Syndrome of the paramedian thalamic arteries: clinical and neuroimaging correlation

Two patients had sudden alteration of consciousness followed by fluctuating hypersomnia and bilateral ophthalmoplegia. Magnetic resonance imaging showed asymmetric, paramedian thalamic and midbrain lesions. The clinical and neuroimaging features are consistent with the syndrome of the paramedian thalamic arteries of the basilar communicating artery. These strokes were caused by an embolus to the rostral basilar artery originating from a fibrillating heart. Magnetic resonance imaging clearly delineates the delicate pattern of arterial involvement in mesodiencephalic junction infarctions.     

Plasmatocyte depletion in larvae of Manduca sexta following injection of bacteria

Injection of bacteria and bacterial cell walls into larvae of the tobacco hornworm elicits a rapid, specific depletion of plasmatocytes from circulation. Plasmatocyte depletion in response to injection of bacteria is dose dependent with a threshold for response between 10(3)-10(4) bacteria per insect and a maximal depletion at greater than 10(7) bacteria per insect. Injection of saline, latex beads that are phagocytized, or fragments of peptidoglycan that elicit antibacterial protein synthesis do not affect plasmatocyte abundance.     

An evaluation of factors affecting the in vitro bioassay for erythropoietin.

Two main aspects of the in vitro mouse foetal liver cell assay for Erythroid Stimulating Factor (ESF) in human sera have been investigated. The haem extraction process has been shown to give specific and quantitative recovery of 59Fe labelled haem from haemoglobin thus confirming that the material assayed in human sera is stimulating the synthesis of this protein. The extraction procedure can be simplified considerably by prior mixing of the reagents without significantly influencing the results. Several serum constituents (citrate, testosterone, B12, folic acid and iron) have been investigated over a range of concentrations for possible effects on the cultures. Generally only small effects on haem synthesis were observed. It is concluded that variations in the levels of these factors in sera from treated patients will not produce any significant alterations in the estimated ESF concentrations.