Effect of exercise on repetitive nerve stimulation studies: new appraisal of an old technique.

Repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) is a simple and rapid method for evaluation of neuromuscular transmission defects. Although the effect of exercise in conjunction with RNS is well recognized, it has not been standardized in actual patient and control groups. In a prospective study over a period of 1 year, the authors evaluated the effect of exercise in conjunction with RNS in comparison with conventional 3-Hz RNS at rest in the clinical setting. Fifty-four patients who were referred for possible neuromuscular transmission disorders, in addition to 35 healthy control subjects, were studied. Amplitude and area decremental responses with RNS at rest and after 20 seconds of maximal exercise at 1-minute intervals up to 3 minutes were evaluated. The use of RNS with exercise resulted in additional diagnostic yield of up to 36.4% compared with conventional 3-Hz RNS at rest. The standardized use of exercise with RNS is advocated for increasing its diagnostic yield in the neurophysiologic laboratory.     

原发性输尿管癌31例临床分析

目的：提高原发性输尿管癌的术前诊断水平。方法：对南京医科大学第一附属医院1989-2002年间收治的31例原发性输尿管癌的临床资料进行回顾性分析。结果：31例中，肉眼血尿22例(71．0％)，腰痛11例(35，5％)。B超、静脉肾盂造影(IVU)、CT和逆行造影检查的阳性率分别为输尿管腔内占位4例(13．0％)、输尿管腔内占位3例(11．5％)、膀胱或合并膀胱占位8例(36．4％)，输尿管充盈缺损6例(40．0％)。29例患者经手术治疗，其中13例行患侧肾、输尿管、膀胱袖状切除。结论：老年患者反复发作的腰痛及血尿应考虑原发性输尿管癌的可能，造影诊断对本病有较高价值，应作CT及MRU无创检查。     

Anesthesia and/or Sedation for Pulsed Dye Laser Therapy

One of the most exciting developments in pediatric dermatology has been the use of the flashlamp-pumped, 585-nm, pulsed dye laser for treatment of vascular birthmarks. In many cases the results are miraculous. The increase in self-esteem and happiness of many children and adolescents has been overwhelming; for some, depression has been lifted, stuttering has ceased, social involvement has increased, and antidepressants have been discontinued. There are many success stories to tell.
Despite the remarkable effects of the pulsed dye laser and the medical and psychosocial indications for its use, the issue of pain control remains significant. We have no perfect outpatient pediatric anesthetic. Most methods carry either some risk or, if not hazardous, often are not very effective for controlling pain. Needless to say, a diversity of opinions exist on how to manage discomfort from this treatment modality. Therefore, we thought it would be useful to share the experiences and opinions of several dermatologists who have extensive experience with the pulsed dye laser.     

Spastic paraparesis associated with portal-systemic venous shunting due to congenital hepatic fibrosis.

We report a case of progressive spastic paraparesis in a 45-year-old man with total portal-systemic shunting, which developed spontaneously due to congenital hepatic fibrosis. Cellular functions of the liver, except for an elevated blood ammonia level, were within normal limits, as is usual in congenital hepatic fibrosis. This case shows that spastic paraparesis following portal-systemic shunting may occur without liver failure.     

Pulsed dye laser (577 nm) treatment of portwine stains: ultrastructural evidence of neovascularization and mast cell degranulation in healed lesions

Portwine stains were examined before, immediately after, and 1 yr after successful clearance by a pulsed dye laser (577 nm) using ultrastructural techniques. Dilated vascular channels and mast cell hypoplasia characterized lesional skin before treatment. Immediately after treatment, widespread selective vessel necrosis, similar to changes previously described, was observed. One year after laser irradiation, the abnormally ectatic portwine stain vessels had been replaced by small venules and arterioles, similar in number and diameter to blood vessels in normal skin; the only difference noted was that these new vessels were surrounded by easily identifiable mast cells. Many of these mast cells exhibited evidence of activation and degranulation. We conclude that mast cells may play an important role in the neovascularization of portwine stains treated by 577-nm dye laser irradiation.     

Penicillin treatment for gonorrhoea in relation to early syphilis in prostitutes.

A retrospective study of prostitutes in Singapore showed that they had received less antigonorrhoeal treatment with penicillin derivatives during the three month period before early syphilis was diagnosed than in other three month periods when they had not developed syphilis. This suggests that penicillin derivatives in doses sufficient to treat gonorrhoea will abort coincidental early syphilis.     

Muscarinic nature of cholinergic receptors in the cerebellar flocculus involved in the enhancement of the rabbit''s optokinetic response

Intrafloccular micro-injection of the aselective cholinergic agonist carbachol enhances the optokinetic reflex (OKR)17. Histochemical and physiological studies have identified cholinergic receptors of the muscarinic as well as nicotinic type in the cerebellar cortex, and both have been implicated in cholinergic transmission. The present study was undertaken to elucidate the receptor type involved in the control of OKR. For that purpose, effects of injections of the nicotinic N1 agonist DMPP on the OKR and vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) were compared with injections of the muscarinic agonist betanechol and the aselective cholinergic agonist carbachol. Injection of betanechol mimicked the enhancement of the OKR by carbachol, while DMPP had no effect. We conclude that muscarinic receptors are involved in the positive modulatory action of the cholinergic system in the cerebellar flocculus.     

Phenotypic and genetic analyses of T-cell-mediated immunoregulation in patients with Type 1 diabetes.

AIMS: To investigate the contribution of regulatory T cells and co-stimulatory molecules in CD4(+) T cells to the development of Type 1 diabetes (T1D). METHODS: Twelve patients with T1D, nine patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and 12 age-matched healthy control subjects participated. We analysed the proportions of CD25(+)CD4(+) T cells and natural killer T cells (NKT cells), and the expression levels of Foxp3, CTLA-4, CD28, ICOS, PD-1 and BTLA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and purified CD4(+) T cells. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the proportions of CD25(+) CD4(+) T cells or NKT cells among the three groups. PD-1 expression levels of peripheral CD4(+) T cells from T1D patients were significantly lower than those from healthy control subjects (P = 0.00066). In contrast, PD-1 expression levels were similar in SLE patients and healthy control subjects. The expression levels of Foxp3, CTLA-4, CD28, ICOS and BTLA were similar in the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased expression of the PD-1 gene in CD4(+) T cells may contribute to the development and/or maintenance of autoimmune T1D. As the population studied was small and heterogeneous, further studies are required to confirm the findings.