IgE Ratio in Tears: A Predictive Tool of Ocular Allergic Inflammation.

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the tear IgE (measured/exuded) ratio (R) as a useful biological marker of ocular allergy in order to distinguish severe from less severe inflammatory status. METHODS: Tear samples and sera from 78 ocular allergy patients and 19 control subjects were analyzed. Total IgE and albumin were measured for calculating the tear IgE-R defining two subgroups (SG) of samples: R ≥ 4-SG and R < 4-SG. Eosinophil cationic protein, Th1 and Th2 cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-4, -5, -6, -8 and -10) and protein electrophoretic profiles were also investigated in tears. RESULTS: The R < 4-SG compared to the R ≥ 4-SG shows higher levels of tear albumin, eosinophil cationic protein, and Th1 and Th2 cytokines. Moreover, each subgroup presents a specific protein profile. CONCLUSION: This study showed that an IgE-R lower than four must be carefully interpreted as a warning sign of a severe inflammatory context and should be also associated with an exploration of immunological profile.

The action of mercury on cell membranes.

The action of mercuric chloride and methyl mercuric chloride on the membrane lateral domain organization of bovine, equine, and canine erythrocytes was studied. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of spin-labeled erythrocytes were analyzed with respect to their lateral domain structure. Continuous alteration of the membrane domain populations revealed that mercuric compounds affect the membrane via the evolution of toxic events in the cells.

Mortality from cardiovascular diseases and exposure to inorganic mercury.

OBJECTIVE: To study the mortality from cardiovascular and other chronic non-neoplastic diseases after long term exposure to inorganic mercury. Limited information is available on the effect of chronic exposure to mercury on the cardiovascular system. METHODS: The mortality was studied among 6784 male and 265 female workers from four mercury mines and mills in Spain, Slovenia, Italy, and the Ukraine. Workers were employed between 1900 and 1990; the follow up period lasted from the 1950s to the 1990s. The mortality of the workers was compared with national reference rates. RESULTS: Among men, there was a slight increase in overall mortality (standardised mortality ratio (SMR) 1.08, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.04 to 1.12). An increased mortality was found from hypertension (SMR 1.46, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.93), heart diseases other than ischaemic (SMR 1.36, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.53), pneumoconiosis (SMR 27.1, 95% CI 23.1 to 31.6), and nephritis and nephrosis (SMR 1.55, 95% CI 1.13 to 2.06). The increase in mortality from cardiovascular diseases was not consistent among countries. Mortality from hypertension and other heart diseases increased with estimated cumulative exposure to mercury; mortality from ischaemic heart disease and cerebrovascular diseases increased with duration of employment, but not with estimated exposure to mercury. Results among women were hampered by few deaths. CONCLUSION: Despite limited quantitative data on exposure, possible confounding, and likely misclassification of disease, the study suggests a possible association between employment in mercury mining and refining and risk in some groups of cardiovascular diseases.

Renal function in miners intermittently exposed to elemental mercury vapour.

The authors investigated renal damage in 45 mercury miners under conditions of relatively short and low-level exposure to elemental (metallic) mercury vapour (Hg0). The analysis included urinary mercury, immunoelectrophoresis of urinary proteins, immunofixation and high-resolution electrophoresis, quantitative analysis of urinary albumin, and urinary alpha 1-microglobulin before and after exposure. The activity of urinary N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) enzyme was determined after exposure. The average duration of exposure of miners was 37 (6-82) days. Urinary mercury significantly increased during exposure. Immunoelectrophoretic changes in the composition of urinary proteins occurred after exposure in 22 of 45 miners, of whom 15 showed high molecular weight (HMW) pattern of urinary proteins and seven showed low molecular weight (LMW) pattern. Only a slight increase in the urinary alpha 1-microglobulin concentration and NAG activity was found in miners with the LMW pattern of urinary proteins. The results point to a slight glomerular and tubular damage in a significant proportion of exposed miners with increased absorption of mercury vapour.

Cancer occurrence among European mercury miners.

OBJECTIVES: To study the carcinogenicity of inorganic mercury in humans. METHODS: We studied the mortality from cancer among 6784 male and 265 female workers of four mercury mines and mills in Spain, Slovenia, Italy and the Ukraine. Workers were employed between the beginning of the century and 1990; the follow-up period lasted from the 1950s to the 1990s. We compared the mortality of the workers with national reference rates. RESULTS: Among men, there was no overall excess cancer mortality; an increase was observed in mortality from lung cancer (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] 1.19, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] 1.03-1.38) and liver cancer (SMR 1.64, CI 1.18-2.22). The increase in lung cancer risk was restricted to workers from Slovenia and the Ukraine: no relationship was found with duration of employment or estimated mercu ry exposure. The increase in liver cancer risk was present both among miners and millers and was stronger in workers from Italy and Slovenia: there was a trend with estimated cumulative exposure but not with duration of employment, and the excess was not present in a parallel analysis of cancer incidence among workers from Slovenia. No increase was observed for other types of cancer, including brain and kidney tumours. Among female workers (Ukraine only), three deaths occurred from ovarian cancer, likely representing an excess. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to inorganic mercury in mines and mills does not seem strongly associated with cancer risk, with the possible exception of liver cancer; the increase in lung cancer may be explained by co-exposure to crystalline silica and radon.

Case report MH. Class II, Division 1 malocclusion with anterior openbite.

This case report was presented at a regular meeting of the Southern California Component of the Edward H. Angle Society in 1994. It demonstrates the value of two-phase treatment which resulted in effective vertical control.

[The relation of physical work capacity to the arterial pressure level and risk factors for arterial hypertension]. / Sviaz' fizicheskoi rabotosposobnosti s urovnem arterial'nogo davleniia i faktorami riska arterial'noi gipertonii.

A multivariate regression analysis including muscular performance, arterial pressure, age, heart rate, body-weight index permitted identification of independent relations between pressure and muscular performance. The latter accounts for 3% variability in initial systolic pressure in females and for 3% variability in males under physical loading. Initial systolic pressure accounts for 5% variability of muscular performance in females. The dependence between muscular performance and diastolic pressure is indirect, noticeable only in physical load with the help of double product.

[Relationship of physical work capacity, blood pressure and other hypertension risk factors with the rate of erythrocyte Na/Li countertransport]. / Sviaz' fizicheskoi rabotosposobnosti, arterial'nogo davleniia i drugikh faktorov riska arterial'noi gipertenzii so skorost'iu Na/Li-protivotransporta éritrotsitov.

The relationship of physical working capacity (PWC), blood pressure and other arterial hypertension risk factors to the rate of red blood cell Na+/Li+ countertransport was examined in a representative sample comprising 60 individuals (22 males and 38 females) whose age was 35-54 years. Regression analyses demonstrated that there was no significant relationship between PWC and the rate of red blood cell Na+/Li+ countertransport, but a significant correlation was found between the rate of Na+/Li+ countertransport and "double product" (DP) as an indirect indicator of PWC and heart rate. Thus, there is a heart rate- and DP-mediated correlation between the rate of red blood cell Na+/Li+ countertransport and the level of PWC. The magnitude of a decrease in the rate of red blood cell Na+/Li+ countertransport depends inversely on the dynamics of heart rate in males and females and directly on the dynamics of DP in females. Hence, there is a direct relationship between the magnitude of a reduction in the rate of red blood cell Na+/Li+ countertransport and that of PWC increment during exercise.

[Blood pressure changes induced by various exercise regimes in patients with "mild" arterial hypertension]. / Dinamika AD pod vliianiem razlichnykh rezhimov fizicheskoi trenirovki u lits s "miagkoi" arterial'noi gipertenziei.

How two regimes of exercise training affect blood pressure changes was examined in 70 individuals with mild arterial hypertension. Prolonged controlled exercise training were shown to be an effective tool of non-drug correction of elevated blood pressure, the exercises aimed at developing aerobic tolerance being more beneficial. The magnitude of changes (increase) of working capacity may be an indicator for the effectiveness of exercise training programmes.

[Erythrocyte Na+/Li+ countertransport and arterial hypertension: data of a cross-sectional population study]. / Skorost' Na+/Li+-protivotransporta éritrotsitov i arterial'naia gipertoniia: dannye odnomomentnogo populiatsionnogo issledovaniia.

The relation of red blood cell Na+/Li+ countertransport rate to the prevalence of arterial hypertension (AH) and blood pressure was evaluated in 720 individuals aged 23-60 years. In all age groups, the rate of red blood cell Na+/Li+ countertransport was significantly higher in males than in females. Age, alcohol use, obesity in males and age, obesity, and Na+/Li+ countertransport rate in females are factors that predispose to AH, as evidenced by multivariate logistic analysis. The latter parameter is associated with obesity and diastolic blood pressure and unassociated with age, alcohol use, and smoke, as suggested by regression analysis. The distribution of Na+/Li+ countertransport rate values in the population after standardization for ruling out the impact of obesity is erroneous and shifted to the right. This allows it to be presented as a sum of two normal distributions. However, their analysis has failed to reveal statistically significant differences in blood pressure values of AH incidence. The rate of Na+/Li+ countertransport may be regarded as a biological population risk factor for AH, which is, however, less than such factors as age, obesity, and excessive alcohol use.

[The role of the rate of sodium-lithium countertransport of the erythrocytes in arterial hypertension]. / O roli skorosti natrii-litievogo protivotransporta éritrotsitov pri arterial'noi gipertenzii.

The present work is concerned with the role of the velocity of Na+/Li(+)-countertransport of red blood cells (as an indicator of the function of cellular membranes) in the development of arterial hypertension under conditions of a populational study. A relationship is demonstrated between the velocity of Na+/Li(+)-countertransport and the sex, arterial pressure, body mass index, and blood serum triglycerides. The high velocity of Na+/Li(+)-countertransport is encountered in 25% of the population, being responsible for about 30% of all cases of arterial hypertension. Taking into consideration the modern multifactorial theory of the genesis of arterial hypertension, the high velocity of Na+/Li(+)-countertransport should be viewed as a definite disease pattern (one of several) and as a risk factor of arterial hypertension in women (the data of the prospective part of the study).

[The effect of different physical training regimens on the dynamics of arterial pressure and physical work capacity in persons with "mild" arterial hypertension]. / Vliianie razlichnykh rezhimov fizicheskoi trenirovki na dinamiku arterial'nogo davleniia i fizicheskoi rabotosposobnosti u lits s "miagkoi" arterial'noi gipertenziei.

The influence of three different modes of physical training (PT) on high arterial pressure was estimated in persons suffering from "mild" arterial hypertension. 154 men and women aged 35-54 years were entered into the study. In accordance with two different methods of estimating the initial physical work fitness (PWF), the test subjects were distributed into 4 groups. In these groups, the percentage of aerobic training aimed at the development of stamina was progressively raised. The dynamics of the initial PWF served as a criterion for the efficacy of PT. It has been demonstrated that firstly, both methods of estimating PWF are suitable enough for characterization of the dynamics of PWF, secondly, the decrease of arterial pressure is directly dependent on the effectiveness of the PT programs reflecting the dynamics of PWF, and, thirdly, PT aimed at the development of the general (aerobic) stamina is the most effective nonmedicamentous approach to the reduction of arterial hypertension.

[Erythrocyte sodium-lithium countertransporter level as a risk factor of hypertension (prospective study data)]. / Velichina Na+/Li+ protivotransporta éritrotsitov kak faktor riska gipertonicheskoi bolezni (dannye prospektivnogo issledovaniia).

A 3-year prospective study was undertaken to evaluate the relation of red blood cell Na+/Li+ countertransport rates to the incidence of arterial hypertension. A total of 227 subjects (males and females aged 24-54 years)--a 20% representative sample of organized population--was followed up. The annual incidence of arterial hypertension was 4.3 among males and 2.7 among females. The baseline blood pressures and obesity in males and rates of Na+/Li+ countertransport in females were demonstrated to be factors associated with the incidence of arterial hypertension. The rate of red blood cell Na+/Li+ countertransport can be regarded as an independent biological risk factor for arterial hypertension.