[The tethered cord syndrome].

The "tethered cord syndrome" as a complication of spinal dysraphism is probably more important than assumed earlier. An abnormally low position of the conus medullaris is caused by different anomalies: e.g.

[Ostium stenosis of both coronary arteries and latent hypothyroidism as sequelae of radiotherapy in Hodgkin disease].

Premature arteriosclerosis following irradiation is a known experimental and clinical phenomenon. Although the heart was once considered a relatively radioresistant organ, now all components, including the coronary arteries, are recognised as possible targets of radiation injury. We present a 40-year-old women who received extensive neck and thoracic radiation for treatment of Hodgkin's disease.

Spermatogenesis in Hydra oligactis. I. Morphological description and characterization using a monoclonal antibody specific for cells of the spermatogenic pathway.

A morphological description of cells participating in sperm formation in Hydra oligactis males using a maceration procedure is presented. These descriptions are corroborated by the use of a monoclonal antibody, AC2, that binds to both a subpopulation of interstitial cells that appears to participate exclusively in gamete formation, and to all the gamete-differentiation products, including sperm intermediate cells, spermatids, and sperm. Use of the antibody as an interstitial cell marker has allowed an analysis of the behavior of the gamete-precursor (AC2+) subpopulation of interstitial cells during the asexual state and the early stages of gamete formation, when no differentiating sperm intermediates are present.

Growth regulation of the interstitial cell population in hydra. I. Evidence for global control by nerve cells in the head.

The interstitial cells of hydra form a multipotent stem cell system, producing terminally differentiated nerve cells and nematocytes during asexual growth. Under well-fed conditions the interstitial cell population doubles in size every 4 days. We have investigated the possible role of nerve cells in regulating this behavior.

The analysis of glucose kinetics using a single jugular catheter in awake rats.

The rates of glucose production and utilization can be estimated by a primed-constant infusion technique using separate catheters for the infusion of radiolabelled glucose and periodic blood withdrawal. In rats, a carotid artery catheter is most often combined with a jugular or femoral venous catheter in such studies. We presently describe a method which utilizes a single jugular catheter for both infusion and sampling in the awake rat.

A subset of cells in the nerve net of Hydra oligactis defined by a monoclonal antibody: its arrangement and development.

A monoclonal antibody, termed JD1, was generated that bound to a subset of the nerve cells in the hypostome and tentacles of Hydra oligactis. Using a whole-mount technique the spatial pattern of the subset of nerve cells and their processes could be clearly visualized using indirect immunofluorescence. The subset largely corresponds to the epidermal sensory cells.

[Sonographic position and functional diagnosis of ventricular positioned shunt systems in infants with hydrocephalus].

By cranial sonography through the open fontanelles of infants with hydrocephalus a diagnosis of position and function of ventricular shunts is possible. A malposition of the ventricular catheter was diagnosed sonographically in 11 of 55 patients after primary shunting. Complications after shunting as overdrainage or shunt insufficiency could be demonstrated early and reliable.

Diagnosis and therapeutic evaluation of a pediatric case of cardiomyopathy using phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

An 8 month old girl presented with undiagnosed non-anatomic congenital cardiomyopathy with massive cardiomegaly on chest X-ray film. Her older sibling had died suddenly at 6 months of age from what appeared to be a similar abnormality. Utilizing phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance (P-31 NMR) surface coil spectroscopy, a metabolic disorder was demonstrated in both her myocardium and skeletal muscle, revealing a phosphocreatine (PCr) to inorganic phosphate (Pi) ratio of half of that for a normal control infant.

Puberty without gonadotropins. A unique mechanism of sexual development.

Recent evidence suggests that a group of children exists in whom premature sexual maturation occurs in the absence of pubertal levels of gonadotropins; that is, they have gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty. We compared six boys and one girl with this disorder with four boys and five girls with central precocious puberty, in which there is a pubertal pattern of gonadotropin release. The two groups were similar in age of onset, degree of sexual development, growth velocity, and rate of skeletal maturation.

[Spinous process osteomyelitis of the thoracic vertebrae 10 and 11 in a newborn infant].

A case of a newborn with osteomyelitis of the spinous processes 10 and 11 is presented. The first clinical sign was a dorsothoracal abscess. Radiologically a destruction of the 10th, later also the 11th spinous process could be demonstrated.

Formation of pattern in regenerating tissue pieces of Hydra attenuata. III. The shaping of the body column.

Excised pieces of hydra body tissue of varying size and shape regenerate into cylinders with a head and foot at opposite ends. The numbers of cells along the axial and circumferential dimensions were determined before, during, and after regeneration. The main process in shaping the excised tissue into a body column was found to be a rearrangement of the cells.

Interstitial cell migration in Hydra attenuata. II. Selective migration of nerve cell precursors as the basis for position-dependent nerve cell differentiation.

In Hydra, the interstitial cells constitute a multipotent stem cell system, forming nerve cells and nematocytes. Differentiation of these product cells varies in an axially dependent manner along the body column, and either of two simple hypotheses can explain this phenomena: (1) position-dependent stem cell determination or (2) selective migration of committed precursor cells. This latter hypothesis predicts that the migrating interstitial cell population is enriched with cells which are restricted in their proliferation and differentiation potential.

Interstitial cell migration in Hydra attenuata. I. Quantitative description of cell movements.

The interstitial cell system of hydra contains multipotent stem cells which can form at least two classes of differentiated cell types, nerves and nematocytes. The amount of nerve and nematocyte production varies in an axially dependent pattern along the body column. Some interstitial cells can migrate, which makes it conceivable that this observed pattern of differentiation is not the result of regionally specified stem cell commitment, but rather arises by the selective movement of predetermined cells to the correct site prior to expression.

Formation of pattern in regenerating tissue pieces of Hydra attenuata. II. Degree of proportion regulation is less in the hypostome and tentacle zone than in the tentacles and basal disc.

The relative sizes of the various structures in Hydra attenuata were compared over a broad range of animal sizes to determine in detail the ability to regulate proportions during regeneration. The three components of the head, namely hypostome, tentacles, and tentacle zone from which the tentacles emerge, the body column, and the basal disc were all measured separately. Ectodermal cell number was used as the measure of size.

Methimazole pharmacology in man: studies using a newly developed radioimmunoassay for methimazole.

A RIA for the antithyroid drug methimazole [1-methyl-2-mercaptoimidazole (MMI)] has been developed. A MMI derivative, 5-COOH-MMI, was conjugated to porcine thyroglobulin, and antibodies to the conjugate were raised in rabbits. [35S]MMI was used as the tracer.

Head regeneration and polarity reversal inHydra attenuata can occur in the absence of DNA synthesis.

Regeneration in hydra is considered to be morphallactic because it can occur in the absence of cell division. Whether DNA synthesis is required for regeneration or other repatterning events is not known. The question was investigated by blocking DNA synthesis with hydroxyurea and examining several developmental processes.

[The slit ventricle syndrome--causes, differential diagnosis and therapeutic problems].

Shunt dependent patients with clinical signs of shunt malfunction and slit ventricles on computerized tomography could suffer either from low pressure or from a slit-ventricle-syndrome with increased pressure. In such cases we recommend a lumbal punction with pressure monitoring to make the diagnosis certain. In case of increased pressure we firstly inject 0.

[One-time therapy of acute cystitis in women. Comparison between gentamycin and amoxicillin].

In a randomized trial 65 women with symptoms of acute cystitis and significant bacteruria were treated with 120 mg gentamycin intramuscularly or 3 g amoxicillin orally. The patients were selected by excluding those with recurrent infection and involvement of the upper urinary tract (by history and clinical examination). The urine was sterile in 53 patients (82%) after a one-week treatment-free interval.

Long-term treatment of central precocious puberty with a long-acting analogue of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone. Effects on somatic growth and skeletal maturation.

The gonadotropin-releasing hormone-like agonist D-Trp6-Pro9-NEt-LHRH (LHRHa) has been shown to induce a reversible short-term suppression of gonadotropins and gonadal steroids in patients with central precocious puberty. Since accelerated statural growth and bone maturation are clinical features of precocity not well controlled by conventional therapies, we examined the effects of prolonged LHRHa therapy for 18 consecutive months on growth and skeletal maturation in nine girls with neurogenic or idiopathic precocious puberty. Suppression of gonadotropin pulsations and gonadal steroids was maintained in all subjects.