A case of pulmonary varices in which enhanced CT was useful for diagnosis]

A case of pulmonary varices in a 73-year-old female is presented. Routine chest X-ray revealed a mass in the right hilar region. CR tomogram showed a round, clearly defined mass at the right hilum. Computed tomography demonstrated marked enlargement of the proximal portion of the pulmonary vein at the entrance of the left atrium, which was suspected to be pulmonary varices. The diagnosis was confirmed by pulmonary angiography. During the arterial phase no abnormal findings were seen, but during the venous phase the veins of the right upper and middle lobes were found to be draining into the dilated pulmonary vein and then into the left atrium. Thus, the diagnosis of pulmonary varices was established. CT and angiography are the most useful methods for definitive diagnosis of pulmonary varices.     

Influence of Osteoarthritis on Serum Marker Levels of Bone Formation and Resorption in Patients with Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy

Background :
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of osteoarthritis of lumbar vertebrae on serum bone formation and resorption marker levels of patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH).
Methods :
Serum levels of carboxyterminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), carboxyterminaltelopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP), and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were examined in 40 patients with BPH, and the presence of osteoarthritis at the lumbar vertebrae of the patients was evaluated by plain x-ray-p.
Results :
Findings of osteoarthritis were observed in 23 of the 40 patients (58%), and 10 of the patients had severe osteoarthritis (involving at least 2 lumbar vertebral bodies). The serum levels of PICP, ALP, ICTP, and PSA of the patients without osteoarthritis findings were not different from those of the patients with osteoarthritis or severe osteoarthritis.
Conclusion :
The influence of osteoarthritis on serum bone formation and resorption marker levels of patients with BPH appears to be rather slight, if there is any influence at all.     

Visual discrimination performance after lesions of the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus in pigeons (Columba livia).

Pigeons were trained to perform simultaneous pattern and color discrimination tasks. After their training was completed, bilateral electrolytic lesions were made in the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus (GLv). Following the surgery, they were retrained to their preoperative performance levels. Lesions of GLv caused no deficits in pattern discrimination performance. The birds which had been trained for discrimination of red vs. magenta showed a slight decline in their performance. This impaired performance on color discrimination was not, however, as severe as that of a bird with lesions in the nucleus rotundus. These results suggest that GLv plays some role in the detection of short wavelengths of light.     

Serotonergic projections from the midbrain periaqueductal gray and nucleus raphe dorsalis to the nucleus parafasccicularis of the thalamus

By a double-labeling method combining the retrograde tracing of horseradish peroxidase and the immunocytochemical technique, serotonin-like immunoreactive neurons in the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) and nucleus raphe dorsalis (DR) of the rat were observed to send projection fibers to the nucleus parafascicularis of the thalamus bilaterally with an ipsilateral dominance. These serotonin-containing projecting neurons were observed mainly at the middle-caudal levels of the ventrolateral subdivision of the PAG and less at the middle-rostral levels of the DR.     

Middle latency auditory evoked potentials in temporal lobe disorders.

Middle latency auditory evoked potentials (MAEP) were recorded in 30 normal subjects and in 19 age-matched patients with temporal lobe lesions. MAEP appeared to be differentially affected by the specific structures involved within the temporal lobe. In the majority of patients with lesions involving the auditory area and/or auditory radiation, Na-Pa amplitude was significantly reduced over the involved hemisphere. No similar reduction in amplitude was noted in subjects with lesions not involving the auditory structures within the temporal lobe. We also observed a shift in a Pa latency over the involved hemisphere in patients with temporal lobe lesions involving the auditory structures. This latency shift was less pronounced than the amplitude reduction. The generators of MAEP in humans are discussed according to these findings and to the available literature. Normal intersubject variability of the conventional amplitude measures, and the occasional myogenic contamination of the response, limits establishing reliable criteria for abnormality that can be applied clinically for the diagnosis of patients with temporal lobe disorders.     

Segmental hyperintensity on T1-weighted MRI of the liver: Indication of segmental cholestasis

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between segmental hyperintensity of the liver on T1-weighted images and segmental cholestasis in patients with obstructive jaundice. T1-weighted and T2-weighted MR images were obtained of 73 patients with obstructive jaundice caused by various diseases. Fat-suppressed T1-weighted images were also obtained of 10 patients. Eleven patients with segmental intra-hepatic bile duct dilatation (cholestasis) showed segmental hyperintensity on T1-weighted images and/or fat-suppressed T1-weighted images and no signal intensity difference on T2-weighted images. Sixty-two patients with widespread intrahepatic bile duct dilatation showed no intensity difference on T1-weighted and T2-weighted images (P < .01). Segmental hyperintensity on T1-weighted images was correlated with intrahepatic cholestasis.     

Day-Night Variation of Urine Volume in Parkinson's Disease

Abstract: Studies on the circadian rhythm of urine excretion in healthy men have demonstrated that the maximal urine flow occurs in the early afternoon and the minimal around midnight. In this study, an abnormality in the variation of urine volume was found in parkinsonian patients. Urine samples were collected during daytime (9:00–21:00) and nighttime (21:00–9:00). Fifteen healthy control subjects were examined and found to excrete 60% during the daytime and 40% during the nighttime of the total urine volume. Sixteen parkinsonian patients excreted 43% during the daytime and 57% during the nighttime. In contrast to the control subjects, the parkinsonian patients excreted a smaller volume of their urine during the daytime than during the nighttime. This finding might be related to the degeneration of dopaminergic and/or nondopaminergic neurons in the brain which control urinary excretion.     

Innervation of the trapezius muscle: is cervical contribution important to its function?

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of the cervical plexus and the accessory nerve to the function of the trapezius muscle. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Eighteen adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups. The neurotomies were performed in the left sides and the right sides served as within-subject controls. In group A, the accessory nerve was transected. The C2-5 were transected in group B, and both of the accessory nerve and C2-5 were cut in group C. The electrophysiologic, myophysiologic, and histologic changes of the muscles were measured. RESULTS: There were significant differences (P < 0.05) between the three groups in the recovery rates of the transverse area of the muscles. The CMAP recorded from the experimental sides in group B were similar to the control sides. The values of the maximum tension of the tetanus contraction between the two sides showed no differences either (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The accessory nerve supplies the most important motor input to the trapezius. Motor innervations of the cervical plexus are not very significant.