Femoxetine in the prophylaxis of migraine - A randomised comparison with placebo

The prophylactic effect in migraine of femoxetine, a 5-HT-uptake inhibitor, was compared to that of placebo in a double-blind group-comparative study. A total of 59 patients, referred to the department from general practitioners, was stratified according to age, sex, duration, and frequency of attacks and then allocated at random to treatment with either femoxetine or placebo. Each patient was treated for 12 weeks with 200 mg in the first week and 300 in the remaining weeks. Ten patients on femoxetine and four patients on placebo failed to complete the study. Headache index as well as number and severity of attacks showed a significant reduction with time. The patients on femoxetine showed the greatest improvement over time. It was, however, not statistically significant. Direct comparison between femoxetine and placebo revealed no statistically significant difference. Three patients in the femoxetine group withdrew due to side-effects combined with lack of therapeutic effect. Other side-effects were slight and infrequent. They did not interfere with the treatment. These results indicate that femoxetine could be useful in migraine as a prophylactic drug.     

Absence of alloimmune memory in the freshwater sponge Ephydatia fluviatilis

Second-set allograft experiments were performed on the freshwater sponge, Ephydatia fluviatilis, in order to determine the eventual existence of a specific memory component. Graft rejection resides in an early collagen layer deposition at the interface of the foreign individuals. Based on the challenge time of collagen layering, our results demonstrate that for Ephydatia fluviatilis, a second-set graft rejection gives neither accelerated nor intensified reactions. Consequently, a specific memory component fails in Ephydatia.     

Synthesis of macromolecular antioxidants by reaction of aromatic amines with epoxidized polyisoprenes, 2. Kinetics and mechanism of model reactions

Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were determined for the reaction of the unsymmetrical oxiranes 3,4-epoxy-methylheptane ( 1 ) and 1,2-epoxy-3-ethyl-2-methylpentane ( 4 ) with aniline in o-dichlorobenzene. A kinetic scheme involving two elementary reactions agrees well with the experimental results obtained for the phenol catalysed reactions. The thermodynamic parameters, especially the entropy, lead to the proposal of a concerted transfer mechanism allowing for the observed normal and abnormal addition reactions.     

Quadriplegia following venous air embolism during posterior fossa exploration. A case report

A frequent complication of posterior fossa exploration with the patient in the sitting position is venous air embolism. Spinal cord deficits following such a mishap have rarely been reported. We report a case in which a patient who suffered venous air embolism developed quadriplegia from the C6 level. The mechanisms of passage of air into the arterial system are discussed.     

Über einen bemerkenswerten,bisher nicht bekannten Fremdkörperileus

Zusammenfassung Es wird über einen höchst ungewöhnlichen Fall von Obturationsileus berichtet, den ein gut pflaumengroßer Fremdkörper im Dünndarm verursachte. Der Fremdkörper bestand zum Teil aus Speiseresten, im wesentlichen aber aus UHU-Klebstoff (polymerisiertem Polyvinylacetat), welcher die Speisereste zusammenballte. Histochemisch gelang es, die Fremdmassen als UHU-Alleskleber zu identifizieren. Nachträglich gab der Patient zu, den Klebstoff lange Zeit als Kaugummiersatz benutzt und oftmals verschluckt zu haben. Nach operativer Entfernung des Fremdkörpers durch Enterotomie komplikationslose Heilung.Mit 1 TextabbildungHerrn Prof. Dr.F. Spath zum 65. Geburtstag gewidmet.