ABSTRACT.Purpose: The study aimed to evaluate the ocular manifestations in patients with incontinentia pigmenti (IP). Methods: Thirty patients from different parts of Sweden participated. Orthoptic and ocular examinations were performed as well as evaluation of refraction and visual acuity. Results: Ocular manifestations, probably associated with IP, were found in 77% (23/30) of the patients. Thirteen had serious or vision-threatening eye manifestations in one eye, of whom 7 were totally blind in that eye from retinal detachments. Ten patients had minor retinal and/or corneal changes. Conclusion: Ocular lesions in patients with IP may be serious and lead to blindness because of retinal disease. Ophthalmological follow-up is essential in the neonatal period and such a programme is recommended.
Escherichia coli is a gram-negative bacterium that causes sepsis and infections of the nervous system, and the digestive and urinary tracts. The availability of the complete nucleotide sequence encoding the E. coli K-12 genome has made this organism an excellent model for proteomic studies. Semi-preparative two-dimensional electrophoresis, including liquid phase isoelectric focusing (IEF), one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and gel elution, have for the first time been used in combination with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS), electrospray tandem mass spectrometry and database searching for rapid separation of proteins from a uropathogenic strain of E. coli. The identity of 30 proteins, including the membrane protein nmpC, was obtained using this approach.
In vitro production of alpha interferon and gamma interferon was examined in cell cultures from 90 asymptomatic homosexual males and 19 healthy heterosexual male controls. The production of alpha and gamma interferon was significantly suppressed in homosexuals as compared to that in heterosexual controls (p less than 0.005 and p less than 0.001, respectively). Forty-one of the homosexuals produced less gamma interferon than any of the heterosexual controls. Antibodies against the human immune system virus (HIV) were found in eight homosexuals, who produced significantly less alpha and gamma interferon than did the HIV-seronegative homosexuals (p less than 0.02). Neither carriage of Entamoeba histolytica or Giardia lamblia nor serological evidence of infection with cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus or hepatitis B virus was associated with a significantly lower production of interferon than that found in homosexual males seronegative for these infections. No correlation was found between number of partners or practice of passive anal intercourse and production of interferons in homosexual men. It is concluded that the significantly lower production of both alpha and gamma interferon in asymptomatic homosexual males may play an important role in susceptibility to viruses, including HIV.
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