The "fish-vertebra" sign.

The "fish-vertebra" sign appears as biconcave lumbar vertebrae with bone softening in lateral and posterior-anterior radiographs of the spine as an exaggeration of the normal concavity of the superior and inferior surfaces of one or more vertebral bodies. This is due to ischaemia of the central growth plate of the spine, and is typically seen in sickle cell disease.

Concomitant angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma and low grade B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.

The presence of a rearranged immunoglobulin gene, in addition to the expected T-cell receptor gene rearrangement, is a frequent, albeit poorly understood, finding in the setting of angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy. A case of an angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma is presented, where this apparently paradoxical dual gene rearrangement could be ascribed to the coexistence of an occult B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.

Detection of ciprofloxacin resistance mutations in Campylobacter jejuni gyrA by nonradioisotopic single-strand conformation polymorphism and direct DNA sequencing.

A total of 27 strains of Campylobacter jejuni (24 clinical strains and three laboratory strains) were examined for the presence of point mutations in the quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR) of gyrA gene by nonradioisotopic single-strand conformation polymorphism (non-RI SSCP) analysis with silver stain. Direct DNA sequencing of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified DNA fragments confirmed the results obtained by non-RI SSCP analysis and revealed that in clinical strains high-level quinolone resistance [minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) to ciprofloxacin > or = 16 micrograms/ml] was closely associated with one type of single-point mutation at codon 86 (Thr-Ile). Two strains with MICs of 8 and 1 microgram/ml showed point mutations at codons 86 and 70, respectively. Furthermore, transitions at codon 119 of the gyrA QRDR were identified in 17 strains. Six types of bands were separated in a single electrophoretic step with silver stain within 2 hours after PCR amplification of the gyrA QRDR as follows: type I associated to mutation at codon 70 (Ala-Thr), type II to mutation at codon 90 (Asp-Asn), type III to variant with transition at 119, type IV to wild-type, type V to mutation at codon 86 (Thr-Ile), and type VI to mutation at codon 86 (Thr-Ile) and transition at codon 119. Using four DNA extracts from Cambylobacter coli organisms as templates for amplification of the gyrA QRDR, no PCR products were obtained. Non-RI SSCP was proved to be a simple, rapid, and useful screening method for detecting gyrA mutations associated with ciprofloxacin resistance in C. jejuni.

Tolerance of the human brucellosis vaccine and the intradermal reaction test for brucellosis.

The aim of the present study was to determine the tolerance and efficacy of human brucellosis vaccine as well as the tolerance and sensitivity of the intradermal reaction test for brucellosis. A total of 1,121 subjects initially consented to participate in the study. Following clinical examination, 762 were tested with the intradermal reaction test (IDR Test, Pasteur Merieux, France), of whom 576 with no previous or current brucellosis infection were accepted for vaccination. Two hundred seventy-one were vaccinated with brucellosis vaccine and 305 with tetanus vaccine, the latter group serving as a comparative control group. The vaccinated persons were monitored monthly for at least nine months. Although brucellosis vaccine caused some unpleasant side effects in about one-fourth of the vaccinated persons, it appears safe for large-scale use in prevention programs. In addition, the results indicate that the intradermal reaction test is safe and sensitive for large-scale use in prevention programs. The test was positive in 28 of 30 individuals with previous infection, representing a sensitivity of 93.33%.