New stand magnifiers do not meet rated levels of performance

A new range of stand magnifiers has been released by the COIL company in the United Kingdom. Examination of these magnifiers reveals that they fail to deliver the rated magnifications labelled prominently on the appliances, as a result of the manufacturer's conformance with the requirements of the German DIN standard and the use of back vertex power (F'_v) rather than equivalent dioptric power (F_m) of the magnifier. In this study we provide information on the optometric parameters of these new stand magnifiers that will assist the more accurate specification of improvements in vision expected from their use.     

No persistent effect of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor treatment in Milan hypertensive rats despite regression of vascular structure.

Milan hypertensive rats were treated, from ages 4 to 24 weeks, with the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, perindopril, in doses of 1.5 mg/kg per day or 0.4 mg/kg per day. Controls were untreated Milan hypertensive rats. At age 24 weeks, a mesenteric biopsy was taken, from which two resistance vessels were taken out and mounted on a myograph for structural and functional analysis. Thereafter, treatment was withdrawn and the blood pressure of the rats was followed until age 36 weeks. Perindopril treatment had a dose-dependent effect on blood pressure as well as on both structural (media thickness, media: lumen ratio) and functional (estimated pressure against which vessels could contract) parameters of the resistance vessels. However, when treatment was withdrawn, blood pressure rose to (low-dose perindopril group) or above (high-dose perindopril group) control levels. The results contrast with previous studies using spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR) where, using the same protocol, blood pressure remains low after withdrawal of treatment with ACE inhibitors, including perindopril, although the effect on resistance vessel parameters is similar. The results show that the persistent effect of ACE inhibitor therapy which has been seen in SHR is not a general feature of genetic hypertension. Furthermore, these results raise doubts as to whether the persistent effect seen in SHR is due to a general effect of ACE inhibitor treatment on vascular structure.     

High school football injuries: field conditions and other factors

This study was conducted to identify factors that were associated with injuries during 59 varsity high school football games in 1987. For each injury, medical personnel recorded data on the type and body location of each injury, player position, specific player activity at the time of injury, the quarter of the game, the week of the season, playing field conditions, and ambient air temperature. We found injury frequencies, types, body locations and seasonal and game quarter distributions similar to previous reports. This study demonstrated a previously unreported association between playing field condition and injury rate.     

An occipito-temporal syndrome in adolescents with optimally controlled hyperphenylalaninaemia

Summary The study included 16 adolescents with optimally controlled hyperphenylalaninaemia (McKusick 26160), of whom six did not require treatment according to conventional criteria. All except the two patients with lowest median serum phenylalanine level throughout childhood (most values at 200–300 µmol/L) had white matter abnormalities detectable with magnetic resonance imaging. The lesions were particularly prominent in the watershed regions between the posterior and middle cerebral arteries. In most patients with moderate or severe hyperphenylalaninaemia frontal white matter lesions were present as well. Normal proton magnetic resonance spectra indicated that the lesions were stable. Occipital EEG abnormalities were frequent, and deficient performance on a pattern-recognition test was a characteristic neuropsychological finding. Serum phenylalanine levels at about 300 µmol/L or below throughout childhood and early adolescence may be required to avoid lesions. The present study demonstrates the limitations of even an optimally controlled dietary regimen in hyperphenylalaninaemia.     

Zyanidvergiftung

Intoxications with cyanide are rare; most of the observed cases are suicides – often committed by persons with professional access to cyanides. Because a variety of different cyanides are used in the industry, they are produced on a large scale and are therefore easier to access than would be expected. Because the signs of cyanide poisoning are nonspecific, such intoxications can be overseen – during the initial emergency room visit as well as during the autopsy. Diagnosis of cyanide intoxication is generally based on 3 observations: evidence from the scene, almond-like odor in the stomach or organs (persons present at autopsy are at risk of poisoning), dark-red color of intestines, particularly the stomach. Under special circumstances, one or all of these signs can be missing. During the interpretation of analytical results, the possible degradation and/or formation of cyanide between death and autopsy, as well as between sampling and analysis, must be considered.     

Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma: comparison of MR imaging with CT and I-131 MIBG scintigraphy

To ascertain the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging characteristics of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas and to compare MR with computed tomography (CT) and iodine-131 metaiodobenzylguanidine (I-131 MIBG), 19 patients (18 with pheochromocytomas, one with a paraganglioma) were studied. The 18 patients with pheochromocytomas had had positive findings with I-131 MIBG scintigraphy. Abdominal pheochromocytomas were generally hypointense compared with normal liver on T1-weighted MR images and extremely hyperintense on T2-weighted MR images. MR imaging was preferable to CT in the evaluation of primary pheochromocytomas due to superior tissue characterization, particularly in the patient with hypertension and borderline catecholamine levels. For patients with recurrent or metastatic disease, the data suggest that I-131 MIBG scintigraphy is the examination of choice.