Treatment of strabismus and nystagmus with botulinum toxin type A. An evaluation of effects and complications

PURPOSE: Injection of botulinum toxin type A into eye muscles leads to a temporary paralysis and the effects have been evaluated in strabismus or nystagmus. METHOD: A total of 112 patients with different types of concomitant and paralytic strabismus and acquired nystagmus were treated with botulinum toxin, according to well-established indications. RESULTS: The lasting effects of the injections on strabismic angle were largest in esotropia, consecutive exotropia and abducens palsy, and amounted to, on an average, 12 prism diopters or 6 degrees. The larger the strabismus the better was the effect. Repeated injections reduced the angle further. In complex nystagmus forms retrobulbar injections could be used. The side effects were mostly due to spread of botulinum toxin to the levator, producing ptosis (8%), or the inferior rectus muscle, causing vertical strabismus (10%). On an average 42% of the patients were later operated for strabismus and nystagmus. CONCLUSION: Injection of botulinum toxin A into eye muscles is a valuable adjunct to surgery in the treatment of strabismus and nystagmus.     

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.     

Structure and function of hepatocyte lysosomes and peroxisomes of rachitic rats

The submicroscopic organization and activity of acid phosphatase and catalase in lysosomes and peroxisomes of the rat hepatocytes were studied with experimental rachitis. It is determined that total and free activity of acid phosphatase in the liver tissue and certain lysosomes with rachitis increases whereas the catalase activity in the tissue and certain peroxisomes decreases. Permeability of the lysosome and peroxisome membranes rises for enzymes and cations. The process of peroxisome differentiation with rachitis is disturbed: there appear peroxisomes containing the marginal plates, that is not peculiar to the redont peroxisomes.     

Regional blood redistribution following blood loss in unanesthetized rats

The authors describe relative changes in the blood filling of 46 vascular areas of the body in rats after a moderate and severe blood loss. Moderate blood loss caused redistribution of the blood from the skin of the chest and from the skin of the posterior limbs, the majority of the abdominal and pelvis minor organs, muscular and bone tissues of the abdomen, pelvis minor and extremities into the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, stomach and into the muscles of the head and neck. In severe blood loss the changes were analogous, but the blood content in the kidneys and the stomach decreased, and there was also a relative elevation of the blood in the muscles and bones of the chest. The intensity of the redistributive reaction in severe blood loss was less than in moderate blood loss.     

Distribution of CD4+ T-lymphocytes levels in patients with clinical symptoms of AIDS in three west African countries

The characteristics of airway responsiveness to acetylcholine (ACh) in congenitally bronchial-hypersensitive (BHS) and bronchial-hyposensitive (BHR) guinea pigs were clarified in vivo and in vitro. We measured the change in ventilatory mechanics in response to ACh inhalation by means of the bodyplethysmograph and the contractile responses of isolated trachea to ACh and carbachol (CCh). Further, muscarinic receptor subtypes involved these responses were identified. The basal values for ventilatory mechanics in BHS were not significantly different from those in BHR. Respiratory resistance to ACh was progressively increased in a time- and dose-dependent manner in BHS. The contractile responses of tracheal smooth muscle to ACh in BHS were significantly greater than those in BHR, but CCh-induced responses in BHS and BHR were similar. ACh- and CCh-induced contractions were mediated via M3 receptors. These results suggested that the falling-down of BHS in response to ACh inhalation was caused by the strong constriction of the airway and the reduction in ventilation. Moreover, the airway hyperresponsiveness to ACh in BHS might be partly dependent on the change in acetylcholinesterase activity.