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Biomedical subjects

R A Glover

Publications and source records attributed to R A Glover.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

An unusual presentation of secondary syphilis in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection. A case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Syphilis has been reported to assume unusual clinical appearances and to exhibit unusual courses in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1. We recently observed a distinct manifestation of syphilis in an HIV-infected patient with features not previously described. OBSERVATIONS: A 38-year-old HIV-seropositive homosexual man presented with fever, chills, malaise, and a cutaneous eruption consisting of indurated, shiny, erythematous plaques that were confluent on the face and scalp leading to alopecia and extreme tautness of the skin. Initial clinical diagnoses included lymphoreticular malignancy and infection. Although cultures yielded Staphylococcus aureus, a skin biopsy specimen was diagnostic of syphilis. CONCLUSIONS: This case demonstrates an unusual clinical manifestation of syphilis in a patient with HIV infection and emphasizes the importance of considering cutaneous secondary syphilis in the differential diagnosis of virtually any inflammatory cutaneous disorder in HIV-seropositive individuals.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Innervation of the human knee joint by substance-P fibers.

Anterior knee pain is a frequent musculoskeletal complaint affecting all ages, both sexes, athletes, and nonathletes alike. Numerous theories have been proposed regarding its etiology including patellar malalignment, quadriceps insufficiency, subluxation, quadriceps muscle tightness, and chondral defects. However, the mechanism by which these factors produce this pain is not clear. Knowledge of the distribution of nociceptive nerve fibers around the knee would seem to provide insight in treating these painful conditions. Eleven human patellae--eight specimens from patients with degenerative patellofemoral disease and three normals--were evaluated. Immunohistochemical techniques using monoclonal antibody to substance-P were employed to identify nociceptive fibers. Substance-P is a nociceptive neurotransmitter found in afferent nerve fibers. Substance-P fibers were isolated in the retinaculum, fat pad, periosteum, and subchondral plate of patellae affected with degenerative disease. This study demonstrates that selective tracting of nociceptive pain fibers is possible around the knee both in soft tissue and, in some circumstances, bone. The subchondral plate of normal patellae did not demonstrate erosion channels, but those with chondral defects from degenerative disease did. Nociceptive fibers found in these defects may explain the origin of symptoms in some patients. The distribution of substance-P nerve fibers in the soft tissues around the knee suggests that denervation may be the mechanism by which surgical procedures for anterior knee pain produce favorable results.

Humans

Histamine release from rodent and human mast cells induced by protoporphyrin and ultraviolet light: studies of the mechanism of mast-cell activation in erythropoietic protoporphyria.

We report that protoporphyrin (PP) and ultraviolet light (UVA) induces histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells, mouse bone marrow mast cells and human cutaneous mast cells in a dose- and temperature-dependent manner. The mast-cell activation was associated with loss of membrane integrity and inhibited by the hydrogen peroxide scavenger, catalase. Histamine release was independent of extracellular calcium in the rodent mast cells, but was markedly reduced in the absence of calcium in human cells. These findings indicate that PP and UVA induce mast-cell-mediator release by a process that may involve hydrogen peroxide formation. There appear to be differences in response to PP and UVA between rodent and human mast cells.

Animals

Genetic prenatal aqueductal stenosis with hydrocephalus in rat.

A recessive mutation which arose in Wistar albino rats was variably expressed in the homozygous state as prenatal stenosis of the aqueduct with resultant hydrocephalus. The condition was often compatible with survival to adulthood and with successful reproduction. Mildly sparse hair was the constant gene marker. Eye defects and sometimes foot deformities occurred. The first observable ultrastructural alteration was a disruption of the integrity of the neuroepithelial basal lamina in the cephalic neural tube of affected embryos as early as the 11th fetal day (16-24 somite pairs). The hydrocephalic syndrome closely resembled that produced by giving folic acid analogs to, or producing vitamin B12 deficiency in, pregnant rats in the period including the 11th day. Neither vitamin B12 nor folate, nor certain metabolites closely related to their metabolism, prevented the gene's expression. Homozygote mutants mated with homozygote mutants produced 70% hydrocephalic (dome-shaped heads) offspring, but if the mother was heterozygote, there was a "protective" effect and the number of hydrocephalic young was disproportionately smaller.

Animals

Propagation and histological characterization of a homotypic population of astrocytes derived from neonatal rat brain.

Tissue derived from the cerebra of 3-4 day old rats was minced, trypsinized and placed in tissue culture medium. Cells attained a monolayer in twelve to fourteen days when plated at a density of 10(2) cells/cm2. Selected culturing procedures designed to inhibit neuronal growth while encouraging glial growth yielded monolayers which consisted almost exclusively of astrocytes. Cells were identified using established morphological criteria for brain cells in culture. These observations were supplemented using certain histological and histochemical techniques frequently employed in investigative work for the identification of glial cells, particularly astrocytes. Results of all the above procedures indicate cell cultures which apparently consist exclusively of astrocytes. The preparation of such a homotypic population of normal, viable astroglial cells, derived from an animal universally used in investigative work on the nervous system, is perceived as an important contribution to the future study of glial characteristics and their interactions at morphological and functional levels.

Animals

Alkaline Phosphatase distribution in the inferior vagal ganglion of the cat following vagotomy: a chronological study.

The object of this study was to demonstrate sites of alkaline phosphatase activity within the cellular elements of the inferior vagal (nodosal) ganglion of the cat and chronologically observe and describe alterations in enzyme activity following vagotomy. In control tissues alkaline phosphatase activity was localized to the wall of perineuronal blood vessels and the satellite cell cytoplasm which envelops the neuronal perikarya. In the experimental tissues alkaline phosphatase activity was increased in the above locations during the first 20 days following vagotomy then gradually declined to approximate control levels by 60 days post-operatively. The functional significance of changes in alkaline phosphatase activity occurring within an altered metabolic environment induced by vagotomy is discussed.

Alkaline Phosphatase