Monoamine oxidase-B activity in alcohol withdrawal of smokers: is there any relationship with aggressiveness?

There is a considerable inconsistency in terms of the association between alcoholism and alterations in monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the changes in platelet MAO-B activity throughout the alcohol withdrawal period and whether or not MAO-B activity differed between patients with high- and low-aggression tendency. We assayed platelet MAO-B levels spectrophotometrically in 22 male inpatients with alcohol dependence in their first and fourth weeks of withdrawal and in 20 healthy controls. Patients were divided into two high- and low-aggression subgroups according to scores obtained in a Brown-Goodwin Assessment for Life History of Aggression. Our data revealed that the significantly lower platelet MAO-B activity observed during the first week of alcohol withdrawal in patients, compared to controls, did not continue in the fourth week, and that there was no relationship between aggressiveness and MAO activity. These results suggest that low platelet MAO activity may be a state marker of alcohol withdrawal period or a result of high alcohol consumption rather than a trait marker of alcoholism.     

Clinical evaluation of cefmenoxime in urinary tract and prostatic infections

Cefmenoxime, a new cephalosporin, was given to fifty patients (28 male and 22 female) aged 15 to 86 years with infection of the urinary tract or prostate. Urinary tract infections, i.e. cystitis in 20 cases and pyelonephritis in 21, were usually chronic and associated with urologic anomalies. Nine patients had infection of the prostate. Pathogens recovered from the urine were 26 E. coli, 8 Klebsiella, 16 Serratia, 5 Proteus mirabilis or indole-positive Proteus, 1 Providencia, and 4 Pseudomonas. Minimal inhibitory concentrations of cefmenoxime ranged from 0.015 to 64 micrograms/ml (mean MIC: 0.12 micrograms/ml). Cefmenoxime was given as single drug therapy in all patients but one, in a daily dosage of 2 g divided into two intramuscular injections, for 3 to 28 days (average 22 days). Follow-up after discontinuation of treatment was four weeks. Therapeutic results were as follows: 13 successes and 7 failures by relapse for the 20 cystitis patients, 13 successes and 7 failures by relapse for the 20 interpretable cases of pyelonephritis, and 4 successes and 5 failures by relapse for the 9 patients with prostate infection. Local tolerance was excellent. Skin rash in 2 patients and diarrhea in 1 required withdrawal of the drug. Three other patients with diarrhea were able to continue treatment. Intolerance to ingestion of alcoholic beverages was reported by 10 patients. Hypereosinophilia was recorded in 2 cases and a transient mononucleosic reaction in one. No renal of hepatic side effects were documented.     

Thermal and photoinitiated copolymerization of the cyclic disulfide lipoamide with styrene

Thermal and photoinitiated copolymerizations of lipamide ( 1 ), a cyclic disulfide, with styrene in the absence of initiators were investigated. The thermal copolymerization is initiated via styrene radicals producing a copolymer with sulfide and disulfide linkages in the main chain and with amide and phenyl side groups. In the photopolymerization, the diradical formed by ringopening of 1 through homolytic fission of its strained disulfide bond is the main initiating species, attacking styrene to produce a copolymer with a high content of monomeric units of 1 .     

Analysis of chromosomes 9 and 11 aneuploidy frequency in pleural effusion of patients with and without malignancy: interphase FISH technique

Fluids of body cavities result in a series of pathophysiological events associated with non-malignant and malignant conditions that lead to the formation of exudative effusion. Diagnosis of effusion from the patients is frequently troublesome for the cytologist because of the differentiation and biological behavior of different cells type in effusion. In the present study, chromosomal aneuploidy status in effusion cells derived from 32 patients including 14 patients with non-malignant and 18 patients with malignant diseases [including malign mesothelioma (n = 6), adeno carcinoma (n = 10), small cell carcinoma (n = 2)] was analyzed by using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with centromere specific probes for chromosomes 9 and 11. There was significant difference in the incidence of chromosomal 9 and 11 aneuploidies when compared with controls (P = 0.000). However, aneuploidies of chromosomes 9 and 11 in effusion cells from patients with malignant disease had significantly higher than in effusion cells from patients with non-malignant (P = 0.000), suggesting that chromosomes 9 and 11 are frequently involved in the status of disease. The present study indicates that there is a association between chromosomes aneuploidies and pleural effusion cell status. Chromosome aneuploidies in non-malignant group may be an indicator of premalignancy.     

Resolution of neurogenic arterial hypertension after suboccipital decompression for Chiari malformation. Case report

A Chiari malformation Type I may remain asymptomatic until the patient has reached adulthood and acute presentation of symptoms occurs. In several clinical and experimental studies it has been shown that essential hypertension is associated with vascular compression of the brainstem, particularly of the rostral ventrolateral medulla oblongata. Nevertheless, two cases of Chiari malformation and neurogenic arterial hypertension have been reported. In this article the authors describe a patient with Chiari malformation Type I and neurogenic arterial hypertension. A simple suboccipital decompression not only provided neurological improvement, but also led to resolution of the hypertension. In cases of Chiari malformation and concomitant neurogenic arterial hypertension, careful preoperative clinical and neuroimaging assessments may reveal the cause of the arterial hypertension. Resolution of neurogenic arterial hypertension may be expected even in a case of simple suboccipital decompression.     

An asymptomatic ruptured hepatic hydatid cyst case presenting with subdiaphragmatic gas in a traumatic patient

Hydatid disease presents as hydatid cysts primarily in the liver and lungs. Although hepatic hydatid cysts (HHCs) may be asymptomatic for many years, they may be symptomatic due to expansion, rupture, and pyogenic infection. Rupture of the HHC into the biliary tract is one of the most serious complications and is frequently related to overenlargement of the cyst or major trauma. Patients with this disease usually have jaundice or fever. We report an asymptomatic HHC ruptured after minor trauma. While the ruptured cyst was presented as the subdiaphragmatic gas on the chest radiography, it was detected as a large cyst with multiple daughter cysts on ultrasound, computed tomography scan, and magnetic resonance imaging.