Multiple contact sensitivity to eyedrops.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M E Nelson.
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Three patients with granular corneal dystrophy Groenouw type I underwent corneal grafting, and cryostat sections of the corneal buttons were examined immunohistochemically for immunoglobulins. Positive results were obtained for IgG, Kappa-, and Lambda chains with immunofluorescence technique. The reactions were seen exclusively in the same localizations as the Masson trichrome positive deposits.
The nutritional intake of elite athletes is a critical determinant of their athletic performance and ability to compete both physically and mentally. However, their demanding training and travel schedules in addition to a possible lack of nutritional knowledge may prohibit them from maintaining an optimal dietary intake. Sound scientific data about the nutritional habits of elite athletes are limited and, therefore, it is not clear as to whether elite athletes are following nutritional recommendations and maintaining nutritionally sound diets. This review takes a comprehensive look at 22 recent dietary intake studies, including 50 groups of elite athletes. The time period for food record collection ranged from 3 to 7 days except for 2 studies which collected records for 21 and 22 days. Energy intakes of > 50 kcal/kg/day for male athletes who train for > 90 min/day and 45 to 50 kcal/kg/day for female athletes training for > 90 min/day are recommended. Bodyweight should be monitored frequently as a check on calorie intake. With a sufficient calorie intake (1.2 to 2.0 kg/kg/day) protein supplementation is not necessary. Ingested carbohydrate stored as glycogen serves as the primary fuel for muscle performance. Athletes in training should consume 70% of total calories as carbohydrate. Athletes on low energy diets (< 2200 kcal/day) should have a diet of < 25% fat, and athletes with large energy needs should consume 30% fat in their diet. In general, fat intakes should be reduced and carbohydrate intakes increased. Athletes should also restrict alcohol intake during training and competition periods. Athletes with low calorie intakes should consume foods with high contents of iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc and vitamin B12. Athletes with high calorie intakes should consume foods that are naturally high in or fortified with B-group vitamins. Fluid, electrolyte and energy supplementation is desirable to support circulatory, metabolic and thermoregulatory functions. There is no special food that will help elite athletes perform better; the most important aspect of the diet of elite athletes is that it follows the basic guidelines for healthy eating.
Therapeutic thoracic irradiation may induce two late pulmonary injury syndromes: radiation pneumonitis and subsequent pulmonary fibrosis. The alveolar macrophage has been considered a radioresistant cell and not a target cell involved in the pathogenesis of either type of radiation-induced lung injury. Alveolar macrophage-derived cytokines, including interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), have been demonstrated to participate in inflammatory and fibrotic responses in the lung after various other types of lung injury. To evaluate whether the release of cytokines by alveolar macrophages is induced by radiation doses used clinically, alveolar macrophages recovered from nonsmoking volunteers were exposed in vitro to a single dose of 2 Gy and then maintained in culture for 18 h. Culture supernatants and cell lysates were then recovered and analyzed for IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta by radioimmunoassay. Supernatants of irradiated alveolar macrophages contained significantly increased amounts of IL-1 alpha (P < 0.04) and IL-1 beta (P < 0.02) as well as total IL-1 (IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta) (P < 0.02) compared to nonirradiated alveolar macrophages. Cell lysates of irradiated alveolar macrophages also contained increased amounts of IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta, although differences from controls were not significant. The finding of increased release of IL-1 by alveolar macrophages after exposure to a single, clinically relevant dose of radiation suggests that the function of human alveolar macrophages is likely altered during therapeutic use of thoracic irradiation. Whether this release of IL-1 by alveolar macrophages contributes to early lung inflammation induced by thoracic irradiation is unclear.
Serum samples (n = 204) from 124 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in northeastern Minnesota (USA) were collected from 1984 through 1989 and tested for antibodies to six serovars of Leptospira interrogans (bratislava, canicola, grippotyphosa, hardjo, icterohemorrhagiae, and pomona) using a microtiter agglutination test. Eighty-eight (43%) sera were positive at greater than or equal to 1:100 for antibodies against serovars pomona and/or bratislava; none was positive for any of the other four serovars. None of the 31 sera collected in 1984-85 was positive, whereas all 54 sera collected from 1986 through 1988 had titers of greater than or equal to 1:100. During 1989, only 34 (29%) of 119 sera had titers of greater than or equal to 1:100. Based on these results, we believe there to be wide variability in exposure of Minnesota deer to Leptospira interrogans.
Oxime- and non-oxime-related drugs, as well as cardiotonic drugs (CDs), have been used to treat the effects of organophosphorus (OP) poisoning. We conducted our experiments to determine what effects CDs may have on acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and how CDs interact with other treatment drugs as well as with OP-inhibited AChE. True AChE (EC 3.1.1.7) was purified from fetal bovine serum, and enzyme activity was measured according to Ellman et al. The CDs coumingine, cassaine, proscillaridin and convallatoxin were incubated with AChE at 550 microM at pH 7.6 and 25 degrees C. The CD ouabain was incubated with AChE at 500 microM. The CDs inhibited AChE by 97%, 89%, 10%, 7% and 6%, respectively. The mean AChE activities for these experiments, except for ouabain, were significantly different (P = 0.05) from their controls, as determined by the two-tailed Student's t-test. In a separate experiment, the oxime TMB-4.2Br (100 microM), which did not inhibit AChE, increased the inhibitory effect of proscillaridin from 4% to 11% (a 3.7-fold increase). When AChE was inhibited 39% with 37 nM VX, the addition of proscillaridin increased the inhibition to 51% (a 1.3-fold increase). When TMB-4 was added to the proscillaridin- and VX-inhibited AChE mixture, the inhibition decreased from 50% to 32% (a 0.37-fold decrease), whereas TMB-4 alone added to VX-inhibited AChE decreased the inhibition from 39% to 24% (a 0.38-fold decrease). The results show that TMB-4 increases the inhibition of AChE by proscillaridin. However, TMB-4 decreases the inhibition of AChE by VX and proscillaridin combined.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The pupil response to a flashing light stimulus was observed for a group of 26 healthy volunteer controls, and 15 patients with relative afferent pupillary defects (RAPDs). For the control group, the mean interval between flashes which would just produce a perceptible pupil response was 295 milliseconds (ms). The mean difference between right and left eyes was 8.84 ms. The mean difference between normal and abnormal eyes of the APD group was 78.6 ms. The difference between these results and those of the control group are highly significant statistically (p less than 0.001), and we conclude that this test may be of use in the assessment of defects of the afferent light pathways.
The effects of a supervised 1-y walking program and increased dietary calcium (milk supplement, 831 mg/d, vs placebo drink, 41 mg/d) on bones were examined in 36 postmenopausal women (60.2 +/- 6.5 y). Trabecular bone-mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine (L1-L3), measured by computed tomography, increased by 0.5% in exercising women (n = 18) and decreased by 7.0% in sedentary women (n = 18; P = 0.02). Femoral-neck BMD measured by dual-photon absorptiometry (DPA) increased by 2.0% in women consuming high dietary calcium (n = 18) and decreased by 1.1% in those on moderate calcium intake (n = 18; P = 0.001). Neither exercise nor dietary calcium had an effect on lumbar spine (L2-L4) measured by DPA, distal radius measured by single-photon absorptiometry, or total body calcium measured by in vivo neutron activation. The varying proportions and rates of turnover of trabecular and cortical bone from one site to another suggest that exercise and high dietary calcium may preferentially alter bone density at different skeletal sites.
It is well known that neural responses in many brain regions are organized in characteristic spatial patterns referred to as brain maps. It is likely that these patterns in some way reflect aspects of the neural computations being performed, but to date there are no general guiding principles for relating the structure of a brain map to the properties of the associated computation. In the field of parallel computing, maps similar to brain maps arise when computations are distributed across the multiple processors of a parallel computer. In this case, the relationship between maps and computations is well understood and general principles for optimally mapping computations onto parallel computers have been developed. In this paper we discuss how these principles may help illuminate the relationship between maps and computations in the nervous system.
A double masked, placebo controlled clinical trial, of topical 2% ketoconazole cream with lid hygiene, for the treatment of seborrhoeic and mixed seborrhoeic/staphylococcal blepharitis was conducted. Forty patients with symptomatic blepharitis, 20 randomly allocated to ketoconazole, 20 to placebo were entered. Treatment efficacy was assessed by improvement of symptoms using visual analogue scales, appearance of the eyelids and reduction in numbers of pityrosporum yeasts on the eyelids. Both groups showed a similar reduction in symptoms, and signs of inflammation. The overall clinical impression in the ketoconazole group was better at week five than in the placebo group. Sixty nine per cent were either normal or markedly improved, as compared to 42% in the placebo group, although this was not statistically significant (p less than 0.1, one-sided Mann-Whitney). Pityrosporum numbers were reduced significantly in both groups during the treatment period. Ketoconazole was no better than placebo at improving the symptoms of blepharitis. More ketoconazole treated patients had normal or markedly improved lids after treatment than the placebo group. Pityrosporum yeasts may play a role in blepharitis, and treatment with an antifungal has some advantages over conventional therapy.
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There are conflicting reports on the value of cyclocryotherapy in the management of glaucoma. This retrospective study was carried out to assess the efficacy and complication rate of this procedure. The case notes of all patients undergoing cyclocryotherapy at a single centre over a 10-year period were reviewed. Case records were available for 68 eyes of 64 people. Thirty-eight eyes had neovascular glaucoma, nine had aphakic glaucoma, nine had angle closure glaucoma, three had primary open angle glaucoma, and nine had secondary open angle glaucoma. The mean follow-up periods for these groups varied from 2.0-6.3 years. The mean reduction in intraocular pressure following treatment varied from 7.9 mm Hg in the secondary open angle glaucoma group to 24.3 mm Hg in those with angle closure glaucoma. Pressure was controlled in 29.4% overall, ranging from 66.7% in the angle closure and primary open angle groups to 0% in the secondary open angle group. Of the painful eyes 71% were rendered comfortable, indicating that pain relief from cyclocryotherapy is not due solely to pressure control. 30% of the patients lost their vision following the procedure, phthisis occurred in 11.8% and four eyes (5.9%) went on to enucleation. Our results indicate that cyclocryotherapy affords good pain relief, without good pressure control, in various types of glaucoma. While there is an apparent high complication rate, visual loss and phthisis cannot be ascribed directly to the procedure, since these are eyes with a poor prognosis.
Dressing the exenterated orbital cavity is difficult and time consuming for staff, traumatic to the healing wound, and painful for the patient, particularly when the wound is being left to granulate. We report the use of a silastic foam dressing which offers a number of advantages in this clinical situation.
A 34-year-old woman is presented who has recurrent, multiple, retinal arteriolar occlusions associated with a deficiency in protein C, a vitamin K-dependent anticoagulant. Protein C is a naturally occurring anticoagulant and if there is a deficiency, it can lead to episodes of thrombosis; the deficiency can be acquired or congenital. This is the first documented case of retinal arteriolar occlusion associated with a congenital deficiency of this protein. The mechanism for arteriolar occlusion in this patient is discussed, and whilst the role of protein C deficiency remains presumptive, it is strongly implicated.
The case of a 20-year-old male with the Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome associated with unilateral acute corneal hydrops is presented. The initial findings were of keratoglobus, but after the corneal oedema had settled the cornea assumed a more conical contour. The relationship between keratoglobus, keratoconus, and acute hydrops is discussed.
Habitual physical exercise has been reported to have beneficial effects on plasma lipoproteins. To examine this question in women, plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, and apolipoprotein (apo) A-I and B levels, and low density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size were determined in 25 women runners (9 of whom had exercise-related secondary amenorrhea) and 36 age-matched nonexercising women (controls). The eumenorrheic runners had significantly lower apo B levels and significantly greater mean apo A-I/apo B ratios and LDL particle sizes than did the control women (P less than 0.05). Lower apo B levels were correlated with decreased body mass index, a known exercise effect (P less than 0.0001). In addition, normally menstruating runners had cholesterol and triglyceride levels that were 7.6% and 25.4% lower, respectively, and apo A-I levels that were 6.4% higher than control women (P = NS). In amenorrheic runners all parameters were similar to values in control women, except that apo B levels were 20% lower (P less than 0.05). Amenorrheic runners had lower plasma apo A-I levels (13%) and significantly lower apo A-I/apo B ratios and estradiol levels than eumenorrheic runners, and serum estradiol values in the runners were correlated with apo A-I levels (P less than 0.01). These data indicate that the beneficial effects of strenuous exercise on plasma apo A-I levels and apo A-I/apo B ratios in women runners can be reversed by exercise-induced amenorrhea and decreased serum estradiol levels, and that women runners have lower apo B levels than nonexercising women, regardless of menstrual status.