Spectral analysis of cerebellar activity after acute brain injury in anesthetized rats

We investigated cerebellar electrocortical activity before and after unilateral brain injury in anesthetized rats. Spectral analysis of cerebellar activity was obtained by Fast Fourier Transformation. There was a dominance of delta frequency range, while the wide gamma range presented no more than 5% of the total mean power spectra of cerebellar activity before brain injury. A few minutes after brain injury and within the first 90 minutes, there was a decrease of total mean power spectra and a relative decrease of delta range power to about 30%, some increase of beta range, and an increase of gamma range to 20-25%. Relative increase of gamma range in the cerebellar mean power spectra was still present 120 min after the brain injury, while other changes started to diminish. We suggest that spectral changes within slow and fast (gamma) frequency ranges of cerebellar activity may be indicators of the brain state after acute injury.     

Disseminated BCG infection resembling langerhans cell histiocytosis in an infant with severe combined immunodeficiency: a case report

We present a very rare congenital immunologic disease, severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome (SCID) in 6-months-old-boy with prolonged mucocutaneous candidiasis, severe anaemia, skin rash similar to the infiltrative eczema of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) and subcutaneous nodules with histiocytic infiltration. Laboratory findings show profound absence of humoral and cell-mediated immunity. Pathology specimens analysis of subcutaneous nodule revealed numerous S-100 protein and Cd1a negative histiocytes, occupied by BCG intracellular growth. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry confirmed the diagnosis of BCG dissemination. BCG vaccination in infants with SCID can lead to life threatening dissemination, resembling to the infiltrative eczema of LCH and may mislead the clinician.     

Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibody (Rituximab) for Therapy of Mediastinal CD20-Positive Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma with a Local Tumor Extension into the Lung of a 10-Year-Old Girl

Intravenous therapy with the anti-CD20 antibody Rituximab has been recently approved for the treatment of CD20 positive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in adults but not in children. The authors present the benefits of its application for mediastinal NHL CD 20+ with a local extension into the lung of a 10-year-old-girl. Receiving the chemotherapy according to study NHL-BFM-95 for high-risk lymphoma the girl did not reach complete remission. Before the last chemotherapy block was started, a computed tomography scan of the thorax showed residue in the right lung. Twenty-five days after the last chemotherapy she received Rituximab at a dose of 375 mg/m 2 by intravenous infusion once a week for a total of four doses without the adverse reactions. Complete remission was achieved. The patient was high risk with lung involvement of lymphoma suggesting a pure prognosis. The results suggest that Rituximab may improve the outcome in high-risk patients and appeared to be safe and effective in children also.     

Efficacy of compression gloves in rheumatoid arthritis

Twenty-three patients with rheumatoid arthritis whose disease had become stabilized while receiving non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs and/or gold salt injections entered an 8 week crossover study in which the effect of a compression glove worn during sleep was compared to a loosely fitting glove made of the same material. Improvement in hand symptoms was greater with the compression glove than with the control glove as regards morning stiffness, pain, night time throbbing, numbness or heaviness and a subjective assessment of swelling (p = 0.01). In addition, swelling of the proximal interphalangeal joints was slightly reduced (p = 0.05). These data suggest that the night time use of compression gloves in patients with rheumatoid arthritis can improve hand symptoms and exert a mild, transiently beneficial effect upon the degree of hand swelling.