Isolated leukemic iritis in childhood

Case report on a child with acute lymphogenous leukemia. Although there was constant hematological remission she developed an isolated leukemic iritis and secondary glaucoma. The clinical picture showed a characteristic stratification of the hyphema. After the patient had remained seated for a prolonged period of time the leukemic cells settled above the erythrocytes, forming a so-called pseudohypopyon, which diagnostically important. Cytologic examination after anterior chamber paracentesis is indispensable in order to establish the etiology of the disease. Isolated leukemic iritis may be the first sign of a relapse and therefore indicate a need to reinstitute induction therapy.     

Intraocular malignant melanoma simulating uveal prolapse

An 87-year-old woman, who had undergone cataract surgery and vitrectomy OD two years previously, had a blind, painful right eye secondary to intraocular hemorrhage and glaucoma. At the initial examination, a flat area of darkly pigmented tissue was noted at the wound site of the previous cataract surgery, and uveal prolapse was diagnosed. One year later, pigmented tissue was also seen at the inferior limbus. Intraocular malignant melanoma was considered, and the eye was enucleated. Histologic study revealed areas of hemorrhage and epithelioid malignant melanoma. It is important to recognize that prolapse of tissue at a surgical wound site may represent an extension of an intraocular malignancy.     

Pharmacological Treatment of Central Nervous System Trauma

Abstract: Traumatic injuries to the brain or spinal cord cause tissue damage, in part by initiating reactive biochemical changes. Pharmacological approaches aim to modify this delayed injury response by blocking one or more components of the reactive biochemical/metabolic cascade. This minireview summarizes both historical and recent developments in experimental and clinical treatment of CNS trauma. Potential treatments include: corticosteroids; antioxidants or free radical scavengers; drugs that modify arachidonic acid metabolism, platelet-activating factor antagonists; gangliosides; modulators of monoamine actions; opioid receptor antagonists; thyrotropin-releasing hormone and thyrotropin-releasing hormone analogues; glutamate receptor antagonists; calcium channel blockers; agents that modify the inflammatory/ immune response; and trophic factors. Understanding the mechanisms of action for these compounds can permit rational drug development/application, delineation of the therapeutic window, and laying of the ground-work for evaluating potential synergistic effects of combination treatment strategies.     

Frequency of T-Cell Progenitors in Nude Mice

The hypothesis that prothymocytes are distinct from and regulated independently of multilineage hemopoietic progenitors was tested by enumeration of these two cell populations in normal versus congenitally athymic (nude) mice. The absence of a thymus and of peripheral T cells in nude mice had no effect on the frequency of either multilineage progenitors (day 12 CFU-S) or prothymocytes (CFU-T), suggesting that there is no feedback regulation of CFU-T frequency. Thymus seeding from the bone marrow is therefore likely to be regulated by the availability of niches for prothymocyte maturation, rather than by feedback control of prothymocyte production.     

A binding site peptide fragment of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Sequence-specific assignment of 1H-NMR resonances in the dodecamer alpha 185-196

The total sequence-specific 1H assignment for the alpha 185-peptide was accomplished by analysis of COSY spectra along with spin-decoupling and confirmatory NOE difference experiments. Some ambiguities in the assignments were successfully addressed utilizing additional peptides with selective amino acid substitutions. The chemical shifts of several of the C alpha H resonances, along with evidence for a slowly exchanging amide at Thr-191 suggest that the alpha 185-peptide may contain a certain amount of non-random coil structure. The role of any such ordered structure in the mechanism of binding to alpha-bungarotoxin remains to be determined. The assignment of the peptide 1H resonances will facilitate the analysis and identification of chemical shift perturbations observed upon formation of the complex between alpha-bungarotoxin and the alpha 185-peptide [7].     

Acute suppurative thyroiditis in a malignant thyroid gland

A case of acute suppurative thyroiditis in a malignant thyroid gland is presented. The patient was an elderly woman with several years' history of pre-existing goitre. A diagnosis of acute suppurative thyroiditis was not difficult to make because clinical features of an infected thyroid swelling appeared obvious. With the help of intravenous antibiotics and early incision and drainage the patient did well and is now receiving radiotherapy.     

Using marginal analysis to evaluate health spending trends.

In summary, the alternative methodology for measuring health spending trends compares the increment in health spending with the increment in the GNP as a measure of ability to pay. This method of analysis cannot solve the myriad of health cost problems, but it can help clarify the choices and judgments that society is implicitly making at the margin. By making these marginal allocation decisions more explicit, public and private decisionmakers can presumably make judgments that conform more closely to society's preferences, whether it be for more or less spending on health. This, in turn, should enhance the well-being of society.