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Biomedical subjects

S Seltzer

Publications and source records attributed to S Seltzer.

90 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

The effects of dietary tryptophan on chronic maxillofacial pain and experimental pain tolerance.

This study investigated the effects of daily administration of three grams of tryptophan in conjunction with a high carbohydrate, low fat, low protein diet on chronic maxillofacial pain, experimental pain thresholds, and anxiety and depression. In a double-blind study, 30 chronic pain patients were randomly assigned to a tryptophan or placebo group. At the initial appointment and 4 weeks later, the patients' subjective ratings of their pain were recorded, electrical tooth pulp stimulation was used to measure pain thresholds, and psychological tests of depression and anxiety were administered. Over the 4 weeks of the study, there was a greater reduction in reported clinical pain and a greater increase in pain tolerance threshold in the tryptophan group than in the placebo group. The group did not differ in anxiety and depression--for all subjects there was lowered depression and anxiety over the 4 weeks of study.

Affective Symptoms↗

Papilloma of the larynx and tracheobronchial tree in children. A retrospective study.

One hundred and forty cases of papilloma of the larynx and tracheobronchial tree are documented in the records of the Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles. The records of 90 patients were available and were reviewed intensively. The method of direct laryngoscopy with general anesthesia using apneic technique in most patients and intubation in some was an adequate method of treating patients with laryngeal papillomata. A general anesthetic was never used where obstruction was severe and the airway could not be controlled. The low incidence of papilloma of the tracheobronchial tree and an absence of parenchymal lung seeding in this series is attributed to the avoidance of a tracheotomy and fewer intubation anesthetics thus avoiding trauma to the trachea and bronchi. The immediate removal of the tracheotomy tube seems as alternative if the surgical procedure had been performed. In the patients in this series decannulation was accomplished in a very short period of time. The establishment of an airway seem to be a priority in the treatment of this disease and this can be accomplished by repeated endoscopic procedures rather than tracheotomy. Statistics are given, and prognosis based on the type of lesion and histopathology is documented.

Anesthesia↗

CNS sarcoidosis: evaluation with contrast-enhanced MR imaging.

Reports of findings on unenhanced MR images and contrast-enhanced CT scans in patients with intracranial sarcoidosis have suggested that MR imaging without contrast enhancement may miss meningeal involvement, which is a frequent and prominent finding in neurosarcoidosis. We studied 14 patients with CNS sarcoidosis with T1- and T2-weighted pre- and postcontrast sequences and T1-weighted postcontrast sequences. Eight of 12 patients with intracranial sarcoidosis and one of two with spinal sarcoidosis had meningeal involvement that was not apparent on the unenhanced scans. Eight of 12 patients had intraaxial areas of high signal intensity on T2-weighted images, although only two of these lesions enhanced. Three patients had enhancing extraaxial masses mimicking meningiomas on postcontrast T1-weighted images. In two patients, the lesions decreased markedly in size after steroid treatment. In one patient with sarcoidosis of the optic nerve, the lesion decreased in size and the patient's vision returned to normal after Cytoxan therapy. In five of 14 patients, CNS findings were the initial clinical manifestation of the disease. In nine of 14 patients, the diagnosis of neurosarcoidosis was suggested only after administration of contrast agent. Use of gadopentetate dimeglumine greatly enhances the sensitivity of MR imaging in the detection of CNS sarcoidosis.

Adolescent↗

Contrast enhancement of the labyrinth on MR scans in patients with sudden hearing loss and vertigo: evidence of labyrinthine disease.

The sudden onset of hearing loss and vertigo presents a difficult diagnostic problem. We describe the finding of labyrinthine enhancement on MR images in five patients with sudden unilateral hearing loss or vertigo or both and correlate the MR findings with audiologic and electronystagmographic studies. All patients were studied with T2-weighted axial images through the whole brain, contrast-enhanced 3-mm axial T1-weighted images through the temporal bone, and enhanced T1-weighted sagittal images through the whole brain. Cochlear enhancement, on the side of hearing loss only, was found in all five patients. The presence of associated vestibular enhancement correlates with objective measures of vestibular function on the electronystagmogram. In two patients, the resolution of symptoms 4-6 months later correlated with resolution of the enhancement on gadopentetate dimeglumine-enhanced MR images. Two patients had luetic labyrinthitis. No labyrinthine enhancement was seen in a series of 30 control subjects studied with gadopentetate dimeglumine-enhanced MR using the same protocol. Labyrinthine enhancement in patients with auditory and vestibular symptoms is a new finding and is indicative of labyrinthine disease. While abnormalities on electronystagmograms and audiograms are nonspecific and indicate only a sensorineural problem, gadopentetate dimeglumine-enhanced MR may separate patients with retrocochlear lesions, such as acoustic neuromas, from those in whom the abnormal process is in the labyrinth or is intraaxial. This group of patients underscores the importance of identifying and commenting on the structures of the membranous labyrinth when evaluating MR studies of the internal auditory canal and the cerebellopontine angle in individuals with hearing loss.

Adult↗

Sensorineural hearing loss: more than meets the eye?

PURPOSE: To assess the value of MR in patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) caused by lesions other than acoustic neuromas. METHODS: MR studies of 51 patients with SNHL were retrospectively reviewed; patients with acoustic neuroma were excluded to focus on the more uncommon causes. RESULTS: Twenty patients had labyrinthine lesions. Six patients had viral labyrinthitis, one patient had bacterial labyrinthitis, and one patient had luetic labyrinthitis. Three patients had hemorrhage in the labyrinth, two posttraumatic and one spontaneous from an adjacent temporal bone tumor. Only one of the two patients with traumatic labyrinthine hemorrhage had evidence of a fracture on high-resolution CT. In one patient with CT-proved cochlear otosclerosis, peri-cochlear foci of enhancement were seen on contrast-enhanced MR. Four patients had presumed labyrinthine schwannomas. A middle ear cholesteatoma in one patient invaded the cochlea and resulted in marked cochlear enhancement due to granulation tissue. Thirteen patients had intracanalicular and cerebellopontine angle lesions. The lesions included arteriovenous malformations (three patients), sarcoidosis (three patients), metastasis (two patients), lymphoma (two patients), lipomas (two patients), and postshunt meningeal fibrosis (one patient). Eighteen patients had intra-axial lesions responsible for SNHL. The most common intra-axial lesions were brain stem infarcts and multiple sclerosis. Traumatic lesions in the inferior colliculi, sarcoidosis, lymphoma, and extrinsic compression of the colliculi from a pineal tumor were also noted. CONCLUSION: MR can demonstrate numerous lesions responsible for SNHL other than acoustic neuromas. The entire acoustic pathways, including the labyrinth, internal auditory canal, cerebellopontine angle, and brain stem should be carefully scrutinized for lesions in patients with SNHL. The use of contrast media markedly increases the yield of MR in this clinical situation by demonstrating inflammatory and neoplastic labyrinthine lesions and meningeal pathology (both neoplastic and inflammatory) in the internal auditory canal and cerebellopontine angle cistern.

Adolescent↗

Hypersensitivity and pain induced by operative procedures and the "cracked tooth" syndrome.

Various dental conditions are responsible for tooth hypersensitivity and pain. They include hypersensitive dentin; the "cracked tooth" syndrome; pulp and periapical irritation, inflammation and/or degeneration; barodontalgia (aerodontalgia); and periodontal pathoses, particularly the pulpal-periodontal syndrome. Each operative condition is reviewed with respect to its etiology, symptomatology, and diagnosis. Some treatment recommendations are made to prevent or reduce symptoms.

Cracked Tooth Syndrome↗