Interferon treatment for corneolimbal squamous dysplasia.

PURPOSE: To report a patient with corneolimbal squamous dysplasia successfully treated with interferon therapy. METHODS: A 78-year-old man had a gelatinous and vascularized lesion involving the left cornea and adjacent limbus. Impression cytology studied with periodic acid--Schiff-hematoxylin stain disclosed severe squamous dysplasia. Topical instillation and subconjunctival injection of interferon alpha-2b was instituted. RESULTS: The gelatinous tumor mass involving the cornea and adjacent limbus completely resolved 2 months after interferon treatment. He showed no sign of recurrence during the 10-month follow-up. CONCLUSION: Interferon therapy may be a therapeutic alternative for treating corneolimbal squamous dysplasia.

Evaluation of TCDD biodegradability under different redox conditions.

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins have been generated as unwanted by-products in many industrial processes. Although their widespread distribution in different environmental compartments has been recognized, little is known about their fate in the ultimate environment sinks. The highly stable dioxin isomer 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) has been called the most toxic compound known to man. In this laboratory microcosm study, TCDD bioavailability was evaluated under five reduction/oxidation (redox) conditions including aerobic biodegradation, aerobic cometabolism, methanogenesis, iron reduction, and reductive dechlorination. Activated sludge and aquifer sediments from a TCDD and a pentachlorophenol (PCP) contaminated site were used as the inocula. Acetate, sludge cake, and cane molasses were used as the primary substrates (carbon sources) in cometabolism and reductive dechlorination microcosms. After a 90-day incubation period, microcosms constructed under reductive dechlorination conditions were the only treatment showing promising remediation results. The highest TCDD degradation rate [up to 86% of TCDD removal (with an initial concentration of 96 microg/kg of soil)] was observed in the microcosms with anaerobic activated sludge as the microbial inocula and sludge cakes as the primary substrates. Except for reductive dechlorination microcosms, no significant TCDD removal was observed in the microcosms prepared under other conditions. Thus, application of an effective primary substrate to enhance the reductive dechlorination process is a feasible method for TCDD bioremediation. Bioremediation expense can be significantly reduced by the supplement of some less expensive alternative substrates (e.g., sludge cakes, cane molasses). Results would be useful in designing a scale-up in situ or on-site bioremediation system such as bioslurry reactor for field application.

Evaluation of atrazine removal processes in a wetland.

Agricultural non-point source (NPS) pollution is considered to be the largest single category resulting in water quality deterioration. Pesticide is one of the main detrimental agricultural NPS constituents causing the impairment of water bodies. In this study, a mountainous wetland located in McDowell County, North Carolina, was selected to demonstrate the effects of the natural wetland system on the removal of NPS pesticide (atrazine) pollution to maintain the surface water quality. The selected wetland receives water from two unnamed creeks, which drain primarily agricultural lands. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) for the wetland was approximately 10.5 days based on the results from a dye release study. Water quality monitoring of the wetland was conducted from March to October 1998. One major storm and baseline water quality samples were analyzed. Analytical results indicate that the wetland completely removed NPS atrazine flushed from the upgradient agricultural lands. Laboratory microcosm experiments were conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using the wetland sediments as the microbial sources to enhance the atrazine biodegradation. Microcosm results suggest that atrazine can be degraded under anaerobic or reductive dechlorinating conditions when sucrose was provided as the primary substrate. Atrazine can also serve as the nitrogen source for the growth of microorganisms under anaerobic conditions. Results from this study can provide us with further knowledge on evaluating the role of wetlands in controlling pesticide pollutants from stormwater runoff.

Influence of pretransplantation dialysis time and lupus activity on outcome of kidney transplantation in systemic lupus erythematosus.

BACKGROUND: Kidney transplantation (KT) has better outcome compared with dialysis in lupus patients. The duration lupus patients need to wait before KT remains debatable, especially in patients with lupus activity. We analyzed a renal transplantation database to elucidate if pretransplantation dialysis (PTD) time and lupus activity affected outcome. METHODS: From 1984 to 2012, 31 Chinese lupus nephritis patients underwent KT at our hospital. The lupus activity was defined as nonrenal systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLE-DAI) score. Biopsy-proven acute rejection/recurrent lupus nephritis (RLN) were recorded. Chronic allograft dysfunction (CAD) was defined as doubling of serum creatinine level. Graft failure was defined as return to dialysis. We calculated relative hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) from Cox proportional-hazards regression models. RESULTS: In total, 31 lupus patients with KT (7 men and 24 women), with a mean age of 35.3 years at transplantation, were enrolled in this study. The mean follow-up duration was 8.2 years. The mean PTD time was 3.3 years. Both PTD time and lupus activity before transplantation had no effect on CAD and graft failure. Longer PTD time was associated with more acute rejection (HR = 1.20; 95% CI, 1.02-1.41). Also, maximal lupus activity after transplantation was associated with more CAD (HR = 6.44; 95% CI, 1.36-30.57). CONCLUSION: For Chinese lupus patients with KT, longer PTD time was associated with worse outcome. Patients should undergo KT immediately if a kidney is available for donation, even with active lupus disease. It is necessary to monitor lupus activity after transplantation due to its effect on outcome.

Implants placed simultaneously with maxillary sinus floor augmentations in the presence of antral pseudocysts: a case report.

An antral pseudocyst on the maxillary sinus has previously been a contraindication for sinus augmentation. The authors report the case of a patient with an antral pseudocyst (16.7 mm × 27.6 mm) in his left sinus, who was referred for dental implant treatment. The surgical plan was to perform the sinus augmentation after removing the cyst whilest simultaneously placing implants. During the operation the cyst could not be found in the left sinus. The sinus augmentation was carried out successfully without sinus membrane perforation and the implants were placed according to plan. Three mouths later, the cyst was still present and good osseointegration of the implants was achieved. After the implants had been in place for a year, a CT scan showed that the cyst had decreased in size. The authors conclude that it is may not be necessary to remove a sinus cyst before sinus augmentation or during the sinus augmentation operation if the patient does not have any symptoms and the cyst is not large. In cases with large lesions or an unclear diagnosis, further evaluation is needed before surgical intervention.

Amantadine hydrochloride pharmacokinetics in hemodialysis patients.

To study the fate of amantadine hydrochloride in patients with renal failure, we gave 100 mg orally to 12 such patients immediately after hemodialysis. Plasma levels did not decrease between 24 and 44 hours after drug ingestion, suggesting an extremely poor total body clearance. Apparent volume of distribution was 5.1 +/- 0.2 (SEM) L/kg of body weight. Between 44 and 48 hours, as a result of 4 hours of hemodialysis, the mean plasma drug level decreased from 268 to 225 ng/mL (P less than 0.001). Dialyzer clearance was 67.0 +/- 3.9 mL of plasma per minute. The total quantity of drug removed by the dialysis treatment, however, was only 3.9 +/- 0.25 mg. The average half-life of amantadine in eight patients studied while receiving maintenance hemodialysis was 24.3 +/- 2.4 h of dialysis administered over approximately 13 days. Plasma half-life in six nonuremic control subjects was 12.2 +/- 1.6 h. Amantadine is poorly excreted in dialysis patients and has a large volume of distribution. The amount removed by a single dialysis is only a small fraction of the total body store.