[A case of traumatic cardiac contusion accompanied by the rupture of pericardium].

We experienced a case of traumatic cardiac contusion accompanied by the rupture of the pericardium after multiple blunt trauma sustained in a traffic accident. A 26-year-old woman who had suffered from blunt chest and abdominal trauma was admitted to our hospital, being unconscious with multiple severe injuries including pelvic fracture, bilateral hemothorax, and multiple fractures in the extremities. The patient was in a shock status.

[Development of core/targetoid fibers in the diaphragm of chronically hypercapnic rats].

We tested the hypothesis that chronic hypercapnia contributes to the development of core/targetoid fibers in ventilatory muscles. Five Wistar rats were kept in 5% CO2 in air for 13 weeks. Arterial blood gases (mean +/- SE) were pH 7.

Left ventricular-coronary sinus shunt through a septal aneurysm after mitral valve re-replacement.

We describe a case in which a left ventricular-coronary sinus communication through a dissecting ventricular septal aneurysm developed after a redo mitral valve replacement. The outlet orifice of the communication was located in the side wall of the ostium of the coronary sinus. Both the communication and the aneurysm were successfully dealt with by performing a right atriotomy and by opening the aneurysm from its outlet orifice.

[Recurrence and prognosis in ischemic stroke patients with anticardiolipin antibody in Japan].

Anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) is considered to be one of the contributory factors in the development of cerebral infarction. We compared the recurrence and prognosis of 20 ischemic stroke patients with positive IgG aCL who had no collagen vascular diseases with those in 120 patients with negative IgG aCL. The aCL-positive patients comprised 18 females and 2 males aged 43-79 (mean 64) years and the mean follow-up period was 5.

[A case of syringomyelia with proximal dominant muscle weakness and without superficial sensory disturbance].

A 43-year-old woman had noticed muscular weakness in her arms for four years before her admission. Muscle weakness and atrophy were prominent in the bilateral deltoid muscles, but muscular strength was almost unimpaired in the bilateral forearms and intrinsic muscles. There was no sign of sensory impairment except vibratory sensation.