Antibodies to sulfatide in leprosy and leprosy reactions.

Antibodies to sulfatide have been reported in various demyelinating peripheral polyneuropathies. We have investigated the diagnostic value of these antibodies in leprosy. Anti-sulfatide IgM in leprosy patients was not significantly elevated.

Natural history of ultrasound hip abnormalities in clinically normal newborns.

One hundred one clinically normal newborn hips showed varying degrees of sonographic hip dysplasia according to the classification of Graf. None were treated, and after +/- 6 months, radiographs showed that only four had definite dysplasia. Of these, three had had risk factors such as breech delivery or familial predisposition.

[Videodensitometry in echoencephalography of premature infants].

In 22 premature children (12 normal prematures and 10 with brain pathology) echodensity was measured as average grey scale values. For performing the measurements, echoencephalograms were recorded on videotape and analysed by an IBM-AT computer and a high resolution framegrabber. An evident difference of echodensity was measured between normal parenchyma, skull, fresh cerebral haemorrhages and cerebral oedema.

Continuous intravenous ammonia infusion as a model for the study of hepatic encephalopathy in rabbits.

To obtain a more precise pathophysiological evaluation of the role of ammonia in acute hepatic encephalopathy, we compared the plasma ammonia concentrations and electroencephalographic recordings (EEGs) of rabbits with surgically induced acute hepatic failure (AHF, n = 10) and normal rabbits administered an infusion of ammonium acetate (NH4-Ac, n = 7) over a 10-hr period. AHF was surgically induced by portocaval shunting followed by hepatic artery ligation 48 hr later. In the infusion group the dose of NH4-Ac, initially 0.

Diagnostic ultrasound equipment. Safety and dosimetry.

A survey of present opinions on the safety of diagnostic ultrasound applications is presented together with some data on output levels. Physical mechanisms involved in potential adverse effects are described. Labelling requirements of the equipment are defined and specified.

A surgical model of fulminant hepatic failure in the rabbit: different effects of end-to-side versus small-diameter side-to-side portacaval shunt.

We developed a rabbit model of fulminant hepatic failure by way of a two-staged total liver devascularisation procedure. For the first-stage procedure (portosystemic shunting), the clinical, biochemical and electro-encephalographic courses in 6 rabbits (group I) with an end-to-side portacaval shunt (ETS-PCS), 6 rabbits (group II) with a small-diameter side-to-side portacaval shunt (STS-PCS) and 6 rabbits (group III) with the same STS-PCS and 48 h of pretreatment with oxytetracycline were investigated and compared to 6 sham rabbits (group IV). The limited survival, the fall in clotting factors and the rapid development of hyperammonaemia with encephalopathy within 48 h in group I point to ETS-PCS-associated ischaemic liver necrosis.

Real-time compound scanning for echoencephalography.

A new ultrasonic scanning method is introduced for examination of the infant brain as for instance in cases of intracerebral haemorrhages or hydrocephalus. The examinations are carried out with an electronic phased array compound scanner with dynamic focussing. Tomograms of the cranium are obtained in three dimensions.

Objective measurement of hepatic encephalopathy in pigs by means of spectral analysis and evoked responses.

Objective measurement of hepatic encephalopathy by means of spectral analysis of the electroencephalogram (EEG), visual-evoked potentials (VEP) and brainstem auditory-evoked potentials (BAEP) was studied in pigs with ischemic hepatic necrosis. The mean dominant frequency (MDF) and the relative power of the delta frequency band (% delta power) showed significant changes with increasing encephalographic grades of encephalopathy: MDF dropped from 7.0 +/- 0.

Tolerance to nitrous oxide in volunteers.

Nociception and loss of awareness during exposure to anaesthetic concentration of nitrous oxide (N2O) were studied in eight male medical students. The cold water nociception test, where a hand is immersed in 0 degree C stirred water, was used for measurement of nociception. At irregular intervals an auditory command was given to oppose two fingers, and this served to monitor consciousness.

Absence of electroencephalographic excitation pattern under isoflurane anesthesia.

In twelve patients the EEG was recorded under isoflurane--nitrous oxide inhalation anesthesia. A quiet EEG pattern was registered, without suppressions and seizures of spike activity which are often observed under enflurane. This was the case even when end expiratory CO2 shifted to low values (3-3.

Objective measurement of hepatic encephalopathy by means of automated EEG analysis.

Automated analysis of the electroencephalogram as an objective measurement of hepatic encephalopathy for the individual patient was investigated. The mean dominant frequency of patients with grades 0 and 1 hepatic encephalopathy was in the normal range (greater than or equal to 6.4 Hz); grade 1 hepatic encephalopathy, however, was characterized by abnormal relative power of theta activity of more than 35%.

Visual evoked potentials, auditory evoked potentials and EEG in shunted hydrocephalic children.

Visual evoked potentials (VEP) and auditory evoked potentials (AEP) were studied together with the EEG, in 15 hydrocephalic children who had been shunted previously, and in a control group of 10 normal children. From the control group normal VEP's, AEP's and EEG's were obtained. In all 15 hydrocephalic children the EEG was abnormal.

Evaluation of echoencephalography.

Clinical use of A- and B-mode echoencephalography in neurology, neurosurgery, and pediatrics is discussed, and some results are presented. Descriptions are given of several techniques to obtain two-dimensional echoencephalographic pictures. Two-dimensional echoencephalography can be particularly helpful with hydrocephalic babies.

Bromine in blood, EEG and transaminases in methyl bromide workers.

In 33 methyl bromide users, slight electroencephalographic changes (in 10 subjects) and a small increase in serum transaminases were found which could be related to bromine concentration in blood. No relationship was found with subjective symptoms, general neurological examination or the results of serum protein electrophoresis.

Infantile spasms associated with hemihypsarrhythmia and hemimegalencephaly.

A case of unilateral megalencephaly in a four-week-old child with infantile spasms and hemihypsarrhythmia is presented. The histological and histometrical investigations showed signs of immaturity in the cortex of the megalencephalic hemisphere.

Hemoglobin A2 levels in malaria patients.

The influence of malaria on the hemoglobin A2 (Hb A2) level in humans was studied in a series of 94 imported cases in Belgium. Sixty-nine of the patients were natives of Western European countries, their results are reported separately since their origin and the results of their hematological examination made it unlikely that they carried the beta-thalassemia trait. The Hb A2 level of the 94 malaria patients (mean 2.

A directional quantifying Doppler system for measurement of transport velocity of blood.

A transcutaneous Doppler device has been developed that measures primarily the directional transport velocity of blood, averaged over the vessel diameter, irrespective of its flow in adjacent vessels. Directional information is obtained by high or low-pass filtering of frequency converted versions of the received Doppler signals, applying low-cost, sharp filters in a superheterodyne system. Upper and lower channel signals are quantified separately to average directional velocity.