The thickening of the gallbladder wall in patients with ascites is commonly related to hypoalbuminemia and/or portal hypertension. To evaluate the pathogenetic role of these two factors, we correlated gallbladder wall thickness (GBWT) with the albuminemia and the serum-ascites albumin gradient (SAAG), an index of portal hypertension, in 47 patients with ascites caused by cirrhosis of the liver or abdominal malignancy. We found a thickened gallbladder wall in 30/47 patients. The correlation between GBWT and SAAG was 0.64 (n = 47 p less than 0.001). No correlation was found between GBWT and albuminemia (r = 0.04). We suggest that the sonographic finding of ascites and gallbladder wall thickening should be considered a valuable sign of transudative ascites and of portal hypertension whatever its cause.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Oscillatory potentials of the electroretinogram in hypertensive patients with different antihypertensive treatment.

Oscillatory potentials of the electroretinogram are useful to confirm the diagnosis of essential hypertension. Thirty-five hypertensive patients underwent primary antihypertensive therapy with four different treatments. Oscillatory potentials were recorded before the treatment and after 12 months. The oscillatory response increased in a statistically significant manner in the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor group. This is probably caused by the vasodilatation mechanism, which increases the retinal blood flow.

Action Potentials↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Electro-oculographic abnormality in eyes with uveal melanoma.

PURPOSE: To seek out correlations between preoperative electro-oculogram (EOG) recordings with different types of uveal melanomas, after surgery. METHODS: We analysed the EOG recordings of 120 patients with uveal melanomas, histologically verified, 100 in the choroid and 20 in the iris and ciliary body. The EOG data were correlated with the site, size and histological type of the tumor. RESULTS: In 100 eyes with choroidal melanoma the Arden Index (AI) was less than in fellow eyes (mean 126.6, SD +/- 23.8 and 202.9, SD +/- 47.0; p=0.01). The EOG values were not different with respect to the histological type, site and size of tumor. In cases with iris and ciliary body melanomas the AI were not significantly different from the fellow eyes (mean 180.6, SD +/- 23.6 and 203.2, SD +/- 38.7; p=0.07). CONCLUSIONS: Since the EOG is abnormal in eyes with choroidal melanoma, it can be considered a powerful auxiliary for diagnosing these tumors.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Homonymous bilateral hemianopsia: electrophysiological study of a case.

Described is a case of bilateral homonymous hemianopsia with macular sparing, resulting from head trauma. The case presented lesions of the occipital visual areas which involved entirely the left hemisphere and only partially the right hemisphere. VEP were obtainable only from electrodes placed on the right hemisphere with both right eye and left eye stimulation. VEP mapping showed that each eye projects macular fibres towards functional areas of the right occipital hemisphere. Electrophysiological examination confirmed objectively and for the first time in man the theory of "double cortical macular representation". Clinical implications of this finding are discussed.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Dietary calcium on vascular reactivity in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Vascular reactivity and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were studied in tail artery rings isolated from stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) and normotensive, Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). After a control week on a diet with 1% of calcium, the animals were randomly assigned to three groups, which were fed with 1% (control), 0.4% (low) or 2.5% (high) dietary calcium. Both vascular reactivity and SBP were studied in the same animal during 9 weeks after changing diets. In the SHRSP rats on high Ca diet, maximal contractile responses to norepinephrine and serotonin (10(-10) to 10(-4) M) and to KCl (5 to 105 mM) were markedly decreased at the end of the study with respect to the control diet. These vascular changes were accompanied by a decrease of SBP in the same animals. Low calcium diet prevented the age-related increase of SBP in SHRSP rats and produced vascular changes of a lesser magnitude. WKY rats showed no significant modifications of SBP or vascular reactivity. Since plasmatic Ca2+ levels were not altered, the changes detected could not be attributed to a direct depressant effect of high calcium on the vascular smooth muscle cell (i.e. a "stabilizing action" of calcium). It is speculated that high dietary calcium could modulate the synthesis of calcium binding proteins of the plasma membrane, decreasing vascular reactivity and the elevated vascular resistance which is usually present in hypertension.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Clinical case: Class II, division 1 with considerable overjet and bimaxillary symptoms].

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Adult↗