Antibodies to sulfatide in leprosy and leprosy reactions.

Antibodies to sulfatide have been reported in various demyelinating peripheral polyneuropathies. We have investigated the diagnostic value of these antibodies in leprosy. Anti-sulfatide IgM in leprosy patients was not significantly elevated.

Natural history of ultrasound hip abnormalities in clinically normal newborns.

One hundred one clinically normal newborn hips showed varying degrees of sonographic hip dysplasia according to the classification of Graf. None were treated, and after +/- 6 months, radiographs showed that only four had definite dysplasia. Of these, three had had risk factors such as breech delivery or familial predisposition.

[Videodensitometry in echoencephalography of premature infants].

In 22 premature children (12 normal prematures and 10 with brain pathology) echodensity was measured as average grey scale values. For performing the measurements, echoencephalograms were recorded on videotape and analysed by an IBM-AT computer and a high resolution framegrabber. An evident difference of echodensity was measured between normal parenchyma, skull, fresh cerebral haemorrhages and cerebral oedema.

Continuous intravenous ammonia infusion as a model for the study of hepatic encephalopathy in rabbits.

To obtain a more precise pathophysiological evaluation of the role of ammonia in acute hepatic encephalopathy, we compared the plasma ammonia concentrations and electroencephalographic recordings (EEGs) of rabbits with surgically induced acute hepatic failure (AHF, n = 10) and normal rabbits administered an infusion of ammonium acetate (NH4-Ac, n = 7) over a 10-hr period. AHF was surgically induced by portocaval shunting followed by hepatic artery ligation 48 hr later. In the infusion group the dose of NH4-Ac, initially 0.