A case of abdominal pregnancy at term with a live child

The authors report a new case of abdominal pregnancy with living baby. The analysis of this observation permits to present then the clinical and paraclinical characteristics of this exceptional localization of pregnancy and emphasize the surgical principles involved with its treatment, around the time of the term delivery.     

Lithium for irritability in Post-Traumatic stress disorder

Irritability is often a problem for patients with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We describe two cases that illustrate the use of lithium in the treatment of veterans with PTSD who complained of serious problems with irritability or angry outbursts. These cases are discussed in the context of evidence that lithium may be useful in other patients with disorders of impulse control. The evidence linking disorders of anger and impulse control to a dysregulation in neurotransmitter regulation, particularly in serotonergic pathways, supports a psychopharmacologic approach to treatment. These findings should lead to further study of the role of lithium in the treatment of this symptom complex in patients with PTSD.     

Hypoplasia of the cerebellar vermis in neurogenetic syndromes

There are conflicting reports on the relationship between cerebellar vermal lobule hypoplasia and autism. Using quantitative magnetic resonance image analysis, we measured the cerebellar vermis in 125 normal individuals with a broad age range and 102 patients with a variety of neurogenetic abnormalities. We conclude that hypoplasia of cerebellar vermal lobules VI and VII is a nonspecific finding that even occurs in several conditions without autistic behavior. This suggests that it is not a specific neuroanatomical marker for autism, nor is cerebellar dys- genesis likely to be solely responsible for clinical autistic behaviors.     

Radiotherapy in the treatment of low-grade astrocytomas

Between 1954 and 1986 inclusive, 160 children in the North West Region of England were registered with histologically proven lowgrade astrocytomas (grade 1 or 2). Ten died before receiving any treatment, and a further seven died within 28 days of surgery, leaving 143 children whose survival in relation to treatment modality is the subject of this paper. Low-grade astrocytomas are responsive to radiation therapy. This treatment has no clear benefit to offer children with superficial tumours that can be resected completely or nearly so, but significantly improves survival rates when tumours are deep-seated and not amenable to excision.     

The prevalence of autonomic neuropathy in the primary glaucomas

The results of systemic autonomic nerve function studies in patients with closed-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension are reviewed. Autonomic neuropathy has been demonstrated in 58% of patients with closed-angle glaucoma and 42% of ocular hypertensive subjects, with significantly increased prevalence in ocular hypertensives with narrow iridocorneal angles. The implications are discussed, with particular reference to the pathogenesis of raised intraocular pressure.     

Exchangeable magnesium pool masses in healthy women: effects of magnesium supplementation.

BACKGROUND: Studying magnesium pools in the body with use of stable isotopes may be helpful for evaluating magnesium status. Data on the evaluation of magnesium pools in humans are scarce. OBJECTIVE: We undertook this study to evaluate the effects of a magnesium supplementation program on the size of the exchangeable body pools of magnesium and on classic indexes of magnesium status in healthy women with normal magnesium status. DESIGN: Ten healthy women participated in a kinetic study with magnesium stable isotopes before and after 8 wk of magnesium supplementation. Each woman received 3 supplements containing 5.08 mmol (122 mg) elemental Mg/d (366 mg/d). Before and at the end of the supplementation period, each woman received an intravenous injection of 1.67 mmol (40 mg) (25)Mg, and the plasma magnesium disappearance curve was followed for the next 7 d. Two methods were used to analyze the exchangeable pools of magnesium: 1) formal multicompartmental modeling and 2) a simplified estimation of the total mass of the rapidly exchangeable magnesium pool (EMgP). RESULTS: In these healthy women, exchangeable magnesium pools represented 11-12% of total body magnesium on the basis of multicompartmental analysis. The simplified estimation of EMgP overestimated the size of the exchangeable magnesium pools by approximately 45-50%. Eight weeks of magnesium supplementation did not significantly modify the size of the exchangeable magnesium pools, whereas urinary magnesium excretion was significantly higher after 8 wk of supplementation. CONCLUSION: Women with no clinical evidence of magnesium deficiency may not respond to short-term supplementation with increases in the mass of the exchangeable magnesium body pool or in magnesium turnover rates.