[Transabdominal CT-guided sympathectomy].

A new technique for lumbar sympathectomy is described. It consists of CT-guided trans-abdominal fine needle puncture and injection of alcohol. The technique is simple and well tolerated by the patient, and it permits accurate application of the alcohol.

[Echocardiographic studies before and after a 100-mile race on 21 female athletes].

Two-dimensional echocardiography can provide better information than conventional radiological volume measurements concerning the amount of hypertrophy and dilatation, which contribute to the cardiac enlargement found in athletes. Linear cardiac measurements in standardised planes were obtained by two-dimensional echocardiography; the findings in 21 women athletes obtained before and after a 100-mile race were compared with a number of normals. All cardiac chambers were found to be equally enlarged and the aortic root and the ascending aorta were dilated.

On the logic of the application of double-inhibitor titrations for the elucidation of the mechanisms of energy coupling.

In the last couple of years the chemiosmotic hypothesis has been severely criticised, such that many research groups now consider it to be a less than exact description of biological energy transduction. The most potent experimental support for this view is based upon the technique known as the double-inhibitor titration [e.g.

[Sonography of the thyroid gland. Volume determination and morphologic correlation of echo and tissue structures].

The volume of 15 autopsied thyroid glands was determined by fluid displacement and compared with their sonographically obtained stereometric volumes. Maximum variation was 8.6%.

The use of fluorescein-dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine for measuring pH-changes in the internal compartment of phospholipid vesicles.

The synthesis and characterisation of fluorescein-phosphatidylethanolamine (FPE) is described. The effects of dielectric constant, ionic strength and ambient pH upon the optical absorbance properties of FPE are presented. It is shown that under appropriate conditions, FPE rapidly and quantitatively reports the pH of the aqueous bulk phases when incorporated into phospholipid vesicles.

[Removal of retained bile duct stones through the T-tube drain].

Within seven years 23 patients were treated postoperatively by percutaneous bile stone extraction. This procedure was successful in 18 patients. Although an interval of 5-7 weeks between choledochotomy and percutaneous extraction is recommended, the procedure was done 11 to 31 days after surgery with no negative effects.

[Computer tomographic determination of left ventricular muscle mass].

Left ventricular muscle mass LVMM) was determined by computed tomography in 19 dogs (33 in vivo and 19 postmortem studies). CT values obtained with 4 models were compared with the actual LVMM at autopsy. Excellent correlation was achieved by volumetric analysis (model A; r = 0.

[Survey echocardiography. A comparative evaluation of enlarged heart chambers in the echocardiogram and the plain x-ray].

Eighty patients with various types of heart disease were examined by radiography and sectional studies of the heart on the same day. These were compared with 2-dimensional examinations of the chambers during end-diastole. It was found that echocardiography may demonstrate dilated chambers due to a cardiomyopathy where the plain radiograph is entirely normal.

Detection of enzymatic activities in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels: DNA polymerases as model enzymes.

Recent techniques for detecting the catalytic activity of enzymes in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gels have been hampered by lack of reproducibility associated with variability in commercial SDS preparations. Simple expedients which facilitate reproducible detection of DNA polymerase activity and which appear to be widely applicable to detection of other enzymes are reported here. It was observed that reproducibility of a reported procedure for DNA polymerase detection (Spanos, A.

Hypnosis compared to relaxation in the outpatient management of chronic low back pain.

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) presents a problem of massive dimensions. While inpatient approaches have been evaluated, outpatient treatment programs have received relatively little examination. Hypnosis and relaxation are two powerful techniques amenable to outpatient use.

Drug-induced lipid peroxidation in mice--V. Ethane production and glutathione release in the isolated liver upon perfusion with acetaminophen.

Isolated liver from phenobarbital-induced male mice was perfused using infusions of cytochrome c pulses as quality control of the system. Livers spontaneously evolved 1.1 pmoles ethane g-1 liver min-1, exogenous pentane disappeared with 0.

[Surgical treatment in acute pancreatitis. The change as influenced by sonography and computer tomography].

The diagnosis of acute pancreatitis is based on anamnestic, clinical and chemical data. Ultrasound and computed tomography permit direct visualisation of the pancreas and establish the diagnosis. In cases of haemorrhagic-necrotising pancreatitis they demonstrate the extent of morphological changes and permit exclusion of other causes of an acute abdomen.

[Diagnosis of the site of insulinomas: percutaneous transhepatic portal vein catheterisations with selective blood sampling for hormone determination (author's transl)].

Percutaneous transhepatic portal vein catheterisation with blood sampling from the various areas of drainage, especially the pancreatic veins, was undertaken in seven patients with insulinoma to diagnose its site. In six patients measurement of serum-insulin levels revealed an abrupt rise in the vascular area later found to drain the area of the insulinoma. Insulin measurement in one patient with insulinoma in the head of the pancreas falsely indicated an islet-cell tumour in the region of the tail of the pancreas.

Studies on the molecular basis of H+ translocation by cytochrome c oxidase.

We report here studies which characterize further the interaction of N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide with cytochrome c oxidase leading to inhibition of H+ translocation by the enzyme. Further evidence is presented to show that the inhibition results from a real interaction of DCCD with the enzyme and cannot be accounted for by uncoupling and, contrary to recent criticisms, this interaction occurs specifically with subunit III of the enzyme even at relatively high inhibitor-to-enzyme stoichiometries. Use of a spin-label analogue of DCCD has enabled us to demonstrate that the carbodiimide-binding site is highly apolar and may not lie on the pathway of electron transfer.

[B-scan sonography for tumour localisation in hyperparathyroidism (author's transl)].

Thirty-four patients with known primary, secondary or tertiary hyperparathyroidism were examined sonographically in order to localise the enlarged glands. Of 40 tumours found at operation, 27 (67%) could be demonstrated sonographically as oval or round structures with low echoes. The smallest tumour diagnosed pre-operatively was 10 x 5 x 4 mm.

[B-scan sonography of the carotid artery. Technique, results and indications (author's transl)].

Three hundred and forty-six carotid arteries were examined with a two-dimensional 3.5 MHz real time scanner in 173 patients with evidence of cerebral ischaemia; 62 carotid arteries were investigated by selective trans-femoral angiography in 36 of these patients at the same time. Sonography and angiography agreed in 20 (91%) of 22 angiographically normal cases, in all cases (10) with haemodynamically insignificant plaques, in eight (66%) of 12 stenosis of less than 50%, in nine (90%) of ten stenosis of more than 50% and in four (44%) of nine total occlusions.

Treatment of idiopathic varicoceles by transfemoral testicular vein occlusion.

Percutaneous transfemoral occlusion of the testicular vein is a new alternative in the treatment of idiopathic varicocele. Embolization with the Gianturco coil was done on 27 patients. The occlusion was performed immediately after diagnostic phlebography.

[Superselective embolisation in the urogenital tract with tissue adhesives (author's transl)].

The tissue adhesive butyl-2-cyanoacrylate mixed with lipiodol and tantulum powder is an excellent agent for superselective catheter embolisation of small vessels. The mixture is low viscous and can be injected through fine catheters. Occlusion is independent of blood clotting and is permanent.

Determination of liver and spleen perfusion by quantitative sequential scintigraphy: results in normal subjects and in patients with portal hypertension.

Quantitative sequential hepatosplenic scintigraphy was performed to determine the arterial and portal components of the total liver circulation in 135 patients (no liver disease in 20, liver cirrhosis and portal ;hypertension in 115). Portal circulation in healthy patients is calculated to be 70.4 +/- 6.