Chance of aneurysm in patients suspected of SAH who have a ‘negative’ CT scan but a ‘positive’ lumbar puncture

In patients with sudden severe headache and a negative computed tomography (CT) scan, a lumbar puncture (LP) is performed to rule in or out a subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), but this procedure is under debate. In a hospital-based series of 30 patients with sudden headache, a negative CT scan but a positive LP (defined as detection of bilirubin >0.05 at wavelength 458 nm), we studied the chance of harbouring an aneurysm and the clinical outcome. Aneurysms were found in none of both patients who presented within 3 days, in 8 of the 18 (44%) who presented within 4–7 days and in 5 of the 10 (50%) who presented within 8–14 days. Of the 13 patients with an aneurysm, 3 (23%) had poor outcome. In patients who present late after sudden headache, the yield in terms of aneurysms is high in those who have a positive lumbar puncture. In patients with an aneurysm as cause of the positive lumbar puncture, outcome is in the same range as in SAH patients admitted in good clinical condition

Increased serum levels of MRP-8/14 in type 1 diabetes induce an increased expression of CD11b and an enhanced adhesion of circulating monocytes to fibronectin

The recruitment of monocytes from the bloodstream is crucial in the accumulation of macrophages and dendritic cells in type 1 diabetic pancreases. Adhesion via integrins to endothelium and extracellular matrix proteins, such as fibronectin (FN), and the production of myeloid-related protein (MRP)-8, -14, and -8/14 by recently transmigrated monocytes are thought to be instrumental in such recruitment. We determined the FN-adhesive capacity and integrin expression of monocytes of type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients and related them to the subjects' serum levels of MRP-8, -14 and -8/14. Monocytes of type 1 diabetic patients displayed an increased adhesion to fibronectin in comparison with type 2 patients and healthy control subjects but had a normal expression of the FN binding integrins CD29, CD49a, CD49d, and CD49e (although CD11b and CD18 expression was increased). MRP-8/14, which was increased in the sera of type 1 diabetic patients, induced healthy donor monocytes to adhere to FN and upregulate CD11b expression in a dosage-dependent manner. The observed MRP-induced increased adhesion of monocytes to FN and upregulation of CD11b most likely contributed to a facilitated accumulation of monocytes and monocyte-derived cells at the site of inflammation, in this case the pancreatic islets

Immunohistochemical, morphological and ultrastructural resemblance between dendritic cells and folliculo-stellate cells in normal human and rat anterior pituitaries

Immunolabeling of cryo-sections of human anterior pituitaries obtained at autopsy, and of cryo-sections of freshly prepared rat anterior pituitaries, with a panel of monoclonal antibodies against markers of the monocyte/dendritic cell/macrophage lineage, reveals in both species a characteristic pattern of immunopositive cells, among which many cells with dendritic phenotype are found. Cells characterized by marker expression of MHC-class II determinants and a dendritic morphology are present in both human and rat anterior pituitary. Markers characteristic of dendritic cells such as the L25 antigen and the OX62 antigen were present in anterior pituitaries from human and rat respectively. The population of MHC-class II expressing dendritic cells of the rat anterior pituitary is compared at the ultrastructural level with the folliculo-stellate cell population, which cell type has been previously characterized by its distinctive ultrastructure and immunopositivity for the S100 protein. Using immune-electron microscopy of rat anterior pituitaries fixed with periodate-lysine-paraformaldehyde, we were able to distinguish non-granulated cells expressing MHC-class II determinants, whereas no MHC-class II expression was found in the granulated endocrine cells. Using double immunolabeling of cryo-sections of these rat AP with 25 nm and 15 nm gold labels, we demonstrated an overlap between the populations of MHC-class II-expressing and S100 protein-expressing cells. Furthermore, MHC-class II-expressing and S100-positive cells showed ultrastructural characteristics that have been previously ascribed to folliculo-stellate cells. At the light microscopical level in the rat AP, a proportion of 10 to 20% of the S100-positive cells was found immunopositive for the MHC-class II marker OX6. In the hu

Maternal TLR4 and NOD2 Gene Variants, Pro-Inflammatory Phenotype and Susceptibility to Early-Onset Preeclampsia and HELLP Syndrome

Background: Altered maternal inflammatory responses play a role in the development of preeclampsia and the hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets (HELLP) syndrome. We examined whether allelic variants of the innate immune receptors toli-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD2), that impair the inflammatory response to endotexin are related to preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. Methods and Finding: We determined five common mutations in TLR4 (D299G and T399I and NOD2 (R70W, G908R and L1007fs) in 340 primiparous women with a histo

PON2 gene variants are associated with clinical manifestations of cardiovascular disease in familial hypercholesterolemia patients

Paraoxonase is an enzyme associated with the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particle. It catalyses the hydrolysis of organophosphates and protects LDL from oxidative modification in vitro by hydrolyzing lipid peroxides, suggestive of a role for paraoxonase in the development of atherosclerosis. Two frequent mutations at the paraoxonase gene locus (PON1) underlie the leucine (Leu allele) --> methionine (Met allele) and the glutamine(Gln allele) --> arginine(Arg allele) aminoacid substitutions at residues 55 and 192, respectively. These polymorphisms have been associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in several studies, while others have not found this association. Recently, another member of the PON gene family designated PON2 has been identified. While the PON2 gene product is expressed ubiquitously, its physiological role is unknown. A common polymorphism at codon 311 (Cys-->Ser) in the PON2 gene has been described. In our study we assessed the frequency and genotype distribution of the PON1 and PON2 polymorphisms in 197 patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), to determine the possible association between these mutations and susceptibility for CVD. The FH cohort group was divided into subjects with (n=83) and without (n=114) definite clinical manifestations of CVD (FH-Symptomatic and FH-Asymptomatic respectively). The control population consisted of 201 healthy normolipidemic blood donors. All subjects in this study were of Caucasian background. Genotypes were identified by PCR based analysis. With regard to the PON1 polymorphisms 55 and 192, no different distributions of allele frequencies were found between the groups studied. However, we did show an association between the PON2 311 polymorphism and CVD. The frequencies of PON2 Ser311 carriers (Ser/Ser and Cys/Ser) between FH-Symptomatic and both FH-Asymptomatic and controls did show a significant difference (P=0.01 and P=0.02 respectively). In the FH-Symptomatic population, surprisingly, no subjects were homozygous for PON2 Cys311, whereas in the FH-Asymptomatic population nine persons (7.9%) and in the control group 12 persons (6.0%) were homozygous. Our data indicate that the common PON2 polymorphism is associated with clinical manifestations of CVD in FH patients. While PON2 Ser311 carriers seem to be at risk, subjects with the Cys/Cys311 genotype are likely to be protected against the development of premature CV

Lactate to creatinine ratio in amniotic fluid:a pilot study

<p>Measurement of amniotic fluid (AF) lactate concentration in complicated pregnancies may provide information on the extent of fetal acidemia. However, normalisation for AF volume may be necessary by calculating the lactate: creatinine (L: C) ratio. We measured these AF parameters and compared them to arterial cord blood lactate in 28 term and 10 preterm pregnancies. Cord blood lactate was not correlated to AF lactate, but was correlated to the L: C ratio in the complete study population (R = 0.54, p = 0.001) and the subgroups. Correlation was strongest in a preterm intrauterine growth restricted subgroup (n = 7, R = 0.83, p = 0.02). The L: C ratio is more accurate in estimating fetal lacticaemia than AF lactate.</p>

High endothelial venules present in lymphoid cell accumulations in thyroids affected by autoimmune disease: a study in men and BB rats of functional activity and development

High endothelial venules (HEVs) derive their name from the cuboidal high walled shape of the endothelial cells and are found in T-cell areas of a wide variety of lymphoid tissues. The function of HEVs is to attract lymphocytes to lymphoid tissues, and they are thus of importance in lymphocyte recirculation. We investigated the immunohistochemical presence and localization of HEVs in thyroid tissue obtained at surgery from 13 patients with Graves' disease and 3 patients with Hashimoto's disease using the monoclonal antibody HECA 452, which reacts with an epitope on human HEVs. HEVs were found in large confined lymphocytic accumulations in 7 of the 13 Graves' disease glands and all of the Hashimoto's disease glands. These lymphocytic accumulations showed a high grade of architecture and were composed of a central B-cell follicle and a T-cell area in which the HEVs were present. The HEV-containing T-cell area formed a corona around the B-cell follicle. Plasma cells were found at the periphery of the intrathyroidally developed lymphoid tissue. In BB rats, an animal model for spontaneous autoimmune thyroid disease, the development of such HEVs containing intrathyroidal lymphoid tissue was a rather late phenomenon in the autoimmune process occurring after the appearance of anticolloid antibodies in the circulation and after initial immune activity of the thyroid draining lymph nodes. The actual development of the intrathyroidal lymphoid tissue was initiated by accumulation of lymphocytes around dendritic cells forming small cellular clusters. These small clusters later developed into larger formation in which HEVs were detectable. The adherence of B- and T-lymphocytes to human intrathyroidal HEVs was additionally studied using an in vitro adherence assay. B-Lymphocytes preferentially adhered to thyroidal HEVs. This adherence pattern is similar to that of HEVs in mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (tonsils and Peyer's patches). We conclude that lymphoid tissue with a lymphocyte recirculation pattern similar to that of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue can be found in thyroid glands involved in a process of autoimmune reactivity; the BB rat study suggests that the development of such tissue occurs during the chronic phases of the proces

Paraoxonase gene polymorphisms are associated with carotid arterial wall thickness in subjects with familial hypercholesterolemia

Human serum paraoxonase (PON) is a high density lipoprotein (HDL) associated enzyme capable of hydrolyzing lipid peroxides in vitro. PON has recently attracted attention as a protective factor against oxidative modification of LDL and may therefore play an important role in the prevention of the atherosclerotic process. Two frequent mutations at the paraoxonase gene locus (PON1) are the leucine (L allele)-->methionine (M allele) and the glutamine (Q allele)-->arginine (R allele) substitutions at residues 55 and 192, respectively. We have examined the influence of these two polymorphisms on carotid atherosclerosis in familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) patients. The allele frequencies of these two polymorphisms were determined by PCR and restriction fragment analysis, for both the FH population and healthy controls. High resolution B-mode ultrasound was used to assess intima-media wall thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery. No differences were found in allele frequencies between the FH and the control population. In FH patients, the LL, LM and MM genotypes at position 55 occurred in 86 (46.0%), 78 (41.7%) and 23 (12.3%) subjects, respectively, whereas the QQ, QR and RR genotypes at position 192 were found in 90 (48.1%), 79 (42.2%) and 18 (9.6%) individuals. When both polymorphisms were considered separately, no different carotid IMTs were found between the genotype groups. However, our data did show a significant association between the various genotypes of the combined polymorphisms at position 55 and 192 of PON1 and the carotid artery IMT in FH subjects. Subjects with the homozygous wildtype LL/QQ for paraoxonase had the highest mean carotid IMTs when compared to other genotypes, combined. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated age (beta=0.34, P <0.0001), total plasma cholesterol (beta=0.17, P=0. 0109) and the LL/QQ genotype of the PON1 gene (beta=0.22, P=0.0018) to be significant risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis in subjects with FH. The LL/QQ genotype could explain 5.3% of total variance of carotid IMT. In conclusion, this is the first study to report an independent association between the combined PON1 polymorphism genotypes and carotid wall thickness. The homozygous wildtype LL/QQ for PON1 may represent an additional risk factor for carotid atherosclerosis in subjects with F

Serum paraoxonase-I activity is unaffected by short-term administration of simvastatin, bezafibrate, and their combination in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background The high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-associated anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory enzyme, paraoxonase-I, has been found previously to be lower in type 2 diabetes mellitus. We studied whether statin and fibrate treatment, alone and in combination, affect serum paraoxonase-I activity in conjunction with changes in HDL cholesterol in diabetic patients. Subjects and methods A placebo-controlled crossover study was carried out in 14 type 2 diabetic patients to test the effect of 8 weeks of active treatment with simvastatin (40 mg daily), bezafibrate ( 400 mg daily), and their combination on serum paraoxonase-I activity, measured as its activity towards arylesterase and paraoxon. Serum paraoxonase-I activity was also compared between these diabetic patients and 49 non-diabetic control subjects. Results Serum arylesterase activity was lower in type 2 diabetic patients compared to control subjects (P <0.001), but the difference in paraoxonase activity was not significant (P = 0.22). Neither arylesterase (P = 0.24) nor paraoxonase activity (P = 0.37) was increased in response to treatment, despite higher HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-I during combination therapy (P <0.05 for both). Conclusion Short-term administration of simvastatin and bezafibrate, even when combined, is ineffective in raising serum paraoxonase-I activity in type 2 diabetes