Picture simulation of contrast sensitivity in organic and functional amblyopia.

We have tried to illustrate some contrast sensitivity defects by picture simulation. We have used data obtained from 2 patients: a woman with optic nerve lesion (Snellen VA 0.5) and a 7.

An extrapyramidal choreiform syndrome caused by amphetamine addiction.

Four cases are described to demonstrate the extrapyramidal clinical syndrome sometimes appearing in chronic amphetamine users. The symptoms are dominated by choreiform or athetoid movements, ataxia and disturbances of gait. The syndrome develops during amphetamine abuse and may be observed also during abstinence.

Effects of grating stimulation on visual acuity in amblyopia.

Thirty-one children with amblyopia were treated with CAM vision stimulation. Twenty-one of them had previously been treated with conventional methods but failed to improve further. The conventional therapy was continued during and after CAM.

Eccentric contrast sensitivity loss in glaucoma.

Contrast sensitivity to stationary and phase-shifted vertical gratings was determined in patients with glaucoma. The sensitivity was reduced in areas with visual field defects.

Action of 4-aminopyridine on the cerebral circulation.

4-Aminopyridine (4-AP) facilitates both inhibitory and excitatory synaptic activity in the central nervous system, and may, therefore, be a drug of potential therapeutic use in brain diseases with a disturbed synaptic transmission. In the present study the vasomotor effects upon isolated feline brain vessels, and regional cerebral blood flow and brain cortical metabolism in rats were examined. At high concentrations (above 10-6 M) a minor vasoconstriction was obtained of isolated pial vessels.

The clinical picture of deep vein thrombosis correlated to the frequency of pulmonary embolism.

Pain and swelling of the leg have been studied in 27 patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Twenty-three of them were also examined for pulmonary embolism (PE) after one week of heparin treatment. Scoring systems were constructed to quantitate pain, size of DVT and PE.

Influence of smoking on thyroid activity.

Serum concentrations of T4, T3, rT3 and TSH were determined before and after cessation of chronic smoking in healthy subjects. Their body weights were measured at the same intervals. Abstention from smoking was monitored through determination of CO content in blood.

Heparin treatment of deep vein thrombosis. Effects and complications after continuous or intermittent heparin administration.

Twenty-eight patients with the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) were subjected to a prospective, randomized study comparing continuous and intermittent heparin treatment, utilizing the same doses and duration of therapy. The effect on pain (estimated with a scoring system) and the antithrombotic effect (assessed by the inhibition of 125I-fibrinogen accretion), followed for one week, were unrelated. Pulmonary embolism was scored and studied from lung perfusion scans and chest X-rays.

Neurolept anaesthesia for the renal transplant operation.

Between October 1973 and December 1976, neurolept anesthesia was used in 176 consecutive renal transplantations carried out in 155 patients. For premedication, the combination either of droperidol, diazepam and atropine or of oxicon and scopolamine was used; the latter was found to be more effective. The induction agent was droperidol or thiomebumal sodium, the barbiturate being found to be preferable.

Improvement of contrast sensitivity from treatment for amblyopia.

Twenty-four amblyopic children were treated with grating visual stimulation. In eight of them visual acuity did not change. However, four of these eight children showed improved contrast sensitivity.

Prevention of chromosomal breakage in Fanconi's anemia by cocultivation with normal cells.

The frequency of aberrations in cultured lymphocytes from patients with Fanconi's anemia was significantly reduced when the cells were cocultivated with normal human lymphocytes. The results suggest that most of the chromosomal aberrations observed in cultured cells from Fanconi patients arise during cultivation and that the presence of normal cells prevents chromosomal damage by means of a hitherto unknown mechanism.

Age variations in normal human contrast sensitivity.

The visual contrast sensitivity (the reciprocal of contrast threshold) was studied as a function of age. Psychophysical measurements of binocular and monocular contrast thresholds were made for 33 normal observers at spatial frequencies within the range 0.5 to 40 cycles/degree.

Effects of 4-aminopyridine on statistical parameters of transmitter release at the neuromuscular junction.

4-Aminopyridine (4-AP) potentiates transmitter release from motor nerve terminals by increasing the quantum content (m) of endplate potentials. Estimates of the binomial parameters of transmitter release shows that 4-AP enhances m by increasing n and not p.

On the physiological and clinical significance of a trapezius reflex evoked by tapping the spine.

On routine clinical examination it was observed that precussion over the thoracic spine occasionally produced reflex contraction of the intermediate and caudal parts of the trapezius muscle. The observation was made in one case of spondylitis and one case of inflammatory connective tissue disorder. Both patients had pain in the thoracolumbar regions.

Effects of 4-aminopyridine in myasthenia gravis.

A new drug, 4-aminopyridine, was prepared for use in humans and tested by repeated injections in six patients with myasthenia gravis. The drug caused improvement of muscle strength and neuromuscular transmission as demonstrated by clinical observations and repetitive electrical nerve stimulation. The drug was effective in cases without any other treatment as well as in cases undergoing treatment with anticholinesterases.

Compression of the inferior caval vein--a rare complication of a large non-parasitic liver cyst.

A patient with massive edema of the legs and scrotum is presented in whom non-parasitic cysts of the liver were found. Surgical evacuation of one large lobulated liver cyst completely relieved the patient of his edema. It is concluded that in this patient the peripheral edema was caused solely by cystic obstruction of the inferior caval vein.

Hematological side effects from antihypertensive drugs.

To sum up, some hematological side effects are seen after antihypertensive drugs. They are, however, few, usually not severe and furthermore reversible. And so, from the viewpoint of the hematologist, there are no contraindications against antihypertensive treatment.

Effects of 4-aminopyridine on neuromuscular transmission.

4-Aminopyridine (4-AP) powerfully increases transmitter release from motor nerve terminals of rat and frog skeletal muscle in response to single nerve impulses. The drug also enhances transmitter release during repetitive nerve activity but, at D-tubocurarine-blocked endplates, only the first impulses cause increased transmitter release at stimulation frequencies at or above 50 Hz. At magnesium- and botulinum-poisoned endplates, 4-AP potentiates transmitter release at every stimulus during tetanic nerve stimulation and restores neuromuscular transmission.