Procedure for the measurement of calcium oxalate and phosphate crystals in urine

A method is described for the chemical measurement of calcium oxalate and phosphate crystal formation in urine. The crystals were centrifuged, washed and the oxalate measured by an immobilised oxalate oxidase technique and the phosphate by a standard centrifugal analyser procedure. The methods proved precise and recoveries were good. Calcium oxalate crystal formation after evaporation is time-dependent and this parameter must therefore be standardised. Values for normal urinary calcium oxalate crystal concentration after concentration are given.     

Pituitary volume in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Abnormalities in the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (LHPA) axis have been implicated in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To our knowledge, however, no prior study has measured pituitary gland volume in OCD. METHODS: Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging studies were conducted in 31 psychotropic drug-na?ve children (10 boys, 21 girls) aged 8-17 years and 31 case-matched healthy comparison subjects. RESULTS: Pituitary volume was significantly smaller in patients with OCD as compared with healthy control subjects (11% smaller). Smaller pituitary volume in patients with OCD was associated with increased compulsive but not obsessive symptom severity. Boys with OCD had smaller pituitary gland volumes compared with control boys (20% smaller). No significant differences in pituitary volume were observed between girls with OCD and control girls. Boys with OCD had significantly smaller pituitary volumes than girls with OCD (31% smaller), whereas control boys also had smaller pituitary gland volumes compared with control girls (21% smaller). CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide new evidence of reduced pituitary volume in pediatric OCD that seems to be more prominent in male patients. The observed alterations in pituitary volume are consistent with neuroendocrine studies that have reported abnormalities in the LHPA axis in OCD.     

Synthesis, configuration, and calcium modulatory properties of enantiomerically pure 5-oxo-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydroquinoline-3-carboxylates.

Enantiomerically pure hexahydroquinolinones of the structural type 9 were prepared by a variation of the Hantzsch synthesis in which an optically active acetoacetate served as a chiral auxiliary reagent. Determinations of the de and ee values are described. The absolute configurations of the optically pure products were characterized by single-crystal X-ray analysis. The antipodes 9a and 9b exhibited calcium antagonistic activities on smooth musculature; the (S)-(-)-enantiomer 9b was the more potent compound with regard to the EC50 values which differed by a factor of 100; the intrinsic activity of 9b was 1.2, compared with a value of 0.54 for 9a. On the other hand, R-(+)-9a exerted positive inotropic effects on electrically stimulated atria. The cause of these effects is discussed.     

1.5 tesla magnetic resonance imaging of acute spinal trauma

Fifty patients with spinal injury above L2 were studied with MRI; forty-two had initial and followup studies permitting correlation of MRI abnormalities with neurologic improvement. Two discrete patterns of MRI abnormality were identified, presumably representing cord hemorrhage and edema respectively. A third pattern appeared to represent a mixed type of injury. The correlation between the MRI patterns of cord injury and neurologic recovery was excellent. The ability of MRI to demonstrate and characterize acute cord injury appears to exceed that of other diagnostic techniques.     

Right-sided valvular infective endocarditis. A clinicopathological study of 29 patients

Out of 29 patients with right-sided infective endocarditis 13 had associated congenital heart disease and none was a drug addict. Staphylococcus aureus was the commonest organism isolated. The tricuspid valve was infected twice as commonly as the pulmonary valve. Only 11 out of the 29 patients had valvular infection potentially amenable to surgical therapy at the time of death. Ring abscesses were present in 10 patients.     

Impact of early dietary gamma-linolenic acid supplementation on atopic eczema in infancy

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are components of cell membranes and may play an immunomodulating role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). The goal was to determine the impact of PUFAs on AD by dietary supplementation of infants. Based on the parents' decision on their babies' primary feeding, mothers and newborns were randomized to the supplementation with gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) or placebo for up to 6 months. Breastfed infants received GLA by supplementing their mothers. Formula diet was commercial whey hydrolysate unsupplemented with PUFAs. Of 131 eligible infants, 24 developed AD within the first year of life. Of these, nine belonged to the exclusively breastfed group (n = 58), 14 to the combined-fed group (n = 53), and one to the never breastfed group (n = 20). We could not find an influence of GLA on the development of AD. In subjects with AD, at 1 yr of age the serum-immunoglobulin E (IgE) was the lowest in the GLA-supplemented group A-subjects. In the GLA-supplemented group, GLA-levels in breast milk were similar in atopic and non-atopic infants. In the non-supplemented group the GLA-content of breast milk was 0.07% of total fatty acids in atopic infants vs. 0.17% in non-atopic infants (p < 0.01). Dietary GLA-supplementation could not prevent AD. Interestingly, the number of infants developing AD was the lowest in never breastfed children. In infants suffering from AD, GLA-supplementation seemed to reduce total IgE in the first year of life.