Venous hypertensive myelopathy as a potential mimic of transverse myelitis.

Study Design: Case report.

Objective: We describe a patient who developed a myelopathy associated with a noncompressive herniated cervical intervertebral disc at the same level. We provide clinical and radiological evidence that reveals that even though the disc herniation did not compress the spinal cord, it diminished venous blood flow out of the spinal cord, possibly resulting in a venous hypertensive myelopathy (VHM).

Transverse Myelitis: pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment.

Transverse Myelitis (TM) is a clinical syndrome in which an immune-mediated process causes neural injury to the spinal cord, resulting in varying degrees of weakness, sensory alterations and autonomic dysfunction. TM may exist as part of a multi-focal CNS disease (e.g.

Recurrent transverse myelitis associates with anti-Ro (SSA) autoantibodies.

Transverse myelitis (TM) is an idiopathic inflammatory disorder of the spinal cord. The authors observed cases of recurrent TM in patients where anti-Ro (SSA) antibodies were present and therefore performed a case-control study to examine the frequency of anti-Ro autoantibodies in patients with recurrent TM and control subjects. Antibodies to 52-kd Ro were demonstrated in 77% of cases (10/13) compared with only 33% of control subjects (4/12).

Structural characterization of oligosaccharides using MALDI-TOF/TOF tandem mass spectrometry.

Extensive cross-ring fragmentation ions, which are very informative of the linkages of the monosaccharide residues constituting these molecules, were readily observed in the MALDI-TOF/TOF/MS/MS spectra of oligosaccharides. These ions, in some cases, were more intense than the commonly observed Y and B ions. The A-type ions observed for the simple oligosaccharides allowed the distinction between alpha(1-4)- and alpha(1-6)-linked isobaric structures.

Characterization of human alpha 4 beta 2-nicotinic acetylcholine receptors stably and heterologously expressed in native nicotinic receptor-null SH-EP1 human epithelial cells.

Naturally expressed nicotinic acetylcholine receptors composed of alpha4 and beta2 subunits (alpha4beta2-nAChR) are the predominant form of high affinity nicotine binding site in the brain implicated in nicotine reward, mediation of nicotinic cholinergic transmission, modulation of signaling through other chemical messages, and a number of neuropsychiatric disorders. To develop a model system for studies of human alpha4beta2-nAChR allowing protein chemical, functional, pharmacological, and regulation of expression studies, human alpha4 and beta2 subunits were stably introduced into the native nAChR-null human epithelial cell line SHEP1. Heterologously expressed alpha4beta2-nAChR engage in high-affinity, specific binding of 3H-labeled epibatidine (H-EBDN; macroscopic KD = 10 pM; kon = 0.

Human embryonic germ cell derivatives facilitate motor recovery of rats with diffuse motor neuron injury.

We have investigated the potential of human pluripotent cells to restore function in rats paralyzed with a virus-induced motor neuronopathy. Cells derived from embryonic germ cells, termed embryoid body-derived (EBD) cells, introduced into the CSF were distributed extensively over the rostrocaudal length of the spinal cord and migrated into the spinal cord parenchyma in paralyzed, but not uninjured, animals. Some of the transplanted human cells expressed the neuroglial progenitor marker nestin, whereas others expressed immunohistochemical markers characteristic of astrocytes or mature neurons.

Dental caries prevalence and experience among the group of institutionalized hearing impaired individuals in Pondicherry--a descriptive study.

A descriptive study was conducted among a group of hearing-impaired individuals in Pondicherry to assess the dental caries prevalence and experience. A total 114 individuals were examined. The data was collected by direct clinical examination using appropriate indices and findings were recorded on the proforma sheets.

Validation of verbal autopsy to determine the cause of 137 neonatal deaths in Karachi, Pakistan.

Verbal autopsy (VA) aims to estimate a community's mortality experience in the absence of contact with formal registration or health care systems. Application of VA to neonatal deaths is problematic as the agonal phase of a neonatal death tends to be indistinct. This is the first attempt to validate the technique exclusively on newborns who died.

Lymphatic ascites following lymphadenectomy for gynecological malignancy.

Seven patients seen between January 1995 and December 1998 developed symptomatic lymphatic ascites following either pelvic or para-aortic lymph node dissection. The incidence of symptomatic lymphatic ascites during this 4-year period was 2.7% (7 of 263 cases).

Axillary dissection and ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast: a change in practice.

Background: Axillary dissection may be associated with significant morbidity and, while it is necessary in the treatment of invasive breast cancer, is not indicated for the treatment of pure ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), although it is being performed in a significant number of cases. The present study examined the incidence of elective axillary dissection in the treatment of DCIS cases detected in a mammographic screening programme over a 4-year period, and whether surgeons have changed their practice in this respect.

Methods: BreastScreen Victoria records were examined retrospectively for the period from January 1995 to December 1998 to identify patients treated for DCIS.

Morning glory disk anomaly, choroidal coloboma, and congenital constrictive malformations of the internal carotid arteries (moyamoya disease).

Purpose: To report a patient with congenital constrictive malformations of the internal carotid arteries and a morning glory disc anomaly (MGDA).

Methods: Descriptive case report.

Results: A 14-year-old girl underwent serial ophthalmologic examinations since the age of seven years because of blurred vision and floaters.

Infection due to Yersinia enterocolitica in a series of patients with beta-thalassemia: incidence and predisposing factors.

Over 15 years, 14 patients with yersiniosis in two North American comprehensive thalassemia clinics (0.6 cases per 100 patient-years) presented with fever (100%), diarrhea (86%), right-lower-quadrant abdominal pain (71%), bacteremia (57%), a palpable abdominal mass (36%), and pharyngitis (28%). Clinically apparent infection occurred within 10 days of blood transfusion in 57% of patients.

Molecular characterization of multiresistant strains of Salmonella typhi from South Asia isolated in Ontario, Canada.

Two hundred and fourteen isolates of Salmonella typhi submitted to our laboratory between 1992 and 1996 were tested for susceptibility to 20 antimicrobial agents. Forty-eight of the 214 isolates (22.4%), recovered from individuals who had travelled in South Asia, were multiresistant.

High-level tetracycline-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Ontario, Canada--investigation of a cluster of isolates, showing chromosomally mediated resistance to penicillin combined with plasmid-mediated resistance to tetracycline.

Between 1991 and 1994, plasmid-mediated, tetracycline-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae (TRNG) increased from 61.8% to 85.96% of all resistant isolates in Ontario, Canada.

Analysis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Ontario, Canada, with decreased susceptibility to quinolones by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, auxotyping, serotyping and plasmid content.

The incidence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae with reduced susceptibility to quinolones increased from 0.18% (63 of 3285) in 1992 to 0.56% (15 of 2663) in 1993 and 0.

Detection of pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica using the multiplex polymerase chain reaction.

A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed to detect the presence of the ail, yst, and virF genes of Yersinia enterocolitica simultaneously, quickly and accurately. The amplified fragment sizes were 356 base-pairs (bp) for the ail gene, 134 bp for the yst gene, and 231 bp for the virF gene. The specificity of the amplified products was confirmed by hybridization with digoxigenin-labelled oligonucleotide probes.

Thermosensitive transfer of antimicrobial resistances and citrate utilization and cotransfer of hydrogen sulfide production from an Escherichia coli isolate.

A hydrogen-sulfide producing, citrate-positive strain of Escherichia coli isolated from urinary tract infection was found to be resistant to chloramphenicol (Cm), tetracycline (Tc), streptomycin (Sm), trimethoprim (Tmp), sulfamethoxazole (Smx), and cotrimoxazole (Tmp/Smx). The strain contained 7 plasmids of molecular sizes 120, 35, 5.0, 3.

Endocrine responses and body composition changes during feed restriction and realimentation in young bulls.

Changes in serum metabolic hormones, carcass composition, and body weight gains were examined in 21 Angus bulls (9 mo old) subjected to feed restriction and realimentation. They were allotted to three feeding regimens: 1) control (CON); 2) restricted (REST); and 3) realimented (REAL). The CON group was fed 3.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica isolated in Canada from 1972 to 1990.

Yersinia enterocolitica has emerged as an enteropathogen associated with several types of human infections that often require antimicrobial therapy, but little is known about the antimicrobial susceptibilities of pathogenic strains isolated from humans in Canada. To determine the present patterns of antimicrobial susceptibility, to identify changes in these patterns that occurred during the past two decades, and to investigate the relationships between O serotypes and patterns of susceptibility, we tested a total of 1,105 pathogenic Y. enterocolitica strains isolated during 1972 to 1976, 1980, 1985, and 1990 for their susceptibilities to 22 antimicrobial agents.

Isolation of a nicotinamide-requiring clone of Escherichia coli O18:K1:H7 from women with acute cystitis: resemblance to strains found in neonatal meningitis.

During a study of the nutritional requirements of clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, we found that 21 (7.0%) of 301 strains required nicotinamide to grow in minimal medium. The nicotinamide-requiring strains were present in 16 (15.