二次冠状动脉旁路移植术的临床疗效

目的 评价二次冠状动脉旁路移植术的临床疗效.方法 51例病人(占医院同期进行冠状动脉旁路移植术病人的2.5%)进行二次冠状动脉旁路移植术,距首次手术(15.1±5.8)年.10例采用非体外循环冠状动脉旁路移植术(OPCABG),41例采用体外循环冠状动脉旁路移植术(CABG).正中切口43例,左胸侧切口8例.结果 3例行CABG病人手术后呼吸衰竭,需呼吸机辅助.所有病人住ICU(2.2±0.7)天,住院(9.2±2.4)天.术后死亡2例(3.9%),采用OPCABG和CABG者各1例,死亡原因分别为急性心肌梗死、低心排血量综合征和呼吸功能衰竭、重症肺炎.完全再血管化44例,其中行OPCABG者6例,CABG者38例.部分再血管化7例,行OPCABG者4例,CABG者3例.结论 CABG和OPCABG行二次冠状动脉旁路移植术均安全,疗效满意,能达到完全再血管化的目的.     

Changing the perspective on early development of Rett syndrome

We delineated the achievement of early speech-language milestones in 15 young children with Rett syndrome (MECP2 positive) in the first two years of life using retrospective video analysis. By contrast to the commonly accepted concept that these children are normal in the pre-regression period, we found markedly atypical development of speech-language capacities, suggesting a paradigm shift in the pathogenesis of Rett syndrome and a possible approach to its early detection.     

Urinary testosterone as a marker of risk of recurrence in operable breast cancer

Summary We investigated the role of urinary testosterone levels as a marker of risk of recurrent disease in 113 operable breast cancer patients (70 premenopausal, 43 postmenopausal). Twenty-four-hour urine collections for testosterone measurement were obtained before surgical treatment, between 20–40 days thereafter, and then every 6 months for 5 years. The cutoff values to separate high testosterone (A+) from normal testosterone (A–) were 8.0µg/24h in premenopause and 4.9µg/24h in postmenopause. Urinary testosterone levels were considered high when they exceeded the cutoff value in at least 2 of the first 3 measurements (pretreatment, post-treatment, 6 months) of each patient. According to the aforementioned criterion, 33 patients (29.2%) had high testosterone levels, which were associated to axillary node involvement in 16 patients. Thirteen of the latter relapsed during the 5-year follow-up period (5/7 in premenopause, 8/9 in postmenopause). Relapse-free survival (RFS) curves were drawn only for node-positive patients owning to the small number of recurrences observed in the node-negative group. In premenopausal node-positive patients, RFS was significantly different for patients presenting high and normal urinary testosterone levels (77% vs 28%, respectively; logrank test, p< 0.006). In postmenopausal node-positive patients, RFS was also different between the two groups (54% vs 11% in high and normal excretors, respectively) but the difference was not statistically significant. The present findings suggest that urinary testosterone is a prognostic indicator of early breast cancer recurrence in node-positive patients.     

Inferior alveolar nerve paresthesia caused by endodontic pathosis: A case report and review of the literature

Sensory disturbances such as anesthesia, hypoesthesia, hyperesthesia, and paresthesia may be present in the oral cavity, stemming from many local and systemic factors. Paresthesia of the inferior alveolar nerve is quite rare because of the unique anatomy of this nerve. Among other effects, periapical lesions can damage the nerve, resulting in paresthesia of its innervated area. Only a few cases of paresthesia caused by these lesions are reported in the literature. In this report we present a case of paresthesia of the right inferior alveolar nerve; discuss the anatomy, pathobiology, and etiology; and suggest that a periapical lesion affecting the lower right second molar (No. 31) may have been the cause. The routine x-rays (intraoral and panorex) and the axial and cross-sectional tomographs of the mandible by means of computed tomography contribute to making this case a good example of nerve injury.     

Longitudinal Evaluation of Vitamin D Status in Healthy Subjects from Southern Italy: Seasonal and Gender Differences

Vitamin D status is currently considered among the relevant determinants of skeletal integrity. Since vitamin D levels present seasonal variations, we longitudinally studied young healthy men and women in order to investigate the related physiologic modifications of both calcium homeostasis and bone remodeling. Thirty-two men (mean age 39.4 ± 7.8 years) and 58 premenopausal women (aged 36.9 ± 6.4 years) from southern Italy were studied. In all subjects the following parameters were measured both in winter and in summer: serum calcium, phosphorus, creatinine, total alkaline phosphatase activity, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), parathyroid hormone (PTH), osteocalcin (BGP), together with urinary calcium (Ca/Cr), total pyridinoline (Pyr/Cr) and deoxypyridinoline (d-Pyr/Cr), corrected for creatinine excretion. In both sexes 25OHD levels were significantly higher in summer, while PTH values were lower, than in winter. The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D, defined by concentrations of 25OHD lower than 30 nmol/l, was 17.8% in winter and 2.2% in summer in the whole sample, while it was 27.8% and 3.4%, respectively, among female subjects. Indeed male subjects did not display hypovitaminosis D, having throughout the year significantly higher calcium and 25OHD levels together with lower PTH values, than the women. Moreover, alkaline phosphatase total activity was more elevated in men both in winter and in summer. In women, during winter, bone remodeling markers levels were higher while urinary calcium levels were lower than in summer. In the whole sample serum 25OHD correlated positively with serum calcium and inversely with PTH. The seasonal percentage variations in PTH were inversely correlated with those of Ca/Cr. Our results show a relatively high prevalence of subclinical vitamin D deficiency among young healthy women from southern Italy. Significant gender-specific differences have been demonstrated in both calcium homeostasis and skeletal remodeling indexes; the seasonal fluctuations in the vitamin D–PTH axis are accompanied by cyclical variations of bone turnover rate, which were more pronounced in women. Received: 11 January 2001 / Accepted: 6 July 2001     

Correlation between the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and the pattern electroretinogram amplitude

OBJECTIVE: To establish a correlation between the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measured by a scanning laser polarimeter (GDx) and the pattern electroretinogram (p-ERG) amplitudes in a heterogeneous population sample composed of normal subjects, ocular hypertensive and glaucomatous patients. METHODS: 112 subjects were considered: 40 glaucomatous patients, 39 ocular hypertensive and 33 normal subjects. All were examined with the GDx, and the RNFL thickness was measured. A transient p-ERG was then recorded. RESULTS: A statistically significant correlation was observed between the RNFL thickness and the p-ERG amplitudes (p < 0.001) by means of linear regression analysis. CONCLUSION: We observed a strict correlation between the measurements of the RNFL thickness obtained with the GDx and the amplitude of the p-ERG signal. These techniques represent additional objective tools to detect an early glaucomatous damage.