Clinical Application and Histological Examination of the FAMI Screw for Skeletal Anchorage—a Pilot Study*

Maximum anchorage often presents a problem that is difficult to solve during orthodontic tooth movement. Stationary, skeletal anchorage can be achieved in a simple, minimally-invasive manner, and unwanted tooth movements in opposite directions can be prevented by using transmucosally-inserted bone screws.Our initial experience using the FAMI screw as an orthodontic micro-implant proved to be clinically and histologically successful.     

Treatment of acute esophago-gastric hemorrhage]

Experience in the treatment of 129 patients with esophagogastric hemorrhage due to portal hypertension is discussed. An original modification of the design of Blakemore's tube is suggested, with the use of which the results of nonoperative treatment were improved and the mortality among this category of patients was reduced. Operation was performed on 75 patients. The total mortality among all hospitalized patients was 6.2%. The Tanner-Petrov operation was carried out on 55 patients, splenorenal anastomosis was formed in 6, organopexy was conducted on 4, splenectomy in combination with organopexy in 8, and portocaval anastomosis was formed in 2 patients. Three patients died after the operation.     

Sensitivity and specificity of a new commercial enzyme-linked immunoassay kit for detecting Entamoeba histolyticaIgG antibodies in serum samples

The study presented here was conducted to evaluate the performance of the newly available RIDASCREEN Set (R-Biopharm AG, Darmstadt, Germany) for the detection of immunoglobulin G antibodies against Entamoeba histolytica. The sensitivity and specificity of this new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were evaluated using a panel of sera from 239 individuals. The assay was positive for 43 of 44 patients with invasive amebiasis, including all 18 patients with amebic liver abscess, while it was negative for 190 of 195 adult controls who were either healthy individuals or patients with other parasitic diseases. The kit was found to be highly specific (97.4%) and sensitive (97.7%) for detecting antibodies against E. histolytica in humans. Although antibody titers in patients with amebic liver abscess tend to be higher on average than in patients with invasive amebiasis, it is not possible to distinguish the two forms solely based on the results of this commercial test.     

Mobile intraventricular cyst of the third ventricle treated with stereotactic puncture. Report of a case

A case of a pedunculated arachnoid cyst within the third ventricle is presented. The cyst was small so as not to appear as a significant expanding lesion on CT. The clinical history, however, suggested intermittent increase of the intracranial pressure. On CT there was some widening of the lateral and third ventricles, while the fourth ventricle had normal width. This finding in combination with the clinical history prompted further neuroradiologic examinations, including pneumoencephalography and ventriculography. The presence of a pedunculated mobile cystic lesion within the third ventricle was shown and its nature further elucidated by stereotactic puncture combined with contrast injection into the cyst. After emptying of the cyst, the patient has been free of symptoms during an observation time of 2 years. The diagnostic and differential diagnostic aspects are discussed and the value of traditional neuroradiologic methods emphasized.     

Enoximone and the therapeutic strategy in patients awaiting emergency cardiac graft

Enoximone is a positive inotropic agent belonging to the group of phosphodiesterase F-III inhibitors. The drug was tested in 34 patients uncontrolled by sympathomimetic drugs and referred to our department for urgent heart transplantation or circulatory assistance. After insertion of a Swan-Ganzgatheter and a radial artery catheter for haemodynamic monitoring, enoximone was administered as a 15-minute intravenous bolus injection of 1 to 2.5 mg/kf every 8 hours, in addition to sympathomimetic agents. Clinical and haemodynamic improvement was observed after thirty minutes in 30 patients. The cardiac index rose from 1.82 to 2.67 l/min/m2 and the pulmonary wedge pressure fell from 30.8 to 18.9 mmHg. Systemic arterial resistance decreased from 2170 to 1520 dyn. s. cm-5, and pulmonary resistance from 5.5 to 4.6 Wood units (p less than 0.01 for all values). Four patients had no haemodynamic improvement and were put on circulatory assistance, using a Jarvik 7 total artificial heart in 3 of them and heterotopic circulatory assistance in one. After clinical investigation for contra-indication to heart transplantation, and as their improved haemodynamic status permitted, 12 of the 30 patients were considered suitable (group B) for heart transplantation. Transplantation was performed within a week of admission in 11 patients without any need for mechanical assistance. One of the group B patients who required implantation of a Jarvik 7 artificial heart died after 12 hours of assistance. Eighteen patients were considered unsuitable for transplantation (group A) and treated medically.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Selective hypersensitivity to boiled razor shell.

Many types of seafood require cooking before ingestion and it has been demonstrated that this cooking process may affect the antigenicity and allergenicity of the food. We describe a case of anaphylaxis caused by selective sensitization to razor shell, a mollusc. In vivo and in vitro studies confirmed sensitization to boiled razor shell. Analysis of the nature of the allergen yielded results that were consistent with the findings of other authors and suggested that allergens involved in seafood allergy are commonly high molecular weight proteins that, in most cases, are heat stable.