Incontinentia pigmenti: MR demonstration of brain changes.

PURPOSETo describe the MR findings in eight girls and women with incontinentia pigmenti, from two families. Four had skin lesions and neurologic disease, and four had only skin lesions.METHODSEight patients had physical examination, family history, electroencephalogram and MR examination of the brain. MR was repeated in the two cases with more severe changes several years after the first study.RESULTSMR revealed brain changes only in the four patients who had neurologic disease associated with the cutaneous lesions of incontinentia pigmenti. Abnormalities were located in the cerebral hemisphere contralateral to the most affected side of the body. In two cases, the MR changes were subjacent to the scalp areas where the most severe cutaneous lesions were located in the neonatal period. Hypoplasia of the corpus callosum, probably secondary to atrophy of one or both cerebral hemispheres, and abnormal signal and atrophy of the lateral regions of one of the cerebellar hemispheres also were found in all four cases. Although the changes were seen in both the T1- and T2-weighted images, they were most evident in the latter. The four patients in the fourth stage who had only cutaneous lesions without neurologic problems did not reveal any MR abnormalities.CONCLUSIONSThis study demonstrates MR signal changes and focal atrophy of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and corpus callosum in patients with incontinentia pigmenti and neurologic disorders. The MR images appear normal in patients with incontinentia pigmenti who have no neurologic abnormalities.     

HLA and Behçet's disease in Northern Spain: Their lack of correlation with arthritis pattern

Summary We have studied the characteristics of arthritis present in 32 patients with Behçet's disease (BD), and how this arthritis is related to the HLA markers class I. 84% of the patients presented arthritis, the most common being monoarthritis as the initial presentation, and oligoarthritis in subsequent episodes. In 63% of the cases, the development was in episodes of acute/subacute arthritis. We found statistically significant association between antigens B-5 and B-51, and the group with BD, with a relative risk of 3.89 and 4.71 respectively. The attempt to relate markers B-5, B-51 and B-27 to the presence of arthritis as well as to its manifestation and further development was not conclusive.     

Comment on the 'pilot' GRACIA-2 randomized trial: reply

We thank Dr Villata et al. for their thought-provoking comments.Their concern about the suitableness to choose combined endpointsin clinical trials deserves some comment.     

Diabetes in female rats; changes in liver microsomal aminopyrine N-demethylase and UDP-glucuronyl transferase activities

Short or long term diabetes in female rats produced remarkable activation of aminopyrine N-demethylation, inhibition of oestrone and p-nitrophenol glucuronidation and no changes in morphine UDP-glucuronyltransferase activity in vitro. Km and Vmax for these reactions were determined. Insulin treatment partially antagonized diabetes activation of aminopyrine N-demethylation: it restored decreased UDP-glucuronyltransferase activities for oestrone and p-nitrophenol only in long term and short term diabetes, respectively. Insulin also markedly inhibited morphine glucuronidation. Triton X-100 also displayed a differential pattern of activation for the glucuronidation reactions in liver microsomes of diabetic rats. Results suggest that diabetes in female rats may increase the actual amount of enzyme protein for aminopyrine metabolism and to decrease that for oestrone and p-nitrophenol.     

Pilomatrix carcinoma. A new case

We present a new case of Pilomatrix Carcinoma after having review the 22 cases previously published. The tumor arisen in a 74 years old male, in the left preauricular region. The lesion was excised with wide margins. A year after there is not any evidence of recurrence or metastases.     

Simulated implant surgery in rabbit long bones: a descriptive study.

The objectives of this study were: (a) to observe and describe the variability of bone healing in implant receptor sites which were prepared in rabbit femurs by use of different surgical methods; and (b) to determine if the animal model which was used was suitable for the detection of differences in healing reactions in implant receptor sites which were prepared by different surgical methods. Three 3-mm-wide implant receptor sites were prepared in the right and left femurs of four large New Zealand white rabbits. The surgical parameters used in preparation of the different sites included: low speed with no irrigation (LSO); low speed with internal irrigation only (LSI); low speed with external irrigation only (LSE); high speed with no irrigation (HSO); or high speed with external irrigation only (HSE). The sites were randomized so that each animal had one of each type of site in either the right or left femur. A non-treated control site was located in each animal for comparison with experimental sites. The animals were killed at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days post-operatively. The resultant samples were fixed, embedded, sectioned, and stained with basic fuchsin and toluidine blue. The results indicated that this was probably not a suitable animal model, since no discernible differences were detected in the various healed sites.     

溴莫尼定对视网膜缺血性损伤神经保护作用的实验研究

目的：探讨溴莫尼定(brimonidine)对视网膜缺血性损伤神经的保护作用。方法：新西兰大耳白兔32只，随机分为正常对照组、生理盐水治疗组、噻吗心安(timolol)治疗组、brimonidine治疗组，每组8只。后3组为损伤治疗组，通过生理盐水前房高压灌注的方法，制成视网膜缺血动物模型，在视网膜缺血前lh其结膜囊内分剐给予生理盐水、0．5％timolol眼液或0．2％brimonidine眼液局部治疗。在灌注后7d，观察图形视网膜电图(P-ERG)b波振幅变化，并进行组织形态学观察和视网膜神经节细胞(RGC)计数分析。结果：灌注后7d，3个损伤治疗组相对b波振幅恢复率为：7％、11％和64％，RGC标准丢失率为：43％、38％和12％，brimori-die治疗组视网膜组织形态结构接近正常对照组，而生理盐水治疗组和timolol治疗组视网膜内层组织结构损伤明显。结论：Brimonidine局部治疗对缺血诱导的视网膜结构和功能的损害有明显的神经保护作用。