Ultrasonographic demonstration of a gas-containing pancreatic abscess. A case report

A 24-year-old man presented with acute pancreatitis. Serial ultrasonographic examination showed the development of bright echoes within the pancreatic parenchyma compatible with gas formation. This was confirmed on subsequent computed tomography and at laparotomy. The value of serial ultrasonographic examinations in pancreatitis is emphasized.     

Brain and spinal cord hemorrhage in long-term survivors of malignant pediatric brain tumors: a possible late effect of therapy

Three children with malignant primary CNS tumors treated with craniospinal radiotherapy developed intraparenchymal hemorrhages a median of 5 years following therapy in sites distant from the primary tumor. Radical surgical procedures disclosed fresh and old hematoma, gliosis, and necrosis in all 3 patients and an aggregation of abnormal microscopic blood vessels in two. No tumor was found. All 3 patients remain in long-term (greater than 10 years) continuous remission.     

Preliminary evaluation of vitiligo using in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy

BACKGROUND: Vitiligo is the most common pigmentary disorder with a global incidence from 0.1% to 2% in different geographical areas. Histopathology and histochemistry have shown the reduction of melanocytes in achromic patches, but microscopic changes of lesional and non-lesional skin are still not completely understood. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM), based on the different light reflectance index of cutaneous structures, allowed in vivo, en face microscopic evaluation of superficial skin layers with a resolution similar to skin histology. AIM: The purpose of this study was to evaluate RCM features of lesional and non-lesional skin of vitiligo patients. Moreover, re-pigmented areas were taken into consideration in order to evaluate melanocyte response to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Sixteen patients of different phototypes affected by active non-segmental vitiligo and 10 controls were enrolled in the study. In vivo skin imaging was done using a commercially available RCM (Lucid, Vivascope 1500. Re-pigmented areas from 6 to 16 patients (after UVB narrow-band therapy) were also examined. RESULTS: Vitiligo lesions showed the disappearance of the bright rings normally seen at the dermo-epidermal junction. Moreover, non-lesional skin of vitiligo patients showed unexpected changes as the presence of half-rings or scalloped border-like features of the bright papillary rings. In re-pigmented areas after UVB narrow band therapy, the presence of activated, dendritic melanocytes was seen. CONCLUSIONS: Considering our results, and following further studies, RCM clinical applications could be used in the therapeutic monitoring and evaluation of the evolution of vitiligo.     

Lung cancer in Israel, 1962–1982 I. Jews and Arabs

The magnitude and dynamics of lung cancer incidence in Jews and Arabs in Israel between the years 1962 and 1982 were studied. In general, age-standardized incidence rates increased consistently between the years 1962 and 1976 among Jewish (24% increase) and Arab (39%) males, and to a lesser degree among Jewish females (15%). Arab females had the highest (77%) increase. From 1977 to 1982 a general decrease in incidence rates, which was largest among Arab males (19%) and females (15%), was noted. Rates among Jewish males are currently 26% higher than among Arab males, and are 162% higher among Jewish females than in Arab females. Lung cancer rates in both males and females in Istrael (Jews and Arabs) are lower than in most developed countries in the world. Among the possible reasons are differences in the population risk factors profile, availability of health care and the level of diagnosis and ascertainment of cases.     

Marital Functioning in Early Versus Late-Onset Alcoholic Couples

Current knowledge about alcohol and marital functioning is limited by restrictive sample selection, inattention to the literature on individual-based alcoholic subtypes, and lack of research linking individual differences among alcoholics to marital functioning. The present study was designed to study marital functioning of alcoholics in light of current alcohol typologies. Subjects were part of a larger study on conjoint treatment of alcoholic males and their female partners. Four typologies—including Type 1/2, In-Home/Out-of-home, SteadyIEpisodic, and EarlyILate Onset—were tested for replicability and discriminant validity before linking them to marital functioning. Discriminant validity was found only for the Early (59%)-versus Late (41 %)-Onset typology; thus, further analyses linked only this typology with marital functioning. At baseline, Early-Onset couples reported more marital instability, and the females in these couples were more distressed. During treatment, Early-Onset couples reported higher daily marital satisfaction than Late-Onset couples. Regardless of age of onset, males reported higher marital satisfaction than their spouses during treatment, but their satisfaction did not increase during treatment. Female partners' marital satisfaction increased during treatment. Female partners of Late-Onset males reported particularly low marital satisfaction during treatment. Parsing the sample according to the early-/late-onset typology yielded different predictors of marital satisfaction for males and females within each subtype. For female partners of Early-Onset alcoholics, psychological distress unrelated to her pattner's drinking severity was most associated with her own marital satisfaction, whereas marital adjustment of female partners of Late-Onset alcoholics was most associated with the male's level of perceptual accuracy regarding her needs. This pattern was reversed for the males; marital adjustment of Early-Onset alcoholics was most associated with his partner's perceptual accuracy of his needs, whereas marital functioning of Late-Onset alcoholics was best accounted for by his own psychological distress.