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Physiological and biochemical studies were carried out on 16 patients with motor neurone disease (MND). It was confirmed that the peripheral nerves in cases of MND are often unusually resistant to ischaemia especially as regards the large sensory fibres. Biochemical investigations demonstrated a tendency to carbohydrate intolerance and abnormal pyruvate metabolism. When compared with other related studies in MND it seems very likely that there is a metabolic abnormality present in MND which demands further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

- Nine patients with detrusor instability and minimal pyramidal disease are presented. None had neurological symptoms. All had severe urinary symptoms. These patients may add support to the theory that all detrusor instability has a neurogenic basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the occurrence of livedo reticularis in a patient with symptomatic hereditary type 1 protein C deficiency. Antithrombin III deficiency and the antiphospholipid syndrome may also be associated with livedo reticularis, and we suggest that a thrombophilia screen may be a useful investigation in a patient with otherwise unexplained livedo, particularly if there is a personal or family history of thromboembolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a case report of a thirty-one-year female diagnosed to have the livedo reticularis. History of the medical case; Clinical manifestations; Treatment.

Chemokines have a pivotal role in the selective mediation and amplification of inflammation. The CNS vascular endothelial cells, which form part of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and blood-retinal barrier (BRB), are ideally situated to present chemokines to circulating lymphocytes leading to their recruitment. Monocyte-chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), also known as CCL2, a potent chemoattractant of T cells and monocytes, has been implicated in inflammatory and angio-proliferative brain and retinal disease. In this study, MCP-1 expression by CNS endothelial cells was investigated in vitro. Rat brain (GP8/3.9) and retinal (JG2/1) vascular endothelial cell lines expressed MCP-1 constitutively in vitro as assessed by immunocytochemistry and enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Upregulation of secreted MCP-1 was observed following activation with the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta and IFN-gamma, and was reduced following dexamethasone treatment. Functional chemotactic activity of brain and retinal endothelial cell supernatants was demonstrated in an in vitro chemotaxis assay, which was inhibited by anti-MCP-1 antibodies. These findings suggest that endothelial cell-derived MCP-1 plays a key role in leukocyte recruitment across the blood-brain and blood-retinal barriers in vivo.