Neurological deterioration following head injury: The eyes had it

A 17-year-old male presented with confusion following a mild head injury. Repeated CT scans of the head were normal. There was a 3 year history of decreased vision, associated with a focal pigmentary retinopathy. On assessment he demonstrated visual agnosia and early dementia. An MRI scan showed symmetrical demyelination of the white matter, particularly of the occipital lobes. The diagnosis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) was confirmed by the typical EEG findings and the presence of measles antibodies in the CSF. The head injury was the precipitating factor which led to a diagnosis of SSPE. This disease should be considered in young patients who have persisting cognitive dysfunction out of keeping with the severity of the initial trauma. A focal pigmentary retinopathy, especially with macular involvement, should also raise the possibility of SSPE, despite the absence of neurological symptoms initially. We report the longest interval to date between the visual symptoms and onset of neurological signs of SSPE.     

Bipolar radial head prosthesis--own design]

The authors describe its own design--bipolar radial head prosthesis. The value of this prosthesis is analyzed. The early results in 10 patients, age 20-69 (average 36 years), 7 male and 3 female have been reported. The results are excellent and good. The authors conclude that this prosthesis should be used as an alternative for radial head resection.     

Vitamin A (retinol) level in colon and lung cancer patient sera

Serum vitamin A (retinol) level was determined in colon and lung cancer patients. As a control served young healthy people and non cancer hospital patients at the age similar to those with tumors. Vitamin A content in cancer patients was found to be statistically lower as compared to control groups.