A direct mutational analysis of the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene (PAH) in Gypsy families with phenylketonuria (PKU) has not yet been presented. However, they obviously represent a group at high risk for this inherited disease. We analyzed the PAH loci of 65 Gypsies originating from Eastern Slovakia by a combination of PCR amplification, direct sequencing and ASO hybridization. These studies uncovered 10 "classical PKU" patients to be homozygous for a R252W (CGG-TGG) transition, and 29 heterozygous carriers of this mutation. Fifteen control Caucasoid PKU patients from the Czech and Slovak Republics were selected. In this group we detected R252W mutation in two subjects (6.67% of all mutant alleles). Both were compound heterozygous for two different mutations. Previous haplotype studies of Welsh Gypsies with PKU were uninformative in the determination of heterozygosity. ASO hybridization served us effectively for the consequent analyses in Gypsy PKU-related families and to identify the carriers among the unrelated subjects.

Homogenous transplants of urinary bladder mucosa were made in guinea pigs, and induced bone formation was observed histochemically for alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, esterase, β-glucuronidase, aminopeptidase, and oxidative enzymes, i.e., succinic dehydrogenase, diphosphopyridine nucleotide-dependent dehydrogenase (lactate, malate, glutamate, α-glycerophosphate, β-hydroxybutyrate) and triphosphopyridine nucleotide-dependent dehydrogenase (glucose-6-phosphate and isocitrate). Normal urinary bladder epithelium contained intense alkaline phosphatase and slight acid phosphatase activity throughout. There was weak esterase activity in intermediate layer and weak β-glucuronidase activity in intermediate layer. Succinic dehydrogenase was present throughout the epithelium, and was most active in the basal layer. Lactic and malic dehydrogenase activities were intense. Glutamic, α-glycerophosphate and β-hydroxybutyric dehydrogenase activities were low, but glucose-6-phosphate and isocitric dehydrogenase activities were high. In the initial stage after transplantation, alkaline phosphatase, aminopeptidase and lactic dehydrogenase appeared in the connective tissue surrounding the transplanted mucosa in association with an inflammatory infiltration. Epithelial transplants formed cysts. Lactic, malic and triphosphopyridine nucleotide-dependent dehydrogenases in cystic epithelium were as intense as in normal bladder, though other enzymes decreased. Hyaline formation occurred around the cyst. No appreciable enzyme activity was demonstrated in this hyalinized portion, but when bone appeared marked activity of alkaline and acid phosphatases was seen around it. Histochemical patterns in the induced bone were essentially the same as in normal bone.

No abstract

The combination of the local disinfection therapy against Staphylococcus aureus with the conventional therapy for atopic dermatitis has been widely used, and the improvement in skin lesions has been reported to be associated with a remarkable decrease in IgE levels and reagin antibody titers. We have already reported that affected organs were not only the skin but also the gastrointestinal tract in a case with atopic dermatitis. In the present study, the duodenal tissues were examined by biopsy in 32 patients with atopic dermatitis, and mild or chronic duodenitis was observed in all samples. Toxins were examined by PCR from 180 Staphylococcus aureus strains obtained from our patients. The detection rate of toxins was 82.8%. In many patients, antitoxin IgE antibody titers corresponding to their types of toxin and IgE levels were decreased in a parallel manner as time passed. We found 1 patient who complained of paresthesia in all four limbs, and her neurological and radiological examinations showed moderate cervical spondylosis. Neurological examinations revealed some abnormalities in 43 out of 50 patients with atopic dermatitis, such as hyperreflexia of the legs. Cervical MRI was carried out randomly and showed abnormal findings in 21 of 25 patients, in whom 18 duodenal tissues were examined by biopsies.