Splenogonadal fusion: Case report and review of published works

Splenogonadal fusion is a rare congenital anomaly. We report herein a case of splenogonadal fusion associated with contra lateral testicular aplasia, and review the etiology, pathogenesis and management of this rare disease. As far as we know, this is the first reported case of splenogonadal fusion associated with testicular aplasia.     

2{alpha} 3{alpha}-Epithio-5{alpha}-androstan-17{beta}-ol in Treatment of Gynecomastia

1. 1. The clinical effect of epitiostanol, a new anti-estrogenagent (2,3-epithio-5a-androstan-17ß-ol) against gynecomastiawas studied in comparison with dromostanolone propionate infifty-four patients ranging from twenty to fifty years in agewithout previous history of hormone therapy and with normalliver function. The experiment was performed for eight weeksby double blind methods in three dosage groups, epithiostanol10 mg, and 20 mg and dromostanolone propionate 50 mg.
2. 2. Epithiostanol20 mg was most effective with regards to effecton mass sizeand tenderness, (effective in 96%, 20/21), followedby 10 mgepitiostanol (effective in 89%, 16/18) and dromostanolonepropionate50 mg (effective in 89%, 16/18) in descending order.No sideeffects were observed in any of the three groups.
3. 3. Basedon the results of the present study, epitiostanol isconcludedto be at least as effective as dromostanolone propionateagainstgynecomastia and to be safe from the viewpoint of sideeffects.A satisfactory therapeutical effect on gynecomastiacan be expectedwith a weekly dosage of 20 mg of epitiostanolfor an administrationperiod of between five to eight weeks.

Present Address: Department of Surgery, Keio University Hospital,Shinanomachi, Shin-juku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.     

Echographic Detection of Latent Severe Thrombotic Stenosis of the Superior Vena Cava and Innominate Vein in Patients with a Pacemaker: Integrated Diagnosis Using Sonography, Pulse Doppler, and Color Flow

Thrombosis of the innominate vein and SVC is a serious complication in patients with pacemakers, inducing puhnonary embolism or SVC syndrome. Venography is the definitive method for its diagnosis; however, it is too invasive for related studies. The purpose of this study was to validate sonography, pulse Doppler, and color flow in detecting noninvasively innominate vein or SVC thrombosis in patients with pacemakers. In 53 patients with pacemakers, the 1 severe SVC stenosis and 18 severe innominate vein stenoses due to thrombosis were diagnosed by digital subtraction angiography. Sonography accurately showed the severe SVC stenosis due to thrombosis, but had limitations on the innominate vein thrombosis. Color flow demonstrated mosaic flow, indicating poststenotic turbulence due to stenosis of the innominate vein and SVC caused by thrombosis in 15 of 16 patients, and pulse Doppler disclosed absence of flow due to complete occlusion of the innominate vein in 2 of 2 patients. Sensitivity and specificity for detecting severe innominate vein stenosis due to thrombosis using combined color flow and pulse Doppler was 94% and 100%, respectively. In conclusion, sonography, pulse Doppler, and color flow allow accurate detection of severe innominate vein or SVC stenosis due to thrombosis, and are therefore useful for the follow-up of patients with a pacemaker.     

Antibodies Against the β-Subunit of Ovine Luteinizing Hormone Can Decrease the Clearance of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in Rhesus Monkeys*

ABSTRACT: Contraceptive vaccines based on active immunization against gonadotropic hormones are being investigated in humans and other primates. Immunization against the β-subunit of ovine luteinizing hormone (oLHβ) reduces fertility in rhesus monkeys by inducing inadequate luteal phases and preventing corpus luteum rescue by rhesus chorionic gonadotropin (rhCG). These effects result from the cross-reactions of the oLHβ-antibodies with rhCG and rhLH. We used human CG (hCG), which also cross-reacts strongly with anti-oLHβ to examine how the circulating oLHβ-antibodies affect the metabolic clearance rates (MCR) of hCG in rhesus monkeys. ¹²⁵I-hCG was injected into four nonimmunized and seven immunized monkeys and blood was collected at frequent intervals over 7 days. Total and immunoprecipitable radioactivity did not differ significantly, suggesting that the radioactivity in the plasma consisted almost entirely of ¹²⁵I-hCG. This was confirmed by column chromatography. The MCR (mean ± SE) was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in six immunized monkeys (0.35 ± 0.06 liters/day) as compared to controls (1.19 ± 0.09 liters/day). The hCG disappearance curve in control monkeys was best described by a two-compartmental system (slow and fast) while an additional third (intermediate) compartment of distribution was typical for immunized animals. The half-lives of hCG for the two exponentials corresponding to the slow and fast components of distribution were not significantly different between the two groups. One immunized monkey had a MCR (1.44 liters/day) that was much greater than the MCR of the other six. This monkey cleared a significantly smaller proportion of hCG in the slow and a higher proportion in the intermediate compartment and unlike the others, formed a circulating immune complex capable of binding hCG that was significantly larger than the antibody-hCG complexes found in the other six immunized animals. We conclude that circulating antibodies to oLHβ reduced the MCR of hCG in six of seven monkeys. The decreased MCR found in immunized monkeys is associated with a shift in clearance from the “fast” to the “slow” compartment as well as the addition of an intermediate compartment of distribution. Plasma disappearance rates of hCG depend on the size of the antibody hCG complex.     

Inoculation of Rhesus Monkeys with Human Helicobacter pylori: A Long-term Investigation on Gastric Mucosa by Endoscopy

Abstract: To study the pathogenetic role of Helicobacter pylori, colonization of this organism was attempted in conventional rhesus monkeys. After inoculation of human H. pylori to the gastric mucosa of four 10-year-old monkeys, endoscopical and histological examinations were repeated for 10 weeks. The organisms were recovered bacteriologically from all 4 monkeys at the first week, from 3 animals at the 2nd, and from 2 animals at the 6th to 10th week. The endoscopical examination showed only minimum changes in the mucosal appearance such as erythema and erosion due to H. pylori colonization throughout the study. In contrast, the histological examination revealed prominent polymorphonuclear cell infiltration, edema of the mucosa and dissected epithelium at the earlier periods and mononuclear cell infiltration afterwards. The maximum lymphocyte reaction such as clusters or the formation of a thick layer at the bottom of the lamina propria was observed at the 8th week. These results indicated that rhesus monkeys can be infected by human H. pylori resulting in similar pathologic changes in the human stomach, and that this animal model may be useful for future studies.