Effects of using a photographic cueing package during routine school transitions with a child who has autism

Making successful transitions from one activity to another is difficult for many children, particularly those who have cognitive, language, or behavioral disabilities. Appropriately terminating one activity and initiating another in a timely fashion is a skill important for young children to learn prior to entering kindergarten. The efficacy of teaching a young child labeled as having autism to make successful transitions in daily routines in three different school settings through the use of photographic cue package was examined. A multiple baseline across-settings design was used to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention. Implications for the use of photographic cue packages in teaching a variety of activities to young children are discussed.     

CT and MRI findings in X-linked progressive deafness

Congenital X-linked mixed deafness is a rare anomaly that has typical features and can be diagnosed on the basis of progressive mixed hearing loss and the typical imaging findings. Recognition of these findings may alter the course of treatment and perilymph gushing can be avoided. A 10-year-old male patient presented with a history of progressive hearing loss. Computed tomography of the temporal bones showed bulbous dilatation of the fundi of the internal auditory canals (IAC) and the absence of the bony plates separating the basal turn of the cochleas and IAC. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated obliteration of the labyrinthine spaces at the right side.     

FDG uptake in abdominal mesh implant on FDG PET/CT

A 50-year-old man with peritoneal angiosarcoma underwent total tumor excision along with removal of the total right rectus and medial part of the left rectus muscles 1 year earlier. F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) was performed for suspected recurrence. In the anterior abdominal wall extensive subcutaneous FDG uptake showing linear hypermetabolic zone on PET slices was noted. The patient had a history of a dual mesh implant, which consists of polypropylene and polyvinylidene fluoride for the reinforcement of the abdominal wall during the operation. PET/CT fusion image demonstrated that the finding was due to the dual mesh implant in the anterior abdominal wall most likely representing a foreign body reaction.     

Magnetic resonance imaging findings in patients with severe neonatal indirect hyperbilirubinemia.

The aim of this study was to document the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of cases with a history of severe neonatal indirect hyperbilirubinemia. Ten cases (eight cases with neurologic findings, two normal cases) with a history of severe neonatal indirect hyperbilirubinemia were studied. Neurologic findings and MRI results were described and correlated. Seven of eight cases with neurologic findings demonstrated symmetric and uniform increased T2 signal changes limited to globus pallidi. MRI scans of two cases without neurologic findings showed no abnormality. Severe neonatal indirect hyperbilirubinemia should be considered in the differential diagnosis of bilateral symmetric hyperintense signal changes in the globus pallidus on MRI. However, high levels of unconjugated bilirubin concentrations in the neonatal period may not always cause such lesions of globus pallidus on MRI despite the presence of neurologic findings.     

Evaluation of patients with globus pharyngeus with barium swallow pharyngoesophagography

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the value of barium swallow pharyngoesophagography in the investigation of patients with globus pharyngeus who had no known disease, no operation history in the head and neck region, and no thyroid pathology. We compare the clinical presentation with the radiologic findings to assess the diagnostic accuracy of barium swallow in such patients. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of the clinical records and radiologic reports of 194 patients with globus pharyngeus, between October 1998 and October 2004, that were reviewed and analyzed for correlations between clinical signs and symptoms and barium swallow findings using the chi2 test. All the patients had normal ear, nose, and throat examination, including indirect laryngoscopy and/or nasoendoscopy. Patients with known pharyngeal and esophageal disease, neurologic disease known to cause pharyngeal or esophageal dysfunction, evidence of autoimmune disease or diabetes mellitus, with a thyroid operation in the past and thyroid nodules detected with radiologic investigation were excluded. RESULTS: There were 116 (59.8%) female and 78 (40.2%) male patients. In 114 patients (59%), globus was the only symptom. Sore throat was the most common associated complaint. Benign barium swallow findings were detected in 63.9% of the patients. Cervical osteophyte indentation was the most common finding. In 36.1% of the patients, the radiologic finding was normal. The statistical analysis using the chi2 test showed a significant relationship (P < .001) between the symptoms of globus pharyngeus and the barium swallow results. CONCLUSION: Barium swallow pharyngoesophagography is useful to detect underlying benign characteristic pathologies in patients with globus who have no known head and neck illness.     

The protective effects of trimetazidine on testicular ischemia and reperfusion injury in rats

This study was designed to investigate the protective effect of trimetazidine [TMZ; 1-(2, 3, 4-trimethhoxibenzyl)-piperazine dihydrochloride], as an antioxidant agent, on torsion–detorsion-induced biochemical and histopathological changes in experimental testicular ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats. Twenty-seven male Wistar rats weighing 180–220 g were divided into five groups: control (C, n = 4), sham-operated (S, n = 4), ischemia (I, n = 6), ischemia–reperfusion (I/R, n = 6) and ischemia–reperfusion + trimetazidine (I/R + TMZ; n = 7). Control rats were used for basal normal values. In group I, 2 h torsion of the left testis was performed. In I/R and I/R + TMZ groups, following 2 h of torsion, 4 h detorsion of the testis was performed. In ischemia and I/R groups, physiologic saline was administered orally for 7 days, and the rats in I/R + TMZ group were pretreated orally with 5 mg/kg day TMZ for 7 days before inducing ischemia. At the end of each experiment, ipsilateral orchiectomies were performed for the tissue levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) enzyme activities and histopathological examinations in all groups. MDA levels were significantly reduced and GPx enzyme activities were significantly increased in testes in I/R+TMZ pretreated group compared to group I and I/R. The mean seminiferous tubular diameter (MSTD) and Johnsen’s score were significantly better in I/R+TMZ group than groups I and I/R. Pretreatment with TMZ decreased germ cell apoptosis and caspase-3 expression in the ischemic testis. The present results show that TMZ has a protective activity in the testicular injury caused by I/R, and provide the first evidence of the role of TMZ for the prevention of I/R-induced testicular injury.     

Upper lateral cartilage-sparing component dorsal hump reduction in primary rhinoplasty

Background : Dorsal hump reduction is a critical step in rhinoplasty. Most of the reasons behind revisional procedures are related to incorrect hump reduction. Methods : The authors used a modified dorsal hump reduction method in their primary cases, the steps of which are as follows: 1) dissection of the nasal vault; 2) bilateral submucoperichondrial dissections to free the cartilaginous septum; 3) separation of the upper lateral cartilages from the cartilaginous septum; 4) partial dissection of the upper lateral cartilages from the inner surfaces of the nasal bones bilaterally; 5) separation of the bony septum from the nasal bones bilaterally; 6) reduction of the partially isolated nasal bones; 7) en bloc cartilaginous and bony septum removal. The authors have operated on 68 primary cases over a 2 year period (30 mo). Results : In the great majority of cases, the results were satisfactory. No revisions were performed in this patient group. Conclusions : This method is a good alternative to traditional techniques in noses with a high and narrow roof, thin skin, and weak middle nasal vault. Revision could be performed more easily when required. Initially, wide noses may not seem good candidates for this procedure; however, careful case‐based preoperative planning may overcome this difficulty.