Incidence Of Pathological Changes Research Articles

EYE SIGNS IN PATIENTS WITH ANOREXIA NERVOSA

Thirteen anorexia nervosa patients and 13 control subjects were examined for cataract and xerophthalmia. Although 11 patients had Vitamin A intakes below recommended daily levels for significant periods of time, there was no evidence to suggest that they had an increased incidence of pathological changes in conjunctiva or lens.

Antihypertensive action of d,l-alpha-tocopheryl nicotinate in rats.

The effects of d,l-alpha-tocopheryl nicotinate (EN) on model hypertension in rats were studied in comparison with d,l-alpha-tocopheryl acetate (EA). The progress of hypertension in young SHR during the 9th to 15th weeks after birth was markedly accelerated by replacing their driking water with 1% saline. The highly-developed hypertension in old SHR (9 months of age) was further advanced by salt-loading. Oral administration of 20 or 100 mg/kg of EN or 88 mg/kg of EA, once a day, delayed the progress of hypertension in young SHR and reduced advanced hypertension in old SHR. An antihypertensive effect of tocopheryl esters was also found in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. The treatment with EN or EA definitely reduced the incidence of pathological changes accompanying model hypertension such as suppressed weight gain, pulmonary edema, myocardial fibrosis, cerebral hemorrhage and protected the animals from death. In antihypertensive effect, EN was about 5 times more active than EA in molecular base, and the effects of EN protecting from pathological changes associated with model hypertension were more definite than those of EA. The treatment with EN or EA reduced water and sodium retention in the DOCA-salt hypertensive animals. This fact may suggest the implication of a mechanism through electrolyte metabolism in the antihypertensive action of these tocopheryl esters.

Tolerance of altitude-acclimatized rats to exercise in the cold.

The tolerance of altitude-acclimatized (18,000 ft 4 wk) and unacclimatized rats to exercise at 5 degrees was determined. Fewer unacclimatized than acclimatized rats became fatigued during 9 hr of exercise in the cold. Normal body temperatures were maintained in both groups during 9 hr in the cold at rest, but after exercise unacclimatized rats became mildly hypothermic (body temperature 35 degrees) and acclimatized rats severely hypothermic (body temperature 27.9 degrees). Polycythemia (hematocrit 69) was produced during the altitude acclimatization. Altitude-acclimatized rats developed more severe hypoglycemia and lower liver glycogen and serum lactic acid concentrations after exercise than did controls. No pathological changes were found in resting altitude-acclimatized rats, but after exercise in the cold, a higher percentage of acclimatized than unacclimatized rats developed focal myocardial necrosis within 4 days. Reduced exercise tolerance is attributed to severe hypothermia with associated decreased metabolism, polycythemia, hypoglycemia, and a higher incidence of pathological changes in the cardiac and striated muscles.

Umbilical vessel catheterization: Indications, management, and evaluation of the technique

The over-all complication rate of umbilical venous catheterization was twice that of umbilical arterial catheterization. The incidence of pathologic changes at necropsy associated with venous catheterization was fourfold that of arterial. Arterial catheter complications increased with increasing duration of catheterization while no such relationship was found for the venous route. Although the ease in placement of a venous catheter has resulted in its common use, we feel that the greater complication rate should result in reserving venous catheterization to those instances when use of the arterial route has proved impossible and an indwelling catheter is clearly needed.

Histologic study of the endometrium following intrauterine device insertion

Endometrial biopsies were performed in 104 women who had IUD's for an average of 35.6 months. Biopsies were performed at the time of IUD removal. Sixty women wanted the IUD to be removed because of side effects (bleeding and cramps) and 44 had them removed in order to become pregnant. Of the biopsies obtained from these 104 women, 8.7 percent had abnormal endometrial changes. There was a 4.8% incidence of endometritis and endometrial hyperplasia, as compared to an estimated 3% incidence among women without IUD's who had endometrial biopsies at another hospital in Taiwan. Since the number of cases in this study was small, it is not possible to say whether there was any significant difference in prevalence of endometrial hyperplasia and endometritis among those IUD users who had side effects and those who did not. No association was found between the length of time the IUD had been in place and the incidence of pathologic changes of the endometrium.

The fate of ovaries preserved at the time of hysterectomy

This reports the cytologic and clinical observations of 207 patients who underwent hysterectomy with or without removal of the ovaries. The incidence of pathologic changes in the retained ovaries was low, the incidence of postoperative menopausal symptoms was higher among patients in whom both ovaries were removed at the time of hysterectomy than among patients who had ovarian tissue preserved. The age of 45 did not appear to be a realistic dividing line for the decision to remove healthy ovarian tissue because ovarian function was not found to cease at this age. Evaluation of vaginal exfoliative cytology showed ovulation occurring in one woman 21 years after hysterectomy with unilateral oophorectomy. No correlation was found between menopausal symptoms and the actual hormonal status of the patients as evaluated by vaginal cytology. A plea is made for individual evaluation of vaginal cytology rather than oversimplification of the method.

Augmentation of hormone-induced hypertensive cardiovascular disease by simultaneous exposure to stress.

Many attempts have been made to demonstrate that stressed uninephrectomized rats on a high NaCl intake develop hypertensive cardiovascular disease. This was first claimed by Selye (1943), who inferred that adrenal cortical hypersecretion was the causative factor. Recently the experimental data has been reinforced and the view as to causation reiterated (Selye, 1957, Ingle & Baker, 1957, and others). Crane et al. (1958 a) have subjected the hypothesis to careful scrutiny and concluded that while exposure to cold, or certain other stressors, produces cardiac and renal hypertrophy and a variable incidence of pathologic changes in these organs, the amount of food consumed, and particularly sodium ingested, are crucial factors. A bewildering variety of stressors has been tried. Selye et al. (1958) used restraint, pentobarbital, vagotomy, cold baths, hot baths, spinal cord transection, bone fractures, intestinal trauma, quadriplegia, adrenalin, noradrenalin, »Pitressin« and nephrectomy, in an attempt to produce cardiopathy; Crane et

MYASTHENIA GRAVIS TREATED BY EXCISION OF THYMIC TUMOR

Since Weigert's1discovery of a thymic tumor in a patient who had died of myasthenia gravis, much speculation has arisen concerning the role of the thymus in this curious disease. Postmortem studies disclosed tumors, hyperplasia or enlargement of the thymus in approximately 50 per cent of the cases collected by Norris.2It appears likely that this high incidence of pathologic changes in the thymus is more than coincidental. There are few instances in the literature of successful removal of thymic tumor for myasthenia gravis. Sauerbruch, as cited by others,3excised a tumor in 3 cases. Two of his patients died of mediastinitis shortly after operation; the third case is of particular interest here. A woman aged 20 had pronounced myasthenia gravis and hyperthyroidism. After ten weeks' rest in the hospital her condition remained unchanged. Ligation of the right superior thyroid artery and vein failed to lessen the