Diaphragmatic injuries in thoracoabdominal trauma

In closed thoracoabdominal trauma the diagnosis rupture of the diaphragm is usually made in 5 per cent of the casualties. Over a 12-year period (1985 through 1996), in the Pirogov Institute are admitted 3018 cases presenting polytrauma. Among the contingent of closed thoracoabdominal trauma lesions to the diaphragm are registered in 151 cases, and among those with open injuries--in 21 cases. There are 71 closed injuries in PTP, and 80 closed thoracoabdominal injuries caused by high falls. Open injuries associated with lesion to the diaphragm are due to gunshot wounds in two cases, and inflicted by knife and other pointed objects in nineteen. In closed trauma there is 2:1 male-to-female ratio, and in open injuries--5:1.     

Diaphragmatic fatigue following voluntary hyperpnea

A significant relationship between sex ratio and litter size at birth was observed in the young of guinea-pigs caged singly from 8 weeks of age and during their first pregnancy; a male was present only at or around oestrus. Small litters (1-2 young) had significantly more males than did large litters (4-5 young). Such a relationship was not apparent in animals housed communally, whether young or older or in their second pregnancy. Litters in late pregnancy (day 63) or at delivery were significantly smaller than at mid-pregnancy (day 35). A significant negative relationship was found between litter size and bodymass at birth and to at least 63 days of age. Growth rates during the period of lactation were lower in animals born in large litters. The possible adaptive significance of a plastic relationship between litter size and sex ratio is considered together with the physiological mechanism that might be involved.     

Diaphragmatic lipid peroxidation in chronically loaded rats

Since the functional outcome of effector T lymphocytes depends on a balance between activatory and inhibitory receptors, we studied the ability of CTLA-4 (CD152) to inhibit the cytolytic function of CTL. In 22 TCR alpha/beta+ CD3+ 8+ CTL clones, activation induced by anti-CD3, anti-CD28, or anti-CD2 mAb was inhibited by anti-CD152 mAb in a redirected killing assay. In eight clones inhibition was >40%, in 10 it ranged between 20-40%, and in four it was <20%. This suggests the existence of a clonal heterogeneity as well as for the ability of CTLA-4 to inhibit CD3/TCR-, CD28-, or CD2-mediated CTL activation. To support further this contention, we used an experimental model based upon Ag-specific CTL. Eight Ag-specific T cell clones that lyse autologous EBV-infected B lymphocytes, but are unable to lyse allogeneic EBV-infected B cell lines, were used in a cytolytic assay in which anti-CD152 mAb or soluble recombinant receptor (i.e., CTLA-4 Ig) were included. In this system, at variance from the redirected killing assay, cross-linking of surface molecules by mAb does not occur. Thus, addition of anti-CD152 mAb or of CTLA-4 Ig and anti-CD80/CD86 mAb to the assay should result in a blockade of receptor/ligand interactions. As a consequence, inhibition of a negative signal, such as that delivered via CD152, should enhance lysis. A >40% increment of target cell lysis was achieved in three of eight clones studied. Since it is not equally shared by all CTL clones, this feature also appears to be clonally distributed.     

Diaphragmatic dysfunction after heart or lung transplantation

The research presented here investigated platelet activation in cyanotic and acyanotic congenital heart diseases (CHD). Children with cyanotic CHD are prone to both thrombosis and hemorrhage. However, patients with acyanotic CHD may also have a mild bleeding disorder. The platelet activation in CHD was investigated in support of a hypothesis that platelet activation may play a role in the hemostatic abnormalities reported in these patients. Platelet activation was determined by using flow cytometry with anti-CD62 monoclonal antibody (mAb), which has been shown to be a specific marker of platelet activation. Thirteen children with cyanotic CHD, 33 children with acyanotic CHD and 17 healthy children serving as controls were studied. Platelet activation was significantly higher in the cyanotic group and also in the acyanotic group compared with the healthy children (P = 0.0000 and P = 0.019, respectively). In the cyanotic group, platelet activation showed a direct correlation with arterial O2 saturation (SaO2) (P = 0.014). There was no correlation between platelet activation and erythrocyte related parameters in either group. Platelet activation occurs in CHD, particularly in patients with cyanotic CHD (even in patients with no evidence of clinical thrombosis) and it may play a role in the pathogenesis of thrombotic disorders seen in these patients.     

Idiopathic facial paralysis

Although acute idiopathic facial paresis is often labelled "Bell's palsy", historical studies show that Nicolaus Anton Friedreich (1761-1836) from Würzburg was the first physician to describe the typical symptoms of the disorder in 1797, approximately 24 years prior to the paper published by Sir Charles Bell. Diagnostics has now improved to the extent that acute idiopathic facial palsy can more frequently be assigned to etiologies caused by inflammatory disorders. Herpes simplex virus type I and Borrelia burgdorferi are particularly relevant. Underestimation of the degree of paresis is, particularly in children, a drawback of the clinical examination. "Incomplete eyelid closure" is not a reliable indicator of remaining nerve function. For this reason complete electromyography (EMG) is recommended in all cases of severe facial paresis. Since electroneurography does not reliably reflect the degree of denervation present, needle EMG is preferred. The therapy of the facial palsy of unclear etiology is still not well defined. Nevertheless, we recommend that a combined treatment should be used early, at least in patients with disfiguring pareses. Combinations may consist of cortisone, virostatic agents and hemorrheologic substances and possibly antibiotics. Surgical decompression of the facial nerve remains controversial, since positive surgical results lack statistical support. Individual instructions for facial exercises, massage and muscle relaxation can support rehabilitation and possibly reduce the production of pathological synkinesia. Electrical stimulation should not be used. There are a number of possibilities available to reduce the effects of misdirected reinnervation, especially the use of botulinum-A-toxin. However, intensive diagnosis and therapy in the early phase of paresis are decisive in obtaining a favorable outcome. Further refinements in rehabilitation and comparative multicenter controlled studies are still required for future improvements in affected patients.     

Thyroid hypokalemic periodic paralysis

An unusual presentation of thyrotoxicosis resulting in hypokalemic periodic paralysis is reported here. The patients with this disorder have very low serum potassium levels during the active phase of the disease. Very often, several months pass before the diagnosis is made. Once recognized and the thyrotoxicosis is treated, the patient does well.     

Transtympanic facial nerve paralysis

In order to ascertain the immediate histopathological changes of rat brain following experimental surgical injury, fragments of left parietal cortex were obtained through craniotomy and fixed by immersion. Next, the animals were killed by perfusion with the same fixative used for the respective biopsy. Five groups of rats were tested, each for one different fixative. Dark neurons were by far the most prominent feature in surgically traumatized tissue, following both immersion and perfusion with all five fluids. They were morphologically identical at both sites, and fixatives with widely different chemical composition, e.g. Bouin's fluid and buffered glutaraldehyde, had no influence on their aspect. It is suggested that shrunken neurons are not to be interpreted systematically as artefacts, but also represent a form of short-latency cellular reaction to injury.     

Peripheral facial paralysis: diagnosis

A radioimmunoassay procedure for human chorionic somatomammotrophin in indiluted plasma has been developed in which the incubation lasts only five minutes rather than one half hour to four days in the previously described methods. The values obtained had excellent correlation (p less than or equal to 0,001) with those obtained by a two-hours technique. The intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation are respectively 7 percent and 11 percent. Twenty women at term showed human chorionic somatomammotrophin values of 7.5 +/- 2.5 mug/ml plasma (mean +/- SD).