Prevalence of chronic otitis media in a randomly selected population from two communes in southern Vietnam.

The prevalence of chronic otitis media was studied in an urban and a rural community in southern Vietnam in 1995. A total of 3,300 children, aged from 6 months to 10 years, were selected randomly by taking every third child on the vaccination list. In this cross-sectional study, 453 ears were found to have chronic otitis media or sequelae otitidis, giving an overall prevalence of 6.86%. A total of 140 ears had perforations. Various attic changes were found in 73 ears and other chronic tympanic membrane changes, such as atrophy, tympanosclerosis and adhesions, in 219 ears. Cholesteatoma was seen in two ears.

Point prevalence of secretory otitis media in children in southern Vietnam.

Few reliable data exist on the prevalence of secretory otitis media (SOM) in the Third World. A large epidemiologic cross-sectional study was undertaken in two communes in southern Vietnam to study an urban and a rural community during two different climatic conditions: the dry and rainy seasons. The participants included 3,300 children (6,598 ears) ages 6 months to 10 years. Otolaryngological and medical histories were obtained, and an otolaryngological examination was carried out on 1,669 children in April 1995 (the dry season) and on 1,631 children in December 1995 (the rainy season). Tympanograms were obtained (n = 6,055), 429 of which were type B curves. The overall prevalence of SOM was 7.1%, the highest incidence was at the age of 2 years (with a prevalence of 22%), and there was a significantly higher prevalence of SOM during the rainy season than during the dry season. No significant difference in incidence was found in the urban district as compared to the rural district.

Prevention of ischemically induced neointimal hyperplasia using ex vivo antisense oligodeoxynucleotides.

BACKGROUND: Chronic graft vascular disease in cardiac allografts results from coronary artery neointimal formation. Vascular ischemia has been shown to provoke the development of neointimal hyperplasia through endothelial damage. We used a rodent model of neointimal formation to test the in vivo effects of antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (AS ODN) specifically designed to block this process. METHODS: Aortas from ACI rats were mock transfected or transfected with 18 base pair AS ODNs against the 5' start codon region of both CDC2 kinase, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) mRNA. Transfection was accomplished by placing the aorta in ODN solution (transfected group, 40 micromol/L of each sequence) or saline solution alone (mock-transfected group) and exposing to hydrostatic pressure (2 atm) for 24 hours at 4 degrees C. Vessels were then interposition-grafted into the abdominal aorta of untreated isogenic recipients and procured on postoperative days (POD) 1, 6, and 14. RESULTS: Nuclear localization of fluorescein isothiocyanate ODN was observed in 81%+/-3% of medial smooth muscle cells at 24 hours after interposition grafting and reperfusion. Efficacy of AS ODNs at blocking CDC2 kinase and PCNA was verified on POD 6 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. This blockade significantly reduced ischemically induced vascular narrowing on POD 14 as assessed by use of computerized image analysis (3.85%+/-2.45% luminal narrowing for transfected vs 7.11%+/-2.03% for control subjects, p < 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Our data show the efficacy of AS ODN at blocking rat PCNA and CDC2 kinase up-regulation provoked by ischemia. This ex vivo approach had beneficial effects against vascular narrowing in a rodent model of ischemically induced neointimal hyperplasia, an antigen-independent factor important in the development of subsequent chronic graft vascular disease.

Mucinous adenocarcinoma of urinary bladder type arising from the prostatic urethra. Distinction from mucinous adenocarcinoma of the prostate.

We describe two cases of mucinous adenocarcinomas involving and confined to the prostate and originating from the prostatic urethra. These cases were identical to adenocarcinomas arising within the urinary bladder and differed from mucinous adenocarcinoma of the prostate. In both cases, an in situ adenocarcinoma component was identified in the overlying prostatic urethra. In one case the in situ adenocarcinoma arose in a villous adenoma of the urethra. Both cases contained lakes of mucin lined by tall columnar epithelium with varying degrees of cytologic atypia, and one case had mucin-positive signet cells. In contrast, mucinous adenocarcinomas of the prostate demonstrate tubules and cribriform glands floating within mucin; mucin-positive signet cells are rare. Both tumors were negative immunohistochemically for prostate-specific antigen and prostate-specific acid phosphatase and positive for carcinoembryonic antigen. One case was treated by radical prostatectomy, and the patient was without evidence of disease with short follow-up. Following simple prostatectomy, the other patient did not undergo definitive therapy for several years, at which point the tumor had progressed locally to an advanced stage. In terms of therapy, the distinction between mucinous adenocarcinoma or urinary bladder-type arising in the prostate depicted within the current study and mucinous adenocarcinoma of the prostate is significant.

Uptake of a nido-carboranylporphyrin by human glioma xenografts in athymic nude mice and by syngeneic ovarian carcinomas in immunocompetent mice.

A tetraphenylporphyrin bearing four dicarbollide ([B9C2H11]-) cages linked to the o-phenyl ring positions by anilide bonds, known as boronated tetraphenylporphyrin (BTPP), has been synthesized in excellent yield from tetra-(o-aminophenyl) porphyrin and carborane carbonyl chloride followed by base-assisted cage opening and ion exchange to give the highly water-soluble potassium salt. Preliminary studies showed that BTPP accumulates in liver and in a syngeneic ovarian carcinoma, but not in normal brain parenchyma, of mice infused with BTPP subcutaneously for 6 or 7 days via surgically implanted osmotic minipumps. In this study, the uptake of boron was measured in human gliomas xenografted subcutaneously to athymic nude mice in which BTPP was infused intraperitoneally or subcutaneously or both for 3 or 7 days by using similar minipumps. Immunocompetent mice bearing a syngeneic ovarian carcinoma were similarly infused to provide comparative data. Bulk concentrations of boron up to 18 micrograms/g of glioma and up to 45 micrograms/g of carcinoma were observed when up to 102 micrograms/g of tissue was present in the liver after 7 days of BTPP infusion. Glioma boron concentrations were increased by approximately 80% on the average (up to 33 micrograms/g) when correspondingly greater amounts of BTPP were infused in only 3 days. Cell counts and chemical tests on blood samples from individual mice indicate that BTPP causes moderate hepatotoxicity and thrombocytopenia. This hepatohematic toxicity syndrome should be taken into account if BTPP or a similar agent is used for boron neutron-capture therapy (BNCT) of human malignancies.