The effect of sequential administration of octreotide alone and octreotide/growth hormone simultaneously on buserelin stimulated ovarian steroid secretion in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

The site of S1-S2 root activation following percutaneous high-voltage electrical (ES) and magnetic stimulation were located by analyzing the variations of the time interval from M to H soleus responses elicited by moving the stimulus point from lumbar to low thoracic levels. ES was effective in activating S1-S2 roots at their origin. However supramaximal motor root stimulation required a dorsoventral montage, the anode being a large, circular surface electrode placed ventrally, midline between the apex of the xiphoid process and the umbilicus. Responses to magnetic stimuli always resulted from the activation of a fraction of the fiber pool, sometimes limited to the low-thresholds afferent component, near its exit from the intervertebral foramina, or even more distally. Normal values for conduction velocity in motor and 1a afferent fibers in the proximal nerve tract are provided.     

The use of monoclonal antibodies for detecting the influenza virus

The possibilities of using influenza A (Leningrad) 385/80 (H3N2) virus matrix protein-specific FITC-labeled D8 monoclonal antibodies in immunofluorescence assays were investigated. The virus antigen accumulation was detected in chorioallantoic cells of chick embryos. Exhibiting the type-specific properties, the fluorescent antibodies stain the perinuclear space, cytoplasmic membrane, and granular structures in the cytoplasm of infected cells. The haemagglutination test tires in the corresponding specimens were at least 1:16.     

Place of laparoscopic surgery in Crohn''s disease

PURPOSE: We describe our therapeutic strategy and correlate the anatomic results and clinical outcomes in patients who received immediate fibrinolytic therapy for thromboembolic complications occurring during endovascular treatment of an intracerebral aneurysm. METHODS: The medical records and angiographic examinations of 19 patients were reviewed. All endovascular procedures were performed with the patients under general anesthesia and fully heparinized. Thirteen patients received an intravenous bolus injection of aspirin. Thromboemboli occurred during catheterization or insertion of embolic material (Guglielmi detachable coils or mechanical detachable spirals) or in the first hours after the intervention. Clot distribution was within the MCA territory in 14 patients, the ACA in three patients, and the basilar trunk in two patients. A continuous intraarterial injection of urokinase was administered immediately, either superselectively distal to the thrombus or selectively within or closely proximal to the thrombus. In nine cases, chemical lysis was combined with mechanical clot fragmentation. Initial anatomic recanalization as well as clinical outcome at 3 months were evaluated. RESULTS: Ten patients showed complete recanalization and nine patients showed partial recanalization. Fourteen patients had a good clinical recovery. One patient was moderately disabled and two were severely disabled according to their scores on the Glasgow outcome scale. Two patients died, one as a consequence of the preexisting subarachnoid hemorrhage and the other because of a large intracerebral hematoma that developed after fibrinolysis. Of the 14 patients with a good clinical outcome, nine exhibited complete recanalization and five partial recanalization. CONCLUSION: Pharmacological thrombolysis seems to be a safe and efficient therapy that facilitates the natural fibrinolytic process, increasing the rate of recanalization in thromboembolic events. Clot fragmentation and superselective drug infusion appear to improve the rate of recanalization. Complete recanalization increases the chance of a better clinical outcome; however, clinical outcome does not always correspond to recanalization and vice versa.     

Nutrient utilization by sheep and performance and carcass characteristics of steers fed crab waste-straw silage

Exacerbations of asthma have been associated with exposure to ozone or particles with a 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter of 10 microm (PM10). We postulated in this study that the association of summertime air pollution (i.e. ozone and PM10) with acute respiratory symptoms, medication use and peak expiratory flow differs among patients grouped according to asthma severity. During the summer of 1995, effects of ambient air pollution on these parameters were studied in a panel of 60 nonsmoking patients with intermittent to severe persistent asthma. These patients were recruited from our Pulmonary Out-patient Clinic. Subgroup analysis was performed on the degree of hyperresponsiveness and lung steroid use before the start of the study, as indictors for the severity of asthma. Associations of the parameters studied with ozone, PM10, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and black smoke were evaluated using time series analysis. Several episodes with increased summertime air pollution occurred during the 96 day study period. Eight hour average ozone concentrations exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines (120 microg x m(-3)) on 16 occasions. Daily mean levels of PM10 were moderately elevated (range 16-98 microg x m(-3)). Levels of the other measured pollutants were low. There was a consistent, positive association of the prevalence of shortness of breath (maximal relative risk (RRmax) 1.18) with ozone, PM10, black smoke and NO2. In addition, bronchodilator use was associated with both ozone and PM10 levels (RRmax 1.16). Stratification by airway hyperresponsiveness and steroid use did not affect the magnitude of the observed associations. No associations with peak expiratory flow measurements were found. We conclude that the severity of asthma is not an indicator for the sensitivity to air pollution.     

Conjunctival nevi in Denmark 1960-1980. A 21-year follow-up

The clinicopathological characteristics of 343 naevi of the conjunctiva were studied. A significant increase in the number of naevi excised per year was observed. This may have been caused by an increased exposure to actinic rays. An approximately even distribution was found between the three main locations: caruncle, limbal area and eye ball. Intrastromal naevi were excised at a higher median age than compound naevi, and the lowest median age at excision was for junction naevi, which is in accordance with the known histopathological nature of naevi. Recurrence occurred in nine patients (2.7%), and one had transformed into a malignant melanoma. Eight of the recurring naevi were located in the limbal area. Eight of the nine patients were women, suggesting hormonal factors as a possible cause. Recommendations for the handling of conjunctival naevi are given, based on the present findings and on previous reports.     

The correlation of the vasopressin- and oxytocin-producing activities of different nuclei in the hypothalamo-hypophyseal neurosecretory system]

Radioiodine long has proven to be a safe and effective treatment for thyroid disease. Nonetheless, persisting concerns regarding radiogenic stochastic risks (e.g., carcinogenesis) to patients, their families, and the general public have led regulators to establish criteria for release of 131I-containing patients from medical confinement, with limits ranging from as low as 2 mCi in some parts of Europe to as high as 30 mCi in the United States. To optimize clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of 131I therapy, such regulations should be based on logical dosimetric considerations. The thyroidal absorbed dose, proportional to maximum uptake and effective half-life and inversely proportional to mass, is typically approximately 1,500 rad/mCi of 131I administered to a euthyroid adult (based on a thyroid maximum uptake of 25%, effective half-life equivalent to the physical half-life of 131I (8.04 days), and mass of 20 g). As thyroid uptake increases from 0% to 100%, extrathyroidal absorbed doses range from a minimum of 0.15 to 0.5 rad/mCi for breast and gonads to a maximum of 1.5 to 2 rad/mCi for stomach and salivary glands; the absorbed doses of the urinary bladder wall, in contrast, decrease with increasing thyroid uptake, from 2 to 0.6 rad/mCi. In hyperthyroid patients (approximately 15%) with a small iodine pool (so-called small patients), the short effective half-life of radioiodine in the thyroid and high serum concentrations of long-lived protein-bound 131I result in a standard 7,000-rad absorbed dose for treatment of Graves' disease requiring an administered activity of 28 mCi of 131I and yielding a prohibitively high blood absorbed dose of 150 rad. Importantly, once the fetal thyroid begins to function and accumulate radioiodine at a gestational age of 10-12 weeks, fetal thyroid absorbed doses as large as 5,000 rad/mCi of 131I administered to the mother can result. Thus, pregnancy is an absolute contraindication to administration of 131I because of the risk of radiogenic cretinism. Based on actual measurements of thyroid activity and of external absorbed dose, the total thyroid and mean extrathyroidal absorbed doses to adult family members from immediately released 131I-treated patients are approximately 0.01 and approximately 0.02 rad/mCi administered, respectively, yielding an effective dose of approximately 0.02 rem/mCi. A maximum permissible effective dose of 0.5 rem for adults therefore is consistent with a release criterion of 30 mCi of retained 131I. Lower-activity release criteria therefore may be unnecessarily restrictive.     

Prevalence and risk factors for diabetic retinopathy among Omani diabetics

To determine the minimal contrast dosage required for diagnostic contrast-enhanced three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) image quality of the pulmonary (PAs) or renal arteries (RAs). In 12 volunteers (10 females, 2 males; mean age 24 years) imaging was performed with 4 different dosages: 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 mmol/kg of body weight (BW) 0.5 M gadolinium (Gd) contrast agent. The PAs and RAs were evaluated separately each in groups of six volunteers. Qualitative and quantitative signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) image analysis was performed. For the PAs, the increases in signal-to-noise ratio were paralleled by increases in image quality ratings. For the PAs, with the use of 0.05 mmol/kg, only 50.3% of all segments were rated diagnostic, whereas with higher dosages the percentage rose to 89.2% for 0.1 mmol/kg, 98.2% for 0.2 mmol/kg. and 99.1% for 0.3 mmol/kg. For the RAs, 0.3 mmol/kg provided no significant increase in singal-to-noise ratio compared to 0.2 mmol/kg (p = 0.4). Only by a dosage of 0.2 and 0.3 mmol/kg, all evaluated segments were diagnostic evaluable. A dose of 0.2 mmol/kg is required for proper assessment of the RAs or PAs.     

Dynamics of the marital structure with respect to the nationality and birthplace of spouses in a modern urbanized Siberian population (as exemplified by Tomsk)

To analyze a population's marital structure with respect to the ethnicity and birthplace of the spouses and to estimate the indices of endogamy, migration, and marriage assortativeness, the records of marriages in Tomsk during two periods of time (1970-1972 and 1985-1990) were studied. The parameters of the population-genetic and demographic structure proved to change during the studied period: the endogamy index and the indices of marriage assortativeness increased, and the migration index decreased. These data suggest that the genetic structure of the Tomsk urbanized population stabilized with time and that the intrapopulation subdivision decreased (a tendency for panmixia).     

Iatrogenic posterior tibial nerve division during ankle arthroscopy

AIM: To evaluate the validity of cumulative rim/disc area (RA/DA) curve analysis as a clinical tool for the identification of glaucoma induced optic disc pathology. METHODS: 71 normal and 83 glaucomatous eyes were evaluated from a series of 154 subjects recruited for this study. For each eye, the cumulative distribution of RA/DA was calculated from 36 equally spaced rim sectors of each optic disc obtained by the automatic evaluation of simultaneous videographics (Image-net X Rev.3/51b). To increase the sensitivity of this analysis in early glaucoma and in normal eyes, these cumulative curves were subsequently divided into two equal segments and the slopes of their respective regression lines compared. RESULTS: The median RA/DA value obtained from the 36 sectors was significantly different in glaucomatous eyes compared with normals (p < 0.001). Nevertheless, the curves (5th-95th percentile of the cumulative curves distribution) of early glaucomatous eyes fell within the normal range. When the cumulative curve of these marginal cases was then divided into two equal segments, the comparison of the slopes of the regression lines showed a significant difference (p < 0.05) in 100% of early glaucomatous eyes. Furthermore, normal eyes were shown to be true negatives in 93% of the cases in which no significant difference between the two slopes was observed. CONCLUSION: Analysis of the RA/DA cumulative curve from 36 sectors of the optic disc was a valid method for the identification of glaucomatous disc pathology; however, a further calculation of the slopes of the two RA/DA regression lines was needed to identify early glaucomatous damage.