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Biomedical subjects

J B Kirkpatrick

Publications and source records attributed to J B Kirkpatrick.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Position and vibration sensations: functions of the dorsal spinocerebellar tracts?

Clinical evidence is presented which establishes for the first time that position and vibration sensations may be carried in the dorsal spinocerebellar tracts. We present a patient who incurred a spinal cord infarction eight months prior to death that caused a Brown-Séquard syndrome with loss of position and vibration senses in the right lower extremity. The infarction spared the right fasciculus gracilis and thus supports the recent observations in human beings (and animals) that conscious proprioception is not a function of the dorsal columns. The vibratory and position losses were best correlated with the portion of the lesion involving the right dorsal spinocerebellar tract. Arguments are furnished based on physiological experiments in animals that conscious proprioception may be carried by Morin's spinocervicothalamic pathway, which forms part of the dorsal spinocerebellar tract in the spinal cord.

Brain Mapping↗
PubMed1979

Trigeminal neuralgia and multiple sclerosis: demonstration of the plaque in an operative case.

Trigeminal neuralgia is unique to humans. The most common cause seems to be an injury to the myelin of the trigeminal nerve root entry zone as it extends for several millimeters lateral to the pons. Jannetta has developed an elegant retromastoid microsurgical approach to this region. He has identified a compression-distortion phenomenon of this nerve root entry zone, usually from an anomalous position of the superior cerebella artery. Trigeminal neuralgia can also occur in association with multiple sclerosis, when the plaque lies in this same location. The historical evidence for this explanation is reinforced by the electron microscopic demonstration of the plaque in this region in a patient with multiple sclerosis who was suffering from tic douloureux. (Neurosurgery, 5: 711--717, 1979).

Female↗
PubMed1978

Clinical studies of intrathecal autologous lymphocyte infusions in patients with malignant glioma: a toxicity study.

The feasibility and toxicity of intrathecal lymphoid cell infusions in patients with glioma were examined in this study. Blood rich in lymphoid cells was obtained using the Haemonetics Model 30 cell separator; the lymphoid cells extracted were further purified on Ficoll-Hypaque gradients. Four patients received a total of eighteen autologous lymphoid cell infusions, with between 1 X 10(6) and 5 X 10(9) lymphoid cells being infused on each occasion. No toxicity was observed, but the CSF glucose declined in 2 patients. In 1 patient examined at autopsy the lymphoid cells appeared to have gained access to the tumor bed as well as to the rest of the subarachnoid space.

Astrocytoma↗
PubMed1978

Anatomic and pathologic correlations with computerized tomography.

Material familiar to the pathologist is reviewed from the view point of confirming and extending the diagnostic utility of computerized tomography. Pathological examples of variations in ventricular shape, acute hydrocephalus and obstruction of arachnoid villi are cited. Calcification in basal ganglia and periventricular leukomalacia are illustrated. Acute traumatic hemorrhage and hemorrhagic necrosis of the visual cortex are shown.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

The blood-brain barrier: its role in contrast studies.

The concept of a blood-brain barrier includes overlapping control mechanisms which work together to produce a constant microenvironment. Most important is the barrier to macromolecule passage located in cerebral capillary endothelium. Many drugs bound to proteins cannot pass this obstruction. Also important are membrane properties shared by all living cells. Lipid soluble molecules pass cell membranes easily; water soluble and ionized molecules do not. Other components include selective ion regulation, facilitated sugar transport, and resorption by the choroid plexus. The bulk flow of cerebrospinal fluid washes all solutes, and even particulate debris, from the system.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed1978

White matter of the cerebellum demonstrated by computed tomography: normal anatomy and physical principles.

Although computed tomography (CT) delineation of normal white matter of the cerebral hemispheres has been well documented, there has been no description of white matter within the cerebellum. Through the use of phantom studies, CT number correlations between cerebellum and cerebral hemispheres, and anatomic correlation with in vitro specimens, the ability to visualize cerebellar white matter is demonstrated. Thin sections decrease volume averaging and enable consistent imaging of these structures. Size and shape of the corpus medullaris on CT scan may vary with the scan angle and level of section. Representative examples of various normal appearances are illustrated.

Cerebellum↗
PubMed1978

Fatal cerebral injury in the elderly.

A medical examiner's series of 71 elderly patients with fatal internal cerebral injuries demonstrated age differences with respect to the type of cerebral lesion and the causal incident. The elderly showed relatively fewer severe cerebral contusions than did a young group, but a higher incidence of subdural and intraparenchymal hematomas. Falls, the most common cause of injury in the elderly, were often precipitated by physical illness or ingestion of alcohol. Consumption of alcohol was also a prominent factor in the fatal assault cases.

Accidents↗
PubMed1978

Civilian gunshot wounds of the brain.

The authors report on 42 fatal gunshot wounds to the brain in civilians. The firearms used were those commonly available to civilians, ranging from a .22 revolver to a .45 semiautomatic pistol. Missle tracks were measured and the volume computed. The relatively low-velocity missles produced by these weapons to not create the devastation that characterizes wounds from high-velocity military firearms. Instead, there is much variation in the size of the missle tracks, and they cannot be directly related to caliber. Pressure marks and contusions, impaction of bone chips, internal richochet, and cerebral edema occurred frequently. The missle passed through the brain completely in very case but was retained by the skull or soft tissues in a large percentage of cases. The mechanism of death may be acute pressure on the brain stem from the passage of the missle through the brain.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Cerebellar hypoplasia in Werdnig-Hoffmann disease.

The case of an infant with Werding-Hoffmann disease, who died at the age of 4 1/2 days, is reported. At autopsy there was severe cerebellar hypoplasia, associated with degenerative changes in the brain-stem nuclei. This case supports the concept that cerebellar hypoplasia may develop as a manifestation of the neuronal abiotrophy of Werdnig-Hoffmann disease. A similarity has been noted between the cerebellar lesion found in the child reported here and that produced by viral infection in experimental animals.

Brain Stem↗