Oral mucosal blood flow in patients with burning mouth syndrome

The pathophysiology of burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is largely unknown. Thus, the aim was to study oral mucosal blood flow in BMS-patients using laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF). Thirteen BMS patients (11 female, two male; mean age±SD 64.3±7.9 years, mean disease duration 18.9±6.2 months) and 13 healthy non-smoking controls matched for age and gender (11 female, two male; mean age 64.7±8.1 years) were investigated. Using the LDF technique mucosal blood flow (mBF) was measured at the hard palate, the tip of the tongue, on the midline of the oral vestibule, and on the lip. Measurements were made at rest and over 2 min following dry ice application of 10 s duration using a pencil shaped apparatus. In addition, blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), peripheral cutaneous blood flow, and transcutaneous pCO₂ were continuously recorded. Mucosal blood flow (mBF) increased at all measurement sites in response to dry ice application (P<0.001) with peak flow at 0.5–1.5 min after stimulation onset. During the following 1.5–2 min, blood flow decreased at all sites with a tendency to return to baseline towards the end of the observation period. Except for BP and peripheral blood flow, all of the cardiovascular changes exhibited significant changes during the observation period; no differences between groups were detected. When compared to healthy controls BMS patients generally exhibited larger changes in mBF. These changes were significant for recordings made on the hard palate (F[1,24]=13.9, P<0.001). Dry ice stimulation appears to be an effective, non-invasive and reasonably tolerable means to investigate mucosal blood flow at different mucosal sites. In general, vasoreactivity in BMS patients was higher than in healthy controls. BMS patients exhibited a higher response on the hard palate compared to controls. These changes in oral blood flow appear to be specifically related to BMS symptoms indicating a disturbed vasoreactivity.     

Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy combined with schwannomas of the median and medial plantar nerves

A 42-year-old woman was surgically treated for carpal tunnel syndrome, revealing schwannoma of the median nerve. A year later, she developed a tarsal tunnel syndrome. At time of this diagnosis, hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP) was diagnosed genetically and a schwannoma of the medial plantar nerve was treated surgically. The occurrence of HNPP and schwannomas in the same patient might be purely coincidental, but it is tempting to speculate that they share a common genetic basis.     

Reversibility and time-dependency of contrast medium induced inhibition of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) conversion in renal proximal tubular cells in vitro: comparison of a monomeric and a dimeric nonionic iodinated contrast medium

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the time-course and reversibility of toxicity of a low-osmolar and an iso-osmolar radiographic contrast medium on renal tubular cell cultures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: LLC-PK1-cells were incubated with iomeprol, iodixanol, and mannitol (4.7-75 mg I/mL, 2-24 hours). Metabolic activity was assessed with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide-(MTT) assay. RESULTS: Iomeprol and iodixanol induced a time- and dose-dependent inhibition of MTT conversion (75%-19% and 70%-23% of control for iomeprol and iodixanol, respectively, at concentrations ranging from 4.7 to 75 mg I/mL after an incubation time of 2 hours and 64%-14% and 65%-12% of control after 24 hours). The mannitol induced inhibition of the MTT conversion was significantly weaker than that induced by iomeprol (99%-47% of control at concentrations corresponding to 4.7-75 mg I/mL after an incubation time of 24 hours, P < 0.001). After 24 hours incubation with iomeprol, iodixanol, or mannitol and a recovery time of 2 hours after removal of the test-solutions, there was only a small inhibition of MTT-conversion (89%, 88%, and 95% of control at 75 mg I/mL). CONCLUSIONS: Contrast medium induced cytotoxicity consisted of a reversible part and an irreversible part. There was no difference in cytotoxicity between iomeprol and iodixanol over a broad range of concentrations and incubation-times.     

Laser scanning tomography measurement of the extent of papilledema in the follow-up examination of patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension

OBJECT: The authors evaluated the characteristics of patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), and compared laser scanning tomography (LST) measurements of papilledema with the clinical parameters and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) opening pressures obtained. METHODS: Twenty-four patients were included in this study; these individuals included 21 women and three men with a mean age of 35.5 +/- 9.7 years and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 35.4 +/- 8.3 kg/m2. The authors conducted a prospective follow-up study over a period of 12 months through a series of four consultations with each patient. These patients had a mean time to treatment of 6.2 +/- 7.9 months and, at the time of diagnosis, suffered a mean of 2.8 +/- 1.3 symptoms each. Laser scanning tomography of the optic disc revealed a mean global rim volume of 1.693 +/- 1.662 mm3 and a mean height of 0.604 +/- 0.306 mm. The mean CSF opening pressure was 31.3 +/- 6.3 cm H2O. RESULTS: During the follow-up period, all patients improved significantly with regard to clinical parameters (p < 0.001), BMI reduction (p < 0.001), and reduction of visual field deficits (p = 0.007); visual acuity remained unchanged. In all patients at each successive consultation, the CSF opening pressure was lower than it had been at the previous consultation (p = 0.001). Laser scanning tomography measurements demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in both optic disc parameters over the follow-up period (global rim volume, p = 0.044; mean height, p = 0.019). The CSF opening pressure and the LST measurements correlated significantly with the number of symptoms (CSF opening pressure, p < 0.001; global rim volume, p = 0.001; mean height, p < 0.001). The mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve in detecting the presence of clinical symptoms was 0.87 for CSF opening pressure, 0.7 for rim volume, and 0.81 for mean optic disc height. CONCLUSIONS: Laser scanning tomography measurements are useful for evaluating the degree of papilledema in patients with IIH and correspond well with clinical data and measurements of CSF opening pressure. If a diagnosis of IIH is established, LST measurements may replace repeated CSF opening pressure measurements in follow-up monitoring.     

Telemedicine in acute stroke

Abstract Background   Telemedicine is increasingly being used in acute stroke care. Some of the first studies and network projects are already applying remote audiovisual communication for patient evaluation. Formerly the telephone was the method of choice to contact experts for case discussion. We compared remote video-examination and telephone consultation in acute stroke care. Methods   Two district hospitals were linked to stroke centers in Northern Bavaria. Patients with symptoms suggestive of an acute stroke were included. Remote video examination (RVE) was provided by live audiovisual communication and access to brain images; telephone consultation (TC) was done via standard telephone using a structured interview. There was a weekly rotation of the two methods. Demographic data and other data concerning process and quality of care as well as outcome 10 days after stroke were recorded and compared between the two groups. Results   Within the study period 151 consultations were made in acute stroke patients (mean age 66.8 years). 77 patients were seen by RVE and 74 by TC. Total examination times were 49.8 min for RVE and 27.2 min for TC (p < 0.01). Patients were more frequently transferred to the stroke center after TC consultation (9.1 % vs. 14.9 %, p < 0.05) and had a higher mortality 10 days after stroke (6.8 % vs. 1.3 %, p < 0.05). Diagnosis made by TC had to be corrected more frequently (17.6 % vs. 7.1 %; p < 0.05). Conclusions   Creating a network improves stroke care by establishing cooperation between hospitals. Telephone consultation could be a simple method of telemedicine to support cooperation as it is easy and widely available. However, outcome parameters like mortality indicate that remote video examination is superior to TC. Therefore, full-scale audiovisual communication is recommended for remote consultation in acute stroke care.     

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