Optic neuropathy associated with chronic lymphomatous meningitis.

A patient with paranasal sinus lymphoma (recognized retrospectively) developed unilateral, acute, self-limited optic neuritis during the course of chronic lymphocytic meningitis with elevated intracranial pressure and headache. Meningeal symptoms were adequately controlled with analgesics alone for 14 months and corticosteroids alone for a subsequent 11 months without evidence of development of other involvement of organs outside the central nervous system (CNS). Eventually, the visual alteration from optic neuritis prompted a repeat evaluation, which disclosed lymphoma in bone marrow.

Orbitocalvarial swelling and proptosis as an early manifestation of systemic lymphoma.

A 67-year-old woman had acutely diminished vision and painful proptosis of the left eye amidst a background of chronic headache, scalp tenderness, proximal myalgias, intermittent fever, anemia, and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rates. All symptoms and signs were exquisitely corticosteroid-responsive. She underwent two negative temporal artery biopsies and several extensive negative evaluations for systemic disease.

Hypercalcitoninemia in pancreatitis--evidence for immunochemical heterogeneity.

Recently in our laboratory we have demonstrated increased immunoreactive calcitonin (iCT) levels in 4 patients with acute pancreatitis and hypocalcemia. The present study consists of 17 additional patients in whom serial determinations for (iCT) were performed. Furthermore, with the use of 2 different antisera directed against human calcitonin we present evidence for immunochemical heterogeneity of this hormone in acute pancreatitis.

An improved turbidimetric method for plasma fibrinogen.

Our experience in the use of Ellis' and Stransky's turbidimetric technique for the determination of plasma fibrinogen is presented. We standardized the test using a plasma pool whose fibrinogen content was determined by a weighed clot technique. The turbidimetric-fibrinogen test is accurate, sensitive, specific, reproducible, convenient, and inexpensive.