Multiple neurinoma of the spinal cord: case report

The patient, a 72-year-old female, was admitted with an 11-year history of progressive dysesthesia in the left leg. Neurological findings on admission revealed weakness in the bilateral legs, hyperreflexia of left leg, hypalgesia and hypesthesia under the Th 8 level, and urinary incontinence. Plain lumber X-ray showed enlargement of the intervertebral foramen of L 1/2. Myelography disclosed block age at the level of Th 9 and filling defect at the level of Th 10/11 and L1/2. CT myelography revealed a cord swelling and partially exophytic tumor from Th 8 to Th 9, another tumor located posterior-laterally at the level of Th 11, and another tumor located extra and intradural at the level of L1/2. Laminectomy was performed from Th 8 to L 3. A tumor of the Th 9 was located intramedullary, another tumor of the Th 11 was located intradural extramedullary, and another tumor of the L1/2 was located in the epidural space (so-called dumb-bell type tumor). These tumors were removed completely except the extra-canal part of L1/2 tumor. Histopathological examination revealed typical Antoni type A schwannoma in all tumors. This case was considered multiple neurinomas of the spine in which tumors were located in three separate anatomical sites, intramedullary, intradural extramedullary, and epidural sites. This patient did not show café-au-lait spot, and neurofibroma in her body. The authors considered the patient might be a case of central neurofibromatosis. The authors stressed that multiple neurinomas of the spine is not rare, so careful study of the whole spine is necessary including its intramedullar space.     

Nonsurgical treatment of a massive macrohematuria following kidney biopsy

In the treatment of massive hematuria after renal biopsy, selective percutaneous vaso-occlusion with detachable balloons is an effective alternative to urological surgery, as demonstrated in the case of a 39-year-old man. A review of the literature, which records success rate of more than 90% in nonmalignant renal hemorrhage, confirms the therapeutic value of the various parenchyma-sparing embolization techniques.     

Medicaid expenditures for the disabled under a work incentive program.

Congress enacted Section 1619 of the Social Security Act to enable the disabled receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to obtain jobs and still retain Medicaid health benefits. Congress intended this work incentive to remove the fear of the severely disabled that by obtaining employment they would lose Medicaid benefits. Based on data from 11 States, our analysis found that Medicaid expenditures for Section 1619 enrollees were relatively small and only one-half the average Medicaid expenditure for the disabled. Retaining Medicaid appears to provide a significant work incentive because Medicaid expenditures represent 13 percent of Section 1619 enrollees' earnings.     

Mortality of cadmium-exposed workers. A five-year update

A cohort mortality study of cadmium-exposed workers initially followed to the end of 1979 has been updated for a further five years. The update has confirmed the findings of the original study with a significant excess risk from bronchitis related to intensity of exposure, although over the five-year period the excess mortality was no longer significant, a finding suggesting that the risk from bronchitis may now be declining in this cohort. In contrast, there is now a stronger indication of a excess risk from lung cancer related to intensity of exposure, significant for both the total and the five-year periods. There was again no increased risk from prostatic cancer, and from this and other studies it appears unlikely that cadmium, in the concentrations encountered in this and other recent studies, acts as a prostatic carcinogen. As in the initial study, there was no significant excess risk from hypertensive disease, nor any suggestion of an increased risk from cerebrovascular or renal disease.     

Effects of topical pre-treatment with dexamethasone on the immediate and late phases of topically induced ocular anaphylaxis in the rat

We tested the effects of pre-treatment with dexamethasone on topically induced ocular anaphylaxis in the rat. Rats were immunized with dinitrophenylated Ascaris suum extract and challenged with di-DNP-lysine. Dexamethasone was administered topically once (24, 6, or 1 h before challenge) or three times (6, 4, and 2 h before challenge). A single pre-treatment given at 24 or 6 h had no significant effect. A single pre-treatment 1 h before challenge reduced the extent of edema assessed histologically but not clinically, and had no significant effect on the eosinophil count in conjunctival tissue examined 6 h after challenge. Eyes pre-treated with dexamethasone 6, 4, and 2 h before challenge showed a significant reduction in conjunctival edema assessed histologically and clinically 1 h after challenge. In addition, 6 h after challenge the number of eosinophils was significantly reduced. We conclude that repeated pre-treatment with dexamethasone can suppress both the immediate phase and the cellular late phase of topically induced ocular anaphylaxis.     

Stromal changes following removal of epithelium in rat cornea

Morphologic and metabolic changes were studied in the corneal stroma of the rat eye following denudation of the epithelium. By touching the cornea with a glass slide coated with 10% gelatin the epithelium was removed with minimal trauma to the underlying stroma. The underlying superficial keratocytes degenerated promptly leaving an anterior acellular zone within 12 hours. At 24 hours wandering cells invaded this damaged stroma, coincident with reepithelialization of the surface. This suggests not only an interaction of epithelium and keratocytes but also of epithelium and wandering cells. Repair of the acellular zone began about 24 hours after the denudation. At 48 hours mitotic figures were abundant with vigorous incorporation of the 3H-thymidine in the remaining keratocytes. The acellular zone became repopulated with new stromal cells advancing from the posterior stroma toward the anterior stroma.