SUICIDE ATTEMPT DUE TO METOCLOPRAMIDE-INDUCED AKATHISIA

Akathisia as a side-effect of metoclopramide has received increasing attention in consultation-liaison psychiatry in recent years. A case of metoclopramide-induced akathisia resulting in a suicide attempt is reported in order to highlight the suffering of such patients and the factors that lead to misdiagnosis.     

Dupuytren disease of the sole]

The authors discuss the essence of Dupuytren disease occurring in the plantar aponeurosis with literary surveys. They briefly outline the essence of the well-known different theories which endeavour to explain the causes of the development of this disease of unknown etiology. In their article, they deal with its clinical manifestation, histological changes and therapeutical possibilities in connection with the 5 cases treated by them.     

Management of lung and bone metastases from thyroid cancers of differentiated structures

During a period of thirty years (1959-1989) 374 patients underwent surgery for differentiated thyroid carcinoma at the 1st Department of Surgery of the University Medical School in Debrecen. Distant metastases were found in the lungs or bones in 36 patients (9.6%). In 20 patients the first clinical sign of the primary disease was the distant metastasis. The aspects of surgical treatment depended on whether the metastases were solitary or multiple, capable or uncapable of radioiodine uptake. Whereas the majority of pulmonary metastases respond well to 131I-treatment the therapy of bone metastases is multidisciplinary. The 5-year survival rate was 47%, the 10-year one 19%.     

Mycobacterium marinum infection of the hand and wrist. Results of conservative treatment in twenty-four cases

Inadequate débridement, extensive scarring, and breakdown of the wound have been commonly encountered after surgical débridement has been employed as the initial treatment of infection with Mycobacterium marinum involving the deep structures of the hand. Because of our disappointment with the results of this form of treatment, from 1982 to 1986 we treated twenty-four patients who had such an infection with rifampicin and ethambutol after a diagnostic biopsy was done. Surgical treatment was deferred until it was determined that the infection had not been controlled by the chemotherapy. The clinical outcome for these patients could be divided into three patterns: eleven patients (Group I) had a good result with no complications, three patients (Group II) had delayed healing of the wound, and ten patients (Group III) did not have a good response to conservative treatment and required one or more surgical débridements. Complications were sometimes associated with use of the drugs, and loss of visual acuity was a concern in three patients. In twenty-one (87 per cent) of the patients, at follow-up the function of the treated hand was equal to that of the other hand. Persistent pain, a discharging sinus, and previous local injection of steroids were unfavorable prognostic factors. If these factors are present, surgical débridement is advised.     

The mechanism of cytolytic and cytostatic activity of benfluron

Benfluron at concentrations of 0.26 and 0.52 mumol l-1 inhibited the formation of V79 colonies in a concentration-dependent way. Diminution of the size of colonies of the treated cells was accompanied by a decrease in protein content per cell. At the same time an increase in metabolic activity was observed. Benfluron blocked the V79 cells in S and G2 phases of the cell cycle and at higher concentrations induced cell lysis documented by alterations in cell membrane permeability and morphology. The in vitro membrane effect of benfluron involved a biphasic modulation of the cardiac sarcolemmal (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity.     

3,5-甾二烯化合物的合成及抗早孕活性

以18-甲基-17β-羟基-17α-乙炔基-雌甾-4-烯-3-酮(18-甲基炔诺酮),17β-羟基-17α-乙缺基-雌甾-4-烯-3-酮(炔诺酮),17β-羟基-17α-乙炔基-雄甾-4-烯-3-酮(妊娠素)和17a-羟基孕甾-4-烯-3,20二酮(17α-羟基黄体酮)为原料,经NaBH,还原、脱水、双键转位和酯化等反应合成一系列3,5-甾二烯化合物,用¹HNMR和MS证明了它们的结构。动物筛选结果表明,17β-丙酰氧基-17α-乙炔基-雌甾-3,5-二烯(IV_b2有明显的抗早孕活性。中断早期妊娠的作用似与其雌激素活性有关。     

Late results after repair of partial atrioventricular septal defect in adolescents and adults

From January 1966 through December 1985, 29 adolescents and adults underwent surgical repair of a partial atrioventricular septal defect at our institution. The patients included 20 females and 9 males, whose ages ranged from 16 to 47 years (mean, 27.6 +/- 10.1 years). Preoperatively, 24 patients were in New York Heart Association functional class I or II, and 5 were in class III. The pulmonary artery systolic pressure ranged from 22 to 62 mmHg (mean, 38.3 +/- 12.7 mmHg). The pulmonary-to-systemic flow ratio ranged from 1.4 to 2.9 (mean, 2.3 +/- 0.5). Upon left ventriculography, regurgitation through the left atrioventricular valve was trivial or nonexistent in 4 patients (13.8%), mild in 14 (48.3%), moderate in 10 (34.5%), and severe in 1 patient (3.4%). All patients underwent patch closure of the ostium primum defect, and all but 2 underwent partial or complete suturing of the septal commissure. One patient died within 30 days, for a hospital mortality of 3.4%. The follow-up period ranged from 7 to 25 years (mean, 15.2 +/- 5.3 years). Postoperatively, all patients were evaluated with 2-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography. One patient underwent early implantation of a permanent pacemaker for persistent complete heart block. Three patients succumbed to late death 10, 15, and 21 years after operation. Among the 25 long-term survivors, 1 patient required late valve replacement because of severe left atrioventricular valve regurgitation. Nine (37.5%) of the other 24 long-term survivors had little or no regurgitation. Of the 11 patients with moderate-to-severe preoperative left atrioventricular valve regurgitation, 4 had moderate postoperative regurgitation. Seventeen patients had a moderate or severe persistent apical systolic murmur. At the latest follow-up in 1991, 5 (20%) of the 25 long-term survivors had significant arrhythmias. At 25 years, the actuarial survival rate was 78.9% +/- 25.6%. All 25 surviving patients were in New York Heart Association class I or II. The rate of freedom from reoperation was 77.7% +/- 25.9%. We conclude that, in adolescents and adults, correction of a partial atrioventricular septal defect entails little risk and is likely to improve the patient's functional status. Repair of the left atrioventricular valve yields good results, even at long-term follow-up.     

ETV6/RUNX1 fusion at diagnosis and relapse: some prognostic indications

This study was undertaken in order to compare the interphase and metaphase cytogenetics of 28 patients with ETV6/RUNX1 positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia, at diagnosis and relapse. The median time to relapse was 26 months. The significant fusion positive population heterogeneity revealed at interphase by a commercial probe for ETV6/RUNX1 fusion has not been described before. Six diagnostic samples had a single abnormal population; others had up to five each, which differed in the numbers of RUNX1 signals, and in the retention or loss of the second ETV6 signal. In contrast, the number of fusion signals was more constant. At relapse, there were fewer populations; the largest or unique clone was sometimes a re-emergence of a minor, diagnostic one, with a retained copy of ETV6 and the most RUNX1 signals. Abnormal, fusion negative clones were identified in bone marrow samples at extra-medullary relapse. Variant three or four-way translocations, which involved chromosomes 12 and 21, were prominent among the complex rearrangements revealed by metaphase FISH. The frequency of their occurrence at diagnosis and reappearance at relapse, sometimes accompanied by minor clonal evolution, was another new observation. Other recurrent cytogenetic features included a second copy of the fusion signal in six cases, partial duplication of the long arm of the X chromosome in two cases, and trisomy 10 in three cases. In comparing our data with previously reported cases, a picture is beginning to emerge of certain diagnostic features, which may provide circumstantial evidence of an increased risk of relapse.