Encephalo-myelo-radiculo-ganglionitis presenting as pandysautonomia

A 68-year-old man developed pandysautonomia with severe orthostatic dysfunction, fixed heart rate, low serum levels of norepinephrine and epinephrine, absent sympathetic skin responses, and pupillary abnormalities. CSF protein was 92 mg/dl. In spite of a good recovery following corticosteroid administration, a relapse occurred, with accompanying sensory symptoms confined to both arms. Fatal sudden cardiac arrest occurred after 4 months. Autopsy revealed numerous lymphocytic infiltrates, predominantly in autonomic and sensory ganglia and, to a lesser extent, in the nerve roots, spinal cord, and brainstem without evidence for an underlying tumor. This case provides histopathologic evidence for an inflammatory etiology of panautonomic neuropathy in some patients.     

Activation of human blood monocytes by oxidized polyunsaturated fatty acids: a possible mechanism for the generation of lipid peroxides in the circulation.

The ability of native and oxidized lipids and lipoproteins to stimulate production of reactive oxygen species (ROS; superoxide and hydrogen peroxide) by human blood monocytes has been studied in vitro. Neither native human low density lipoprotein (LDL), ''altered'' LDL (oxidized either by lipoxygenase, activated human monocytes or air) nor oxidized cholesterol had any significant effect on ROS production of monocytes. However, different oxidation products of a lipid emulsion (Lipofundin; largely consisting of linoleic acid oxidized either by lipoxygenase, Fe3+ or ultraviolet irradiation) greatly enhanced ROS production of monocytes. A hypothesis that activation of circulating leucocytes by oxidized fatty acids may generate oxidized plasma LDL, was tested in rabbits. Characteristics of LDL, separated from rabbit plasma 6 h after intravenous injection of an oxidized lipid emulsion, was compared to that of LDL isolated before the lipid treatment. Post-treatment LDL-fraction of plasma had increased lipid peroxide content and compared to the pretreatment LDL, caused a threefold increase in the incorporation of cholesterol into cultured (rat aortic) endothelial cells. The observed intense and lasting stimulation of monocytes by oxidized polyunsaturated fatty acids in vitro, and the generation of ''altered'' LDL by these oxidized lipids in vivo suggests a mechanism by which atherogenic oxidized LDL could form in the circulation.     

GABAergic control of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons and memory

The involvement of the GABAergic innervation of basal forebrain neurons in the rats' conditional visual discrimination performance was examined. Performance in such a task is based on the subjects's ability to retrieve information about response rules, and previous experiments have demonstrated that basal forebrain lesions interfere with this ability. Following the acquisition of the task, chronic guide cannulae were stereotaxically implanted into the substantia innominata of both hemispheres, and the animals were retrained. Administration of the GABAA-agonist muscimol into the substantia innominata (0, 25, 50 ng/0.5 microliters/hemisphere) dose-dependently decreased the number of correct responses, increased the number of errors of omission, increased response latency, but did not affect side bias. Systemic co-administration of the cholinesterase inhibitor physostigmine (0, 0.1, 0.2 mg/kg; i.p.) exclusively interacted with the effects of muscimol on correct responding. Specifically, physostigmine dose-dependently intensified and attenuated the muscimol-induced reduction in correct responding. Although it cannot be excluded that alternative neuronal mechanisms were involved in the mediation of the effects of muscimol and their interaction with physostigmine, these findings support previous evidence indicating that the activity of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons is controlled by a GABAergic input, and that this neuronal link is involved in mnemonic processing.     

Current treatment of thoracic empyema in adults

Experiences obtained with 400 cases of thoracal empyema are described. The fact that the rate of lethality was 18.7% until present points out to the severity of the disease. The semi-conservative therapeutical methods used by the author (drainage, drainage and pleura lavage, pleura lavage and thoracoscopy, balance drainage) are presented. With their sensibly more frequent use the rate of operation could be reduced by 8% (from 36.5% to 28.5%) and the lethality rate by 7.6% (from 18.7% to 11.1). Further improvement of the results may be expected of the increased number of early detection (basic care), concentration of empyemic patients in special institutes (departments, wards) and due to it of a more efficient special treatment of uniform contemplation.     

Gas chromatographic assay of methyltestosterone in tablets.

A simple gas chromatographic procedure has been developed for the determination of methyltestosterone in bulk powders and in tablets. Two new silyl ether derivatives of methyltestosterone have been prepared using dimethylethylsilylimidazole (DMESI) and dimethylisopropylsilylimidazole (DMiPSI). The method is accurate and selective for methyltestosterone within the concentration range 0.1-1.5 micrograms microliters-1.