Facial nerve grading instruments: systematic review of the literature and suggestion for uniformity.

Background: A variety of facial nerve grading scales have been developed over the years with the intended goals of objectively documenting facial nerve function,tracking recovery, and facilitating communication between practitioners. Numerous scales have been proposed; however, all are subject to limitation because of varying degrees of subjectivity, reliability, or longitudinal applicability. At present, such scales remain the only widely accessible modalities for facial functional assessment.

Regional grey and white matter volumetric changes in myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue syndrome): a voxel-based morphometry 3 T MRI study.

Objective: It is not established whether myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is associated with structural brain changes. The aim of this study was to investigate this by conducting the largest voxel-based morphometry study to date in CFS.

Methods: High-resolution structural 3 T cerebral MRI scanning was carried out in 26 patients with CFS and 26 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers.

Increased tenderness in the left third intercostal space in adult patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis: a controlled study.

A clinical sign has not thus far been associated with myalgic encephalo myelitis (ME). The present study involved systematic clinical examination that included inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation of the thorax of 42 ME patients and 20 age-matched healthy controls while sitting. Left lateral third intercostal space tenderness was noted in 34 (81%) of the patients and in none of the controls, a difference that was highly statistically significant.

Osteophyte-induced rupture of a scalp tissue expander.

Tissue expansion is in widespread use for the reconstruction of congenital and acquired defects. Complications of tissue expansion are well documented, the most common being infection or extrusion of the expander. Although the complications associated with scalp tissue expansion are similar to those experienced elsewhere in the body, site-specific complications can occur.

Reduction in left supplementary motor area grey matter in adult female fibromyalgia sufferers with marked fatigue and without affective disorder: a pilot controlled 3-T magnetic resonance imaging voxel-based morphometry study.

This study aimed to test the hypothesis that structural grey matter brain changes might occur in the chronic intractable pain disorder fibromyalgia when this is associated with marked fatigue in the absence of a DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, text revision) diagnosis of affective disorder. High-resolution 3-T cerebral magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired in 10 female, right-handed, non-smoking, white Caucasian subjects: five patients with fibromyalgia associated with marked fatigue and five age-matched healthy women. Voxel-wise generalized linear modelling of the processed neuroanatomical data using permutation-based non-parametric testing, forming clusters at t > 2.

An in vivo proton neurospectroscopy study of cerebral oxidative stress in myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue syndrome).

A particularly important family of antioxidant defence enzymes in the body are the glutathione peroxidases, which remove H(2)O(2) by coupling its reduction to H(2)O with oxidation of reduced glutathione (GSH) to oxidised glutathione (GSSG). There are suggestions that GSH in the peripheral blood may be reduced in myalgic encephalomyelitis, which is a highly disabling neurological disease of unknown aetiology. Since many of the symptoms relate to cerebral functioning, it would seem probable that peripheral blood GSH findings would be reflected in lower cerebral GSH levels.

Expression of leukemia inhibitory factor receptor mRNA in sensory dorsal root ganglion and spinal motor neurons of the neonatal rat.

Previous studies have shown that the application of leukemia inhibitory factor to the proximal nerve stump prevents the degeneration of axotomized sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglion and motor neurons in the spinal cord of newborn rats. This study investigated the expression of leukemia inhibitory factor receptor mRNA in these neurons using in situ hybridization. Leukemia inhibitory factor receptor mRNA was detected both in sensory neurons within the dorsal root ganglion and motor neurons of the cervical spinal cord.

An in vivo mutation from leucine to tryptophan at position 210 in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase contributes to high-level resistance to 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine.

Sequencing of the reverse transcriptase (RT) region of 26 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates from eight patients treated with 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) revealed a mutation at codon 210 from TTG (leucine) to TGG (tryptophan) exclusively in association with resistance to AZT. The mutation Trp-210 was observed in 15 of the 20 isolates phenotypically resistant to AZT, being more commonly observed than resistance-associated mutations at codons 67, 70, and 219. Trp-210 was never observed before the emergence of resistance-associated mutations Leu-41 and Tyr-215, and in a sequential series of five isolates from one patient the order of emergence of mutations was found to be Tyr-215, Leu-41, and then Trp-210.

Syncytium-inducing phenotype and zidovudine susceptibility of HIV-1 isolated from post-mortem tissue.

Objective: To establish the syncytium-inducing (SI) phenotype and zidovudine (ZDV) susceptibility of HIV-1 isolates obtained from autopsy specimens.

Methods: Isolation of HIV was attempted from autopsy specimens obtained from 76 AIDS patients. Specimens of lymph node, spleen, spinal cord, brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were processed and cultured with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from seronegative donors.

Characterisation of foscarnet-resistant strains of human immunodeficiency virus type 1.

Foscarnet is a broad-spectrum viral DNA polymerase inhibitor active in vitro and in vivo against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Strains of HIV-1 resistant to foscarnet were selected by in vitro passage in increasing concentrations of drug. Reduced susceptibility to foscarnet was evident at the levels of both HIV-1 replication and reverse transcriptase.

Reverse transcriptase mutations in sequential HIV-1 isolates in a patient with AIDS.

Sequential human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates were obtained over a 29-month period from a person before, during, and after AZT therapy. DNA sequence analysis of polymerase chain-amplified reverse-transcriptase gene showed a gradual accumulation of mutations to peak resistance (IC50 2.13 microM AZT) in association with mutations at codons 44, 210, and 369, as well as at 41, 67, 70, and 215.

Potential oxyradical damage and energy status in individual muscle fibres from degenerating muscle diseases.

Inherited degenerating muscle diseases result in disintegration of muscle fibres, which is initiated by a lack of or alteration to a muscle protein. In Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) the protein is known to be dystrophin. The cellular function of dystrophin is not known in any detail but its absence appears to lead to a weakening of the sarcolemma.

Human dystrophin expression in mdx mice after intramuscular injection of DNA constructs.

Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (DMD), which affects one in 3,500 males, causes progressive myopathy of skeletal and cardiac muscles and premature death. One approach to treatment would be to introduce the normal dystrophin gene into diseased muscle cells. When pure plasmid DNA is injected into rodent skeletal or cardiac muscle, the cells express reporter genes.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy and dystrophin: sequence homology observations.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetically transmitted disease characterized by progressive muscle weakness and usually leads to death. DMD results from the absence, deficiency or dysfunction of the protein dystrophin. Analysis of protein data bases, including homology alignments and domain recognition patterns, have located highly significant correlations between dystrophin and other calcium regulating proteins.

The binding of lipoproteins to human muscle cells: binding and uptake of LDL, HDL, and alpha-tocopherol.

The specific binding of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) to cells and its subsequent uptake into these cells is well documented, but little is known of the LDL binding and uptake by skeletal muscle. Lipoproteins are the major transporters of tocopherols, deficiencies of which have been associated with a number of muscle diseases of animals. Their possible implication in human muscle diseases prompted our investigation of LDL and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) binding and uptake into human muscle cells in culture.

Micromethods in single muscle fibers. 2. Determination of glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase.

This paper extends the previous study for systems which control intracellular oxidative events in muscle and describes procedures suitable to assay glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and total glutathione (GSH + GSSG) after fiber typing of individual muscle fibers. In human skeletal muscle, both GR and GSHPx activities were relatively low when compared to those of other tissue. No difference was found among fiber types (I, IIA, and IIB) with regard to GR activity, but in contrast GSHPx activity was significantly lower in type IIB fibers than in the other types.

Micromethods in single muscle fibers. 1. Determination of catalase and superoxide dismutase.

Methods have been developed for the measurements of catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in single, isolated muscle fibers. These fibers are also classified according to fiber type. Catalase is determined using a fluorescent method for the measurement of hydrogen peroxide consumed.