Is anti-alphafetoprotein immunoscintigraphy a promising approach for the diagnosis of hepatoma? Implications of a quantitative study in 41 patients.

The actual interest of immunoscintigraphy for the detection of liver tumours was investigated by both visual examination and quantitative analysis in 41 patients with hepatoma (HCC, 21 cases, 13 AFP-secreting), other primary or secondary liver cancer (9 cases), testicular cancer (2 cases) and cancer free cirrhosis (9 cases). All patients were injected with 123I-anti-alphafetoprotein (AFP) monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and scans were performed after 28 +/- 2 h. In the hepatoma-bearing patients, 11 positive anti AFP scans were found; 9 of them had an enhanced serum; besides, 3 non HCC tumours were also detected.

[Digestive manifestations in a patient with type-IIB multiple endocrine neoplasms].

The IIB or third type of multiple endocrine neoplasia is a very uncommon hereditary disease. It includes a digestive ganglioneuromatosis, a typical dysmorphia, a medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) sometimes a pheochromocytoma and seldom a hyperparathyroidism. We report a Men IIB case in a 19 years old patient who had been suffering from severe constipation and afflicted with a megacolon, known since early infancy.

[Anesthesia for surgery of insulinoma].

The difficulties of interpretation of blood sugar level changes during the postoperative period in the anaesthetic management of insulinoma are discussed. Several specific means reduced the errors in the assessment of the hyperglycemic rebound which occurred after the removal of the tumour. They consisted of continuous sugar infusion accorded to measured glucose levels, in order to maintain a constant blood sugar value between 50 and 70 mg X 100 ml-1 before removal of the insulinoma.

[A case of pheochromocytoma with cardiac localization. Review of the literature].

In a 26-year old man who died post-operatively, post-mortem examination revealed the presence of a phaeochromocytoma located in the atrio-ventricular sulcus and involving the trunk and bifurcation branches of the left coronary artery. Pre-operative investigations, including whole-body computerized tomography, and exploratory laparotomy had failed to detect the tumour. In contrast with the case reported here, the 4 other cases previously published concerned intrapericardial phaeochromocytomas in contact with the posterior wall of the left atrium.

[Ano-recto-vaginal ulcerations caused by suppositories containing dextropropoxyphene].

A patient developed ulcerations of anus, rectum and vagina after prolonged use of suppositories containing dextropropoxyphene. Twelve identical cases have been reported in French literature. The mechanism of these ulcerations and the skin and mucosal disorders due to the principal morphinomimetic drugs opiates are briefly discussed.

Jejunal factor stimulating insulin release in the isolated perfused canine pancreas and jejunum.

In the present study using an isolated perfused preparation of canine jejunum and pancreas, an insulin-releasing factor was found in the venous effluent of the jejunum. Insulin secretion by the pancreas rose twofold after 10% glucose was infused in the lumen of the jejunum and remained at a high level even after the stimulus was discontinued. No modification of the exocrine pancreatic secretion occurred during the insulin release, and therefore it seems unlikely that gastrin, secretin or cholecystokinin-pancreozymin were released by the jejunal mucosa.

[Renal preservation: comparative effectiveness of 2 simple perfusion technics].

The authors compare the efficacy of two perfusates, Collins' solution and Perfudex, for conservation of kidneys for short periods by perfusion and hypothermic immersion. 22 dog kidneys, removed by lombotomy, were preserved for 24 hours with one or other of these solutions and then re-implanted into their host. Radio-isotopic renography, the uptake of Hg 197 Cl3 and a hippuran renogram, used to assess the function of the transplants, suggested the functional superiority of kidneys preserved with Collins solutions.