A young woman experiencing depression, anxiety, mood swings, severe headaches, muscle spasms, interphalangeal joint stiffness, decreased peripheral vision, diminished tactile sensation, and hallucinations was persistently Bartonella koehlerae seroreactive and bacteremic. Following antibiotic treatment, B. koehlerae antibodies and DNA were not detected and all symptoms resolved.

No abstract

The two-stage skin carcinogenesis model of initiation and promotion in SENCAR mice has been used to examine the effects of various tumor-promoting agents on the expression of the Ha-ras oncogene in early stages of tumorigenesis in vivo. Papillomas were induced in 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-initiated SENCAR mouse epidermis by (i) complete promotion with benzoyl peroxide; (ii) complete promotion with 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA); and (iii) two-stage promotion with TPA for 2 weeks followed by mezerein for 9 weeks. Results of Northern blot hybridization analyses show that early papillomas contain significantly elevated levels of Ha-ras polyadenylated [poly(A)+] RNA, irrespective of the type of tumor promotion regimen used. This pattern holds for promoters of the phorbol ester class as well as for the free radical generating agent benzoyl peroxide. Furthermore, digestion of tumor DNA with diagnostic restriction endonucleases demonstrated that 9-week-old papillomas induced by DMBA contained a point mutation in the 61st codon of one allele of the Ha-ras gene. The results represent the earliest stage in the development of a papilloma at which a Ha-ras point mutation has been reported.

Studies were conducted to evaluate the ability of dietary dried cabbage supplements to inhibit pancreatic carcinogenesis in hamsters and skin tumorigenesis in mice. Pancreatic cancer was induced by treatment with 40 mg/kg body wt N-nitrosobis-(2-oxopropyl)amine (BOP). Cabbage was fed from before carcinogen treatment in low fat diet and, beginning 1 week after BOP treatment, cabbage was given in low fat and high fat diets in comparison with the respective non-cabbage-containing diets. Dried cabbage was incorporated at 9 and 11% levels into the low and high fat diets. Feeding cabbage in the high fat diet elevated the yield of BOP-induced pancreatic ductular carcinoma (1.6 carcinomas/effective animal) in comparison with that observed in hamsters fed cabbage in a low fat diet or in those given a high fat diet without cabbage, 0.6-0.8 carcinomas/effective animal (P less than 0.05). Furthermore, the incidence of BOP-induced gall bladder adenocarcinoma was elevated in cabbage-fed hamsters irrespective of dietary fat intake. Effects of dietary fat and cabbage on food consumption, body weight, and serum T3 and T4 values are described. Skin tumorigenesis was induced in SENCAR mice by 10 nmol 7,12 dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) and promoted beginning 1 week later with twice weekly applications of 2 micrograms 12-O-tetradecanoyl-13-phorbol acetate (TPA). Dried cabbage was incorporated into AIN semi-purified diets from before DMBA treatment and throughout TPA treatment. Skin papilloma yield was elevated in DMBA-initiated TPA-promoted mice that were fed diets containing 10% cabbage. Mice fed cabbage developed an average of 8.45 papillomas per mouse following 22 weeks of promotion while mice given control diet developed 7.25 papillomas per mouse (P less than 0.001). Cabbage feeding did not influence survival, food consumption or body weight of the mice. These results suggest the need for further research on the use of cabbage as a chemopreventive measure.

The effect of feeding a high-fat diet during the promotion phase of skin tumorigenesis was assessed in SENCAR mice. Tumors were initiated on the backs of mice by application of 10 nmol 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA); the tumors were then promoted beginning one week later with twice weekly treatments of 2 micrograms 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) each in 0.2 ml acetone. Control diet containing 5% corn oil was fed from four weeks before until one week after DMBA treatment in all groups. A high-fat diet (24.6% corn oil) was fed from one week after DMBA treatment; the other groups continued on the control diet. Mice were fed ad libitum, and those given the high-fat diet consumed more calories early in the study than the controls did. Treatment with TPA increased calorie consumption throughout the study. Body weights were elevated in mice fed high-fat diets and reduced by TPA treatment. The average number of papillomas per mouse did not differ between the low- and high-fat groups, but papillomas grew more rapidly on the mice fed a high-fat diet than those fed a low-fat diet. The feeding of a high-fat diet following DMBA treatment, in the absence of TPA administration, did not result in promotion of skin tumors. Therefore, a high-fat diet acted as a copromoter of skin tumors in SENCAR mice.