Lumbar Spinal Cord Stimulation Can Improve Muscle Strength and Gait Independently of the Analgesic Effect: A Case Report

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is widely used for pain relief in patients with failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS), and muscle weakness is a common finding in patients with chronic pain. We present here a single case report of a 47‐year‐old woman, who, after SCS for FBSS, had continuous improvement in lower leg muscle strength and gait, but only transient and minimal pain relief. To the authors’ knowledge, this is only the second published case report of significant improvement in “motor” function, independent of the analgesic effect following SCS in FBSS. If SCS, in fact, does improve muscle strength, new strategies for the management of patients with chronic pain might be opened up. Further studies are needed to verify this hypothesis.     

Influence of the centrifuge time of primary plasma tubes on routine coagulation testing.

Preparation of blood specimens is a major bottleneck in the laboratory throughput. Reliable strategies for reducing the time required for specimen processing without affecting quality should be acknowledged, especially for laboratories performing stat analyses. The present investigation was planned to establish a minimal suitable centrifuge time for primary samples collected for routine coagulation testing. Five sequential primary vacuum tubes containing 0.109 mol/l buffered trisodium citrate were collected from 10 volunteers and were immediately centrifuged on a conventional centrifuge at 1500 x g, at room temperature for 1, 2, 5, 10 and 15 min, respectively. Hematological and routine coagulation testing, including prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time and fibrinogen, were performed. The centrifugation time was inversely associated with residual blood cell elements in plasma, especially platelets. Statistically significant variations from the reference 15-min centrifuge specimens were observed for fibrinogen in samples centrifuged for 5 min at most and for the activated partial thromboplastin time in samples centrifuged for 2 min at most. Meaningful biases related to the desirable bias were observed for fibrinogen in samples centrifuged for 2 min at most, and for the activated partial thromboplastin time in samples centrifuged for 1 min at most. According to our experimental conditions, a 5-10 min centrifuge time at 1500 x g may be suitable for primary tubes collected for routine coagulation testing.     

Effects of androgen treatment in impotent men with normal and low levels of free testosterone

The relation between sexual function and serum free testosterone (fT) levels, which represent the active fraction of circulating testosterone, was evaluated. Two groups of impotent male subjects with mild hypogonadism were treated with oral testosterone undecanoate (TU); these men presented with tT/luteinizing hormone (LH) ratio and tT levels at the lower limits of normal. The first group had serum fT below 6.6 ng/ml, considered the lower normal value, according to our laboratory method, whereas the second group had normal fT limits. Administration of TU improved sexual function only in impotent men with low fT levels, but not in subjects with normal fT levels, even though the tT levels and the tT/LH ratio of the two groups were not significantly different. The results of our study suggest the presence of a minimun serum fT threshold, lying near the lower normal range, which determines the male sexual function. Moreover, serum fT levels were a more sensitive index than tT for identifying impotent men who can be successfully treated with androgens.     

Risks and complications of total parenteral nutrition. Personal experience

Total parenteral nutrition is now a broadly used method whose efficacy is confirmed, even if it is still not free from risk of complications. The Authors report their own clinical experience on 130 cases in the period 1981-1988. Complications were registered in 4.6% of the observed cases. They underline the problems relating to this subject.     

Heritability of myopic refractive errors in identical and fraternal twins

The existence of a visual feedback control of eye growth in humans is controversal, as the contributions of genetic and environmental factors are still unknown. To evaluate the heritability of refractive defects, we measured ocular refraction in 19 monozygote and 20 dizygote twin pairs (mean age 5 years). Monozygosity was ascertained by a common chorion, similarity of somatic traits, and identical dermatogliphes and was confirmed in myopes by blood marker diagnosis. Ocular refractive defects and axial length were evaluated by eye-loplegic autorefractometry and biometry. By comparing identical and fraternal twins heritability of refractive defects was estimated to be 0.08–0.14; this low value indicates that the observed variability in refractive errors is nongenetic in origin. Three monozygote pairs were anisomyopic; differences between eyes in identical twins were related to the increased axial length of myopic eyes. In one eye, myopia was attributed to visual deprivation induced by a congenital cataract, while in five eyes it was correlated directly to the degree of astigmatic defects. The discordant axial length observed in monozygote twins is nongenetic. In agreement with previous findings reported in the literature, it is proposed that visual impoverishment of retinal images may play an early regulatory role in postnatal eye growth.Deceased     

Angioplasty of the deep femoral artery using a semirigid PTFE prosthesis. Experimental studies

Underlining the importance of Profundus Femoral Artery and its capacity to make up for lower limb's haemodynamics during obliterative arteriopathy, the Authors conceive a funnel-shaped intravascular prosthesis, Goretex constructed (PTFE), to introduce, in case of obstruction, in the artery lumen with a suitable instrument. The research is performed through ten oldster dogs whose average weight is twenty-four kilograms. Isolated the deep Femoral Artery and carried out an arteriotomy of about two centimetres on the Common Femoral Artery, we bring the prothesis in Profundis Femoral Artery and we fix it to the wall of the Common Femoral Artery with 8/O microsurgical dots. After thirty days, the arteriographic test shows the patency of the endoprosthesis with normal peripheral flow in nine animals out of ten. By virtue of this preliminary experiment, the Authors point out the semplicity of this intervention, also feasible in local anaesthesia, the good tolerability of the prosthesis and its perfect integration with the surrounding arterious wall, without shifts or dissecting laminar flows between the external prosthesis wall and the vessel lumen of the animal.     

Prevalence and localization of nodal metastases in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity: role and extension of neck dissection

Lymph node (LN) metastases represent the most important negative prognostic factor in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity, even though controversies still exist regarding their management. The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze our experience in surgical management of SCC of the oral cavity with particular focus on the prevalence and localization of lymph nodal metastases and recurrences. The clinical records of 89 consecutive patients treated from 1983 to 2002 by concomitant surgery on both the T and N sites, excluding those undergoing salvage surgery, were reviewed. A total of 119 neck dissections (ND) were performed. Survival outcomes were calculated by the Kaplan–Meier method, while univariate comparisons by the log-rank and non-parametric tests were performed between different groups of patients. Five-year overall and determinate survivals were 50 and 57%, respectively. LN metastases were observed in 52% (56% of these showing extracapsular spread) and their presence strongly correlated with determinate survival (p < 0.0001). The prevalence of clinical and occult nodal disease was not related to the pT status. Neck levels II (59%) and I (56%) were most frequently involved. Metastases to level IV accounted for 15% of positive LN, even though 28% of them turned out to be skip metastases. Five neck recurrences were observed, only one of which was salvaged by surgery. The high prevalence of clinical and occult LN metastases in this setting suggests that ND should be performed on a nearly routine basis, even for lesions with a low-T category and a cN0 neck. Moreover, ND should always encompass level IV due to the possibility of skip metastases, particularly in tumors involving the oral tongue. In patients with a cN+ neck, levels from I to V should be addressed, particularly in the presence of metastases at levels III and IV.