists for decades. Therefore it is important a careful and long-term follow-up of these patients. METHODS: This report analyzed the thyroid function of thirteen patients successfully treated for childhood HD according to three different protocols of therapy. Treatment modalities were correlated to the occurrence of thyroid dysfunction. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 8.3 years, nine out of thirteen patients were found to have thyroid abnormalities. Six patients developed hypothyroidism, one patient developed hyperthyroidism, two patients showed only ultrasound abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: The patients treated with lower radiotherapy (RT) doses and restricted RT extension showed a lower incidence of thyroid abnormalities compared to patients treated with higher RT dose and extended RT field. This study, even though performed in a small cohort of patients, confirms the high incidence of thyroid abnormalities in patients treated for HD and strengthens the importance of a long-term follow-up.

Chemical immobilisation of free-ranging Pampas foxes (Pseudalopex gymnocercus): Assessment of ketamine-xylazine and tiletamine-zolazepam combinations.

Two protocols to immobilise free-ranging Pampas foxes for ear-tagging or radio-collaring were evaluated. One hundred fifteen foxes were injected with ketamine-xylazine (K-X) and thirteen with tiletamine-zolazepam (T-Z). The use of both T-Z and K-X combinations typically resulted in a smooth induction and recovery. In 86% of the cases K-X protocol was judged effective (mean±SD, K: 10.7±3.3mg/kg, X: 1.0±1.0mg/kg) while T-Z protocol was judged effective in 92% of the cases (T: 3.6±1.05mg/kg, Z: 3.6±1.05mg/kg). The primary differences between the two drug combinations were that the time necessary for the complete recovery was longer with T-Z, and thermic problems were found more frequently with K-X. Additionally, our results suggest that thermic stress may be a relatively frequent complication for Pampas foxes. This study provides baseline data on some physiologic variables in Pampas foxes captured with different methods and drugs in field conditions.

Intrinsic neuronal control of the pyloric sphincter of the lamb.

To better understand the local neuronal network of the gastro-duodenal junction in ruminants, we identified the components of the enteric nervous system (ENS) innervating the pyloric sphincter (PS) of the lamb abomasum. The neurons were labelled after injecting the tracer Fast Blue (FB) into the wall of the PS, and the phenotype of the FB-labelled neurons was immunohistochemically investigated using antibodies against nitric oxide synthase (NOS), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), tachykinin (substance P) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). The FB-labelled abomasal myenteric plexus (MP) neurons, observed up to 14cm from the PS, were NOS-immunoreactive (IR) (82+/-12%), ChAT-IR (51+/-29%), SP-IR (61+/-33%), and also TH-IR (2%). The descending nitrergic neurons were also SP-IR (64%) and ChAT-IR (21%); the cholinergic descending neurons were SP-IR (3%). The FB-labelled duodenal neurons were located only in the MP, up to 8cm from the sphincter and were ChAT-IR (79+/-16%), SP-IR (32+/-18%), NOS-IR (from 0 to 2%), and also TH-IR (4+/-3%). The cholinergic ascending neurons were also SP-IR (60%) whereas no ChAT-IR cells were NOS-IR. The findings of this research indicate that the sheep PS is innervated by long-projecting neurons of the abomasal and duodenal ENS.

[A modified technique of gallbladder dissection from the liver during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Personal technique]. / La dissociazione della colecisti dal letto epatico durante colecistectomia laparoscopica. Tecnica personale.

BACKGROUND: Gallbladder injures during cholecystectomy happens more frequently when surgical operation is conduced under laparoscopic (16%) rather than laparotomic (8%) access. A modification of the technique of dissection of the gallbladder from the liver is presented, suggesting a progression from the medium to the lateral side. This technique should facilitate the division of the organs and, above all, limit the gallbladder iatrogenic injures. METHODS: During 1995-2000 we have employed our technique in 637 patients, 89 (14%) affected by acute cholecystytis, subjected to laparoscopic cholecystectomy. RESULTS: Gallbladder injures occurred in 38 cases (6%), with stones liberation 12 (1,9%): 11 had been submitted to surgery in emergency. All patients have been subjected to follow-up from 12 to 30 months. No intraperitoneal abscess was observed, while suppuration of the umbilical port occurred in 12 patients (1,9%): 6 were affected by systemic illnesses. CONCLUSIONS: Our technique can limit the incidence of iatrogenic gallbladder injuries during laparoscopic cholecystectomies, reducing surgical times, antibiotics administration, incidence of perioperative complications. Besides, this technique may facilitate the gallbladder dissection from the liver in case of infundibular stones.

Habitat richness affects home range size in the red fox Vulpes vulpes.

The spatial behaviour of the red fox Vulpes vulpes shows a great flexibility (Voigt and Macdonald, 1984). Home range size varies from 10 to over 5000 ha (Macdonald, 1987; Voigt, 1987). In carnivores, variations in home range size, weighed for body mass (Gittleman and Harvey, 1982), are largely related to differences in habitat productivity, but the intraspecific local variation in home range size can be only partially explained by differences in productivity. Macdonald (1981, 1983) suggested that home range size and configuration were determined in the red fox by the dispersion of food-rich patches. More recently, it has been found that In this paper, evidence for a strong influence of habitat richness on home range size of the red fox is reported.

Histamine H1 receptors in UC-11MG astrocytes and their regulation of cytoplasmic Ca2+.

Experiments were carried out on UC-11MG human astrocytoma cells, a continuous cell line that expresses a broad range of the biochemical and electrophysiological properties found in well-differentiated astrocytes. Because of a number of recent reports that astrocytes may express receptors for a variety of neuro-active substances, we measured the effects of 12 different neurotransmitters on intracellular free Ca2+ (Ca2+i) in UC-11MG cells. Of these neurotransmitters only histamine was found to have a significant effect. Further characterization of the nature of the histamine response showed that UC-11MG cells express mepyramine-sensitive H1 receptors the activation of which causes both mobilization of Ca2+ from intracellular stores and entry of Ca2+ from the extracellular solution. No evidence was found for the presence of H2 receptors. The Ca2+i response was maximal at 300 microM histamine and was attenuated by increasing cell density. We suggest that this neurotransmitter may play a role in astrocytic function in the human CNS.

Intracholecystic hemorrhage: an atypical complication after liver needle biopsy.

The authors report an unusual case of intracholecystic hemorrhage related to liver biopsy in a 23-year-old man. Echography and computed tomography evidenced changes in density within the gallbladder which were probably caused by hemorrhagic discharge. Although the mechanism by which liver biopsy induced intracholecystic hemorrhage is unclear, the authors believe that this iatrogenic complication was probably the result of microlesions of the gallbladder wall caused by needle puncture: the lesions extended into the submucosa and provoked slow hematic leakage. The pain syndrome began 48 hours after biopsy. The peculiarity of this case report was confirmed by the fact that no bile was aspirated, no choleperitoneum was found, and no gallbladder tissue was detected in the sample. The authors conclude by recommending clinical and echographic control following liver biopsy.

In vitro protection of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase by tetrahydroaminoacridine. Comparison with physostigmine.

The protective action of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9-aminoacridine (THA) against the long-lasting inactivation of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) brought about by diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) and physostigmine, as well as by neostigmine in the case of AChE only, was evaluated by a dilution technique using Electrophorus electricus AChE and horse serum BuChE as target enzymes. In parallel experiments, the ability of physostigmine itself to protect these enzymes from DFP was evaluated and compared with that of THA. THA pretreatment was seen to prevent in a dose-dependent manner the inhibition of both AChE and BuChE. However, it was appreciably more potent towards AChE than towards BuChE. THA mean EC50 values for protecting AChE against 10, 40 and 100 microM DFP were 0.04, 0.16 and 0.45 microM, respectively; against 1 microM physostigmine the value was 1.8 microM and against 1.2 microM neostigmine it was 3.0 microM. The THA mean EC50 value for protecting BuChE against 3 microM physostigmine was 0.55 microM and the values for protecting against 3, 10 and 40 microM DFP were 1.5, 3 and greater than 10 microM, respectively. The protective action of THA was time independent: recovery of the maximal enzymic activity was immediate upon dilution. Unlike THA, the protective action of physostigmine developed progressively after dilution and was maximal within 3-4 (AChE) or 6-8 hr (BuChE). Under our experimental conditions, 0.3 microM physostigmine protected approximately 70% of AChE from 40 microM DFP and 5 microM physostigmine protected 9 and 47% of BuChE from 40 and 3 microM DFP, respectively. The results of this work suggest that THA exerts its protective action by shielding the active site of AChE and BuChE from the attack of the inactivating agents on account of its higher enzymic affinity, whereas the protective action of physostigmine against DFP takes advantage also of the carbamylation of the enzyme. These results are in line with the hypothesis that protection of AChE is the primary mechanism responsible for the antidotal action of THA against organophosphorus poisoning.

Intracellular Ca2+ measurement with Indo-1 in substrate-attached cells: advantages and special considerations.

The dual emission, Ca2+ sensitive fluorescent dye, Indo-1, offers several potential advantages over its dual excitation analogue, Fura-2. Most notable among these advantages are increased speed of measurement using dual wavelength photometry and the absence of a requirement for special quartz optics. Despite these potential advantages, only a tiny fraction of the microscopic studies of intracellular free calcium ([Ca2+]i) on substrate-attached cells has employed Indo-1. Among the reasons for the infrequent use of Indo-1 are the fact that it exhibits somewhat different spectral properties in the cytosol than it does in extracellular buffers, and the notion that it is much more sensitive to photobleaching than Fura-2. We report here that under our experimental conditions, Indo-1 photobleaching is small and does not noticeably affect the measurement of free Ca2+, even after 30 minutes of continuous illumination. We also report a new method for creating in situ standard curves that is easy, reproducible, and yields values for [Ca2+]i that are identical to those obtained with Fura-2. In addition, we have found that Indo-1 is less subject than Fura-2 to compartmentalization within subcellular organelles. These results provide baseline data to take advantage of the significant improvement afforded by Indo-1 in the measurement of rapid [Ca2+]i responses and the avoidance of compartmentalization artifacts during experiments of long duration.