[Rhombencephalosynapsis : a rare cerebellar malformation not to miss].

Rhombencephalosynapsis (RS) is a rare cerebellar malformation characterized by the association of partial or total vermis agenesis and fusion of the cerebellar hemispheres. This malformation is often associated with supratentorial cerebral abnormalities and more rarely with extra-cranial abnormalities. The severity of the clinical manifestations and the prognosis of RS depend on the findings of the posterior fossa and the associated anomalies.

[Obesity, bariatric surgery and contraception].

The use of hormone therapy is an important therapeutic choice in woman's life, both for contraceptive purpose to avoid unwanted pregnancy, as well as for treatment of menstrual disorders, or climacteric symptoms. Medical care must therefore be dynamic, tailored to individual requirements as much as possible, reflecting personal and family background, potential risks related to treatment, and of course patient's wishes. We will first discuss the modalities of contraception in presence of obesity, then the need for potential adjustment following bariatric surgery.

Ulcer of Lipschutz, a rare and unknown cause of genital ulceration.

Acute genital ulcers are painful and distressing to women. Lipchutz Ulcer is an uncommon disease that typically occurs in sexually inactive young women. The main differential diagnosis are sexually-transmitted or non-infectious diseases which cause genital or oro-genital ulcerations.

A reversible posterior leucoencephalopathy syndrome including blindness caused by preeclampsia.

Complications of (pre)eclampsia may involve multiple systems and organs. Neurological symptoms may occur. Visual symptoms concern up to 25% the of patients with severe preeclampsia and 50% of the patients with eclampsia.

[Case of the month. Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis due to an iodinated contrast radiodiagnostic agent].

Iodinated contrast agents are frequently involved in delayed polymorphic adverse skin reactions. Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis following administration of iodinated contrast agents is a rare but severe form of such reactions. The disease is characterized by the sudden occurrence of an erosive and pustular erythroderma with fever, leukocytosis and sometimes peripheral adenopathies and liver involvement.

[Sporadic Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome].

Birt-Hogg-Dube is a rare syndrome which is sporadic or hereditary with a dominant autosomal transmission. Various organs, in particular the skin, can be affected. In the presently reported case, skin was covered by hundreds of small molluscoid papules corresponding to trichodiscomas, fibrofolliculomas and skin tags.

[Skin and its main neurocristopathies].

The neurocristopathies encompass genetic disorders targeting some structures originating from the neural crest development. Hence, skin is affected by some clinical manifestations of these disorders. This review covers the main aspects found in neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, incontinentia pigmenti, neurocutaneous melanoblastosis, basal cell naevomatosis and the epidermal naevus syndrome.

[How I explore...A patient with palmar erythema].

Palmar erythema occurs in a series of physiological and pathological conditions. The first group encompasses hereditary and idiopathic conditions, as well as the time of pregnancy and ageing. The pathological states include some dermatoses as well as hepatic, autoimmune, infectious and paraneoplastic conditions.

Near-infrared (NIR) monitoring of H2O2 vapor concentration during vapor hydrogen peroxide (VHP) sterilisation.

Purpose: There is an increasing use in the pharmaceutical industry of barrier systems such as transfer isolators, sterilisation tunnels and work station isolators. As Vapor Hydrogen Peroxide (VHP) sterilisation of isolators and lyophilizers becomes an important sterilisation method, there is an acute need for a VHP monitoring system to be used for in-process control and validation. In this study, near infrared (NIR) spectrofotometry was evaluated as a potential technique to monitor hydrogen peroxide.

Sucrose laurate gels as a percutaneous delivery system for oestradiol in rabbits.

In this study sucrose laurate was formulated in hydrogels and investigated as a suitable transdermal penetration enhancer for oestradiol. Using rabbits as an animal model, the absolute bioavailability and the skin irritation were evaluated after single and multiple application. Three hydrogels containing 60 mg% oestradiol were evaluated: Oestrogel, and two hypromellose gels containing 5 and 15% sucrose laurate (w/w), respectively.

Evaluation of the nebulisation of sodium ceftiofur in the treatment of experimental Pasteurella haemolytica bronchopneumonia in calves.

Severe acute bronchopneumonia was induced in 24 conventional Friesian Holstein calves by inoculating them intratracheally with Pasteurella haemolytica type A1. Twelve of the calves were treated intramuscularly with sodium ceftiofur and 12 were treated with an aerosol of sodium ceftiofur. The mortality rate in the group of calves treated with the aerosol was significantly lower, and their clinical and haematological parameters returned to normal significantly faster than in the calves treated intramuscularly.

Intracellular survival and multiplication of virulent and less virulent strains of Streptococcus bovis in pigeon macrophages.

The intracellular fate of pigeon S. bovis strains ingested by macrophages was studied in vivo and in vitro. During in vivo experiments, histological and electron microscopical examinations demonstrated numerous cocci, which appeared to be actively multiplying, within splenic macrophages of pigeons experimentally inoculated with a highly virulent S.

Effect of adjuvant administration on weight gain, infectious diseases, and mortality of veal calves.

Young weaned calves are susceptible to viral and bacterial infections. In two studies 279 and 500 weaned calves were injected at random with an adjuvant, with saline or were left untreated in order to evaluate their weight gain or illness and mortality during the first 10 weeks of fattening on a fat-stock farm. However, in contrast to studies reported in the literature, no significantly higher increase in weight gain and no significant improvement of illness and mortality were found with adjuvant treatment.

Effect of drug formulation and feeding on the pharmacokinetics of orally administered quinidine in the horse.

Quinidine is the drug of choice for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias in horses. The plasma concentrations vs. time profiles following oral administration of two formulations of quinidine sulphate, an oral solution and an oral suspension paste, were evaluated in nine horses.

Micro-encapsulation of MDCK-ras-e cells prevents loss of E-cadherin invasion-suppressor function in vivo.

The invasion-suppressor molecule E-cadherin mediates Ca(2+)-dependent cell aggregation and prevents invasion. E-cadherin-positive Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells that were non-invasive in vitro formed, upon i.p.

Enlarged cell-associated proteoglycans abolish E-cadherin functionality in invasive tumor cells.

Mouse and dog epithelial cell lines, expressing high levels of the Ca(2+)-dependent cell-cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin in vitro, generated invasive and metastatic tumors in athymic mice. From these tumors, neoplastic cell lines were isolated. All ex vivo isolates retained high expression levels of E-cadherin at their surface.

The molecular weight cut-off of microcapsules is determined by the reaction between alginate and polylysine.

Mammalian cells encapsulated in alginate-polylysine microcapsules are used as artificial organs in cancer research and in biotechnology. These applications require microcapsules with a reproducible mol. wt.

Light stability of molsidomine in infusion fluids.

The influence of artificial light, daylight or stimulated sunlight on the stability of molsidomine was investigated. In static experiments an 80 micrograms mL-1 solution of molsidomine in saline was stored in an unprotected infusion bag. During dynamic experiments the molsidomine solution (80 micrograms mL-1) was dropped at 12.

Influence of the sterilization process on alginate dispersions.

The influence of different sterilization procedures on alginate dispersions was studied by measuring viscosity and molecular weight changes. Autoclaving caused a 64% decrease in viscosity. Heating at a low temperature over several cycles was less efficient in sterilizing alginates and there was a progressive breakdown of the alginate chain over the succeeding cycles.

Sorption of isosorbide dinitrate to central venous catheters.

As several studies demonstrated the sorption of isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) to intravenous delivery systems, a study on the sorption of ISDN to several central venous catheters was performed. Fourteen different catheters were perfused during a 2 h period, under simulated infusion conditions, with ISDN (250 micrograms mL-1) in 0.9% (w/v) sodium chloride.

Host reaction against alginate-polylysine microcapsules containing living cells.

Syngeneic and nude mice were injected intraperitoneally with saline, empty microcapsules, aggregates of tumourogenic MO4 cells, encapsulated non-tumourogenic MO cells and encapsulated MO4 cells. The host reaction 4 days after injection, was evaluated by counting the leucocytes in the peritoneal cavity and the cells sticking to recovered microcapsules. A significantly lower number of peritoneal leucocytes was found in mice injected with empty microcapsules or encapsulated MO cells as compared with encapsulated MO4 cells.