Digoxin-like immunoreactive factor(s) in human gonadotropin stimulated follicular fluid.

Plasma digoxin-like immunoreactive factor(s) (DLIF) have been reported in various pathophysiological conditions associated with volume expansion and linked to the regulation of blood volume and pressure. We hypothesized that DLIF might be present in rapidly expanding gonadotropin-stimulated ovarian follicles. The mean total and free DLIF concentrations in the follicles (n = 9) studied were 4925 nmol/L and 1885 nmol/L, respectively. These concentrations were substantially higher than the plasma total and free DLIF levels in these women: 1216 nmol/L and 158 nmol/L, respectively (p less than 0.0001). The plasma DLIF levels in the gonadotropin-treated women were comparable to those in term pregnant women, which are known to be higher than those in non-pregnant women. The ovary thus may be a source of DLIF in the plasma of gonadotropin-treated women, and DLIF may have a role in ovarian follicular fluid homeostasis.

Native valve Staphylococcus epidermidis endocarditis: report of seven cases and review of the literature.

This report describes seven patients from three university hospitals whose native valve infective endocarditis was caused by Staphylococcus epidermidis. The literature on endocarditis caused by S. epidermidis is also reviewed and the clinical features of patients with native valve endocarditis due to this organism are compared with those of patients from a general series of infective endocarditis cases. Compared with infective endocarditis caused by other organisms, S. epidermidis endocarditis tends to occur more frequently in male patients. Patients with S. epidermidis endocarditis exhibit fewer embolic complications and skin manifestations. The frequency of congestive heart failure is lower in this group. The relative indolent course and apparent rarity of native valve S. epidermidis endocarditis necessitate a high index of suspicion for early diagnosis.

Accidental busulfan overdose: enhanced drug clearance with hemodialysis in a child with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.

A 4.6 kg infant with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome received an accidental overdose of busulfan during preparation for allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Pharmacokinetic analysis of plasma busulfan levels alerted staff to the dosing error. Hemodialysis was immediately performed and resulted in accelerated clearance of busulfan. There were no acute neurologic and hepatic side-effects of the busulfan overdose, and despite 2 months of cough accompanied by rales, the patient is now free of pulmonary symptoms. Stable partial donor chimerism occurred after transplantation. At present, the patient is thriving and infection-free 12 months after transplantation, although his platelet count remains at the lower limit of normal.

Digoxin-like immunoreactive factor in twin and pregnancy-associated hypertensive pregnancies.

The objective of this study was to measure maternal total digoxin-like immunoreactive factor levels in singleton pregnancies with or without hypertension and in twin pregnancies. Plasma digoxin-like immunoreactive factor was measured in 113 third-trimester patients: 51 normotensives, 20 preeclamptics, 19 with latent or chronic hypertension, and 23 with twin pregnancies. The concentration of total digoxin-like immunoreactive factor in the twin gestations (1143 +/- 249 pg/mL) was significantly higher than that in either the normotensive pregnancies (890 +/- 161 pg/mL) (P less than .001) or in the hypertensive pregnancies (903 +/- 256 pg/mL) (P less than .01). However, there were no significant differences in digoxin-like immunoreactive factor levels between the normotensive and hypertensive groups. A trend of higher, although not statistically significant, levels of digoxin-like immunoreactive factor was noted in the chronic hypertensive group as compared with the preeclamptic patients (957 +/- 212 versus 852 +/- 288 pg/mL). We therefore conclude that digoxin-like immunoreactive factor does not contribute significantly to the pathogenesis or prediction of preeclampsia. The increased amount of digoxin-like immunoreactive factor in twin pregnancies may reflect a contribution from multifetal origin, or might be a physiologic adaptive mechanism allowing higher cardiac output by a possible cardiotropic effect.

Reduced folate carrier (RFC-1) gene expression in normal and psoriatic skin.

Methotrexate is widely used in the treatment of severe psoriasis. However, little is currently known about the mechanisms underlying its therapeutic activity in the skin. Methotrexate has been shown to be carried into cells through the reduced folate carrier (RFC-1). The recent cloning and characterization of the human gene encoding this transmembranal carrier enabled us to investigate RFC-1 gene expression in human skin. Biopsies were obtained from the skin of healthy and psoriatic volunteers. RNA extracted from these biopsies was analyzed by the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction technique. While RFC-1 gene expression was barely detectable in the uninvolved skin of psoriatic patients and in the skin of healthy volunteers, high levels of RFC-1 transcripts were found in biopsies obtained from psoriatic plaques. To further investigate this pattern of gene expression, we studied skin biopsies by in situ hybridization with a labeled antisense riboprobe specific for the RFC-1 gene. The RFC-1 gene was found to be weakly expressed in the epidermis, in biopsies obtained from the skin of healthy subjects as well as in those from the uninvolved skin of psoriatic patients. In contrast, in biopsies obtained from psoriatic plaques, high levels of RFC-1 gene transcripts were found mostly in the spinous layer of the epidermis. These results suggest the existence of a specific methotrexate carrier in the human epidermis, and may bear relevance to the cutaneous manifestations of methotrexate toxicity.

Group B streptococcal tricuspid valve endocarditis: a case report and review of literature.

Group B streptococcal endocarditis involving the tricuspid valve is an uncommon disease. We describe herein a young healthy woman who developed this disease following an elective abortion. She was treated with penicillin and gentamycin with no response. The patient was operated urgently and recovered. Few reports have described the disease in the last 25 years (our case is the thirteenth). Five of them were IV drug abusers, four patients suffered from debilitating diseases and in five women endocarditis developed following an obstetric procedure. In general the mortality from tricuspid valve endocarditis is low, indeed 2/13 (15%) died. The drug of choice is penicillin with gentamycin.

Vancomycin sequestration during cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to analyze vancomycin disposition in adult patients undergoing coronary bypass grafting during and following cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). METHODS: Coronary bypass surgery was performed on 11 adults with a mean age (SD) of 62.9 (9.0) years old, who received a mean (SD) vancomycin prophylactic dose of 12.7 (1.0) mg/kg in a mean period of 41 (0.7) min. Using a two-compartment open model for pharmacokinetic analysis, the following parameters were obtained: alpha half-life, minutes (t(1/2alpha)); beta half-life, hours (t(1/2beta)); apparent volume of distribution, (V(d) l/kg); volume of the central compartment, (V(c) l/kg), constant between the "central to the peripheral" compartment, (k(12)); constant between the "peripheral to the central" compartment, (k(21)); total area under the concentration-time curve, (AUC mg/lxh) and a vancomycin clearance, (Cl(van) ml/min), respectively. RESULTS: The mean (SD) calculated pharmacokinetic parameters were: t(1/2alpha)17.6 (6) min, t(1/2beta) 8.4 (3.8) h, V(d) 0.803 (0.259) l/kg, V(c) 0.270 (0.162) l/kg, k(12) 0.03 (0.015), k(21) 0.012 (0.012), total AUC 10377.2 (3687.6) mg/lxh. The mean (SD) vancomycin clearance by the CPB machine was 9.51 (2.66) l/h, and the mean (SD) total vancomycin sequestrated by CPB was 331.7 (84) mg. A significant difference (6.3%; p = 0.001) was measured between the mean measured AUC during CPB (1088.1 +/- 253.9) and the same calculated parameter (1160.2 +/- 282). Five minutes after starting CPB, a decrease in vancomycin level was detected; this difference was found to be nearly 11% in absolute values. CONCLUSIONS: This confirmatory study demonstrated that the vancomycin blood concentrations obtained during the study allow recommending a safety prophylactic dose of 12mg/kg in adults who undergo open-heart surgery under CPB conditions. Sequestration of vancomycin by the oxygenator or/and tubing system of the CPB machine had occurred and had been measured in this study.

Echothiophate iodide induced transient hyper- and hypothyroidism.

A case of hyper- and hypothyroidism induced by echothiophate iodide eye drops is presented. The thyroid dysfunction was due to excessive iodide intake from the eye drops.

Disseminated fat necrosis with asymptomatic pancreatitis: a case report and review of the literature.

A 62-year-old man with multiple nontender skin nodules is presented. Some of these nodules discharged a purulent looking fluid. At presentation, the patient did not have any other complaints. No infectious, neoplastic, or immunologic origin could be found for the nodular rash. Biochemical profile, imaging, and skin biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of disseminated fat necrosis (DFN) accompanying asymptomatic pancreatitis. The process involved the mesenteric, subcutaneous, and intramedullary fat. The skin lesions were surgically treated. Mesenteric and intramedullary fat necrosis were watched closely. A year later, the patient was readmitted with a diagnosis of pancreatitis. Subcutaneous and intramedullary necrosis were completely resolved at this time, and only mesenteric fat necrosis prevailed. The clinical syndrome of DFN, its etiology, pathophysiology, treatment, and prognosis are discussed.

Ascites and pleural effusion secondary to extramedullary hematopoiesis.

Extramedullary hematopoiesis in the pleura and peritoneum is rare. It is usually asymptomatic and generally is diagnosed on post mortem examination. Herein we describe a 33-year-old woman with long-standing myelofibrosis who presented with symptomatic ascites and pleural effusion. After complete evaluation, these were found to have been caused by extramedullary hematopoietic implants to the pleura and peritoneum. The pleural effusion responded to low-dose radiotherapy.

Maternal and fetal digoxin-like immunoreactive factor in elective cesarean sections and spontaneous vaginal delivery.

The effect of mode of delivery on maternal and newborn plasma levels of total digoxin-like immunoreactive factor was evaluated. 32 healthy at term parturients with normal fetuses were studied. The cord blood level of digoxin-like immunoreactive factor of the 16 vaginally delivered infants was significantly higher than in the 16 matched controlled newborns delivered by an elective Cesarean section (1381 +/- 334 versus 1104 +/- 338 pg/ml, p less than 0.02). No differences were found between the maternal venous blood levels of digoxin-like immunoreactive factor of both study groups. The cord blood levels of this factor in the vaginal as well as the Cesarean section groups were significantly higher than the concentration in the corresponding maternal blood (p less than 0.001 and p less than 0.01, respectively). It is suggested that the changes in digoxin-like immunoreactive factor in the cord blood may reflect the stress of vaginal delivery on the fetus.

Peripartum changes in free and protein-bound digoxinlike immunoreactive factor.

The appearance of free digoxinlike immunoreactive factor in pregnancy and its rapid disappearance after delivery is well documented. The protein-bound fraction, a common component of plasma, does not change during pregnancy. We investigated the peripartum changes in both free and protein-bound fractions of digoxinlike immunoreactive factor and observed different peripartum patterns of those fractions. While the disappearance of the free fraction after delivery was reconfirmed, the protein-bound fraction exhibited a biphasic pattern: a rapid decrease after delivery with a slow increase to predelivery levels seven weeks later. The disappearance of free digoxinlike immunoreactive factor after delivery may reflect the elimination of the fetal source. The changes in the protein-bound fraction imply that the fraction may also vary in certain clinical situations and may be produced in response to certain homeostatic changes and suggest a possible interaction between fetal and maternal systems that produce digoxinlike immunoreactive factor during pregnancy.

[Aortic regurgitation and aortic stenosis associated with gastrointestinal bleeding. Report of a case (author's transl)]. / Insuficiencia y estenosis aórtica asociada con hemorragia gastrointestinal. A propósito de un caso.

A 67-year-old woman with a double atherosclerotic aortic valvulopathy and rheumatoid arthritis presented recurrent episodes of gastrointestinal bleeding. Selective arteriography of the superior mesenteric artery demonstrated the existence of vascular malformations with extravasation of the contrast. The physiopathology of this lesion is unknown, but its incidence in adulthood suggests a degenerative process. A selective angiogram of the superior mesenteric artery is mandatory in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding and double aortic valvulopathy in order to establish the etiological diagnosis of the hemorrhage.

[Cholestyramine for digoxin intoxication].

Cholestyramine, a bile acid sequestering resin, has been reported to bind digitalis in vitro. We gave 4 g every 6 hours to 3 patients with non-life threatening digoxin intoxication. In all 3 serum digoxin concentrations and digoxin half-life decreased: from 50 to 32 hours, from 50 to 10 hours and from 46 to 16 hours in the 3 cases, respectively. Cholestyramine is potentially useful and safe adjunct medication for non-life threatening digoxin intoxication.

[Transient liver damage due to prajmalium bitartrate].

3 patients developed transient cholestatic jaundice after administration of prajmalium bitartrate, a class I antiarrhythmic drug. The leukocyte inhibition tests showed 4%, 12% and 15% inhibition, respectively, while eosinophilia was seen in all 3, supporting the assumption that the transient hepatic damage was due to drug exposure. Discontinuing the drug resulted in improvement in the clinical and biochemical findings.

[Bronchocentric granulomatosis].

We describe a 42-year-old woman with 3 solitary lung lesions in whom the diagnosis of bronchocentric granulomatosis was made by open lung biopsy. She presented with pleuritic chest pain, dry cough and fever. X-ray revealed 2 solitary nodules in the lower lobe of the right lung, and another in the lingula. The pathologic findings included necrotizing granulomatous inflammation, mainly in the bronchi and bronchioles. The lesions of the right lung were resected, resulting in complete recovery from symptoms, while the nodule in the lingula resolved spontaneously.

Glutathione S-transferase T1-null seems to be associated with graft failure in hematopoietic SCT.

Hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) from HLA-matched donors is sometimes complicated by GVHD or graft rejection, because of mismatched mHA. This study presents data suggesting the involvement of glutathione S-transferase theta-1 (GSTT1), a phase II detoxifying enzyme encoded by GSTT1, in Ab-mediated rejection of HSCT in children with congenital hemoglobinopathies (CHs). Mismatch of GSTT1, which often features a deletion polymorphism variant, can have major consequences in solid organ transplantation outcome. In liver transplantation, it has been shown to lead to de novo hepatitis, whereas in kidney transplantation, chronic allograft rejection has been documented. In this study on 18 children with CH who underwent HSCT, five cases of graft rejection occurred, all in GSTT1-null patients, four of which featured anti-GSTT1 antibodies. The data suggest that when GSTT1-null patients are transplanted with a GSTT1-positive graft, rejection due to an Ab-mediated immune response against GSTT1 displayed on transplanted stem cells may take place. Thus, it seems that detection of anti-GSTT1 antibodies in patients with a GSTT1-null genotype before transplantation may be predictive of graft rejection in the event of a GSTT1-positive donor.