Extensive surgical excision of large hemispheric “malignant” astrocytoma in a 6-week-old infant

A massive hemispheric high-grade astrocytoma, diagnosed in a 6-week-old infant, was totally excised by means of two craniotomies. The child is still alive and well with minimal neurological dysfunction 1.5 years after operation. This case report illustrates the benefit of aggressive surgical excision (without radiation or chemotherapy) of massive malignant neonatal astrocytomas. While surgical deficits may be minimized by the plasticity of the developing nervous system, extensive excision may yield occasional long-term palliation.     

Use of ECT to Treat Bipolar Depression in a Mental Retardate with Cerebral Palsy

We report the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for treatment of a bipolar episode in a mildly retarded young man with cerebral palsy. Difficulties in the diagnosis and treatment of affective disorders in the retarded are discussed.     

An evaluation of the effects of culture medium osmolality and pH on metabolic cooperation between Chinese hamster V79 cells

The Chinese hamster V79 cell metabolic cooperation assay indirectlymeasures an inhibition of intercellular communication throughgap junctions and can detect many tumor promoters. The experimentsdescribed here were designed to determine whether culture mediumosmolality and pH affect the endpoint of this assay, since hypertonicsolutions and cytoplasmic acidification can uncouple gap junctionsin other systems. Hypertonic concentrations of sucrose and mannitolin medium did inhibit metabolic cooperation, but these soluteswere active over different ranges of osmolalities. In similarexperiments, sodium chloride, choline chloride and sodium glucuronatehad no effect on metabolic cooperation. Furthermore, data wereobtained indicating that osmotic effects are not likely to contributeto the inhibition of metabolic cooperation by sodium saccharin.It is concluded that hypertonic culture conditions do not necessarilycause an inhibition of metabolic cooperation, and the propertiesof an added solute are important in determining the effectsobserved. Additionally, it was found that buffering the culturemedium pH between 6.6 and 7.7, during the period when test substancesare normally present, had no effect on metabolic cooperation.     

Professionalism,bureaucracy and patriotism: The VA as a health care megasystem

The Veterans Administration supports the largest integrated psychiatry service in the country. As our oldest and largest megasystem, this service offers a unique opportunity for examining distinctive features of such large health care delivery systems. Characteristic experiences of mental health professionals in this system are described and the system is analyzed in terms of its organizational tasks, structure and cultures. Psychiatry will be practiced, in the future, in similarly large scale organizations. Understanding the nature and workings of such organizations is likely to become essential to effective and satsifying professional work.     

Clinical suppression of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis by muramyl dipeptide “adjuvant”

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a model for several human diseases including multiple sclerosis and post-vaccinal encephalopathies. EAE is generally thought to be an autoimmune response to the antigen myelin basic protein (MBP). Oddly, MBP can also suppress EAE, and many observations suggest that an independent immune response to so-called "adjuvant" material is also necessary to EAE induction. Thus, EAE may be a result of a pair of interactive immune responses, one against MBP, and one against adjuvant. If so, the adjuvant should, like MBP, suppress EAE. We present data from experiments on strain 13 guinea pigs demonstrating EAE suppression by muramyl dipeptide, an active component of complete Freund's adjuvant. These results are striking because classically adjuvants are defined as immunopotentiators, not immunosuppressants. Our results, therefore, suggest that a revaluation of the role of adjuvants in inducing autoimmune diseases may be necessary.     

Prolonged T-Wave Inversion Associated with Electroconvulsive Therapy

A patient is presented who developed diffuse T-wave inversion during a course of ECT. Review of the literature suggests that prolonged T-wave inversion associated with ECT is an uncommon and probably benign finding not warranting an interruption of a course of electrotherapy.     

Long-term results of Nd-YAG laser iridotomy and indications deriving from it

Of 132 patients who had undergone Nd-YAG laser iridotomy, 70 were randomly selected for follow-up examinations. Nd-YAG laser iridotomies were subsequently performed on 124 eyes (of these 70 patients), 12 for acute angle-closure glaucoma, 19 fellow eyes of those which had angle-closure glaucoma, 70 for chronic angle-closure glaucoma, and 23 eyes with increasingly narrow chamber angle under miotic therapy. The follow-up period ranged from 1 to 25 months (median = 9 months). Eighty-seven percent of the iridotomies remained visibly open. Of 12 acute glaucomas, 10 were successfully treated, whereas only 2 required a basal iridectomy. In the large group of 106 eyes with a "narrow angle condition," a significant pressure reduction from 20.9 +/- 5.8 to 16.7 +/- 3.4 mm Hg and a significant enlargement of the chamber angle resulted. Since fistulizing procedures involve a risk of malignant glaucoma, Nd-YAG laser iridotomy, which this investigation showed to be risk-free, is the initial procedure of choice in narrow-angle conditions, especially subacute and chronic angle-closure glaucoma, in order to alleviate the angle-closure component in such angle-closure situations, to diagnose its contribution to peak IOP, and to facilitate argon laser trabeculoplasty when needed.     

Distribution of the [3H]-label from low doses of radioactive ochratoxin a ingested by rats,and evidence for DNA single-strand breaks caused in liver and kidneys

The distribution of a single low dose of [³H]ochratoxin A (OTA) in different tissues of male Wistar rats, after administration by intubation, was investigated after 5 h, 24 h and 48 h. This dose corresponds to concentrations encountered in naturally contaminated feed (4 ppm). The distribution of [³H]-label varied with the time elapsed after administration; at 5 h the highest specific label was found in the stomach contents and in decreasing order in: intestinal contents, lung, liver, kidney, heart, fat, intestine, testes, and the lowest in muscles, spleen and brain. With exception of brain, fat, stomach and lung, all tissues showed maximum levels at 24 h, after which time the label decreased steadily, whereas in fat it increased.After a 12-week feeding experiment, with doses of 288.8 g/kg corresponding to an intake of 4 ppm in feed each 48 h, the DNA in liver and kidneys was investigated for damage. By the alkaline elution method combined with micro-spectrofluorimetric determinations of DNA, evidence for DNA single-strand breaks was obtained. These findings support reports on the carcinogenic action of OTA.     

Disposition of the naturally occurring antimutagenic plant phenol, ellagic acid, and its synthetic derivatives, 3-O-decylellagic acid and 3, 3'-di-O-methylellagic acid in mice

The effect of ellagic acid and some of its more lipophilk derivativeson the mutagenicity of (? )-7ß, 8-di-hydroxy-9 10-epoxy-7,8, 910-etrahydrobenz[a]pyrene was examined in Salmonella typhimuriumTA100. Ellagic acid, 3, 3' -di-O-methylellagic add, 4, 4' -di-O-methylellagicacid and 3-O-decyiellagic acid were found to have approximatelyequal antimutagenic activity. The tissue distribution and eliminationof ellagic add, 3, 3' -di-O-methyleCagic add and 3-O-decylellagicacid were examined in CD-I mice. Little or no ellagic acid (<1 nmol/g) was found in blood, lung or liver after the oral administrationby gavage of 300 µunol of ellagic acid per kg body weightor after feeding 1% of ellagic acid in the diet for 1 week.Following the i.p. administration of 120 µmol/kg of ellagicacid, the blood and lung levels of ellagic acid were 15–20nmol/g at 30 min after the dose, and the concentrations of ellagicacid decreased to 1–3 nmol/g at 6–8 h after thedose. A portion of the administered i.p. dose precipitated inthe abdominal cavity. After i.v. administration, ellagic acidwas eliminated very rapidly from blood, lung and liver, and 70% of the administered dose was recovered in the urine andfeces as free ellagic acid and its conjugates. At 2 h afteran i.v. injection of 60 µ/kg of ellagic add, 46% of thedose was recovered in the urine as ellagic acid and its conjugates.Of this amount, about half was excreted as free ellagic acidand half was excreted as conjugates. An additional 25% of thedose was recovered in the feces (mostly as free ellagic acid)after 7 h. The disposition of 3, 3' -di-O-methylelIagic acidor 3–O-decyIellagic acid after i.v. administration (32µmol;sol;kg) was examined and compared to the dispositionof the same i.v. dose of ellagic acid. The concentrations ofellagic acid, 3,3' -di-O-methylellagic acid and 3-O-decytellagicadd decreased rapidly in the blood, liver and lung, but theconcentrations of 3-O-decylellagic add in the lung throughoutthe experimental period (2–360 min) was on average 20-to 40-fold higher than the corresponding average concentrationsof ellagic acid or 3, 3' -di-O-methylellagic acid.