The role of microsomal oxidation processes in the development of haloperidol tolerance during melatonin administration and epiphysectomy in rats

A pineal hormone melatonin (1 mg/kg, 24 days) facilitated the formation of tolerance to haloperidol and eliminated the changes produced by it in the processes of microsomal oxidation in rats. Pinealectomy yielded the opposite result. After pinealectomy the normalizing effect of the hormone on the condition of the liver monoxygenase system and the effects of haloperidol weakened.     

Clinical and histopathological findings of ''psoriatic neurodermatitis'' and of typical lichen simplex chronicus

BACKGROUND: We have seen several patients with itchy lichenified plaques located bilaterally on the elbows and/or knees and have named this condition 'psoriatic neurodermatitis' (PN). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare clinical and histopathological characteristics of these patients to those of patients with typical lichen simplex chronicus (LSC). METHODS: Nineteen patients with PN and 34 patients with typical LSC were included. Besides clinical dermatological evaluation, the prick test was carried out on 49 patients; the Phadiatop test on 40 patients; the patch test with European standard series on 47 patients; histopathological evaluation on 39 patients; and clinical psychiatric examination on 38 patients. RESULTS: Almost exclusively, PN was seen in females and was located on the extremities. It caused more plaques than typical LSC did. In PN, the plaques were smaller, sharper, more keratotic and less excoriated, and had fewer lichenoid papules around them. Itching was usually more severe in the evening, while resting and in a hot environment in typical LSC, but not in PN. In plaques of PN, microabscesses in the horny layer, hypogranulosis, regular acanthosis and thinning of the suprapapillary plates were more frequent, and hyperpigmentation in the basal layer was less. In patients with PN, depressive disorder was found more frequently; and generalized anxiety disorder or psychosomatic characteristics, less. There were no significant differences in the results of prick, Phadiatop and patch tests between patients with PN and those with typical LSC. CONCLUSION: In our opinion, it is most likely that the so-called PN is itchy psoriasis superimposed by LSC.     

Dermatomyositis and miliary tuberculosis (case report with fatal outcome )

A 50-year old female patient suffering from dermatomyositis, who had undergone thymectomy, died of generalized miliary tuberculosis.     

Endoscopic removal of isolated gastrinoma of the duodenum after Billroth II gastric resection]

Duodenal carcinoma is a rare disease and is encountered in no more than 10% of cases of the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. The article discusses a rare case in which an isolated duodenal gastrinoma was removed endoscopically with subsequent recovery from the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Study of the serum gastrin concentration with provocative tests allowed the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome to be diagnosed and the radicality of duodenal gastrinoma removal to be controlled. Retrograde duodenoscopy conducted after resection of the gastric stump by the Billroth II method localized the source of hypergastrinemia and made possible radical removal of the duodenal gastrinoma, which was confirmed by normalization of the blood serum gastrin concentration. The work includes a brief literature reference on the subject.     

Development of heterotopic ossification around the hip. A long-term follow-up of patients who underwent surgery with two different types of endoprostheses

Heterotopic ossification has been reported in many pathological situations, most important clinically as a sequel to hip arthroplasty and spinal trauma. The etiology of heterotopic ossification is yet not clear, but the disease is supposed to be connected with trauma. Heterotopic bone was found in 53% (1.2% with the severe form) of 623 patients operated on at the Orthopaedic Hospital of the Invalid Foundation, Helsinki, Finland; the operations included 849 arthroplasties. The rate of heterotopic ossification was higher after revision arthroplasty, following operation of the contralateral side, in men, and in primary coxarthrosis, and the incidence was higher with the Brunswik (metal-on-plastic) endoprosthesis than in the McKee-Farrar type (metal-on-metal). Heterotopic bone formation generally seemed to increase and to be more manifest during long-term observation.