Cell membrane potentials were measured in breast tissue and in breast epithelial cells to explore the relation between cell membrane potentials, oncogenesis and electrical potentials previously measured on the surface of the breast. The mean membrane potential in breast biopsy tissue from 9 women with infiltrating ductal carcinoma was significantly depolarized, compared with values measured in tissue from 8 women with benign breast disease. Depolarization was also observed in transformed breast epithelial cells, compared with normal breast cells; the transformed cells were particularly sensitive to the action of K⁺ channel blockers. The results were consistent with previous observations of electropositivity of skin sites over malignant tumors of the breast.

No abstract

A term infant had dwarfism with characteristic skeletal and extraskeletal changes of the short rib-polydactyly syndrome type 2 (Majewski). The skeletal changes included extremely short horizontal ribs, extreme micromelia with disproportionately short ovoid tibiae, and pre- and post-axial polydactyly. Microscopically, cartilage showed markedly stunted and disorganized endochondral ossification. Extraskeletal manifestations were hydrops, cleft lip, malformed larynx with hypoplastic epiglottis, pulmonary hypoplasia, glomerular and renal tubular cysts, ambiguous genitalia, pachygyria and small cerebellar vermis. Parental consanguinity supports the hypothesis of autosomal recessive inheritance of the condition.