Left ventricular mass in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: assessment by three-dimensional and geometric MR methods.

Purpose: The goals of this work were to evaluate the practical utility of MRI to quantify myocardial mass in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), define the differences in myocardial mass measurements obtained with three-dimensional and geometric MR methods in patients with normal left ventricular morphology and in patients with wall thickening, and establish the correlation between the two MR methods and the geometric echocardiographic method (GEM).

Method: The same protocol was followed to conduct prospective MR examinations on 72 patients. In 60 of the subjects suspected to have HCM, imaging was performed to confirm or rule out the preliminary clinical diagnosis; the other 12 were healthy volunteers.

Activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, but not extracellular-regulated kinases, is necessary to mediate brain-derived neurotrophic factor-induced motoneuron survival.

Chick embryo spinal cord motoneurons develop a trophic response to some neurotrophins when they are maintained in culture in the presence of muscle extract. Thus, after 2 days in culture, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promotes motoneuron survival. In the present study we have analyzed the intracellular pathways that may be involved in the BDNF-induced motoneuron survival.

[Epileptic seizures as the first sign of fibrous bone dysplasia].

Introduction: Fibrous bone dysplasia is an unusual disorder of the maturation of bone, seen as hyperostosis of the craniofacial bones and the diaphyses of long bones. Monostotic and polyostotic forms occur, depending on whether one or more bones are affected. The diagnosis is radiological (cranial CT or MR) or on morbid anatomy.

Grading of subcutaneous soft tissue tumors by means of their relationship with the superficial fascia on MR imaging.

Objective: To assess the diagnostic value of the relationship between subcutaneous tumors and the superficial fascia in the characterization of soft-tissue masses.

Design: MR studies of 64 soft tissue masses located in the subcutaneous space were reviewed. We established five grades of relationship between tumors and superficial fascia and analyzed the probability of the lesions in each group being malignant.

Fibrosing mediastinitis: CT and MR findings.

The aim of this study is to present the computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) findings in three cases of fibrosing mediastinitis, probably secondary to tuberculosis. Two patients had diffuse involvement of the mediastinum and one patient presented with a posterior mediastinal mass. On CT, the patients with diffuse involvement showed infiltrating soft-tissue masses with multiple foci of dense calcifications.

Development of survival responsiveness to brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin 3 and neurotrophin 4/5, but not to nerve growth factor, in cultured motoneurons from chick embryo spinal cord.

During embryonic development, most neuronal populations undergo a process usually referred to as naturally occurring neuronal death. For motoneurons (MTNs) of the lumbar spinal cord of chick embryos, this process takes place in a well defined period of time, between embryonic days 6 and 10 (E6-E10). Neurotrophins (NTs) are the best characterized family of neurotrophic factors and exert their effects through activation of their specific Trk receptors.

Elastofibroma dorsi: MR and CT findings.

Elastofibroma dorsi is a benign, pseudotumoral soft tissue lesion of the periscapular area. The characteristical findings in magnetic resonance images and computed tomography usually allow the diagnosis and prevent radical surgery. We report the MR and CT findings of elastofibroma dorsi in four women presenting as an elongated soft tissue mass intermingled with fat, between the ribs and the serratus muscle, deep to the inferior angle of the scapula.

[Immunotherapy is effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. Retrospective study of 67 cases].

The value of immunotherapy (IT) in allergic rhinitis is debated. The results of a retrospective study of 67 patients treated with IT from 1985 to the end of 1995 are reported. Patients were classified as cured, improved, or not improved.

Hypnic headache syndrome: a case with good response to indomethacin.

Hypnic headache syndrome is a rare benign disorder which occurs in the elderly. It presents as a holocephalic or, less frequently, hemicranial headache during night sleep, lasting between 20 and 180 min; it is not associated with autonomic signs and responds well to lithium carbonate. We report a new case which responded well to indomethacin, and suggest that indomethacin may be used as an alternative treatment in this rare headache syndrome of the elderly.

Magnetic resonance imaging of congenital abnormalities of the thoracic aorta.

This article outlines the ability of MR imaging in the detection and presurgical evaluation of congenital abnormalities of the thoracic aorta (CATA). Congenital abnormalities of the thoracic aorta may be found incidentally on chest radiographs in patients without symptoms, or it can be associated with clinical findings which are very variable depending on the association with congenital cardiac malformations or vascular ring. When CATA is suspected as the cause of anomalies in the mediastinum in asymptomatic patients, confirmation of the abnormality should be by MR imaging allowing precise evaluation of the thoracic aorta and origin of the principal arteries.

Calmodulin is involved in membrane depolarization-mediated survival of motoneurons by phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase- and MAPK-independent pathways.

In the present work, we find that the elevation of extracellular K+ concentration promotes the survival of chick spinal cord motoneurons in vitro deprived of any neurotrophic support. This treatment induces chronic depolarization of the neuronal plasma membrane, which activates L-type voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels, resulting in Ca2+ influx and elevation of the cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration. Pharmacological reduction of intracellular free Ca2+ or withdrawal of extracellular Ca2+ reversed the effects of depolarization on survival.

Magnetic resonance imaging of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

To assess the capability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to define the presence, degree, and distribution of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in patients of European descent, MRI examination was prospectively performed in patients diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy on two-dimensional echocardiography. Twenty-five patients with hypertrophy located exclusively at the cardiac apex were the object of this study. Spin echo and gradient echo sequences were performed to evaluate the morphology, motility, and myocardial thickness of the left ventricle in diastole.

[A new method of administration of budesonide powder for the treatment of allergic rhinitis].

The efficacy and safety of a new device for administering powdered budesonide in allergic rhinitis was evaluated. This method eliminates the disadvantages of traditional preparations and improves dosing and administration, even at low nasal flow rates. A randomized, controlled, single-blind study was made in 66 patients with allergic rhinitis, half of whom were assigned to the experimental treatment (powdered budesonide) and half to a standard aerosol.

MR findings of macrodystrophia lipomatosa.

Macrodystrophia lipomatosa is a congenital form of localized gigantism characterized by an overgrowth of all mesenchymal elements with a disproportionate increase of adipose tissue. We describe a patient with macrodystrophia lipomatosa affecting the foot who exhibited characteristic MR findings that distinguish the lesion from other conditions associated with localized gigantism.

Thyroid hormones correlate with symptoms of hyperactivity but not inattention in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The diagnostic validity of dividing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) into two distinct subgroups, one with and one without hyperactivity, is controversial since there have been no physiological differences demonstrated between these two subgroups. In this study, the relationship between thyroid hormones and symptoms of hyperactivity was examined in subjects with resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH) and their unaffected family members. Clinical data were collected on 152 subjects; 75 subjects with RTH and 77 family members without RTH.

MR of laryngeal and scrotal involvement in multiple symmetrical lipomatosis.

Multiple symmetrical lipomatosis is a rare disorder characterized by progressive anomalous deposition of fat typically located in the neck and shoulders. Magnetic resonance imaging allows exact definition of the abnormal fatty tissue and the involvement of deep structures. We describe the MR findings in two patients with the typical fat deposition in the neck and upper thorax which also presented unusual location of abnormal fat.

Regression of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma during therapy with thalidomide.

A 14-year-old girl with HIV infection and subcutaneous Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) received thalidomide therapy for oral ulcers, resulting in regression of KS lesions, disappearance of KS-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) DNA from blood, and reduced viral load in tumor tissue. Administration of grauntocyte colony-stimulating factor resulted in clinical exacerbation of KS and reappearance of KSHV DNA in blood.

Value of MR findings in predicting the nature of the soft tissue lesions: benign, malignant or undetermined lesion?

Objective: To evaluate the value of each MRI findings in differentiating the nature of soft tissue lesions.

Subjects And Methods: We performed a blind retrospective review of MR imaging in 65 consecutive soft-tissue lesions (cystic lesions in or around the joints, and the soft tissue abnormalities directly related to a known trauma were excluded). Morphology and signal intensity characteristics were analyzed.

Continuous positive airway pressure is effective in treating upper airway oedema.

The case of a patient with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) and upper airway oedema, is described. The patient presented with alveolar hypoventilation and obstructive apnoeas during sleep. Intravenous steroids (methylprednisolone, 160 mg.

The carbohydrate N-acetylglucosamine is involved in the guidance of neurites from chick ciliary ganglion neurons through the extracellular matrix of rat skeletal muscle fiber.

In the present work we study the functional role of muscle cell extracellular matrix components in axonal guidance during synaptic regeneration. We focused on components recognized by the N-acetylglucosamine-specific lectin called wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) that has been shown to bind to the muscle cell extracellular matrix. We have used a cryoculture bioassay which is based on the ability of chick ciliary ganglion neurons to grow on rat skeletal muscle cryostat sections [Covault, J.

Thalidomide treatment of mucosal ulcerations in HIV infection.

Pain relief and resolution of oral and perianal ulceration after treatment with thalidomide in a 14 year old girl with vertically acquired HIV infection is reported.