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Biomedical subjects

L E Becker

Publications and source records attributed to L E Becker.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources

Old subependymal necrosis and hemorrhage in the prematurely born infants.

Old subependymal hemorrhage (SEH) and old subependymal necrosis (SEN) were found in 18 (23%) and 14 (19%) cases respectively out of a total of 78 prematurely born infants who survived more than 3 weeks. Most of the lesions were recognized in the region of th stria terminalis. A nonhemorrhagic infarct (SEN) might occur at the stria terminalis in the perinatal period of the premature infant, following focal ischemia or hypoxia, and on occasion predispose to the production of subependymal hemorrhage in impaired cerebral vascular autoregulation.

Brain↗

Brain tumors in childhood.

A review of the pathology of 689 neuroectodermal tumors occurring over a 30-year period at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto has underlined the importance of examining the tissue from each tumor in order to insure consistency and accuracy in histological diagnosis. The age, sex, histology and topographical distribution of this series of tumors is compared with other series and discussed in detail. The high proportion of tumors occurring in early childhood, the striking male preponderance, and the high incidence of astrocytomas, medulloblastomas and ependymomas is emphasized.

Adolescent↗

Contact urticaria to parabens.

Contact urticaria developed in a patient after topical application of paraben-containing compounds. Positive open patch test results and a positive passive transfer (Prausnitz-Küstner reaction) test demonstrated an immunologic mechanism for the patient's skin reaction. The importance of parabens to contact urticaria is described.

Adult↗

Comparison of over-the-counter agents for tinea pedis.

To evaluate the relative effectiveness of the treatment of tinea pedis, we performed a double-blind study comparing undecylenic acid ointment, tolnaftate cream, and a placebo. Ninety patients with clinically and mycologically proven tinea pedis took part in this clinical trial. Our results showed both agents to be superior to the placebo, but there was no significant difference in effectiveness between the two active agents. We observed no side effects with the preparations used.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

Soaps in the management of xerosis.

Fifty men and women, aged twenty to sixty-one, with dry skin of the legs, were treated over a four week period, comparing the effects of "hard-milled" versus "dry-skin" (triethanolamine) soaps on the condition of the stratum corneum commonly known as dry skin. Subjective preferences of the subjects heavily favored the dry skin soap. Objective grading of skin changes showed a trend in favor of the dry skin soap.

Female↗

Cutaneous and venous complications of pentazocine abuse.

A 55-year-old man with a two-year history of intramuscular pentazocine abuse had classical cutaneous findings as well as secondary venous thrombosis, which, to our knowledge, is previously undescribed. Histologic evaluation, including direct immunofluorescent microscopy, did not establish the mechanism of tissue destruction.

Humans↗

Herpes zoster: a geriatric disease.

Both the incidence and the severity of herpes zoster increase with advancing age. Postherpetic neuralgia may persist for more than a year. Treatment is usually symptomatic, and early corticosteroid therapy should be considered in patients over age 50. Psychotropic drugs also may be indicated to overcome depression.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

Neuropathology of fatal varicella.

Pathological examination of the CNS was carried out in the cases of 32 children who died of varicella. Twelve had acute encephalopathy with fatty degeneration of liver. Eighteen children had underlying disease; two thirds of them had received steroids. Two children had neonatal varicella. Only two brains of the total number of children had demonstrable inclusion bodies, and these were unique cases. One infant brain had focal encephalitis in an area of necrosis around a ventricular catheter, and the other, a case of neonatal varicella, had multiple disseminated necrotic foci. These observations suggest that true encephalitis is a rare event in fatal varicella.

Brain↗

Subcortical leukomalacia. Relationship to development of the cerebral sulcus and its vascular supply.

The development of the microvascular architecture of the cerebral cortex and white matter was studied in the preterm, term, and older infant, using postmortem cerebral angiography and metal impregnation studies. During the first few months after birth, a relatively avascular triangle forms in the white matter at the depth of the sulcus. Subcortical leukomalacia occurs in this triangle as well as in border zones between the major cerebral arteries.

Brain↗

Brain biopsies for neurodegenerative disease in children.

Brain biopsies for neurodegenerative disease performed at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, over a 12-year period (1964 to 1976) were reviewed. Of 64 biopsies, major histologic abnormalities with diagnostic or prognostic significance comprised 39% of the total cases, minor abnormalities represented 13%, and 48% appeared normal. The procedure failed to provide prognostic assistance in 41%. With the advent for newer diagnostic techniques (enzyme assays and muscle, skin, peripheral nerve, rectal, and appendix biopsies) for neurodegenerative disease in childhood, a much lower yield is noted (15 to 20%). Only two progressive degenerative childhood conditions remain in which cerebral tissue is necessary for diagnosis--Alexander disease and Canavan spongy degeneration.

Adolescent↗

Lichen myxedematosus. Treatment with cyclophosphamide.

Lichen myxedematosus is a rare, chronic, progressive disease of unknown etiology characterized histologically by mucin deposition in the upper one half of the dermis and is in many cases associated with a serum paraprotein. We report the third case of lichen myxedematosus which has been treated with oral cyclophosphamide. Our case, as one of those previously treated, lacked the characteristic paraprotein. Therapeutic response consisted of improvement, but not complete resolution of the skin findings.

Cyclophosphamide↗

Cerebral white matter lesions in sudden infant death syndrome.

In 21.6% of infants who died of sudden infant death syndrome, the cerebral white matter showed areas of leukomalacia. Of those infants with congenital heart disease, 24.8% had lesions, whereas 4.4% of infants who died from known acute causes had lesions. The sites of the cerebral white matter lesions, subcortical or periventricular, seem to be related to the age of the infant.

Age Factors↗

Slow infections of the central nervous system.

This review describes the recent advances in slow infections of the nervous system emphasizing the pathogenetic aspects of these diseases. A theoretical model for the pathogenesis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is proposed, illustrating the factors that may affect host response to the measles virus and allow it to persist and produce the panencephalitis. The isolation of an oncogenic virus from progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) has implications in the consideration of a viral etiology for some brain tumors. The agent responsible for the transmissibility of kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) remains uncharacterized despite recent interest in viroids and abnormalities in replication of cell membranes. The epidemiological data on multiple sclerosis suggests an exposure to an infectious agent at an early age of life modified by the host response. No specific agent has been consistently associated with multiple sclerosis. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, Mollaret's meningitis and Behcet's disease are other examples where a virus is suspect but unproven. The ability of viruses to persist in the host for months to years has linked many chronic neurologic diseases to an infectious agent, enlarging the spectrum of disease caused by viruses.

Adolescent↗