Chemodenervation of cervical muscles with botulinum A toxin, although useful in treating spasmodic torticollis, has been associated with dysphagia. Retrospective analysis of dose and injection site (sternomastoid vs. posterior cervical muscle groups) in 26 patients (49 injections) suggested that dysphagia was related to the quantity of toxin injected into the sternomastoid muscle: dysphagia, median 150 IU (7 injections); and no dysphagia, median 100 IU (42 injections; p = 0.026 Wilcoxon test). In a prospective study (31 injections to 24 patients), limiting the dose administered to the sternomastoid to 100 IU, substantially reduced the incidence of dysphagia (0 of 31, p = 0.27, Fisher's exact test). Denervation of human orbicularis muscle fibers, 5 weeks to 4 months after injection of botulinum A toxin for the treatment of blepharospasm, was successfully demonstrated by intense, diffuse acetylcholinesterase staining. A weight-adjusted dose similar to that given for torticollis was injected into longissimus dorsi muscle in 6 albino rabbits. Using the acetylcholinesterase stain as a marker, a diffusion gradient was noted over a distance of 30 to 45 mm from the point of injection and in contralateral muscle 15 to 25 mm from this point. Thus, denervation was demonstrated to occur within a definable area which crossed anatomic barriers, such as fascia and bone. These clinical and laboratory data suggest that dysphagia following botulinum toxin therapy results from toxin spread to pharyngeal musculature from the sternocleidomastoid injection site. Limiting of the injection dose to 100 IU or less to the sternomastoid substantially decreases the incidence of this complication.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Botulinum a toxin for spasmodic torticollis: multiple vs single injection points per muscle.

Eighty-six injections in 49 patients with adult onset spasmodic torticollis were evaluated for efficacy with respect to single point per muscle versus multiple point per muscle injection techniques. Parameters of the syndrome assessed were pain, posture deformity, range of cervical motion, disfigurement, cervical muscle hypertrophy, activity limitation, and degree of involuntary movement. The multiple point per muscle injection strategy appeared superior to the single injection per muscle technique with respect to pain (p less than 0.002, chi-square), posture deformity (p less than 0.001), range of motion (p less than 0.001), and improvement in activity endurance (p less than 0.001). No significant differences were noted with respect to cervical muscle hypertrophy or degree of involuntary movements, although the injections were considered beneficial in both groups to these syndrome components.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Regulation of ACTH and cortisol in depression.

Disturbances of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal regulation are frequently observed in a subgroup of patients suffering from major depression. The mechanism of hypothesized pituitary and hypothalamic involvement in this dysregulation remains relatively uncharacterized. In this paper we investigated the response of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), as well as cortisol, to dexamethasone inhibition and characterized the dynamic response of ACTH to a one-hour infusion of cortisol in normal subjects and patients suffering from depression. A paradoxical increase in ACTH in response to cortisol is noted in one patient.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A patient with massive oral-facial venous malformation.

While malformations of the upper airway are rare, they present challenging management problems and have a potentially devastating impact during anesthesia. This case report describes the management of a patient with a massive supraglottic venous malformation as he underwent transvenous embolization.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Efficacy of an H1 antagonist, astemizole, for chronic allergic rhinitis.

Astemizole, a new histamine H1 receptor antagonist, was tested in a double-blind cross-over comparison study with chlorpheniramine maleate, a very effective conventional H1 antagonist, in patients with chronic allergic rhinitis. Astemizole was found to be equally effective, yet there was a significant decrease in the side effects of sleepiness (P less than .01) and dry mouth (P less than .05). Astemizole has a completely different structure and binding curves from terfenadine. It is approved for clinical use in the United Kingdom, Canada, and many European countries.

Astemizole↗