Clinical experience with the percutaneous hemopump during high-risk coronary angioplasty

The percutaneous Hemopump showed beneficial effects during coronary angioplasty in 32 high-risk patients with unloading of the left ventricle during ischemia and maintaining cardiac output with mean aortic pressures of 50 mm Hg in case of cardiac arrest (3 patients). High procedure-related morbidity (occlusion of femoral artery in 2 patients; bleeding with need of transfusion in 4 patients) and mortality (4 of 32 patients) rates demonstrate the need for a very careful selection of patients.     

Differentiation of recent and old cerebral infarcts by diffusion-weighted MRI

We performed MRI, including diffusion-weighted imaging, in 15 patients with recurrent strokes with acute ischaemia and at least one old lesion according to the clinical history and/or CT. Routine MRI showed similar signal intensity changes in both situations. Diffusion-weighted images, however, were positive in all acute or subacute infarcts. The high signal of acutely disturbed diffusion due to intracellular oedema could also be identified in small brain stem lesions. Spatial resolution was increased by applying separate gradients in each axis instead of creating anisotropy-independent trace images.     

Rupture of the flexor tendon of the hand caused by tuberculosis

A 47 years-old man presented an atraumatic, spontaneous index flexor tendons rupture. This patient has been treated two years ago for a pulmonary tuberculosis. At surgery, the flexor tendons were infiltrated by a granuloma. Histologic examination was compatible with tuberculosis sequelae. According to literature review, this is the second reported case of a tendon rupture due to tuberculosis granuloma.     

Retinoid-X receptor signalling in the developing spinal cord

Retinoids regulate gene expression through the action of retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid-X receptors (RXRs), which both belong to the family of nuclear hormone receptors. Retinoids are of fundamental importance during development, but it has been difficult to assess the distribution of ligand-activated receptors in vivo. This is particularly the case for RXR, which is a critical unliganded auxiliary protein for several nuclear receptors, including RAR, but its ligand-activated role in vivo remains uncertain. Here we describe an assay in transgenic mice, based on the expression of an effector fusion protein linking the ligand-binding domain of either RXR or RAR to the yeast Gal4 DNA-binding domain, and the in situ detection of ligand-activated effector proteins by using an inducible transgenic lacZ reporter gene. We detect receptor activation in the spinal cord in a pattern that indicates that the receptor functions in the maturation of limb-innervating motor neurons. Our results reveal a specific activation pattern of Gal4-RXR which indicates that RXR is a critical bona fide receptor in the developing spinal cord.     

Prognostic significance of supraclavicular lymph nodes in small cell lung cancer: a study from four consecutive clinical trials, including 1,370 patients. "Petites Cellules" Group

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the prognostic significance of supraclavicular lymph node (SCLN) involvement in small cell lung cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients (1,370) with small cell lung cancer were included in four consecutive clinical trials and classified as having either limited or extensive forms of disease using the Veterans Administration staging system. RESULTS: SCLN was present in 17% of patients (n = 234). Median survival was 258 days for patients with SCLN (n = 234) and 297 days for patients without SCLN (n = 1136) (p = 0.002). SCLN involvement was correlated with the presence of distant metastases at baseline (169 vs 65, p = < 0.001). Median survival was 375 days for patients with limited forms without SCLN (n = 529), 332 days for those with limited forms with SCLN (n = 65) (p = 0.12), 244 days for those with extensive forms without SCLN (n = 604), and 228 days for those with extensive forms with SCLN (n = 169) (p = 0.94). The 2-year survival rates were 17%, 12%, 2%, and 4%, respectively. Cox models confirmed that SCLN did not provide any significant additional prognostic information. CONCLUSION: SCLN is highly correlated with extensive forms explaining its overall prognostic value. In limited disease, SCLN is only a minor poor prognostic factor, not justifying any amendment to the staging system currently used.     

Optimizing sampling strategies for estimating quality-adjusted life years

Ovarian organ culture was used to study the influence of various gonadotropin hormones (100 ng FSH, 100 ng LH, 100 ng LH added together with 100 ng FSH; 1 i.u. hCG or 10 i.u. PMSG) on growth and development of follicles as well as on steroid secretion by ovaries of postnatal, 15-day-old mice. Ovaries were aseptically removed and single organs were placed on a piece of lens paper which was supported by a stainless steel grid in the small organ culture dish. The cultures were maintained in medium M199 supplemented with 5% of calf serum in a CO2 incubator at 37 degrees C. The morphological changes and steroid secretion measured by appropriate RIAs were studied. The stages of follicular development and the incidence of particular types of follicles were scored. Progesterone and estradiol were detected in the medium by radioimmunoassay. Differences between control and gonadotropin stimulated ovaries were found in the number of the ovarian follicles in more advanced maturation stages. There was increased number of multilaminar and antral follicles in FSH and FSH plus LH treated cells. The adding of gonadotropin hormones to the culture medium stimulated significantly progesterone secretion. The most significant effect was observed in media of cultures treated with LH and hCG. As to estradiol secretion the highest stimulatory effect was seen in cultures supplemented with FSH alone, together with LH and with PMSG. The organ culture technique applied in the current study could be a suitable model of studying the interaction of various factors as well as its effect on ovarian differentiation and on selection of dominant follicles. This system allows maintaining the structural integrity of the whole ovary, thus in the physiological functional status of the organ.     

A voitenko compressor for subsonic loading rates

Results are presented of experimental and theoretical investigations and the possibility is shown of producing a laboratory source of a dense low-temperature plasma.Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 670–675, April, 1985.     

Septic thrombosis of the basilic, axillary, and subclavian veins caused by a peripherally inserted central venous catheter

The purpose of this study was to determine if ultrasonographic measurement of multiple cross-sectional areas combined with linear dimensions of the bladder could be used as a method of estimating bladder volume in the dog, and, if so, to compare the accuracy of this estimation with that described previously using linear measurements alone. Fifty-two live dogs undergoing investigation for urological disease and 37 fresh canine cadavers were used for bladder volume determination. Maximal length, depth, width, and area were measured from the maximal longitudinal and transverse sonograms in each living animal. In cadavers, the cross-sectional area of the longitudinal section of the bladder was measured at one centimeter intervals, and the measurements were summed. Based on sequential partial regression analysis, the cross-sectional area of the longitudinal section of the bladder and length were the best predictors of actual bladder volume in living animals. However, based on the cadaver experiment, the best predictor of actual bladder volume was summed parasagittal area alone, and, in cadavers, this was a much better predictor of actual bladder volume than the combination of the cross-sectional area of the longitudinal section of the bladder and length. The formula derived in living dogs using the cross-sectional area of the longitudinal section of the bladder and length gave a less accurate estimation of bladder volume than a previously published formula where only linear measurements were used.