Comparison between the ventricular fibrillation thresholds of spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive rats--investigation of antidysrhythmic drugs

Induction of ventricular fibrillation by intraventricular electric pulses is achieved with weaker currents in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) than in normotensive rats of the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) or Sprague-Dawley (SD) strains. The ventricular fibrillation threshold (VFT) is stable with time in SHR but not in WKY. Investigation of antidysrhythmic agents in SHR showed that most substances with membrane-stabilizing properties increase the VFT. There was no correlation between the elevation of VFT and the decrease in heart rate induced by the substances studied. Determination of the VFT in SHR may be useful for the screening of compounds with membrane-stabilizing properties.     

Harlequin fetus and micromelia

A fetus was born prematurely after a 34-week pregnancy whose evolution was marked by the ultrasonic finding at 23 weeks of a considerable shortening of the long bones. At birth, the newborn infant bore the appearance of a harlequin fetus. There was no dwarfism, but the micromelia discovered in utero was confirmed both clinically and radiologically. Such global micromelia associated with this kind of pathology has never been described, not to mention witnessed, in utero and may be part of the fetal akinesia sequence phenotype.     

Is immunosuppressor treatment effective in lymphocytic gastritis? Apropos of a case associated with an intestinal lymphoma

We report the case of a patient with "lymphocytic gastritis" surprisingly associated with an intestinal lymphoma which was treated after intestinal resection by corticosteroids and a combination of antimitotic agents. Comparing gastric mucosa before and 3 months after therapy, we observed a striking reduction of inflammation. Such a case suggests the possibility of a beneficial effect of immunosuppressive therapy on "lymphocytic gastritis" and favors the hypothesis of an immunological disorder.