Intracranial arterial vasospasm associated with pituitary apoplexy after head trauma--case report.

A case of intracranial arterial vasospasm caused by pituitary apoplexy after head trauma is reported. In this case, pituitary apoplexy was secondary to head trauma, and the vasospasm was thought to be due to subarachnoid hemorrhage from a pituitary tumor. No such case has previously been reported in the literature.     

Excessive rapid palatal expansion with Latham appliance for distal repositioning of protruded premaxilla in bilateral cleft lip and alveolus.

OBJECTIVE: This article reports a case of bilateral cleft lip and alveolus (BCLA) for which excessive rapid palatal expansion with a Latham appliance was performed for preoperative alignment of the protruded premaxilla. Postoperative changes of maxillary width were investigated with serial plaster casts. PATIENT AND RESULTS: A 3-month-old girl presented with complete BCLA in which the premaxilla was markedly protruded. Preoperative alignment of the protruded premaxilla with a Latham appliance was planned to facilitate primary lip repair. The appliance was placed when the patient was 4.5 months old. The necessary palatal expansion was estimated to be 7.0 mm in order to move the premaxilla backward into the ideal position. After palatal expansion and posterior repositioning of the protruded premaxilla, the primary operation, including cheiloplasty and gingivoperiosteoplasty, was performed when the patient was 7 months old. Excessive maxillary expansion might be a cause of transverse maxillomandibular discrepancy. Measurement with serial plaster casts demonstrated that maxillary widths increased from 42.3 mm pretreatment to 49.0 mm after orthopedic treatment but relapsed markedly to 43.5 mm at 3 months after the primary operation. Therefore, the net change of maxillary widths was only 1.2 mm. After alignment of the protruded premaxilla, tension-free soft tissue repairs were performed, and a harmonious alveolar arch was obtained without change in maxillary width. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that this method is useful for preoperative management of BCLA with protruded premaxilla.     

Inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone in isolated adrenocorticotropin deficiency.

A 62-year-old man was admitted because of nausea and vomiting. Severe hyponatremia with renal sodium loss was found. Endocrinological studies revealed that the patient had isolated adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) deficiency and secondary adrenocortical insufficiency. Furthermore, an inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) in relation to the low plasma osmolality was observed at an early stage of hyponatremia. Hydrocortisone therapy effectively corrected his hyponatremia. Following the correction of hyponatremia, the value of free water clearance increased and the level of the plasma ADH decreased. Thus, the present case indicates that ACTH deficiency can cause the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of ADH.     

Pseudo-adrenal incidentaloma: magnetic resonance imaging in a patient with para-adrenal Castleman's disease.

We report a case of para-adrenal angiofollicular lymph node hyperplasia (Castleman's disease) of the hyaline-vascular type. The mass could not be differentiated from an adrenal tumor by ultrasonography and computed axial tomography (CT). However, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suggested the possibility of an extra-adrenal origin of the mass. The intensity of the mass by MRI was homogeneous and of a higher intensity in the T2-weighted image than in the T1-weighted image, a finding similar to lymphadenopathy, lymphatic tumorous mass or metastatic tumor of the lymph node. Ultrasonography, CT and MRI may not be useful in characterizing Castleman's disease, but MRI was useful to distinguish asymptomatic para-adrenal masses from those of adrenal origin.     

Measurement of free and total hydroxyproline by automated flow injection of serum or urine samples from maintenance hemodialysis patients with renal osteodystrophy

An automated measurement of total and free hydroxyproline in serum or urine is presented that uses flow injection analysis. After exclusion of nonspecific substances, hydroxyproline was oxidized by chloramine- T and L-cysteine with Ehrlich's reagent. The linearity obtained was from 3.8μmole/ L to 1.22 mmole/L with good precision (CV <3%). Comparison of the proposed method with HPLC yielded r = 0.939 as the correlation coefficient. Reference intervals of free and total hydroxyproline are 1.4–9.7 μmole/L, 3.8–27.2 μmole/L for serum, and 10.0–72.5 μmole/L, 25.2–303.6 μmole/L for urine, respectively. Serum free and total hydroxyproline levels in renal osteodystrophy patients on maintenance hemodialysis (N = 71) were significantly higher than in controls (P<0.0001). This method is superior to the use of HPLC with regard to stability of the color reaction. The measurement of serum free and total hydroxyproline is a useful marker for therapeutic observation of renal osteodystrophy patients. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

A case-control study of breast cancer among Japanese women: with special reference to family history and reproductive and dietary factors

Summary To study the effects of family history and reproductive, anthropometric, and dietary factors on the risk of breast cancer among low risk populations, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study involving 908 patients with breast cancer and their matched controls, in Japan. A positive family history of breast cancer significantly increased the risk of breast cancer (odds ratio = 1.52, 95% confidence interval: 1.14–2.03). The risk further increased with increasing number of family members affected. Obesity, single marital status, fewer births, a late childbirth, and less consumption of green-yellow vegetables and dairy products were also associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. These associations were independent in multivariate analyses. There was no increase in risk associated with consumption of high fat foods. When analyzed by menopausal status, the association with family history of breast cancer, especially in the first degree of relatives, was more evident for premenopausal breast cancer. The associations with obesity and lower consumption of dairy products were more pronounced for postmenopausal breast cancer, while those with lower parity and single marital status were stronger for premenopausal breast cancer.     

Covalent binding of rofecoxib, but not other cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, to allysine aldehyde in elastin of human aorta.

In rats, it has been reported that rofecoxib, a cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, reacts with the aldehyde group of allysine in elastin to give a condensation covalent adduct, thereby preventing the formation of cross-linkages in the elastin and causing degradation of the elastic fibers in aortas in vivo. Acid, organic solvent, and proteolytic enzyme treatments of human aortic homogenate after incubation with [(14)C]rofecoxib demonstrated that most of the radioactivity is covalently bound to elastin. The in vitro covalent binding was inhibited in the presence of beta-aminopropionitrile, D-penicillamine, and hydralazine, which suggested that the aldehyde group of allysine in human elastin was relevant to the covalent binding. The in vitro covalent binding of [(14)C]rofecoxib was significantly decreased by the addition of only nonradiolabeled rofecoxib but not the other COX-2 inhibitors, celecoxib, valdecoxib, etoricoxib, and CS-706 [2-(4-ethoxyphenyl)-4-methyl 1-(4-sulfamoylphenyl)-1H-pyrrole], a novel selective COX-2 inhibitor. All the above COX-2 inhibitors except for rofecoxib had no reactivity with the aldehyde group of benzaldehyde used as a model compound of allysine aldehyde under a physiological pH condition. On the other hand, no retention of the radioactivity of [(14)C]rofecoxib was observed in human aortic endothelial cells in vitro, suggesting that rofecoxib is not retained in aortic endothelial cells in vivo. These results suggest that rofecoxib, but not other COX-2 inhibitors, is capable of covalently binding to the aldehyde group of allysine in human elastin. This might be one of the main causes of cardiovascular events by rofecoxib in clinical situations.     

Epicardial radiofrequency ablation for chronic atrial fibrillation undergoing simultaneous on-pump beating coronary artery bypass grafting

Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting has become an attractive surgical alternative for myocar-dial revascularization because of the advantage of myocardial protection and other benefits of patients. However, it is still regarded as a controversial treatment for the coronary artery disease accompanied by atrial fibrillation (AF). A significant number of patients in need of coronary revascularization have chronic AF. Although the Cox-Maze III procedure is the gold standard for the surgical treatment of AF, few of these patients undergo AF operations at the time of their coronary bypass grafting. We report herein a case of the pulmonary vein isolation to eliminate the AF by means of epicardial radiofrequency ablation combined with 2 vessels coronary artery bypass grafting on the beating heart with the aid of cardiopulmonary bypass.