Splenic injury caused by therapeutic irradiation.

Splenic irradiation in the course of therapy for lymphoma can result in functional deficit, sometimes as severe as that caused by splenectomy, placing the patient at risk for fatal infection. We examined 33 spleens obtained at necropsy from patients irradiated for lymphomas (mainly Hodgkin's disease) and compared them with 18 nonirradiated spleens from similar patients. One to 8 years after a mean radiation dose of 3899 rads, fractionated over 5-6 weeks, most irradiated spleens were small (average weight 75 g) and had thick, wrinkled capsules, often with focal hemorrhage.

Inaccuracy in automated measurement of hematocrit and corpuscular indices in the presence of severe hyperglycemia.

Because we recently observed two patients with severe diabetic hyperglycemia and spuriously elevated electronically determined hematocrit and mean corpuscular volume (MCV), we investigated the effect of hyperglycemia on two popular automated hematology systems, the Coulter S and Ortho ELT-8. Marked hyperglycemia (blood glucose 800--2000 mg/dl) caused consistent overestimation of the electronically determined MCV compared to that derived from a simultaneous spun microhematocrit. The resultant overestimation and underestimation, respectively, of the derived values for hematocrit and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration may be clinically misleading.

Pathogenesis of veno-occlusive liver disease after radiation.

Radiation-induced liver disease is characterized structurally by progressive fibrous obliteration of central veins (veno-occlusive disease [VOD]). The pathogenesis is unknown. Samples of liver from 11 patients with radiation-induced VOD were studied by light and electron microscopy for evidence of central vein thrombosis.

Posterior ocular abnormalities after irradiation for retinoblastoma: a histopathological study.

Radiation-induced ocular lesions in the posterior eye and orbit were investigated in 33 surgical specimens of patients with retinoblastoma. The eyes were obtained from children 7 months to 6 years of age. Seventeen eyes were irradiated; 16 eyes had not received irradiation and served as controls.

Effects of hyperthermia in a malignant tumor.

The mechanisms of immediate and delayed tumor cell killing by hyperthermia were investigated in EMT-6 neoplasms implanted in BALB/cKa mice. Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields were used to achieve a curative local dose of 44 degrees C for 30 minutes. The tumors were sampled sequentially, during and after heat therapy, and studied by light and elecron microscopy.

[Milk intolerance in Colombian children, its prevalence and relation to lactose malabsorption].

A total of 121 children from an orphange were studied. Their ages ranged from 2 to 10 years and represented different ethnic backgrounds. The prevalence of malnutrition was 45% and their gastrointestinal symptomatology in response to graded amounts of milk intake was evaluated.

The role of platelets in infections. I. Observations in human and murine malaria.

The interaction between platelets and microorganisms may be underestimated. Our in vivo studies support a direct role of thrombocytes in malarial infections. We have found intrathrombocytic parasites of Plasmodium vivax (in 10% of men naturally infected) and P berghei (in 53% of mice experimentally infected); these were both merozoites and trophozoites.

Amitriptyline therapy increases electrocardiographic changes during reversal of neuromuscular blockade.

Induction of anesthesia is associated with an increased incidence of cardiac arrhythmias in patients maintained on amitriptyline medication. This study presents additional evidence showing that, in experimental animals (cats), amitriptyline treatment also produces significant ST-T wave and conduction abnormalities during neostigmine reversal of neuromuscular blockade.

Comparative analysis of some anthropometric measurements.

The main objective of this work is to determine what anthropometric method to use under field conditions, given the kind of mainutrition to be detected. In the first part of the work some criteria and procedures are given by which to compare the field perfomance characteristics (i.e.

Screening for malnutrition with arm circumference.

The opinions on the performance characteristics of the mid arm circumference as anthropometric measurement for malnutrition screening are quite contradictory. In this paper we analyze the specificity and sensitivity of the arm tape under different conditions and conclude that the design of the tape characteristics should aim at an instrument which can satisfy specific needs instead of a general purpose one. We also give some measurements for the practical design of the instrument.

Oxalosis and chronic renal failure after intestinal bypass.

A 45-year-old man underwent a jejunoileal shunt procedure for obesity. Twenty months later he developed severe oxalosis and chronic renal failure, which required maintenance hemodialysis. The sequential observation of two biopsy specimens and the necropsy (over a span of 39 months) suggests that oxalate deposition caused tubular obstruction and destruction with subsequent atrophy of nephrons.