The CSF pulse wave in hydrocephalus

Twenty-one dogs were rendered hydrocephalic by the intracisternal injection of kaolin. After various intervals between 1 and 44 days the animals were anesthetized for the measurement of arterial (lingual), ventricular, and sagittal sinus pressures. Following the recordings the animals were sacrificed by formalin infusion, the brains sectioned serially, and ventricular size measured. In general, the longer the period of incubation the larger the ventricles. There was no correlation between the degree of hydrocephalus and mean or pulsatile ventricular pressure. All animals with a pressure of less than 9 torr demonstrated non-linear transmission of the arterial wave into the CSF (which is the same as the pulse in the venous bed). All animals with a pressure greater than 12 torr had linear transmission of the wave. These findings in the hydrocephalic animals are the same as those found in non-hydrocephalic animals with similar pressures. It is concluded that the CSF pulse wave seen in hydrocephalic dogs is a result of how the cerebrovascular bed processes the cardiac pulse wave and is independent of the hydrocephalic process. There is no evidence that the pulse wave produces hydrocephalus.Presented at the 12th Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery, Cairo, Egypt, September 1984     

Clinical dosimetry during cerebral arteriography

Summary Radiation dosimetry measurements on angiographer, X-ray technician and patient were performed during 18 femerocerebral angiograms. Lithium fluoride (LiF) thermoluminescent dosimeters were placed on various body areas to measure X-ray exposure. The results of this study indicate that radiation exposure received by medical personnel are well within the maximum permissible dose range established by the National Council of Radiation Protection. However, radiation exposure levels to radiosensitive areas of the patient are significant. A method to reduce patient exposure during femerocerebral arteriograms is suggested.     

Brill-Zinsser disease: report of a case in Canada

This report documents the occurrence of Brill-Zinsser disease in a 48-year-old woman who experienced typhus fever in a German concentration camp. This is the first report of a case of recrudescent typhus in a European immigrating to Canada following World War II. The last reported case of Brill-Zinsser disease in Canada occurred in 1953.