Induction of aortic lipid deposition in a high-response (ExHC) rat fed a diet containing cholesterol and cholic acid

Male ExHC and Sprague--Dawley rats were fed a diet containing 3% cholesterol, 0.6% sodium cholate and 15% olive oil for 16 weeks. The ExHC rat is highly susceptible to dietary hypercholesterolemia. Aortas of the ExHC rats showed Sudan-stained deposits and cholesterol accumulation in the intima and media, whereas no deposited lipids were seen in those of the Sprague--Dawley rats. In male and female ExHC rats fed diets containing the above supplements at 3 dose levels, plasma cholesterol and aortic lipid deposition were found to be dose-dependent. Lipid deposition was more prominent in female than in males, but aortic intimal proliferation was absent.

Sexual difference in LH-cells of the neonatal rats as revealed by immunocytochemistry

Localization and number of pituitary LH-cells were studied in neonatal male and female rats (from the birth to 12th day) applying anti-HCG serum in immunoenzymological procedures. The cells increased in number with developing age after birth. The cells in males and females were equal in number until 4 days of age, wheres thereafter the increase of the cell number in females exceeded that in males. After birth, the cells are mainly concentrated ventrally, being ventro-lateral in the anterior region but converging into the medial-ventral area in the posterior part of the gland. Some dispersion in a dorsal direction is also noted in the latter region. At birth the cells begin to appear in the dorsal area in the anterior portion, as well as in the posterior portion, particularly in the area close to the intermediate lobe and in the zone adjacent ot the residual lumen. This was particularly evident in females after 4 days of age. Thus it is concluded that in rats the sexual differences in the pituitary become apparent after the 4th day of postnatal life.

Arteriovenous malformations in the posterior fossa

We have operated on 12 of 14 cases of arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the posterior fossa since 1968, with one death. The lesions were in the cerebellum in 10 cases (three anteromedial, one central, three lateral, and three posteromedial), and in the cerebellopontine angle in two; in two cases the lesions were directly related to the brain stem. The AVM's in the anterior part of the cerebellum were operated on through a transtentorial occipital approach.

Serum and tissue lipids and glomerulonephritis in the spontaneously hypercholesterolemic (SHC) rat, with a note on the effects of gonadectomy

A spontaneously hypercholesterolemic male rat, found in the Sprague-Dawley strain, was mated with normocholesterolemic females of the same strain: the male offspring were hypercholesterolemic. By selecting rats according to their plasma cholesterol levels and repeated brother-sister mating, progeny became progressively more hypercholesterolemic--especially the males--when fed a basal low-cholesterol diet. These rats were tentatively given the short name of SHC and have at present been bred to the F14 generation. Hypercholesterolemia in male SHC rats proceeded in two stages: plasma cholesterol rose only slightly during the first stage up to the age of about 10 weeks and then increased progressively in the subsequent stage. Female SHC rats developed a high degree of hypercholesterolemia from the age of 10 months. SHC rats maintained on the basal diet were not obese, but their kidneys and livers enlarged. Histological examination showed that glomerulonephritis developed in the kidney of male SHC rats by the age of 9 months. The liver of these rats was not fatty and contained rather less lipid than usually found in the normal Sprague-Dawley rat. Male and female SHC rats were subjected to gonadectomy at the age of 4 weeks, and were then maintained on the basal diet for 18 weeks. Blood cholesterol was higher throughout the experiment in ovariectomized female SHC rats than in controls, and the renal lesion was correspondingly worse. However, gonadectomy in male SHC rats had no effect on the disease.

Use of profound hypothermia induced by surface cooling in open-heart surgery

Profound hypothermia with body-surface cooling for use in open-heart surgery is considered a difficult anesthetic technique because of the problems of controlling ether anesthesia. This paper describes our hypothermia technique in detail, with emphasis on its particular usefulness in open-heart procedures in neonates and infants. The results are based on our experience with 281 consecutive patients. Guidelines for safe and effective performance of this technique were established on the basis of continuous monitoring of the electrocardiogram, electroencephalogram, and arterial blood pressure. We conclude from our experience that open-heart operation under profound hypothermia is a safe, effective, and extremely promising method.

[Percutaneous revision of shunt with obstructed ventricular catheter (author's transl)]

Shunt dysfunction due to an obstructed ventricular catheter can be avoided, at least in part, by placing the of the catheter anteriorly to the Foramen of Monro. However, once the catheter is obstructed, surgical removal under general anesthesia is almost inevitable. Irrigation method for an obstructed ventricular catheter enables us to gain scarcely anything and accumulation of instilled fluid in the ventricle often causes the dangerously increased intracranial pressure. 1) Technique for placement of the ventricular catheter. The skin incision is a semicircular. After the skin flap is reflected, "8-shaped" burr hole is placed (Fig. 1 in the text). At first, two openings, large and small, are made in the skull. At 1/4 inch drill is used for making a small hole and a regular perforator for an adjacent large one, then, with a small Schlessinger roungeur, a thin wall dividing these two holes is removed. Two to 3 cm lateral from the midline and also posterior to the frontal hair line is usually chosen for placement of burr holes. A straight ventricular catheter with multiple small perforations at its tip is connected to the Rickham reservoir and inserted in the ventricle anteriorly to the Foramen Monro, through the small hole of the "8-shaped" burr hole. Rest of surgical procedure is performed according to a routine manner. 2) Technique for release of ventricular catheter obstruction by percutaneous management through the "8-shaped" burr hole. A 20-gaze modified spinal needle is inserted through the Rickham reservoir under fluoroscopic control and gradually progressed to the tip of the obstructed catheter. Simple aspiration through the needle may occasionally open the catheter by removing small obstruents, but in many instances, insertion of an another ventricular needle through the large hole and combined irrigation are indispensable. 3) Results. Ten of 72 patients who had placement of the ventricular catheter by this technique developed obstructions of the catheter. Percutaneous technique was successful in releasing the obstructions in 12 times of these 8 patients and remaining 2 patients were subsequently operated upon for the following reasons. One patient, because of dislodging of the reservoir cap after successful release of obstruction and the other, due to extraventricular location of the tip of the catheter prior to the percutaneous management. No serious complications has been encountered and the technique was proved to be safe and simple ensuring good functional return of the shunt in long-term follow-up.

Efferent projection of the nucleus praeopticus medialis to the median eminence in rats

Efferent projection from the medial preoptic nucleus, especially to the median eminence, was studied in the rat by light and electron microscopy, in combination with 3H-leucine labelling and electrical coagulation of the nucleus. In the light microscopy autoradiographs of the brain, an ipsilateral distribution of silver grains was followed caudally and dorsally in the periventricular area, into the triangular area between the ventromedial nucleus and the arcuate nucleus, and, further, into the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei and median eminence. After electrical coagulation of the medial preoptic area, electron microscopy showed numerous degenerated nerve terminals in the external layer of the median eminence. Occasionally, cored vesicles (90 nm mean diameter with a core of 70 nm mean diameter) and clear vesicles (40-50 nm diameter) were encountered in the axoplasm of the degenerated nerve terminals. These findings indicate that the axons of the nerve cells of the medial preoptic nucleus extend caudally, terminating in the external layer of the median eminence.

[Subcutaneous preservation of free skull bone flap taken out in decompressive craniectomy (author's transl)]

The best material for cranioplasty of large skull bone defect as a result of decompressive surgery is a patient's own bone flap, since it fits exactly where it was and no recipient's reactions are elicited. Ideally the bone flap should be alive. However, there have been no effective ways to keep a bone flap alive. We have attempted to preserve a free bone flap in a sterile and living state by keeping it subcutaneously in the thigh. The reasons we choose this site for temporary implantation are as follows: 1) Sufficient space can be easily made to accommodate a bone flap. 2) Curvature of a bone flap fits that of a thigh without difficulties and extreme protrusions caused by implanted bone flap can be avoided. 3) The site of storage is well away from the operative field and independent from each other. 4) It is possible to get the fascia lata through the same skin incision for a large dural patch when needed. When the bone flap is too large to be comfortably accommodated and causes significant stretching and protrusions of the covering skin at the bone edge, it is simply divided into two pieces and these are implanted in the same place.

A new approach to total repair of transposition of the great vessels: a technique for atrial autotransplantation

We have devised a new operative procedure called atrial autotransplantation for transposition of the great vessels and applied it in 7 cases. Results were satisfactory except for one death. The bais of this technique was the experiment, using 70 dogs, in which the relationship of separation of the atrial wall and atrial septum to the development of arrhythmia was studied. It was found that reservation of the upper one sixth of the right atrial wall and the upper one third of the left atrial wall developed almost no significant arrhythmia with slow rate. By this concept and method, the left and right atria are almost completely separated, and a complete intraventricular and intra-atrial repair is made in a satisfactory operative field. Since there is no surgical intervention in the ventricular wall, postoperative cardiac function can be satisfactorily maintained. With this procedure intr-atrial conversion was performed in four cases and intraventricular conversion in three cases-the former for type I of uncomplicated transposition and type III of combined pulmonary stenosis, with or without VSD, and the latter for type II of combined large VSD. Only one patient with intraventricular conversion died of low cardiac output syndrome, probably due to incomplete relief of combined pulmonary stenosis.

Mode conversion coefficients in optical fibers

A simple method has been devised for the experimental determination of mode conversion coefficients in multimode fibers and involves only the observation of the far-field output as the angle of incidence of a collimated input beam is changed. The normalized mode coupling coefficient in a liquid-core fiber is D = 3 x 10(-6) rad(2) m(-1) and increases by as much as a factor of 10 when transverse pressure is applied. Values some 2 orders of magnitude larger are found in glass-core fibers. There is good agreement between the theory presented and experiment.

Extravasation of contrast material into subdural space from internal carotid aneurysm during angiography. Case report

✓ A case of multiple aneurysms is reported in which rupture of the internal carotid aneurysm occurred during carotid angiography, opacifying the subdural space. The patient recovered and was successfully treated by clipping of the aneurysm neck.

Effect of athrombogenic therapy, especially high dose therapy of dipyridamole, after prosthetic valve replacement

In order to prevent thrombo-embolism after prosthetic valve replacement, a high dose therapy with 450 mg/day of Dipyridamole and 3,000 mg/day of Aspirin was carried out for 1 year and 2 months in 91 cases (26 cases with aortic valve replacement, 40 cases with mitral valve replacement and 25 cases with multiple valve replacement). In the treated group, the incidence was 1.9% in cases more than 5 years after valve replacement and 2.9% in cases less than 5 years after valve replacement. In contrast, in the control group of 89 cases (47 cases of aortic valve replacement, 30 cases of mitral valve replacement and 12 cases of multiple valve replacement), the incidence was 9.1% and 14.7%, respectively. Thus, in both time intervals following prosthetic valve replacement the incidence of thrombo-embolism in the treated group was significantly lower than in the control group.

Glioblastoma with extracranial metastasis through ventriculopleural shunt. Case report

✓ Extracranial metastasis of an intracranial glioblastoma through a ventriculopleural shunt to the right thorax is reported in a 22-year-old man following a ventriculopleural shunt and telecobalt therapy. Autopsy 8 months after the shunt showed cerebral tumor involving the ventricular system, and irregularly thickened pleura in the right thorax. The primary intracranial tumor and the tumor located extracranially showed the same morphological appearance of glioblastoma.