Development of a Bead-Based Multiplex Fluorescent Immunoassay to Detect Antibodies against Maedi-Visna Virus in Sheep.

The Maedi-visna virus (MVV) causes a persistent infection in small ruminants, and its high genetic heterogeneity affects the performance of diagnostic tests when used in different populations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a bead-based multiplex immunoassay tailored to detect antibodies against a Norwegian MVV strain. We used tissue samples from 14 PCR-positive sheep from a recent MVV outbreak in Norway to sequence the viral strain and produced recombinant antigens based on sequences from one animal.

Cranial Ultrasound as a First-Line Imaging Examination for Craniosynostosis.

Background: Radiography, typically the first-line imaging study for diagnosis of craniosynostosis, exposes infants to ionizing radiation. We aimed to compare the accuracy of cranial ultrasound (CUS) with radiography for the diagnosis or exclusion of craniosynostosis.

Methods: Children aged 0 to 12 months who were assessed for craniosynostosis during 2011-2013 by using 4-view skull radiography and CUS of the sagittal, coronal, lambdoid, and metopic sutures were included in this prospective study.

The necessity of shunt series.

Object: This work assessed the value of shunt series in the evaluation of children with CSF shunts, a test that is frequently ordered as part of the assessment of shunt integrity.

Methods: The medical records of all children who underwent shunt series at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario between 1975 and 2007 were reviewed. Ancillary studies that were performed within 2 days of the shunt series (brain CT, MR imaging, ultrasonography, and radionuclide shuntography) were noted, as well as the subsequent requirement for a shunt revision.

Acute encephalopathy and cerebral vasospasm after multiagent chemotherapy including PEG-asparaginase and intrathecal cytarabine for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

A 7-year-old girl with an unusual reaction to induction chemotherapy for precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is described. The patient developed acute encephalopathy evidenced by behavioral changes, aphasia, incontinence, visual hallucinations, and right-sided weakness with diffuse cerebral vasospasm on magnetic resonance angiography after the administration of intrathecal cytarabine. Vincristine, dexamethasone, and polyethylene glycol-asparaginase were also administered before the episode as part of induction therapy.

Pseudo-tumoral eosinophilic cystitis in a 3 year-old girl.

Eosinophilic cystitis (EC) is an uncommon form of bladder inflammation. It is a rare disorder in children and fewer than 25 cases have been described in the literature. We report a case of eosinophilic cystitis mimicking a bladder tumor in a 3 year-old girl with symptoms of urinary frequency.