Initial manifestation of type I diabetes mellitus as an unusual cause of early post‐operative seizures

We present a case of an 18‐year‐old patient who underwent resective epilepsy surgery for intractable epilepsy caused by focal cortical dysplasia. In the early post‐surgical period, the patient started experiencing atypical seizures refractory to antiepileptic treatment. In due course, abnormally low levels of blood sodium and extremely high levels of blood glucose were discovered. Significant hyperglycaemia was initially ascribed to steroid‐induced diabetes, and antibodies specific to type I diabetes mellitus were subsequently detected, confirming the diagnosis. Following stabilization of glucose and electrolyte levels, the patient became seizure‐free. To our knowledge, this is the first report of presentation of type I diabetes as the cause of early post‐operative seizures. We discuss less common aetiologies of seizures in the early post‐operative period, including metabolic disturbances. Based on our experience, we stress the importance of electrolyte and glucose monitoring in the setting of acute post‐operative seizures.     

Short-term rehabilitation of patients with posttraumatic otolith disorders by auditory feedback training: a pilot study

In a prospective, non-randomized pilot study, two groups of patients with dizziness for more than one year due to posttraumatic otolith disorders had been investigated. They were treated by a one-day vestibular rehabilitation training with/without auditory feedback. It could be shown that auditory feedback training for a limited period of time can reduce significantly trunk sway compared to those patients who did vestibular exercises alone without auditory feedback. This audiofeedback-based therapy seems to be a promising tool in the vestibular rehabilitation and in treating patients with otolith disorders in particular. Long-term effects cannot yet be assessed with the present data of our series.     

Hughes syndrome

Antiphospholipid syndrome, also known as Hughes syndrome, is a recently described entity that mimics symptoms of other diseases such as multiple sclerosis. It is a potentially life-threatening autoimmune disorder where the body produces antibodies directed against phospholipids and phospholipid-binding proteins. Herein a patient with successive ocular vascular events associated with antiphospholipid syndrome is presented.     

Differences in antitumor effects of various statins on human pancreatic cancer

Statins are widely used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. However, their inhibitory action on HMG-CoA reductase also results in the depletion of intermediate biosynthetic products, which importantly contribute to cell proliferation. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of the individual commercially available statins on experimental pancreatic cancer. The in vitro effects of individual statins (pravastatin, atorvastatin, simvastatin, lovastatin, cerivastatin, rosuvastatin and fluvastatin) on the viability of human pancreatic cancer were evaluated in CAPAN-2, BxPc-3 and MiaPaCa-2 cell lines. The in vivo experiments were performed on nude mice xenotransplanted with CAPAN-2 cells. The mice received oral treatments either with a placebo, or with the statins mentioned earlier in a daily dose corresponding to a hypocholesterolemic dose in humans. The effect of these statins on the intracellular Ras protein, trafficking in MiaPaCa-2 transfected cells, was also investigated. Substantial differences in the tumor-suppressive effects of all statins were detected in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. While simvastatin exerted the highest tumor-suppressive effects in vitro, rosuvastatin (p = 0.002), cerivastatin (p = 0.002) and fluvastatin (p = 0.009) were the most potent compounds in an animal model. All statins (except pravastatin) inhibited intracellular Ras protein translocation. In summary, substantial tumor-suppressive effects of various statins on the progression of experimental pancreatic adenocarcinoma were demonstrated, with marked differences among individual statins. These results support greatly the potential of statins for the chemoadjuvant treatment of pancreatic cancer.     

Comparison of laser and mercury-arc lamp for the detection of body fluids on different substrates

The performance of two detection techniques for body fluids, the Spectra-Physics(R) Revealtrade mark portable forensic laser system and the mercury-arc lamp Lumatec Superlite 400, was evaluated with various biological stains on different substrates. Serial dilutions of neat, 1/10, 1/100 and 1/1,000 using fluid semen, saliva, urine and blood were applied on glazed tiles, glass, PVC, wood, metal, stone, formica, carpet and cotton. Apart from the fact that blood traces were not detectable with the laser, both light sources showed comparable results regarding their detection capability. Clear advantages of the Lumatec Superlite 400, however, are its lower size, weight, purchase costs and the possibility to operate this light source by battery.     

Wertigkeit der BAHA-Testung für das postoperative Hörergebnis

Background

Bone-anchored hearing aids provide a therapy option for patients with conductive and mixed hearing loss, with the possibility of audiological rehabilitation. Test rod and tension headband offer the patient a preoperative impression of their postoperative hearing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the tools available for preoperative assessment of candidates for bone-anchored hearing aids and to ascertain predictive audiometric values.

Methods

Following implantation of a BAHA Compact system, sound and speech audiograms were performed in each of 16 patients with the bone-anchored BAHA device and with test rod and tension headband.

Results

Both with the BAHA and with the test devices, closure of the air-bone gap occurred and resulted in a clear improvement in hearing threshold and speech perception. The threshold increase with the BAHA was 9 dB greater on average (mean) than that measured with the test rod and the tension headband. Examinaation of speech perception indicated a mean advantage of 14–20% for the anchored BAHA system over the tension headband in monosyllabic testing.

Conclusion

Preoperative testing before providing a BAHA system is a good way of predicting what level of hearing and speech perception can be expected after implantation.     

Group nightmares about escape from ex-homeland

Escape nightmares (recurrent nightmares about re-escaping ex-homeland) were studied via a 79-item questionnaire administered to 83 Czechoslovak refugees who were living in Switzerland. The key features of the nightmare were not related significantly to the refugees' age, gender, occupation, or educational level. Further analyses dealt with mutual relationships of the various reported aspects of the escape nightmares. The reports of dreaming about arrival in the ex-homeland by a “mistake,” such as boarding a wrong airplane (i.e., a Freudian parapraxis), were associated with higher levels of (subsequent) dream anxiety, with waking up due to mounting dream tension, and with the dreamer not knowing at first upon awakening whether he was now in the free world or elsewhere.