Magnetic resonance imaging in patients with unexplained optic neuropathy.

Purpose: To investigate the anatomic relation between the optic nerve and the adjacent intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) in patients with unexplained optic neuropathy.

Methods: Coronal magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of 20 patients with unexplained optic neuropathy and 20 age-matched controls were evaluated with digitizing software.

Results: The distance between the optic nerve and ICA was significantly less on the side ipsilateral to the atrophic optic nerve than either the study group's contralateral optic nerve-ICA distance (P<0.

Atonic pupil after cataract surgery.

We report and describe the clinical findings of three patients who developed atonic pupil after uncomplicated extracapsular cataract extraction with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation. All patients had normally reactive pupils one day postoperatively, but after two weeks, the pupils were dilated and nonreactive to light, accommodation, and miotics. To estimate the incidence of atonic pupil after cataract surgery, we sent a survey on the frequency, clinical features, and possible etiologies of this syndrome to members of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Effects of chronic superficial injury on the rat gastric mucosa.

The effects of chronic superficial injury on the stomach were studied in rats dosed with a mild irritant (2 mol/L NaCl intragastrically) every 48 hours for 1 month followed by 1-month recovery. A single exposure to this mild irritant induced gross protection against 6 mol/L NaCl for 1 but not 2 days. Leukotriene C4 (LTC4) levels increased slightly.

Effects of misoprostol, cimetidine, and ethanol on rat gastric plasma volume and morphology.

Prostaglandins have effects on the gastric vasculature and blood flow that may be related to the phenomenon of "cytoprotection." We evaluated the effects of two potent antiulcer compounds--misoprostol, a prostaglandin E1 analog, and cimetidine, an H2-receptor antagonist--as well as a necrotizing agent, absolute ethanol (EtOH), on gastric plasma volume using the Evans blue-albumin binding technique. In addition, the effects of these two drugs on the morphology of the gastric mucosa were evaluated by light microscopy of epoxy resin sections.