Ependymal brain cyst

Ependymal cerebral cysts are rare and almost unknown in infants. We report the case of such a cyst in the right cerebral hemisphere of a four-month-old infant. The tumor was totally removed and the child made a good recovery.     

Physiological, Clinical and Therapeutical Basis of a New Hypothesis for Headache

SYNOPSIS
In the light of therapeutic, biochemical, physiological, pharmacological and clinical evidences, we postulate that the headache syndrome is due to an autonomic nervous system (ANS) imbalance, triggered by many aetiological factors. Consequently, this syndrome is most often observed in those subjects whose ANS balance is precarious, i.e. neurotics and psychotics. Two main types of headache patients could be differentiated: (1) those showing predominance of the serotonergic (5HT) over the catecholaminergic (CA) system (depressive patients) and (2) those showing predominance of CA over 5HT system (manic or hypomanic patients).     

Orchiectomy only for clinical stage I nonseminomatous germ cell testis tumors: Comparison with pathologic stage I disease

Twenty-three men with nonseminomatous germ cell tumors confined within the tunica albuginea of the testis and negative metastatic evaluation were placed on surveillance after radical orchiectomy. Metastatic disease developed in 3 for a relapse rate of 13 percent. During the same period, 17 men with pathologic Stage I disease were followed up in the same manner, and metastatic disease developed in 3 for a relapse rate of 18 percent. All six men were treated with either combination chemotherapy or retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy, and all are alive without disease for at least two years from end of therapy. If strict criteria are followed, surveillance has a place in the management of carefully selected young men with clinical Stage I disease.     

Lymphatic network of kidney II. Effect of diuretics on intrarenal renin release

The individual effects of chlorothiazide, furosemide, and mannitol on renin activity in renal lymph have been studied in dogs. Elevation of renin activity in lymph is noted following infusion with either chlorothiazide or furosemide, while a reduction of renin activity in renal lymph is noted after mannitol infusion. The importance of elevated sodium levels in the, proximal end of the distal tubule and its effects on renin release in kidney interstitium is stressed. More work is advocated to elucidate fully the role of renin when released intrarenally.     

Intracranial complications of submucous resection of the nasal septum

Submucous resection of the nasal septum (SMR) is a relatively simple and frequently performed operation. Yet, its intracranial complications, although rare, can be very serious and include anosmia, visual disturbances, cavernous sinus thrombosis, meningitis, cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea, pneumocephalus, subarachnoid hemorrhage, subdural empyema, and brain abscess. This article reviews intracranial complications of SMR, and the pathogenesis and prevention of such complications are discussed.     

Arsenic Trioxide inhibits the growth of human ovarian carcinoma cell line

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether Arsenic Trioxide may be an effective treatment of human ovarian carcinoma, we examined if it induced apoptosis in human ovarian cancer cell line. METHODS: The human ovarian cell line SKOV3 was exposed to different concentrations of As2O3: 0 (control), 0.1 microM, 1 microM, 5 microM and 10 microM. The effect on cells proliferation and apoptotic parameters was examined. RESULTS: The most effective inhibitory Arsenic Trioxide concentrations were 5 microM and 10 microM, causing growth inhibition of 79% and 83%, respectively. The maximum inhibitory effect of Arsenic Trioxide on cellular proliferation was seen after 48 h. No morphological or molecular features of apoptosis have been observed. At the same time, there were no typical changes of cellular necrosis. CONCLUSIONS: The exact mechanism by which Arsenic Trioxide inhibits the growth of ovarian cancer cells is probably not by apoptosis. However, since As2O3 has been shown to inhibit ovarian cancer cellular growth, it should be further elucidated as a possible chemotherapeutic agent of ovarian cancer.     

Bullet injury to the pituitary gland: a rare cause of panhypopituitarism

An unusual case of head injury with a direct bullet injury to the pituitary gland is described. The hormonal profile one month after the injury showed severe panhypopituitatism which did not improve one month after surgical removal of the intrasellar bullet fragment.     

Molecular characterization of suicide by microarray analysis

Several lines of evidence support the idea that individuals who commit suicide have a certain biological predisposition, part of which is given by genes. Studies investigating genetic factors increasing suicide predisposition have been limited by current knowledge of the suicide neurobiology and have typically investigated one or a few genes at a time, whereas it is anticipated that several genes account for the total genetic variance mediating suicide. This review focuses on the advantages and the interest of using the microarray technology to investigate the neurobiology of suicide and discusses, by means of a data analysis example, the possible methodological problems and bioinformatic strategies that should be employed in order to separate the signal from the large amount of background noise, which is usually generated in such studies. Microarray expression studies and related platforms are promising tools to gain better insight into the neurobiology of suicide.     

Rituximab for primary chronic cold agglutinin disease: a prospective study of 37 courses of therapy in 27 patients

Conventional therapies for primary chronic cold agglutinin disease (CAD) are ineffective, but remissions after treatment with the anti-CD20 antibody rituximab have been described in a small, prospective trial and in some case reports. In this study we report on 37 courses of rituximab administered prospectively to 27 patients. Fourteen of 27 patients responded to their first course of rituximab, and 6 of 10 responded to re-treatment. In both groups combined, responses were achieved after 20 of 37 courses, giving an overall response rate of 54%. We observed 1 complete and 19 partial responses. Two nonresponders and 3 patients who experienced relapse received second-line therapy with interferon-alpha combined with a new course of rituximab, and 1 nonresponder and 2 patients who experienced relapse achieved partial responses. Responders achieved a median increase in hemoglobin levels of 40 g/L (4 g/dL). Median time to response was 1.5 months, and median observed response duration was 11 months. We conclude that rituximab is an effective and well-tolerated therapy for CAD. Histologic and flow cytometric findings suggest that some of the effect may be mediated by mechanisms other than the elimination of clonal lymphocytes. We were unable to predict responses from the hematologic, immunologic, or histologic parameters before therapy.