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Biomedical subjects

J Rutka

Publications and source records attributed to J Rutka.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

The changing direction of nystagmus in acute Menière's disease: pathophysiological implications.

The direction(s) and pathophysiologic basis of nystagmus during an acute attack of Menière's disease have been subject to much debate in the world literature. Clinical recordings from two patients whose nystagmus was captured near the very beginning of the acute vertiginous episode are presented. Previous clinical observations in Meniere's disease, experimental animal models concerned with initiation of peripheral nystagmus, and the phenomenon of recovery are discussed.

Acute Disease↗

Speculation into the etiologic role of viruses in the development of Bell's palsy and disorders of inner ear dysfunction: a case history and review of the literature.

It has long been postulated that Bell's palsy and a number of inner ear disorders may have as their basis a common underlying viral etiology. The change from one recognizable inner ear disorder into another is not unusual in the same patient and has been recognized by neurotologists. The case history of a patient who initially presented with an idiopathic facial palsy that years later developed into a spectrum of vestibular dysfunction associated with the clinical stigmata of herpes zoster is discussed. Although difficult to prove, support for this continuum theory is reviewed, taking into account known viral involvement in other cranial nerves and various histopathologic findings from disorders involving the inner ear and facial nerve.

Adult↗

Histopathologic consequences of surgical approaches to the singular nerve.

Selective sectioning of the singular nerve has proven successful in the relief of incapacitating benign positional vertigo (BPV), presumably on the histopathologic basis of posterior ampullary cupulolithiasis. Although the surgical techniques of transmeatal and the recently introduced retrosigmoid IAC approach have been well described, little has been written about the singular nerve's anatomical relationships determined histologically for each surgical approach. The anatomical relationships of the singular nerve in both the transmeatal and retrosigmoid IAC approaches are discussed. Histologic evidence presented suggests that other mechanisms may also be ultimately responsible for improvement in the symptoms of BPV following transmeatal surgery. Moreover, the high incidence of injury to the endolymphatic duct during retrosigmoid surgery raises questions about the exact role of the endolymphatic duct and sac in inner ear homeostasis.

Ear, Inner↗

Cavernous hemangioma of the incus (an incidental finding).

The incidental discovery of a cavernous hemangioma in an apparently normal incus found during pathological examination is reported. The incus had been removed during the course of a total osseous labyrinthectomy for delayed endolymphatic hydrops (DEH), and this unexpected finding noted. Although rare, hemangiomatous involvement of the temporal bone does occur and its manifestations are discussed. To date there have been no other reports of a hemangioma involving the incus solely.

Adult↗

Computed tomographic analysis of the intratemporal facial nerve and facial nerve neuromas.

High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) has replaced multidirectional tomography in the detailed analysis of the temporal bone because of its excellent resolution of fine bony detail. Small soft-tissue masses not discernible on plain tomograms are easily seen using HRCT. Unsuspected early disease which has not caused recognizable bone erosion in also demonstrable by HRCT. Last but not least, the amount of radiation received by a patient as a result of HRCT is considerably less. We illustrate the normal course of the facial nerve through the temporal bone, its anatomical relationship to various adjacent structures, and the numerous branches given off during its course through the temporal bone. The clinical features of facial nerve neuromas (schwannomas) depend on their location and include facial nerve weakness or paralysis, otalgia or facial pain, hearing loss or imbalance, and loss of taste sensation. HRCT allows the identification of a soft-tissue mass along the course of the facial nerve, with its bony canal usually enlarged by the mass. Pressure erosion of the underlying bone is often noted and erosion of the ossicles may be demonstrated in the case of middle ear involvement. The importance of both clinical and radiological correlation cannot be overemphasized in the discovery of these tumors.

Adult↗

Computer-generated three-dimensional reconstruction of the singular nerve.

Advances in computer technology have made it possible for detailed and accurate three-dimensional images of complex anatomical structures to be reconstructed from serial histologic sections. This technique is useful in visualizing the morphologic nature and relationships between many intratemporal structures. In this paper, the three-dimensional anatomy of the singular nerve was examined by means of a three-dimensional computer reconstruction. Future applications for this technique are discussed.

Computer Graphics↗

Preoperative Gelfoam embolization of supratentorial meningiomas.

Intracranial meningiomas are often highly vascular and a successful outcome depends upon surgical resection. Preoperative embolization of supratentorial meningiomas, which have a major blood supply from the external carotid artery, has been advocated to reduce intraoperative bleeding and thus facilitate surgical extirpation. The authors carried out transfemoral, Gelfoam embolization preoperatively in eight patients with supratentorial meningiomas. In seven of the cases, post-embolization, contrast-enhanced, computerized tomography was carried out. Areas of low-density tumour necrosis were identified in five. In three of the eight patients, post-embolization angiography demonstrated elimination of the tumour blush and in the other five, the blush was reduced in intensity. Histologic evidence of tumour embolization was identified in each case to a varying degree. Preoperative embolization resulted in an identifiable radiologic change in the majority of these tumours, but the authors could not determine, in this small series, whether intraoperative bleeding was reduced.

Adult↗

Toxic and drug-induced disorders in otolaryngology.

Toxic and drug-induced disorders can be identified with alarming frequency. Otolaryngologists in the past were acutely aware of the ototoxic properties of certain medications but, with today's increasing armamentarium, new problems arise that may have an iatrogenic cause.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Laryngocele: a case report and review.

A 60 year old man had a symptomless mass in the neck for two years. Over two weeks he developed hoarseness and dysphagia and successfully underwent excision of a combined internal and external laryngocele. There is some disagreement in the literature as to when an enlarged saccule is a laryngocele and also as to whether laryngoceles result from chronic straining such as playing a wind instrument. Laryngeal carcinoma occasionally occurs in association with a clinical laryngocele. When sought for in laryngectomy specimens the incidence of laryngocele in patients with laryngeal carcinoma has been recorded at 18%.

Deglutition Disorders↗

Tumors of the skull base: outcome and survival analysis of 77 cases.

We reviewed our experience with combined approaches to lesions that transcend the bones of the skull base. Seventy-seven skull base procedures were performed on 73 patients during a 10-year period from 1982 to 1992. There were 34 patients (44%) with region lesions (anterior), seven patients (9%) with region II lesions (anterior-lateral), 25 patients (32%) with region III lesions (lateral-posterior), and 11 patients (14%) with lesions that invaded more than one anatomic site. The histopathology in this series was quite variable, with 22 patients (29%) having squamous cell carcinoma and eight patients (10%) having basal cell carcinoma. Forty-one patients had surgery by an anterior approach and 38 patients had lateral approaches, with 18 undergoing an infratemporal approach and 29 undergoing temporal bone resections. Overall, 44% of the patients had a postoperative complication. Survival of this heterogeneous group of patients is 79% at 2 years and 71% at 4 years, with those patients with region II disease having a statistically significant poorer prognosis with no survivors at 4 years.

Adolescent↗

Unique desmoplastic cerebral tumor in a patient with complex partial seizures.

Primary brain tumors with prominent desmoplasia include the gliofibroma, desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma (DIG), pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA), and desmoplastic cerebral astrocytoma. In the present report, we describe unusual pathological appearances in two successive resections of a left temporal tumor in a patient with complex partial seizures. Both tumors showed focal astroglial and very prominent neuronal differentiation. In the first resection at age 11 years, the tumor showed only focal desmoplastic areas and prominent neuronal differentiation with bizarre atypical giant cells. In the second resection at age 14 years, the morphology was dramatically different. Now the tumor showed marked desmoplasia with tumor cells coexpressing neuronal and glial markers. Electron microscopy showed prominent neuronal differentiation in both resections and presence of basal lamina around tumor cells. Our case represents a unique example of an extraordinary degree of neuronal differentiation in a desmoplastic cerebral tumor. While cellular pleomorphism in a desmoplastic tumor traditionally suggests the diagnosis of PXA, we wish to underscore that many cells exhibiting marked cytologic atypia may in fact be of neuronal rather than of glial origin as in our case.

Adolescent↗

Otoneurological functioning in panic disorder patients with prominent dizziness.

Fifteen panic disorder patients with prominent dizziness underwent audiologic, caloric, and vestibuloocular reflex activity testing and were compared with normal controls. There were no abnormalities detected on audiologic and caloric tests. Compared with normal controls, panickers with dizziness showed a greater discrepancy between eye and head movements on vestibulo-ocular reflex activity in the dark. Panickers with prominent dizziness did not differ from a second control group of panickers with severe heart palpitations on a number of psychological tests. The results did not support the hypothesis that organic dizziness is etiologically important in the causation of panic or agoraphobia, but do suggest that vestibuloocular reflex activity should be further studied in panic disorder.

Adult↗

Unique intracerebral tumor with divergent differentiation in a patient presenting as NF2: report of a case with features of astrocytoma, ependymoma, and PNET.

Patients with neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2) are predisposed to a variety of neoplastic and dysplastic lesions, including schwannomas, neurofibromas, meningiomas, astrocytomas, and ependymomas, as well as entities such as meningioangiomatosis, schwannosis, and hamartomas. This study reports a unique intracerebral frontotemporal tumor in a 6-year-old boy with presumed NF2, on the basis of bilateral cerebellopontine tumors consistent with acoustic neuromas. The intracerebral tumor revealed a variety of histological patterns, including foci of primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET), low-grade astrocytoma and ependymoma, as well as neuroepithelial rests with immature ganglion cells and hamartomatous areas. The MIB-1 labeling index ranged from 63% in the foci of PNET to 4-7% in other foci. The PNET component revealed immunopositivity for synaptophysin and neurofilament and showed cells with delicate intercellular junctions, profiles of rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and dense core granules, and cell processes with microtubules and neurofilaments. The glial and ependymal components showed bundles of glial filaments and prominent cell junctions, cilia, and microvilli. The hamartomatous component also included aggregates of cells with hyaline eosinophilic cytoplasm. By EM these cells contained abundant amorphous flocculent material. This constellation of pathologic findings, especially the finding of PNET, is unique and not previously reported in the setting of NF2.

Astrocytoma↗

Astroblastoma: report of a case with ultrastructural, cell kinetic, and cytogenetic analysis.

Astroblastomas are rare tumors of cerebral hemispheres of young adults. We report an astroblastoma in a 15-year-old girl and present the first descriptions of cytogenetic abnormalities in this tumor. The tumor was relatively well demarcated from the brain and revealed prominent perivascular rosettes as well as intervascular clear cells that contained abundant glycogen. Cytogenetic analysis revealed an abnormal hypodiploid karyotype with 45 chromosomes and monosomies of chromosomes 10, 21, and 22 and two marker chromosomes in all cells examined. The tumor had a Ki-67 labelling index of 4.7% and assessment of ploidy by flow cytometry revealed 96% of cells in the G0G1 phase and 4% of cells in the G2M phase. Assessment of proliferation and ploidy indices in further cases may provide important prognostic data for this poorly understood entity. Further cytogenetic studies will also help to identify if there are consistent karyotypic abnormalities in these enigmatic tumors.

Adolescent↗