Benign symmetrical lipomatosis--a complication of excessive alcohol consumption. A case report

A case of benign symmetrical lipomatosis (Madelung-Launois-Bensaude syndrome) is described. The characteristic clinical features and the association with chronic alcoholism are reported.     

Say yes to life: a pilot study.

In an attempt to assess whether there are any characteristics which a majority of ordinary people regard as life-affirming or life-denying, a questionnaire was given to a pilot group of 167 respondents, representing three different age and social categories. Five life-affirming and five life-denying characteristics were mentioned by more than 10% of respondents. Of the former, Drive, Sociability, Happiness and Optimism were endorsed by 15-20%. Of the latter, Unsociability and Poor Coping were mentioned by 22%, making them distinctly more frequent than the following categories of Pessimism, Lack of Drive and Unhappiness (11-14%). It is suggested that a number of these subjectively determined characteristics, which the general public perceive as being life-affirming or denying, do indeed influence physical or mental health, illness or illness behaviour. It may therefore be of value to utilize this set of public perceptions in future programmes of health education.     

Evidence that the earliest generated cells of the murine cerebral cortex form a transient population in the subplate and marginal zone.

We used bromodeoxyuridine to label the earliest generated cells of the murine cerebral cortex while they were dividing, and then observed their distributions at several instances later in development. Shortly before birth, many of the labelled cells were either above the cortical plate, in the marginal zone, or below it, in the region known as the subplate in other species. These cells had disappeared by postnatal day 21.     

烧伤研究与治疗进展

对近年来国外烧伤研究及治疗进展作一综述     

Which way for housing and human settlements?

In order to clarify the housing and settlements component of the European health-for-all programme and to identify perceived priorities with a view to the preparation of training materials, members of WHO's Rural and Urban Development and Housing Network were invited to complete a questionnaire. The results are reported below. The questionnaire can be used in identifying local development priorities, comparing attitudes, and studying perceived needs. Intended as a tool for policy-makers, course organizers and public health professionals, it is available from the authors of the present article.     

The experiential impact of head injury on adolescents: individual perspectives on long term outcome

Thirty one young people, who were experiencing chronic sequelae of a head injury sustained at least 1 year previously, were interviewed in depth about the impact head injury had had on their lives. Their functioning was also assessed using the Offer Self Image Questionnaire OSIQ R . The main theme raised by subjects was that they had not received adequate explanation of the emotional problems associated with head injury and relevant support in coming to terms with their condition. Head injury had had a devastating effect on their lives, causing limitations in day to day activities, employment, education and relationships, and they scored significantly below norms on the OSIQ R scale of Self Confidence. However, these young people had a predominantly positive attitude towards life, which appeared to be related to their appreciation of how fortunate they had been to survive. They scored significantly above norms on the OSIQ R scale of Social Functioning. Markers of poor functioning were identified and, in clinical practice, could be used as a method of highlighting those head injured young people who potentially are most in need of support. The findings have implications for future research directions, service delivery and planning, in that particular weaknesses of current provision are demonstrated and recommendations made for improvements.     

Reconstruction of degloved thumb with prefabricated flap

The wrap around the toe flap from the great toe is considered to be a good reconstructive proce-dure for degloved injuries of the thumb. 1 In this study, we used prefabricated flaps of the medial plan-tar skin to cover a degloved injury of the thumb of a patient unsuitable for application of this method and obtained satisfactory clinical results.     

特发性甲状旁腺机能减退症颅脑CT及MRI表现

目的探讨颅脑CT及MRI检查对特发性甲状旁腺机能减退症(IHP)的诊断价值。方法回顾性分析16例经临床确诊的IHP患者头颅CT(16/16)和MRI(3/16)表现,观察病变的范围和密度/信号等特点。结果IHP颅内主要表现为多发钙化性病变,在CT上表现为高密度,CT值114～373HU,在MRT1WI呈稍高信号或高信号,T2WI呈等信号。双侧尾状核、苍白球、壳核及丘脑的对称性、条形或团块状钙化16例;双侧额、颞、顶、枕叶皮层下钙化10例;小脑齿状核钙化6例(双侧4例,单侧2例);侧脑室旁钙化2例。结论CT和MR对IHP的诊断非常重要,其中CT对病变的显示优于MR,与临床结果结合,对IHP具有定性诊断意义。