Effects of cocaine and levamisole (as adulterant) on the isolated perfused Langendorff heart.

Cocaine-related deaths occur regularly in forensic routine work. In cases in which the detected concentration of cocaine is rather low and other causes of death apart from intoxication can be ruled out, the question arises if adulterants of cocaine might have played a crucial role. In the present study, cardiac effects of cocaine, of the adulterant levamisole and of mixtures of both were evaluated using the isolated perfused Langendorff heart. While exposed to the substances, functional parameters heart rate, left ventricular pressure and coronary flow were documented. Relevant alterations of these parameters were found for cocaine as well as for levamisole. Exposing the hearts to a mixture of both resulted in a combination of these effects; the emergence of new alterations or an obvious aggravation were not detected. Nevertheless, the results imply that the consumption of cocaine adulterated with levamisole bares an increased risk for cardiac complications, especially in the presence of preexisting cardiac pathologies.

Theoretical study of population inversion in active doped MIR chalcogenide glass fibre lasers (invited).

We study the mechanism of the population inversion in mid-infrared fibre lasers based on a chalcogenide glass host doped with active lanthanide ions. Three lanthanide dopant ions are considered: terbium, dysprosium and praseodymium. We predict the relevant trivalent ion level populations and gain. The simulation parameters were obtained by fabricating and optically characterising a series of trivalent ion doped chalcogenide glass samples. We also provide simple analytical expressions that aid the design of the cascade lasing process.

Autoantibodies reactive with extracellular matrix proteins in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy.

Autoantibodies reacting with extracellular matrix proteins have been extensively studied in various autoimmune connective tissue diseases. Because of the possibility that such antibodies may play a role in orbital connective tissue inflammation in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO), we studied the humoral immune response against specific extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, namely: collagen types I, III, IV, V (CI, CIII, CIV, CV), fibronectin (FN), and laminin (LM). Anti-ECM antibodies of immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgA, and IgM classes were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Overall, sera from 50% of patients with TAO contained antibodies reactive against one or more ECM proteins, compared to 27% with Graves' disease (GD) without evident eye involvement, 28% with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), and 9% of normal subjects. Serum anti-CI, anti-CIII, anti-CV and anti-LM levels were significantly (p<0.05) higher in patients with TAO than in normals. Anti-CI, anti-CV and anti-LM reactivity was antigen-specific in most TAO sera, while anti-CIII antibodies cross-reacted with other antigens. Anti-collagen antibodies were mainly of the IgG class. To determine the structural epitopes of these proteins, we performed immunoblotting studies on cyanogenbromide (CNBr)-derived peptides of CI and CV. While sera from 9 of 10 patients with TAO reacted with CI peptides, the response was polyclonal and uniform in all patients. However, only 2 of 10 TAO sera reacted with CV peptides. In conclusion, our study suggests that a variety of ECM proteins (CI, CV, LM) may be secondary autoantigens that are recognized by antibodies in TAO. While these antibodies appear to react with epitopes expressed on both native and denatured proteins, and may therefore have the potential to bind to ECM in vivo, their pathogenic role in TAO remains unknown.

Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus triggered by radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The origin of collagen autoimmune diseases is not fully understood. Some studies postulate a mechanism of molecular mimicry or heterologous immunity following viral infections triggering autoimmunity. Apart from infections, other exogenous factors such as visible light or X-rays have been reported to incite autoimmunity. CASE REPORT: We report a case of histologically and serologically confirmed subacute lupus erythematosus (SCLE) following radiotherapy for breast cancer. DISCUSSION: The close temporal and spatial correlation between radiotherapy and onset of SCLE in this patient suggests that an autoimmune reaction may have been triggered locally by functionally altering the immune system and breaking self-tolerance.