Plasma sex steroid and gonadotrophin patterns in human menstrual cycles.

Sensitive and specific displacement analysis methods for the assay of steroid hormones in small volumes of plasma are described. Plasma sex steroid and gonadotrophin hormone patterns were determined throughout a number of normal menstrual cycles. The mean cycles showed patterns which were similar to those described by other workers. However, examination of individual cycles provided information which may contribute to our understanding of menstrual cycle regulation with particular reference to the pattern of 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone and steroid-gonadotrophin interactions.     

Pulse sequence optimization for MR imaging using a paramagnetic hepatobiliary contrast agent

Paramagnetic agents enhance contrast between tissues in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging by altering tissue relaxation times. The effect of these changes on MR image intensity depends in part on the choice of operator-controlled pulse sequence parameters. With the newly described paramagnetic hepatobiliary contrast agent, iron(III) ethylenebis-(2-hydroxyphenylglycine), Fe(EHPG)-, an in vivo experimental analysis of pulse sequence optimization was performed on the rat. We compared the enhancement of the liver divided by background noise, EL/N, of standard inversion-recovery (IR) and spin-echo (SE) T1-weighted pulse sequences and several pulse sequences theoretically predicted to have improved EL/N. Optimization of the echo time (TE = TEmin) gave a substantial (greater than 60%) increase in EL/N over the standard IR and SE pulse sequences. Images obtained with optimized repetition rate and inversion time gave only a slight additional improvement. Within the uncertainties of our relaxation measurements, the measured changes in EL/N with pulse sequence optimization corresponded well with theoretical predictions. With the experimental and theoretical data, the importance of using a short echo time to obtain maximal T1 contrast in contrast-enhanced MR imaging and the relative merits of optimized SE versus IR pulse sequences for contrast-enhanced MR imaging are discussed.     

The effect of glycerol and intracarotid phenoxybenzamine after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage an ultrastructural study

Summary Twenty-four hours and one week, respectively, after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) had been experimentally induced in baboons, therapeutic dosages of glycerol and/or phenoxybenzamine hydrochloride were injected intravenously. Groups of three animals were studied at various time intervals after SAH: one animal served as a control, one animal per group received phenoxybenzamine hydrochloride (PBZ), and thefinal animal received both PBZ and a 10% glycerol (in saline) injection. The animals were prepared for electron microscopy by whole body perfusion with a glutaraldehyde/phosphate fixative.Few ultrastructural abnormalities were noted in cerebral tissue in each of the animals receiving glycerol, whereas the brain tissue from the untreated animals and those which had been treated with PBZ alone showed morphological changes compatible with cerebral edema.This study was supported in part by U.S. Public Health Service Grant NS 00287.     

A comparison of patient satisfaction and objective assessment of neurosensory function after trigeminal nerve repair.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare objective and subjective assessments of neurosensory function after trigeminal nerve repair. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study using a sample of patients who underwent surgical repair of trigeminal nerve injuries. The primary study variables were categorized as objective or subjective. The objective variable was the change in neurosensory examination between preoperative and 1-year postoperative visits. Neurosensory status was measured using an ordinal scale ranging from anesthetic (0) to normal (4). Subjective variables included patient satisfaction with the nerve repair and patient assessment of injury-related oral dysfunction. Demographic, anatomic, and operative variables were also collected. Appropriate univariate and bivariate statistics were computed. RESULTS: The sample was composed of 19 patients (14 female, 17 Caucasian) who had trigeminal nerve repair (17 lingual, 2 inferior alveolar). The mean duration between injury and repair was 4.5 +/- 2.3 months; between repair and postoperative assessment was 11.9 +/- 0.9 months. The mean change in neurosensory status was 1.3 +/- 1.0 levels. The majority of patients (63.1%) rated their satisfaction with the outcome of treatment as "good" to "excellent." There was a statistically significant correlation between change in neurosensory status and patient satisfaction (rho = 0.86; P < .01). CONCLUSION: There is evidence of a strong correlation between improvement in the neurosensory examination following trigeminal nerve repair and patient satisfaction with the surgical outcome 1-year postoperatively. Patients who experience greater neurosensory improvement also report lower frequencies of related oral dysfunction.