Push-and-pull enteroscopy using the double-balloon technique/double-balloon enteroscopy

Push-and-Pull enteroscopy/Double balloon enteroscopy (PPE/DBE) allows enteroscopy of the entire small bowel, or at least a substantial part of it. The complication rate is acceptably low. Severe complications such as pancreatitis and perforation were encountered in the literature in approximately 1% of all diagnostic PPE/DBEs. It can be expected that the complication rate of therapeutic PPE/DBEs is higher, comparable with the conventional endoscopy. The diagnostic yield is high, at approximately 75%, as is the therapeutic yield. The option of carrying out endoscopic therapy (in approximately 40%–50% of cases in the Western hemisphere) is an important aspect. Angiodysplasias are the main bleeding source, at least in Western countries. Using the PPE/DBE device, endoscopic treatments such as endoscopic hemostasis using injection and argon plasma coagulation, polypectomy, endoscopic resection, balloon dilation, and foreign-body extraction have become feasible even in the small intestine and can generally be performed safely and without relevant technical problems. Medical therapy can be started in up to 20% of cases—e.g., after a new or changed diagnosis of Crohn's disease. Surgical therapy is required in 10–20% of cases, due to malignant tumors or complex stenoses, for example. The main indication is mid-gastrointestinal bleeding.     

What is the prognostic value of myocardial perfusion imaging using rubidium-82 positron emission tomography?

OBJECTIVES: The objective was to determine the prognostic value of rubidium-82 (82Rb) positron emission tomography (PET) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). BACKGROUND: 82Rb PET MPI accurately diagnoses coronary artery disease (CAD). However, there are limited data evaluating its prognostic value. METHODS: Follow-up (3.1 +/- 0.9 years) was obtained in 367 patients who underwent dipyridamole 82Rb PET MPI. Patients were divided into groups based on their summed stress score (SSS): group I, normal (<4); group II, mild (4 to 7); and group III, moderate (8 to 11) to severe (> or =12). RESULTS: There were significant differences among patients in the 3 SSS groups for hard events (cardiac death and myocardial infarction [MI]) (p < 0.001) and total cardiac events (hard events, revascularization and hospitalization) (p < 0.001). The annual hard events rates were 0.4%, 2.3%, and 7.0% in the normal, mild, and moderate-severe groups, respectively. In adjusted survival models, 82Rb PET SSS was the strongest predictor of total cardiac events and a significant predictor of hard events. Among patients referred for PET after 99mTc single-photon emission computed tomography, the annual total event rate was higher with abnormal versus normal SSS on PET (15.2% vs. 1.3%, p < 0.001). In patients with obesity, the annual total event rate was 11.1% with an abnormal scan and 1.5% with a normal scan (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that 82Rb PET MPI has significant prognostic value for predicting cardiac events, including death and MI. It also seems to have prognostic value in patients whose diagnosis remains uncertain after single-photon emission computed tomography MPI and in obese patients. The prognostic value of PET MPI may improve the management of cardiac patients.     

Cerebrospinal fluid cholinesterases in aging and in dementia of the Alzheimer type

Protein concentration and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activities were assayed in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 26 healthy normal subjects (20-86 years old), 27 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), and 10 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type with extrapyramidal signs (EDAT). In normal subjects, there was an age-related increase in CSF protein and AChE activity and a significant correlation (p less than 0.001) between CSF protein and BChE activity. In the DAT and EDAT groups, CSF AChE activities (mean +/- SD = 17.5 +/- 3.6 and 15.3 +/- 4.4 nmol/min/ml, respectively) were significantly lower (p less than 0.05) than in 13 age-matched control subjects (21.5 +/- 5.6 nmol/min/ml). In contrast, neither CSF protein concentration, BChE activity, nor the ratio of AChE/BChE differed significantly between groups. In patients with DAT, CSF AChE activity was significantly lower (p less than 0.05) in subjects with an early onset compared to those with a late onset (16.4 +/- 3.4 and 19.7 +/- 2.8 nmol/min/ml, respectively), and activity in the latter group did not differ significantly from control values. CSF AChE activity was not related to dementia severity and did not change significantly over an 18-month period. Although these results confirm a cholinergic deficit in patients with DAT, the considerable overlap of CSF AChE activity between groups and the nonsignificant correlation between AChE activity and dementia severity limit the usefulness of CSF AChE as a diagnostic marker of this disorder.     

Early facial reanimation following radical parotid and temporal bone tumor resections

A retrospective study of 35 patients who underwent early facial reanimation following extirpative parotid and temporal bone surgery requiring facial nerve sacrifice was performed. Regional facial reanimation performed immediately or within several days included 16 patients who underwent temporalis muscle transposition and 27 who underwent gold weight or eyespring lid reanimation with lower lid tightening. Simultaneous nerve grafts or nerve crossover procedures were performed in 22 patients. The authors' favored approaches to facial reanimation are discussed, with an emphasis on the value of early reanimation using properly selected techniques.     

Orbital apex syndrome after penetrating orbital trauma

Orbital trauma may be associated with various visual and ocular motility disturbances. We describe a case of orbital apex syndrome after penetrating orbital trauma.     

Striatal dopamine D1-like receptors have higher affinity for dopamine in ethanol-treated rats.

Experiments were carried out with brain tissues of ethanol-experienced (long-term ethanol intake but withdrawn) vs. ethanol-naive animals. The in vitro 3H antagonist binding of [3H]SCH 23390 and of [3H]spiperone to striatal dopamine D1- and D2-like receptors revealed no significant changes in KD and Bmax values. Displacement of the 3H antagonist binding by dopamine indicated high- and low-affinity states, which also showed no significant alteration at the D2-like receptor but a 5-fold increase of dopamine affinity at the high-affinity state of the D1-like receptor of the ethanol-experienced rats.