Pentalogy or hexalogy of Cantrell?

Pentalogy of Cantrell (PC) is a rare congenital syndrome involving the abdominal wall, sternum, diaphragm, pericardium, and heart. The embryonic period in which PC develops coincides with that of umbilical cord (UC) formation. The aim of the following study was to address the question of whether PC is associated with UC pathologies.

Radiological diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Treatment of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) is often complicated by the fact that early HCCs are mostly asymptomatic and the carcinoma is often discovered at an advanced stage. The aim of diagnostic imaging is to detect HCC at an early stage, when curative options are available. In recent years, there have been many efforts to improve early detection of small HCC.

Effects of antihypertensive drugs on blood pressure and proteinuria in childhood.

Background: Historically, there have been few drug trials for antihypertensive treatment in childhood and recommendations have been extrapolated from data obtained in adulthood. During the last decade an increased awareness of the risks of childhood hypertension stimulated clinical trials of antihypertensive agents in children.

Objective: The aim of this article is to systematically review the studies published between 1995 and 2006 that deal with the effect of antihypertensive drugs on childhood hypertension or proteinuria.

Elevated exhaled nitric oxide in newborns of atopic mothers precedes respiratory symptoms.

Rationale: Exhaled nitric oxide (NO) is a well-known marker of established airway inflammation in asthma. Its role in the disease process before the onset of respiratory symptoms remains unclear.

Objectives: To examine whether elevated NO in newborns with clinically naive airways is associated with subsequent respiratory symptoms in infancy.

Optimization of MDCT of the wrist to achieve diagnostic image quality with minimum radiation exposure.

Objective: This study tests various acquisition and reconstruction protocols for MDCT of the wrist to determine the optimal protocol for obtaining diagnostic image quality with minimal radiation exposure.

Materials And Methods: Thirty anatomic specimens were examined with an MDCT collimation of 4.0 x 1.

Uncrossed cortico-muscular projections in humans are abundant to facial muscles of the upper and lower face, but may differ between sexes.

It is a popular concept in clinical neurology that muscles of the lower face receive predominantly crossed cortico-bulbar motor input, whereas muscles of the upper face receive additional ipsilateral, uncrossed input. To test this notion, we used focal transcranial magnetic brain stimulation to quantify crossed and uncrossed cortico-muscular projections to 6 different facial muscles (right and left Mm. frontalis, nasalis, and orbicularis oris) in 36 healthy right-handed volunteers (15 men, 21 women, mean age 25 years).

The thick heterogeneous (jellylike) placenta: a strong predictor of adverse pregnancy outcome.

Objective: To present a series of cases with a sonographic thick and heterogeneous placenta, and to review the literature.

Methods: A series of 16 cases were analyzed. A heterogeneous placenta was defined as a thick placenta with a patchy decrease of echogenicity, which quivered like jelly to sharp abdominal pressure.

Perinatal outcome of fetuses with a birth weight greater than 4500 g: an analysis of 3356 cases.

Objective: To assess the perinatal outcome in a series of macrosomic fetuses according to the intended mode of delivery, and to estimate the individual risk of shoulder dystocia and brachial plexus injury upon information available either prior the onset of labor or at delivery.

Study Design: Perinatal and postnatal information of 3356 women who delivered during a 10-year period a macrosomic fetus (>4500 g) in vertex presentation were analyzed. After the exclusion of cases with extraneous factors that may have affected the health of the neonate, patient and neonatal characteristics were compared according to the intended mode of delivery.

Altered sonographic umbilical cord morphometry in early-onset preeclampsia.

Objective: To determine whether the sonographic morphometry of the umbilical cord components is different in preeclamptic compared with healthy pregnant women.

Methods: Consecutive women admitted after 20 weeks' gestation with the diagnosis of preeclampsia and whose fetus was normally grown (cases) were included in the study. Each case was matched to a healthy pregnant woman (controls) who had ultrasonography at the same gestational age (+/- 3 days).

In-utero characterization of the blood flow in the Hyrtl anastomosis.

An anastomosis between the two umbilical arteries, located approximately within 3 cm from the placental insertion, has been previously described at delivery and in utero. However, the prenatal investigation of the Hyrtl anastomosis is limited to case reports. We report a series of antenatal functional evaluations of this vessel.

Arousal responses to inspiratory resistive loading during REM and non-REM sleep in normal men after short-term fragmentation/deprivation.

The arousal response to inspiratory resistive loading in normal men is known to be high during REM sleep compared to non-REM sleep. We investigated whether we could observe the same pattern, i.e.

sICAM-1, sE-selectin and sVCAM-1 are constitutively present in human skin lymph and increased in allergic contact dermatitis.

The expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and E-selectin is important for the regulation of the leucocyte traffic into and in inflammatory dermatoses. ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin were initially identified as cell-surface proteins, but recent evidence suggests that they also exist in a soluble form. The collection of human afferent lymph exclusively deriving from a selected skin area allows insight into local pathomechanisms as well as signal transmission in skin disorders.

Babyhaler--a new paediatric aerosol device.

Nebulizers have, until recently, been the mainstay of drug delivery by inhalation in babies and young children. The willingness of a young child to cooperate, however, is limited and the 10-12 mins needed to deliver drug using a nebulizer often limits the compliance with this mode of administration in infants. Therefore, drug delivery systems using the metered-dose inhaler (MDI) as the aerosol generator attached to valved holding chambers were developed.

Separation of autonomous function from cell density in non-immunogenic hyperthyroidism--II. quantified comparison before and after radioiodine therapy.

Regional autonomous cell mass (Q: cell density ratio) and function (T: toxicity index) were compared by double isotope parametric thyroid scintigraphy (Als et al., Nucl. Med.

Dual-isotope SPET 201Tl rest/99mTc-MIBI stress: one-day protocol for pre-operative myocardial imaging?

We compared the results of a rest 201TI/stress 99mTc-MIBI protocol, both by means of separate single isotope and simultaneous dual isotope acquisition, with a standard stress/rest 99mTc-MIBI 2-day protocol in 11 patients with low probability of CAD and 14 patients with chronic CAD. In patients with CAD 406 segments (sgs) were analysed. In the standard protocol 119 sgs were classified as pathological of which 50.

César Roux--Swiss pioneer in surgery.

César Roux of Lausanne, Switzerland, typified the pioneers in surgery at the turn of the nineteenth century. He was inspired by his mentor Theodor Kocher of Berne and the surgeons Theodor Billroth and Richard von Volkmann. Although he is best known for the Roux-en-Y loop, the first esophagojejunostomy and the first adrenalectomy are also evidence of his innovative approach to operative surgery.

Alignment of supracondylar/intercondylar fractures of the femur after internal fixation by AO/ASIF technique.

Fifty-nine supracondylar-intercondylar fractures of the femur in 57 patients were evaluated after a mean follow-up of 5 years 7 months (range 2 years to 11 years 3 months) after internal fixation using AO/ASIF technique. Axial alignment was compared with that of the uninjured side by orthoroentgenography in the upright position and by bilateral anteroposterior (AP) and lateral views of the femur. Identical values for varus/valgus were noted in 24%, for ante/recurvation in 72%, and for rotation in 61%; differences were within 5 degrees of varus/valgus in 74%, of ante/recurvation in 78%, and of rotation in 83%.

Isolated biotin-resistant deficiency of 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase presenting as a clinically severe form in a newborn with fatal outcome.

The son of Kurdish, consanguineous parents (cousin marriage) presented from the first day of life with initially focal and later generalized attacks of epileptic seizures and a severe generalized muscular hypotonia. Urinary excretion of 3-hydroxyisovalerate and of 3-methylcrotonylglycine was persistently increased. Diagnosis of isolated biotin-resistant 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase deficiency was confirmed in cultured fibroblasts.

Factors determining outcome in fractures of the extremities associated with arterial injuries.

Fifteen patients with fractures of the extremities and associated arterial injuries treated from 1976 to 1987 were retrospectively analyzed. Complete ischemia was present in only two cases; in four cases with partial ischemia, the vascular injury presented late after 12 h-14 days. All limbs could be preserved, but complications were frequent and necessitated 28 operations.

Multiple, large aneurysms of pulmonary arteries in Behçet's disease. Clinical remission and radiologic resolution after corticosteroid therapy.

We describe the case of a young European woman with Behçet's disease, hemoptysis, and multiple, large aneurysms of pulmonary arteries as confirmed by computed tomographic scan and angiography. Complete resolution of hemoptysis and radiologic signs of pulmonary artery aneurysms was observed three months after prednisone treatment, and a persisting remission was noted after ten months. We reviewed the literature on this rare complication and described the therapeutic approaches.

Dose-response relationships and time course of the response to systemic beta adrenoreceptor agonists in infants with bronchopulmonary disease.

The lung function response to three doses of salbutamol 0.075 mg/kg given at 10 minute intervals by gastric tube was studied in 31 infants aged 2-22 months with bronchopulmonary disease (eight after the respiratory distress syndrome, 15 with wheezy bronchitis, and eight with cystic fibrosis). Lung function was measured by whole body plethysmography.