Necrotizing sialometaplasia (adenometaplasia) of the trachea

Necrotizing sialometaplasia is a benign condition first described in minor salivary glands of the soft palate with morphological changes which can be misinterpreted as squamous-cell carcinoma. Similar lesions have been subsequently reported in other locations including major salivary glands, lip, breast and skin (the term syringometaplasia has been applied for the latter). We report three cases of such a process involving submucosal glands in the trachea following prolonged translaryngeal intubation.     

Marked improvement of delayed methotrexate-induced leukoencephalopathy treated with high-dose folinic acid

We report the case of a patient with delayed methotrexate (MTX)-induced leukoencephalopathy who showed a marked improvement both in clinical and neuroimaging findings after a high-dose of the active form of folinic acid (leucovorin) treatment. The patient developed progressive affective impairment accompanied by headache, nausea and vomiting after treatment with MTX during the chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and diagnosed as delayed type MTX-induced leukoencephalopathy. After an intravenous injection of high-dose folinic acid (total 1920 mg), neurological deficits and white matter changes dramatically improved in a few weeks. Although delayed MTX-induced leukoencephalopathy may cause irreversible brain damage, an early treatment with high dose leucovorin may thus facilitate the marked improvement of clinical findings and white matter abnormalities.     

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome in human immunodeficiency virus-1-infected children

We describe the clinical and pathological findings of the hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in two children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Both patients presented with microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and subsequently developed renal failure. The diagnosis of HUS was confirmed by renal histopathology in both patients. None of these children presented with bloody diarrhea, evidence of circulating antibody response to Escherichia coli O157 lipopolysaccharide, or other known risk factors for HUS, except for the presence of HIV infection. Each patient was treated with intravenous plasma infusion and renal replacement therapy. Their clinical course was characterized by non-oliguria and lack of significant hypertension throughout the acute phase of the disease. Despite these favorable clinical parameters, both patients developed end-stage renal failure. The etiology of this atypical HUS characterized by poor renal survival remains unknown and the role of HIV infection in its pathogenesis, although possible, is unclear. Received March 5, 1996; received in revised form and accepted October 15, 1996     

Acute severe combined demyelination

We present a second case in which Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) appeared simultaneously, both in acute and fulminant form. The patient, a 10-year-old girl, presented with acute onset of coma and flaccid, areflexic quadriparesis. The elevated CSF protein levels and delayed F waves fulfilled the criteria of GBS and an MRI study revealed extensive multifocal demyelination compatible with a diagnosis of ADEM. Prompt clinical response followed by complete recovery was achieved by treatment with corticosteroids. It is suggested that acute severe combined demyelination might constitute a separate entity in which the demyelinating process, involving simultaneously the central and the peripheral nervous systems, indicates immune response against a component of the myelin of one system carrying cross-antigenicity with the other.     

Local fibrinolysis for superior mesenteric artery thromboembolism

A 66-year-old man with atrial fibrillation was referred soon after developing left lower limb and abdominal pain with rectal bleeding. An immediate flush aortogram showed embolic occlusion of the left distal superficial femoral artery and superior mesenteric artery (SMA), 3 cm from its ostium. Recombinant tissue plasminogen activitor (rtPA) 40 mg was selectively in stilled in the SMA in two boluses. Abdominal symptoms resolved within 48 h, and complete recanalization of the SMA was shown on angiography. Exploratory laparotomy after 72 h showed a normal small bowel and right colon, and was completed by femoropopliteal embolectomy. Six months later, the patient remained asymptomatic.     

Gadolinium ring enhancement and mass effect in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis

A 9-year-old boy presented with a subacute history of optic neuritis followed by brainstem involvement, with fever and a lymphocytic pleocytosis in the cerebrospinal fluid. Gadolinium-enhancing ring lesions were demonstrate in the white matter of the cerebrum, brainstem and cerebellum on day 17 of the illness, all appearing simultaneously as part of a monophasic illness. A parietal lesion exerted mass effect. Needling and biopsy yielded no evidence of a pyogenic lesion, tumour or tuberculosis and showed vasculitis. There was insufficient material for myelin staining. Dexamethasone therapy lead to rapid improvement of the radiological lesions: MRI and CT on day 34 of the illness showed complete clearing of the lesions except for residual abnormality at the biopsy site.     

川芎嗪和维拉帕米对缺血性急性肾衰初期保护效应的实验研究

１８只犬切除右肾，钳夹左肾动脉６０分的肾缺血模型，再灌注５小时。将动物随机分成对照组、川芎嗪组及维拉帕米组。观察尿量、菊糖清除率、利钠指数、平均动脉压及心率；再灌注５小时取肾组织作形态学检查。结果显示川芎嗪对肾功能及形态有保护作用，维拉帕米则无此作用，提示在手术中有肾缺血时以川芎嗪作为肾保护药物优于维拉帕米。