Periorbital Lesions Research Articles

Effects of short-term isolated zinc deficiency on intestinal growth and activities of several brush border enzymes in weaning rats.

To determine whether zinc has a specific role on intestinal growth and function, three groups of male weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a semipurified zinc-deficient diet: ad libitum fed group received powdered diet and water containing 25 ppm of zinc; force fed (ZN, ZD) groups were fed identical amounts of diet to the ad libitum fed group by intragastric infusion three times per day. The diets were aqueous suspensions made with either deionized water (ZD) or water containing 25 ppm of zinc (ZN), and additional drinking water with (ZN) or without zinc (ZD) was offered ad libitum. Rats were sacrificed after 8 days of feeding. The ZD group showed growth arrest, perioral and periorbital dermal lesions, and abdominal distention within 8 days of feeding. Mucosal DNA, protein, sucrase, maltase, lactase, leucine aminopeptidase, and alkaline phosphatase were significantly decreased in the ZD group, whereas intestinal length, weight, and mucosal weight were unaltered. These results suggest that short-term isolated zinc deficiency impairs growth, digestion, and absorption in the rat small intestine, even in the absence of associated protein calorie malnutrition.

Inflammatory fibrous histiocytoma

The name inflammatory fibrous histiocytoma (IFH) is applied to a rare group of disorders which is not well known to surgeons but which may require surgical treatment. The name is misleading in that although there may be features of inflammation, the clinical progress, absence of causative organism and fatal outcome seem to place it within the sphere of malignancy. The condition is fully described by Kyriakos and Kempson (1976) and a case with a periorbital lesion managed by multiple surgical excisions, the “berry-picking” technique, is documented by Jones et al., (1979) . The average age is over 50 years and the sex distribution about equal. In this paper a patient much younger than average is presented to illustrate the problems of diagnosis and management. During the course of treatment an observation was made on the “take” of a free graft on the cortex of the sternum.

Modern Problems in Ophthalmology, Vol 14: Orbital Disorders

This book is a collection of papers presented at the Second International Symposium on Orbital Disorders, which was held in Amsterdam in 1973. Articles from ophthalmology, otolaryngology, general plastic surgery, neurosurgery, radiology, endocrinology, embryology, and anatomy disciplines are included. Critical review and discussion are unfortunately absent. This wide-based view of orbital diseases, coupled with the grouping of articles in specific problem areas (eg, trauma, tumor surgery, reconstructive surgery), does make the book helpful to the surgeon dealing with orbital and periorbital lesions. Many of the papers will be of minimal interest to the practicing otolaryngologist, but the previously mentioned sections, as well as the portion dealing with radiology of the orbit, make it a worthwhile reference for otolaryngology training programs.

Photodynamic treatment of herpes keratitis.

Photodynamic inactivation of virus was tested as a potential therapeutic tool for herpesvirus-induced keratitis, which is a leading cause of blindness and disability. Experimental keratitis produced in rabbits by infection with herpesvirus isolated from a human periorbital lesion was treated with proflavine and light. The herpetic keratitis could be rapidly resolved by the dye-light treatment, whereas improvement was not seen in untreated rabbits, nor in those treated with light alone or dye alone.