Objective And Importance: This case report illustrates the importance of obtaining tissue from a destructive lesion of the dens in a patient with systemic sarcoidosis. Although sarcoidosis can involve the axial skeleton, tissue obtained at the time of C1-C2 fusion demonstrated unsuspected pathological features, which dramatically altered the subsequent medical treatment. The technique of open posterior biopsy of the dens is illustrated, and the advantages of the approach are discussed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSubacute posttraumatic ascending myelopathy is a rare disorder, unrelated to syrinx formation or mechanical instability, that may gradually emerge within the first 1 to 2 weeks after a spinal cord injury. The authors describe three patients with this syndrome and discuss its possible causes as well as its clinical presentation, imaging characteristics, treatment, and patient prognosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Biotechnol
November 1999
Production of foreign proteins in the tissues of transgenic animals represents an efficient and economical method of producing therapeutic and pharmaceutical proteins. In this study, we demonstrate that the mouse P12 gene promoter specific to the male accessory sex gland can be used to generate transgenic mice that express human growth hormone (hGH) in their seminal vesicle epithelium. The hGH is secreted into the ejaculated seminal fluids with the seminal vesicle lumen contents containing concentrations of up to 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe model carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4-NQO) has historically been characterized as "UV-mimetic" with respect to its genotoxic properties. However, recent evidence indicates that 4-NQO, unlike 254-nm UV light, may exert significant cytotoxic and/or mutagenic potential via the generation of reactive oxygen species. To elucidate the response of eukaryotic cells to 4-NQO-induced oxidative stress, we isolated Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants exhibiting hypersensitivity to the cytotoxic effects of this mutagen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Pain Symptom Manage
February 1996
The present study explored the effect of positive intrasurgical suggestion during the anesthetic state on postsurgical pain. One-half of the patients who were undergoing elective cholecystectomy or hysterectomy received strong positive intrasurgical suggestion directed specifically towards reducing pain. The control patients received information about pain without suggestion content.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to determine whether women in labor report less pain when they are in a vertical (sitting or standing) position than in a horizontal (side-lying or supine) position. Pain scores were obtained from 60 women in early labor (dilation 2-5 cm) who alternated between the two positions. The results show that about 35% of women feel less front pain and 50% feel less back pain when they are in a vertical position than in a horizontal position.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPain during first-trimester abortion by suction-curettage under local anesthesia alone was measured with the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), and verbal and visual analogue scales in 109 women. The average intensity of abortion pain ranked among moderately intense pain recorded with the MPQ. However, the pain scores had a wide range and appeared influenced by several demographic, psychosocial and medical variables.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLow-back pain is a major component of labour pain in a substantial number of women. The purpose of this study was to determine whether episodes of acute low-back pain prior to pregnancy is a predictor of low-back pain during labour. 114 women received the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) during labour and were asked to describe the pain separately for front and back contraction pain or continuous pain.
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