Brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) femoral head and neck excision.

A 30-yr-old untamed European female brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) with a craniodorsal luxation of the right femoral head and bilateral degenerative joint disease of the coxofemoral joint had a femoral head and neck excision following unsatisfactory conservative medical therapy. The bear was injected with zolazepam-tiletamine, and anesthesia was induced with i.v.

c-Ha-ras polymorphism in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Comparison of healthy subjects and alcoholic patients with cirrhosis.

It has been observed that certain rare alleles of the c-Ha-ras gene occur more frequently in patients with certain malignant tumors than in healthy individuals, suggesting that these alleles may serve as markers for particular types of cancer. In this study, we compared the restriction fragment length polymorphism at the c-Ha-ras gene locus in 40 patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma with that in 39 patients with cirrhosis and in 42 normal subjects, all of Caucasian origin. Southern blotting of leukocyte DNA from the above patients, after digestion with either BamH1 or AvaII, revealed the presence of allele fragments of different sizes, corresponding to 4 common alleles and 3 rare alleles.

Interest of the detection of hepatitis C virus RNA in patients with alcoholic liver disease. Comparison with the HBV status.

HCV-RNA detection was investigated in 66 chronic alcoholic patients divided into 3 groups according to the severity of liver injury: group 1 included 22 chronic alcoholics without cirrhosis, group 2, 20 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and group 3, 24 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The 'nested' polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique amplifying the 5' non-coding region was used to detect HCV-RNA. For comparison, ELISA1, ELISA2 and RIBA2 tests (Ortho Diagnostics System) were also used to detect anti-HCV antibodies.

[A rare cause of upper digestive tract hemorrhage: an esophageal fistula in mediastinal tuberculous adenopathy].

We report a case of esophageal fistula of a tubercular mediastinal adenopathy revealed by melena and which was diagnosed partly by means of endoscopy and partly by scanning after carrying out endoscopic fistulography. Endoscopic ultrasound, which was carried out as a complementary examination, confirmed this diagnosis.

[Transplacental administration of diethylstilbestrol in the rat. I. Apropos of the fertility of its offspring].

To determine the effects of transplacental exposure to diethylstilboestrol (DES) on the fertility of the offsprings, timed pregnant Sprague Dawley OFA rats were treated with DES (10, 20, 50 and 100 micrograms/kg/d, subcutaneous) on days 10 to 18 of gestation (long time) or days 13 to 18 of gestation (short time). Only the lowest dosed groups (10 micrograms/kg/d, short and long times, and 20 micrograms/kg/d, short time) gave birth to living offsprings. The fertility of the male and female offsprings was determined postnatally by a breeding technique and appeared to be strongly decreased among females of all groups (70 to 100% of sterility) and moderately among males (11 to 18% of pathological fecundity).

[Influence of the sclerosing of esophageal varices on portal pressure and azygos venous blood flow].

Endoscopic sclerotherapy is widely employed for esophageal variceal hemorrhage. However it has side effects and can aggravate portal hypertension by suppression of portosystemic shunt. The purpose of the present investigation was to study the effect of variceal thrombosis on hepatic venous pressure gradient and azygos blood flow.

Randomized double-blind clinical trial of aluminum phosphate versus ranitidine in the acute treatment of duodenal ulcer.

A randomized double-blind clinical trial of aluminum phosphate versus ranitidine in the treatment of noncomplicated acute duodenal ulcer has been conducted in 91 patients. After randomization the 42 patients of the aluminum phosphate group were comparable to the 49 patients of the ranitidine group. At 4 weeks, 6 patients were not endoscoped and according to the intention-to-treat method they were considered as treatment failure.

[Transplacental administration of diethylstilbestrol in the rat. II. Effect on the hormonal receptors of the endometrium].

Transplacental exposure to diethylstilboestrol (DES) strongly decreases the fertility of the offsprings. Progesterone receptors concentrations are significantly decreased for treated group (0.40 and 0.

[Comparative efficacy of endoscopic sclerosis of esophageal varices by intravariceal injection of polidocanol and perivariceal injection of quinine-urea].

Concerned by mortality due to recurrent bleeding and associated risk factors in cirrhotic patients, we attempted to compare the efficiency of perivascular sclerotherapy using quinine urea with that of intravascular polidocanol and to determine the predictive factors of clinical outcome. Of 74 patients admitted for bleeding esophageal varices, 31 were treated with perivascular sclerotherapy (group I), and 43 with intravascular sclerotherapy (group II). Three months later, only 63 p.

[Extrahepatic digestive surgery in the cirrhotic patient].

Extra-hepatic abdominal surgery is associated with a high degree of risk in cirrhosis patients. Thus mortality is between 8 and 67% and morbidity between 28 and 47%. The chief complications are hepatic insufficiency, sepsis and visceral failure (cardiac, renal and pulmonary).

[Extrahepatic digestive surgery in cirrhotic patients: mortality, morbidity and preoperative prognostic factors].

The purpose of this work was to study postoperative mortality and morbidity with respect to preoperative prognostic factors in 67 patients with alcoholic or posthepatitis cirrhosis. Surgical procedures involved the biliary tract (n = 20), stomach (n = 16), colon or rectum (n = 12), and hernia (n = 7). Thirteen preoperative clinical and biological variables were subjected to mono- and multivariate statistical analysis.

[Transplacental administration of diethylstilbestrol (DES) in the rat: effects on fertility and on hormonal receptors in the endometrium].

To determine the effects of transplacental exposure to diethylstilboestrol (DES) on the fertility and endometrial hormonal receptors of the offsprings, timed pregnant OFA rats were treated with DES (10, 20, 50 and 100 micrograms/kg/day, subcutaneous) on days 10 to 18 of gestation (long time) or days 13 to 18 of gestation (short time). Only the lowest dosed groups (10 micrograms/kg/day, short and long times, and 20 micrograms/kg/day, short time) gave birth to living offsprings. The fertility of the male and female offsprings was determined postnatally by a breeding technique and appeared to be strongly decreased among females of all groups (70 to 100% of sterility) and slowly decreased among males (12 to 26% of pathological fecundity).

[Serum and tissue concentrations of zinc after oral supplementation in chronic alcoholics with or without cirrhosis].

Seric and hepatic zinc concentrations are decreased in chronic alcoholics, particularly those with cirrhosis. The purpose of this study was: 1) to assess the duration of zinc intake necessary to normalize seric and hepatic zinc concentrations; 2) to demonstrate that this supplementation did not increase zinc concentrations in other tissues (erythrocytes, leukocytes and hair) and did not induce adverse reactions. Twenty alcoholic patients with (group A: n = 13 or without (group B: n = 7) cirrhosis received zinc sulfate 600 mg daily during 10 days, 10 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis during 30 days (group C) and 7 during 60 days (group D) and were compared with a group of 30 normal subjects.

[Trace elements (zinc, copper, manganese) in alcoholic cirrhosis: effect of chronic alcoholism].

The authors studied the influence of alcohol intake and liver disease in the disturbances of trace elements detected in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. A determination of zinc, copper and manganese was carried out in the serum, the 24 h urine and a liver sample in 15 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis, 11 chronic alcoholics and 17 control subjects. In the serum of cirrhotic patients, zinc was significantly decreased, copper and manganese significantly increased.

[Association of cryoglobulins and hepatic disease: incidence, nature and immunochemical characteristics of cryoglobulinemia].

Mixed cryoglobulinemia associated with liver disease is well known, but its mechanism and signification still have to be elucidated. The purpose of this study was to identify and to characterize hepatic disease by their immunochemical features among 60 patients presenting with mixed cryoglobulinemia. Thirteen cases of alcoholic liver disease and 8 of virus B hepatitis out of 40 cases in all of hepatic disease in this group were studied.