Acute paradoxical embolic cerebral ischemia secondary to possible May-Thurner syndrome and an atrial septal defect: a case report.

Introduction: May-Thurner syndrome is an anatomic abnormality that predisposes patients to increased risk of paradoxical embolism and stroke. It consists of chronic compression of the left common iliac vein by the overlying right common iliac artery which may predispose to local thrombus formation, which in turn may be the nidus of a paradoxical embolus leading to cerebral ischemia in patients with a right-to-left shunt secondary to an atrial septal defect or patent foramen ovale.

Case Presentation: We report the case of an embolic cerebral ischemic event in a 53-year-old Caucasian woman whose investigations revealed findings suggestive of possible May-Thurner syndrome coupled with an atrial septal defect.

An application of cmaps in the description of clinical information structure and logic in electronic health records.

The development and implementation of competent and cost-effective computerized medical records that profoundly improve physician productivity and knowledge management will require the development of a new paradigm for the representation and analysis of medical knowledge and logic. Medical knowledge is acquired inductively by observing, measuring, and eliciting information from patients in a process that is investigational rather than transactional. Most, if not all, current approaches to health information technology (HIT) rely on a logic and data structure that imposes significant limitations on the ability of physicians to thoroughly and efficiently document and access empiric patient data because the information is almost invariably organized in a way which presumes, rather than makes explicit, the relationships of concepts and their meaning.

Impedance-based retinal contact imaging as an aid for the placement of high resolution epiretinal prostheses.

An important factor in effective stimulation of the retina is close contact with the retina. The design of the electrode surface and the placement of the electrode against the retina both affect the degree of contact with the retina. We have addressed the design factor by creating a curved surface 3200-electrode array.

Retinoids and the eye.

Systemic retinoids are being used more frequently to treat various disorders of the skin, particularly disorders of keratinization. They are promising agents for chemoprevention of cancer and as such may be widely used in the future. Both natural and synthetic retinoids may affect the eye, both on the surface epithelium and the visual metabolism.

A system for variable aspiration of material dissected from the posterior chamber.

A beveled, coaxial irrigation/aspiration spatula is described for use with the linear suction control of the Ocutome.

6-hydroxydopamine in the treatment of open-angle glaucoma.

We evaluated the effectiveness of subconjunctival injections of 6-hydroxydopamine in conjunction with epinephrine in lowering ocular tension in 63 eyes of 61 patients with open-angle glaucoma. A single injection caused a peak median reduction in ocular tension of 6 mm Hg four weeks after the injection. Ten eyes (16%) showed no significant decrease in ocular tension.

Effect of plasma from cyclophosphamide-treated mice on CFU-S in an in vivo culture system.

Various studies suggest that humoral substances, capable of stimulating CFU-S proliferation, are released into the plasma in response to depletion of the CFU-S population by cytotoxic substances such as cyclophosphamide. To test this hypothesis, we placed 0.25 ml of a murine marrow cell suspension with an equal volume of plasma from either normal mice or from mice previously injected with 5 mg of cyclophosphamide into cellulose dialysis tubing.

Extraction of erythropoietin from kidneys.

Erythropoietin (Ep) in large amounts was detected in extracts of renal tissue from hypoxic rats. These extractions were performed by homogenization of kidney tissue in phosphate buffered saline, centrifugation at 3,000 g and collection of the supernate. Male kidneys contained more Ep than did females and the major portion of Ep is located in the renal cortex.

The incidence of sickle trait in Blacks requiring filtering surgery.

Open-angle glaucoma in the blacks is generally thought to be a more malignant disease than in whites in terms of response to therapy and subsequent visual loss. An increased incidence of unsuspected sickle trait and undetected sickling may have contributed to these patients' optic nerve ischemia, progressive field loss and need for surgery. A homoglobin electrophoresis was done on 40 black patients who required filtering surgery for uncontrolled open-angle glaucoma.