Screening for visual perceptual deficits following closed head injury a short form of the Visual Form Discrimination Test

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concurrent validity and clinical utility of a short form of the Visual Form Discrimination Test in persons with closed head injuries n 62 Given the homo geneity of the items and patients apparent consistency in responding we hypothesized that scores from an eight item short form would be highly similar to the scores derived from the full version of the test i e 16 items The mean difference between the short form and full version was less than one point and the correlation between the two forms was 0 86 Applying a clinical decision rule resulted in a normal impaired overall correct classification rate of 98 4 The short form shows considerable promise as a brief test of visual discrimination in persons with closed head injuries     

The prognostic value of facial electroneurography in Bell's palsy

Twenty six patients with Bell's palsy were studied at presentation using electroneurography. Ninety-four per cent of those who recovered completely could have been predicted by ENoG within 10 days of onset. Of the 18 patients who recovered completely, 13 had a total palsy at presentation.     

EFFECTS OF H-2 ANTAGONISTS ON THE ELIMINATION OF BUPIVACAINE

The effects of two histamine H-2 antagonists, cimetidine andranitidine, on the elimination of bupivacaine were studied infour male volunteers. The cimetidine-treated group demonstrateda statistically significant decrease in clearance of bupivacaine.These results indicate that concomitant administration of cimetidineand bupivacaine may increase the likelihood of toxicity of thelatter agent.     

Electrical responses of the muscularis externa to distension of the isolated guinea-pig distal colon

Abstract Enteric reflex pathways were studied in isolated segments of guinea-pig distal colon by recording the electrical responses to distension from the muscularis externa with suction electrodes. The end of the electrode wire were in the circular muscle and thus the recordings discussed below are deduced to be primarily from this layer. Moreover, intracellular microelectrodes in circular muscle cells and suction electrodes recorded similar events. Spontaneous activity consisted of myogenic slow waves at about 25 min ^-1 and transient biphasic potentials at about 6 min^-1 and 3-sec duration which were dependent on a stimulus from the enteric nervous system as they were blocked by tetrodotoxin (0.5 μM), d-tubocurarine (30 μM) and hexa-methonium (100 μM). Atropine (0.8 μM) blocked the depolarizing part of the biphasic potentials and unmasked transient spontaneous inhibitory junction potentials (IJPs) (～2-sec duration) which appeared to be responsible for the hyperpolarizing part of the biphasic potential. Three different responses were observed at sites oral to distension of the colon: a transient depolarizing response that was cholinergic (blocked by atropine (0.8 μM); ascending cholinergic excitation) and, after atropine, a transient IJP (ascending inhibition) which was followed by a transient non-cholinergic depolarizaton (ascending non-cholinergic excitation) that was sometimes followed by several cycles of slow wave activity. The oral responses to anal distension were also blocked by the nicotinic antagonists and were similar to the neurogenic spontaneous events, which also appeared to originate from activity in ascending nervous pathways. Four different responses were observed following distension of the oral end of the segment: an IJP followed by a prolonged phase of hyperpolarization that lasted for the duration of the distension (descending inhibition); a burst of depolarizing potentials (for up to 30 sec) that followed the termination of distensions up to 25 sec and was blocked by atropine (0.8 μM) (delayed cholinergic excitation), and a transient non-cholinergic response that immediately followed the termination of distension (non-cholinergic ‘off’ response). Apamin (0.5 μM) reduced the amplitude of the spontaneous IJPs and evoked IJPs. After apamin, distension evoked a small transient hyperpolarization at oral sites, which was similar to spontaneous events, and the prolonged hyperpolarization at anal sites. A second distension given within 20 sec of the first evoked an IJP of reduced amplitude at oral sites in every preparation. In contrast, the amplitudes of the oral Cholinergic excitation and descending inhibition were relatively unaffected by reducing the interval between distensions. Thus distension stimulates excitatory and inhibitory motor neurons supplying the circular muscle both oral and anal to the stimulus. The polarity of the reflex relies in part on the differences in timing and duration of responses as well as the transmission characteristics of the nervous pathways.