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An overview of giant papillary conjunctivitis (GPC) secondary to the wearing of contact lenses, as well as a systematic clinical approach for the control and treatment of this disorder are discussed. This clinical approach has proven to be extremely successful.

An evaluation of the grief contact lens patient is presented and an approach to solving his or her problem is suggested.

Twenty adult individuals with chronic leg ulcers caused by venous insufficiency, and 5 patients with full-thickness burns were treated. Twenty of the patients (15 with leg ulcers and 5 with burns) were grafted with separated autologous keratinocytes. In these cases the cells were fixed to the wound bed by a fibrin net. Five other patients (with leg ulcers) were treated with fibrin without keratinocytes. In 16 of the 20 patients grafted with keratinocytes in a fibrin net, the defect healed completely in 14 to 21 days. On the other hand, the fibrin net without keratinocytes failed to significantly accelerate the process of reepithelialization. Our experience suggests that a rapid healing of full-thickness skin defects can be achieved through keratinocyte grafting.

Nine ophthalmologists and nine optometrists conducted a premarket study of the Acuvue disposable contact lens manufactured by Vistakon, Inc. Of the 812 patients offered the lens, 733 accepted it and were enrolled in the study. These patients were fitted with the lens and followed for a period of 8 months. Over 98% of these patients had 20/25 or better vision on initial fitting; and subjective ratings of lens comfort were very good. Only 3.7% (27 of 733) discontinued wearing their lenses during the study period. Thirty-four patients (5.6%) experienced a problem while wearing their contact lenses.

In 10 years the authors have carried out 107 Colonna arthroplasties of the hip-joint. Results could be followed up in 98 patients, of whom 56 were - at the time of operation-less than 5-year-old, 42 holder. Among the early operations results were good and satisfactory in 60 per cent, in the late operations 50 per cent. They found that the quality of the result depended largely on the age of the patient, pre-operative traction and additional osteotomy. They recommend this operation for patients with neglected CDH or for those in whom closed reduction did not succeed and operations after Pemberton or Salter cannot be carried out any more.

Anoxic stress is a common physiological stress, but one with unusual and significant consequences. Anoxic stress results in efficient induction of gene amplification and also plays a controlling role in the production of angiogenesis factor by macrophages. Within tumor masses, cancer cells continue to proliferate under oxygen tensions substantially lower than seen in normal tissues. The molecular basis of the anoxic stress response has not been well characterized. The major anoxic stress protein in subconfluent cell cultures is a 34-kilodalton polypeptide which has been variously reported to be either a new isozyme of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) or the conventional muscle-type lactate dehydrogenase. This protein is of particular interest since it is also found expressed at high levels in many human cancers and has been demonstrated to be an effective serum cancer marker. We have developed an affinity chromatography procedure for purification of the anoxic stress protein p34 which effectively separates this protein from LDH-5 as well as other standard LDH isozymes. Anoxic stress protein p34 was found to specifically interact with flavins and the cellular alarmone guanosine(5')tetraphospho(5')guanosine, and also to interact with certain nucleic acids. The properties of this protein suggest that its overall role in the anoxic stress response may be in the coordination of a number of cellular systems.