Malignant chiasmal glioma: a rare cause of rapid visual loss

The clinical, neuroradiological, and histological findings of an adult patient suffering from malignant optic glioma is reported. Rapid visual deterioration was misdiagnosed for several months until biopsy confirmed the tumor. The patient died despite radiation therapy nine months after first symptoms. Our presentation will focus on the problems of diagnosing and establishing therapeutic procedures in this rare malignant neoplasm.     

Nutritional implications of L-arabinose in pigs.

The pentose sugar L-arabinose is one of the most abundant components released by complete hydrolysis of non-starch polysaccharides of feed ingredients of vegetable origin. Two studies were conducted to investigate the apparent ileal digestibility and urinary excretion of L-arabinose at dietary inclusion levels of 50 and 100 g/kg, and 25, 50, 75 and 100 g/kg respectively, in pigs. As a reference, D-glucose was included in the studies. Water intake, ileal flow of volatile fatty acids and ileal and faecal digestibilities of dietary nutrients in pigs fed on the different diets were also examined. Castrated pigs were prepared with a post-valvular T-caecum cannula to measure ileal digestibility. Faecal digestibility was measured in non-cannulated pigs. Apparent ileal digestibility of L-arabinose was found to be approximately 70%. The presence of L-arabinose in the diet increased ileal flow of volatile fatty acids and lactic acid, suggesting the occurrence of microbial degradation of L-arabinose in the pig small intestine. L-arabinose was partly excreted in the urine. The extent of this urinary excretion as a percentage of intake increased linearly (P < 0.01) as the dietary level increased. In pigs fed on the 25 g L-arabinose/kg diet, 10.9% of the L-arabinose consumed appeared in the urine. This level was increased to 14.7% when pigs were fed on a diet containing 100 g L-arabinose/kg diet. Faecal digestibility and retention of nitrogen decreased significantly in pigs fed on the L-arabinose diets.     

Ethylene oxide does not extinguish the osteoinductive capacity of demineralized bone: A reappraisal in rats

We examined the influence of ethylene oxide (EO) and gamma irradiation on the osteoinductive capacity of demineralized bone. Demineralized bone powder prepared from Wistar rats was exposed to EO (55 °C or 40 °C) or gamma irradiation (25 KGy) or was preserved in ethanol. Sterilely-prepared bones served as controls. The powder was packed in a gelatin capsule and implanted for 6 weeks in muscles of 6-week-old female rats. Exposure of demineralized bone particles to EO 55 °C resulted in an almost complete loss of osteoinductivity. Irradiated bones lost about 40% of their osteoinductive capacity, while sterilization with EO at 40 °C resulted in only a slight alteration of the osteoinductivity, as assessed by the recovered weight ratio, calcium content, alkaline phosphatase activity measurements and histo-morphometry. Ethanol treatment had no influence on the new bone yield when compared to controls.

As EO exposure at 40 °C is a true sterilization procedure, it can be recommended in a clinical setting for its small effect on osteoinductive capacity as assessed experimentally in rats.     

Narrative and procedural discourse in temporal lobe epilepsy.

It is well established that some individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) demonstrate language deficits at the single word level. However, discourse production rarely has been examined quantitatively within this group. This study compared adult TLE patients with an early seizure onset (< or = age 14 years, n = 27) to a control group (n = 28) on narrative and procedural discourse tasks. As a group, the TLE patients performed normally on the procedural discourse task, but differed significantly from the controls on several narrative discourse variables. At the individual level, 30% of the TLE patients versus 4% of the controls demonstrated impaired discourse ability (p and 0.01). Within this early onset TLE group, discourse performance was not associated with demographic or seizure history variables. Considering the cognitive domain, discourse performance correlated significantly with working memory. In summary, mild discourse dysfunction was present in a significant minority of early onset TLE patients, but this deficit was not closely associated with other language measures. Discourse ability and its neuropsychological, neuroanatomical and conversational speech correlates deserve further study in TLE patients.     

Thoracoscopic wedge resection

Summary Thoracoscopic surgery is decidedly expanded by the ability to perform pulmonary wedge resections of the lung by using the Endo-GIA-stapler. In addition to thoracoscopic biopsies, since July 1991 we have carried out wedge resections in 12 patients suffering from spontaneous pneumothorax (nine) or peripheral bronchial carcinoma (three). Postoperatively one air fistula persisted over 9 days. The chest tube was removed within 48 h in all other patients. There was no other major complication. The postoperative hospitalization period lasted 4.6 days (1–9 days). Operating time was 44 min (30–70 min). The benefit for the patient consists in the little-impaired breathing mechanics, the short hospital stay, and the favorable cosmetic result.     

Bromine-76 and carbon-11 labelled NNC 13-8199, metabolically stable benzodiazepine receptor agonists as radioligands for positron emission tomography (PET)

NNC 13-8241 has recently been labelled with iodine-123 and developed as a metabolically stable benzodiazepine receptor ligand for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in monkeys and man. NNC 13-8199 is a bromo-analogue of NNC 13-8241. This partial agonist binds selectively and with subnanomolar affinity to the benzodiazepine receptors. We prepared ⁷⁶Br labelled NNC 13-8199 from the trimethyltin precursor by the chloramine-T method. Carbon-11 labelled NNC 13-8199 was synthesised by N-alkylation of the nitrogen of the amide group with [¹¹C]methyl iodide. Positron emission tomography (PET) examination with the two radioligands in monkeys demonstrated a high uptake of radioactivity in the occipital, temporal and frontal cortex. In the study with [⁷⁶Br]NNC 13-8199, the monkey brain uptake continued to increase until the time of displacement with flumazenil at 215 min after injection. For both radioligands the radioactivity in the cortical brain regions was markedly reduced after displacement with flumazenil. More than 98% of the radioactivity in monkey plasma represented unchanged radioligand 40 min after injection. The low degree of metabolism indicates that NNC 13-8199 is metabolically much more stable than hitherto developed PET radioligands for imaging of benzodiazepine receptors in the primate brain. [⁷⁶Br]NNC 13-8199 has potential as a radioligand in human PET studies using models where a slow metabolism is an advantage. Received 19 April and in revised form 10 June 1997