Clinical and pathological studies were made on 5 patients (1 male and 4 females; average age, 58.2 years) with primary malignant lymphoma of the brain. One case had received long-term immunosuppressive therapy for SLE. The most common initial signs and symptoms were non-specific and non-localized. They included headache, disorientation and consciousness disturbance. During the course, the signs and symptoms consisted of consciousness disturbance (5 cases), hemiparesis (4 cases), headache (3 cases), dementia (2 cases), seizures (2 cases), and diplopia (1 case). The tumors on CT scans appeared as slight hyperdense areas in 3 cases, and as isodense areas in 1 case with enhancement following contrast media infusion, which was compatible with previously reported results. However, the other case showed diffuse hypodense areas without enhancement which has rarely been reported. Multiple lesions were found in 4 cases. Three cases underwent cerebral angiography which demonstrated avascular masses. Pathologically, the tumors were located in the cerebral hemispheres in 5 cases, the basal ganglia and thalamus in 3 cases, the brain stem in 2 cases, and the cerebellum in 2 cases. Three cases were classified as of the diffuse, large cell type, 1 case as small cleaved cell and 1 case as immunoblastic. Thus, the clinical diagnosis of primary malignant lymphoma of the brain still remains difficult because the symptoms and CT findings are so varied.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical studies on amyloidosis complicated with rheumatoid arthritis--with particular reference to nephropathy.

Twenty-two patients with definite or classical rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were diagnosed as amyloidosis by biopsy or at autopsy were investigated. The average duration of RA prior to the diagnosis of amyloidosis was 16.5 +/- 12.5 years. The symptoms that led to the diagnosis of amyloidosis were renal symptoms in 11 cases and gastrointestinal symptoms in 5 cases. Urinary protein was positive in 16 cases (73%). The degree of proteinuria varied in each case. Nephrotic syndrome was observed in 5 cases. Azotemia (Cr greater than 1.5 mg/dl) was present in 18 cases (82%). The period from the diagnosis of amyloidosis to death was 3.0 +/- 2.2 years. The causes of death were uremia in 10 cases, heart failure in 2 cases, malignancy in 2 cases, sepsis in 2 cases and others in 2 cases. Thirteen patients were autopsied and the frequency of amyloidosis complicated with RA was 22.0% in autopsied rheumatoid patients. Although nephropathy was present in most cases of amyloidosis complicated with RA, proteinuria and azotemia greatly varied in both degree and course.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Replacement of myocardium with a Dacron prosthesis for complications of acute myocardial infarction.

From July 1983 to April 1986, four patients (three with ventricular septal perforations and one with left ventricular free-wall rupture) underwent replacement of the myocardium with a Dacron prosthesis for complications of acute myocardial infarction. There were three males and one female, ages ranging from 53 to 70 years (mean 63.3). Three of the four patients survived; the one with the ventricular septal perforation died of severe cardiac failure five days after operation. Replacement of the infarcted myocardium with a Dacron prosthesis seems to be an excellent operative technique for the treatment of complications of acute myocardial infarction when the left ventricular cavity is predicted to be small after resection of the myocardium.

Cardiac Surgical Procedures↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect on sperm-immobilizing antibodies on the spontaneous and calcium-ionophore (A23187)-induced acrosome reaction.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of sperm-immobilizing antibodies on spontaneous and A23187-induced acrosome reactions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Swim-up spermatozoa obtained from a fertile donor were incubated with 16 sera containing sperm-immobilizing antibodies obtained from infertile women and 3 control sera obtained from healthy females. The acrosome loss, either occurring spontaneously or induced by 10-microM A23181, were examined by staining sperm with Pisum sativum agglutinin labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate. RESULTS: The incidence of the spontaneous acrosome reaction of spermatozoa incubated with anti-sperm antibodies (6.25 +/- 1.4%) was significantly (P < .001) lower than that of the spermatozoa incubated with control sera (12 +/- 0.8%). The incidence of A23187-induced and inducible (incidence of induced minus spontaneous) acrosome reactions of spermatozoa incubated with sera-positive for sperm antibodies (10.4 +/- 1.3% and 4.2 +/- 1.5%) was also significantly lower (P < .001) than that of spermatozoa incubated with control sera (30.7 +/- 0.5% and 18.7 +/- 1.2%). CONCLUSION: Sperm immobilizing antibodies interfere with fertilization by inhibiting the acrosome reaction.

Acrosome↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Evidence of proacrosin molecule abnormality as a possible cause of low acrosin activity and unexplained failure of fertilization in vitro.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the molecular abnormality of proacrosin is associated with an unexplained failure of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and low acrosin activity in human infertility. Seventeen infertile men, whose spermatozoa appeared to be normal but did not fertilize using a conventional IVF technique, were included in this study. Proacrosin molecules from each patient were screened with electrophoresis and Western blotting using either anti-human proacrosin or anti-boar acrosin polyclonal antibodies. The bands of proacrosin appeared equally on the sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) at an identical site and reacted equally with human proacrosin antibodies in all patients studied. The anti-boar acrosin antibodies cross-reacted with the proacrosin bands of the patients in all but two cases. The two patients also demonstrated lower levels of total acrosin activity and different peptide maps of the isolated proacrosin. In conclusion, the molecular abnormality of proacrosin, which is reflected by a lack of cross-reactivity to the anti-boar acrosin antibodies, is associated with low acrosin activity and may explain some cases of unexplained failure of human IVF treatment.

Acrosin↗