Bovine cancellous xenograft in the treatment of tibial plateau fractures in elderly patients.

The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of xenografts to improve the outcomes in elderly patients with tibial plateau fractures. Nineteen cases with a mean age of 74 years were followed prospectively from 1998 to 2003. Six patients each belonged to Schatzker types III, IV and V and one patient belonged to type II. Open reduction with fixation and xenograft impaction was carried out. Clinical and radiological union was assessed including infection rate, incorporation of the xenograft and average collapse of the fracture. The average union time was 20 weeks. No patient had wound infection and all had excellent incorporation of the xenograft with union. The average collapse was 4 mm on follow-up. This series shows the use of only an xenograft in acute fixation of these fractures with favourable outcome. Furthermore, it reduces operative time, bleeding and associated co-morbidities, which is of more significance in an elderly age group.

Bacteriology of the cervix in cases of infertility: effect on human and animal spermatozoa and role of elastase.

Microorganisms such as Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans isolated from cervices of infertile human females inhibited motility and agglutinated human, cow bull, buffalo bull, and rat spermatozoa in vitro. Fifty percent of the infertile females studied carried elastase-positive microorganisms. Cell-free culture supernatants of 72-hr-old elastase-positive cultures were spermicidal within 60 min of contact with sperm, while elastase-negative cultures were spermicidal in 4-6 hr. Cultures of all the cervical isolates were spermicidal and agglutinated human, cow bull, buffalo bull, and rat spermatozoa, and these activities increased with age of the culture. Human sperm showed only tail-to-tail agglutination, while cow bull, buffalo bull, and rat spermatozoa showed mainly head-to-head agglutination. Spermicidal activity was also attributable to elastase, which was present more in 72-hr-old cultures than in 24-hr-old cultures.

Bacteriology of cervix in cases of infertility: effect on human sperm.

Microorganisms such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Bacillus subtilis isolated from cervices of infertile females possessed spermicidal activity. They also agglutinated the human spermatozoa in vitro and showed tail-to-tail agglutination. Cell-free supernatant of these organisms was found to be spermicidal but did not agglutinate spermatozoa in vitro. Spermicidal activity was increased with increase in age of the culture.

Testicular proteins, nucleic acids and their synthesis following gamma irradiation.

The effects of two doses (250 and 1000 rads) of local gamma irradiation on testes of adult rats are reported after 1, 2, 4 and 16 weeks. There was a significant increase in DNA content per gm testes at 1 week; a gradual decrease at 2 and 4 week intervals was followed by a trend towards recovery at 16 weeks post-irradiation. The rate of synthesis of both DNA and RNA as studied by the incorporation of (3H)-thymidine and (3H)-uridine, showed similar results. Total protein content per gm testis declined with both doses and at all post-irradiation intervals. Histological observation showed loss of spermatogenic cells suggestive of DNA loss.

Spermatogenesis and epididymal sperm after scrotal gamma irradiation in adult rats.

Quantitative histologic evaluation was performed on the testes of albino rats exposed to scrotal gamma irradiation of 2.5 Gy and 10.0 Gy. The animals were sacrificed at 1, 2, 4, and 16 weeks posttreatment. As a result of irradiation, there was a gradual decrease in testicular weight. The seminiferous tubules of irradiated animals showed arrest of spermatogenesis, desquamation, vacuolization of germinal cells, and multinucleated giant cells. The extent of damage increased with posttreatment interval and with increasing dose. Counting of germinal cells at stage VII of the seminiferous epithelium revealed that the preleptotene spermatocyte is the most sensitive to radiation as compared to other cells. The number of epididymal sperm decreased, whereas the proportion of nonmotile and morphologically abnormal sperm increased following irradiation.

Effect of lead acetate administration on ATPases of brain and its mitochondrial and synaptosomal fractions in adult mice.

The effects of oral administration of lead acetate on the activities of cation-transport ATPases and on the brain and its mitochondrial and synaptosomal fractions of male mice were studied at doses of 1, 5, and 20 mg lead acetate per 100 g body weight per day for 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks. The activities of Na(+)-ATPase, K(+)-ATPase, total-ATPase, and Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase decreased significantly at doses of 1 and 5 mg lead acetate after 12 and 16 weeks of treatment; changes in the activities were not marked after 4 and 8 weeks of lead administration. However, the 20-mg dose significantly reduced enzyme activities at all treatment intervals.

Histopathological study of rat mammary adenocarcinoma after protein A administration.

Protein A was purified from Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I and administered subcutaneously for a period of six weeks to a 7,12-dimethylbenz(alpha)anthracene-induced rat mammary adenocarcinoma model, which resulted in a significant reduction in tumor volume. Considerable fibrosis, inflammatory reactions, cellular debris, and edema were the hallmarks of tumor necrosis caused by administration of protein A. Calcification, which may be the replacement of earlier necrosis, also was observed. Thick eosinophilic secretions were observed in the lumina of the breast tubules. The results suggest that inflammatory mechanisms may be activated, accounting for the tumoricidal effects observed following treatment with protein A.

Protective and therapeutic efficacies of protein A on 7,12-dimethylbenz(alpha)anthracene-induced rat mammary adenocarcinoma.

Protein A of Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I is a powerful immunostimulating agent. Female Swiss Portan rats fed 7,12-dimethylbenz(alpha)anthrancene (DMBA) exhibited increased serum alkaline phosphatase activity, which returned to normal levels following eight weeks of treatment with 12 micrograms protein A subcutaneously. Protein A reduced the potential of tumor induction by DMBA as observed by the noninduction of tumors until three months after discontinuation of protein A administration. The total leukocyte count was not affected. Protein A treatment for six weeks of DMBA-induced mammary adenocarcinoma-bearing rats caused the increased serum alkaline phosphatase activity to decrease but not to normal levels, indicating regression but no disappearance of the tumors. The total leukocyte count of the tumor bearers was stimulated by protein A and increased 24 hours after protein A administration; however, in the fourth week of treatment it returned to normal levels. The leukocytosis suggests that protein A could cause tumor necrosis by an inflammatory reaction, edema, and cell destruction and thus tumor regression.

Biokinetics of lead in various organs of rats using radiotracer technique.

Uptake, distribution, and elimination of lead in various organs of rats have been studied using a radiotracer technique. The elimination data for various organs, except whole blood, is fitted to a double-exponential function using a computer program. The biological half-lives along with the percent elimination of lead by two different decay modes in testis, epididymis, prostate, and seminal vesicles are being reported together with that in liver, kidney, blood, and whole body. It is evident from this study that the elimination of lead is limited for all the organs and permits lead accumulation in the bone, where it is stored and becomes almost unavailable for elimination. Lead levels in blood, testis, and femur of lead acetate-fed rats measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy have been correlated to the uptake of 210Pb in various organs.

Changes in phosphatases and lipids following scrotal gamma irradiation in adult rat testis.

Effects of localized low (2.5 Gy) and high (10 Gy) levels of gamma irradiation on the testis of albino rats were studied. A marked increase in the testicular total lipid, phospholipid and cholesterol content was observed at all post-treatment intervals except at 16 weeks where the contents decreased. A significant decrease in the activity of acid phosphatase/g of testis was seen at both the doses, the minimum value being at 4 weeks. The decrease in acid phosphatase activity is correlated with the state of germ cell population in seminiferous tubule which is found to be depleted at 4 week interval. The alkaline phosphatase activity/g testis however, showed a significant increase, the maximum being at 4 weeks post-treatment. Thereafter, the values of the enzyme activity showed a slight recovery at 16 weeks post-irradiation. ATPase activity increased initially followed by a significant decrease at all post-treatment intervals.

Effect of testosterone oenanthate on spermatogenesis and serum testosterone concentrations in adult mice.

Administration of 80 or 160 micrograms testosterone oenanthate s.c. three times per week for 8 or 12 weeks reduced testis weight and increased seminal vesicle weight in mice. Radioimmunoassay indicated that treatment increased serum testosterone concentrations. Treatment with testosterone oenanthate decreased the number of step 16 and step 7 spermatids, pachytene spermatocytes and type A spermatogonia, and particularly reduced the proportion of step 7 spermatids which matured to form step 16 spermatids.

Immunoenzymic studies on testicular hyaluronidase from rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Hyaluronidase from rhesus monkey testes was purified by detergent extraction, ammonium sulphate fractionation, Sephadex G-200 column chromatography and concanavalin A-Sepharose affinity chromatography. The purified hyaluronidase showed one protein band on acrylamide gel electrophoresis. Antibodies to the purified hyaluronidase were raised in rabbits and showed a single precipitin line by Ouchterlony gel diffusion. The enzyme had a molecular weight of 62,000. The Km was 0.5 mg/ml for hydrolysis of hyaluronic acid at 37 degrees C. The optimum pH for the enzyme was 5.0 but activity was present over a broad pH range. The hyaluronidase was inhibited by HgCl2, CuSO4, FeSO4 and p-chloromercuribenzoate all at a concentration of 2 x 10(-4) M. Cysteine protected the enzyme against HgCl2 inhibition.

Induction of mixed function oxidase activities of protein A in rat mammary tumors.

Following s.c. administration of purified protein A, to 7,12-dimethylbenz(alpha)anthracene-induced mammary-tumor-bearing rats, a regenerated metabolism of the carcinogen was observed. The antitumor effect of protein A was evident from the decrease in tumor volume. The phase I and phase II enzyme activities suggest that protein A has the ability to induce the mixed function oxidases activity, which are active in the metabolism of xenobiotics.

The effects of lead on the male rat reproductive system.

Lead acetate was administered to male rats for 9 weeks in doses of 0.3, 33 or 300 mg/kg daily by gavage. The lowest dose significantly reduced the number of sperm in the cauda epididymis and the highest dose increased the proportion of abnormal sperm in the cauda. There was no significant effect on the number of each type of testicular germ cell. The highest dose of lead reduced the rate of incorporation of lysine into protein significantly in the liver but not in the testes. The highest dose also reduced body weight gain significantly. The surprisingly slight effect of lead on the germinal tissue may be due to a protective effect of the blood-testes barrier.

Serum lipids and uric acid relationship in ischemic thrombotic cerebrovascular disease.

Serum lipids and serum uric acid have been studied in 50 patients with ischemic thrombotic cerebrovascular disease. Patients having diseases known to predispose to hyperuricemia were excluded. Abnormalities of large vessels were present in 14 or 30 cases (46.6%) as a whole, and in 9 of 16 cases (56.5%) below 40 years of age. Thirty percent of the cases showed hyperuricemia. A statistically significant rise in serum triglycerides, pre-beta lipoproteins and serum uric acid was found in all 50 patients and in patients below 40 years of age. In patients above 40 years of age, only the rise in serum triglycerides and pre-beta lipoproteins was found to be statistically significant. A statistically significant rise in serum triglycerides, pre-beta lipoproteins, cholesterols and uric acid was found in patients with abnormal angiograms. A statistically significant correlation was observed between serum uric acid and serum triglycerides in all the groups, between serum uric acid and pre-beta lipoprotein in patients below 40 years of age, and between serum uric acid and serum phospholipids in patients with abnormal angiograms. These factors may be playing a role in the causation of ischemic thrombotic cerebrovascular disease in general and especially in patients below 40 years of age.

Production and partial characterization of elastase of Bacillus subtilis isolated from the cervices of human females.

Conditions are described for the production of extracellular elastase by Bacillus subtilis. The yield of enzyme was maximum in shake-cultures grown in Syncase medium at 37 degrees C and was stable in culture supernatants. The enzyme, purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation and Sephadex G-75 gel filtration, showed a molecular weight of 25,000 and activity between pH 6.0 and 9.5, with an optimum of 9.0 in Tris-maleate buffer. Elastinolytic activity was maximum in glycine-NaOH buffer and minimum in phosphate buffer. Enzyme activity was adversely affected by temperature greater than or equal to 40 degrees C.