Hysterical paraplegia

Between 1944 and 1984 20 patients were admitted to a spinal injuries centre with a diagnosis of traumatic paraplegia. They subsequently walked out and the diagnosis was revised to hysterical paraplegia. A further 23 patients with incomplete traumatic injuries, who also walked from the centre, have been compared with them as controls. The features that enabled a diagnosis of hysterical paraplegia to be arrived at were: They were predominantly paraplegic, There was a high incidence of previous psychiatric illness and employment in the Health Service or allied professions, Many were actively seeking compensation. The physical findings were a disproportionate motor paralysis, non anatomical sensory loss, the presence of downgoing plantar responses, normal tone and reflexes. They made a rapid total recovery. In contrast, the control traumatic cases showed an incomplete recovery and a persistent residual neurological deficit. Investigations apart from plain radiographs of the spinal column were not warranted, and the diagnosis should be possible on clinical grounds alone.

Calcium-activated protease activity in tenotomized muscle

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible role of calcium-activated neutral protease in the disorganization and dissolution of the myofibrils of the rat soleus that occurs following tenotomy. Rats were killed 3, 5, 7, 14, 21, and 42 days after tenotomy of the soleus, and the muscles were removed and assayed for calcium-activated protease activity. Maximal protease activity occurred 1 week after tenotomy, at the time when myofibril organization is completely disrupted. Activity was still high 2 and 3 weeks after the operation, but returned to normal levels by 6 weeks, when muscle histology had returned to normal. The time course of the calcium-activated protease activity corresponded closely to the time course of the morphological changes. Thus, calcium-activated neutral protease may play a major role in myofibrillar proteolysis following tenotomy and in making the myofibril susceptible to proteolytic attack by other, less specific proteases.

Relationship between microbial activity of stream sediments, determined by three different methods, and abiotic variables

Microbial activity of stream sediments has been determined by three distinct methods: phosphatase levels, maximum uptake velocity of radiolabeled glucose, and carbon dioxide production rates. These methods have been applied to different types of sediment (mud, sand, gravel) from the same stream and to 5 samples from two different streams for comparison. Temperature, discharge, and 8 other abiotic variables for each sample were also determined. The 3 activity methods correlated closely with each other and were measured with a similar precision. Phosphatase activity could be predicted for all sites from bulk density. The largest proportion of the variance associated with carbon dioxide production was explained by variations in percent of organic matter, but the relationship did not hold for all streams. Maximum uptake velocity, compared with the other 2 activity measurements, was poorly explained by any of the abiotic variables.

Peripheral eosinophilia and respiratory symptoms in rubber injection press operators: a case-control study

To evaluate a suspected association between an outbreak of acute respiratory illness and eosinophilia and employment as a rubber worker, we performed a retrospective review of medical records of rubber workers employed from September 1983 to July 1984 in a plant housing a thermoinjection process. Twenty-five workers met the case definition of a respiratory illness requiring a physician visit. The predominant respiratory illness was acute in onset with cough, chest tightness, and dyspnea. Peripheral eosinophilia, up to 40% of white blood cells in a peripheral smear, was seen in 10 of 18 (56%) cases. Twenty-one of 25 white males with respiratory symptoms were employed in the thermoinjection process (odds ratio = 22, p less than .001). Smoking and employment in this process contributed independently to an increased risk of being a case as determined by a logistic regression analysis. Return to the plant building caused recurrence of symptoms in most cases, and these workers have been transferred or left the company. We conclude that a strong previously unrecognized association exists between employment in this neoprene rubber thermoinjection process and the development of an acute respiratory illness.

The development of central cores in both fiber types in tenotomized muscle

Using the histochemical reaction for myosin adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), a study of the rat soleus muscle following tenotomy was undertaken. It was demonstrated that both type 2A and 2C fibers undergo degenerative changes following tenotomy. All previous studies have stated that only type 1 fibers were affected and developed central core lesions and that type 2 fibers were somehow protected from the degenerative process. The results of this experiment illustrate that central core lesions will develop in all three fiber types (types 1, 2A, and 2C) of the soleus following tenotomy.

Atropine toxicity in acute cervical spinal injury

A patient with a C.3/C.4 fracture dislocation resulting in an incomplete tetraplegia was treated with Cimetidine 400 mg bd to prevent gastrointestinal bleeding and 0.6 mg of atropine 6 hourly. He developed symptoms of atropine poisoning in the form of hallucinations, confusion and dilated pupils when the total dosage of atropine was 2.8 mg. This is far below the toxic levels normally considered necessary to produce atropine poisoning. The patient recovered. In view of the fact that this combination of drugs may be used in spinal units to prevent gastrointestinal bleeding and bradycardia, this experience is reported.

Traumatic cerebral flaccid paraplegia

Two cases of paraplegia caused by head injuries sustained in recent military conflicts are presented. The underlying pathological disturbances could be related to the CT scan appearances and are discussed in the light of previously reported series. Both cases were remarkable for an early and prolonged paraplegia which was flaccid, rather than spastic, and for the sensory impairment produced.

Factors affecting the bacterial colonization of various surfaces in a river

The colonization rates of substrates, differing in their surface charge and asperity, have been determined in a temperate river. Glass, which has a high surface charge, was colonized by the natural bacterial population just as fast as polystyrene with a low surface charge. However, roughening the surface of either substrate greatly increased the rate of bacterial colonization. On the roughened surfaces bacteria did not selectively colonize cavities or grooves and current velocity was not an important factor. It is suggested that different sections of the naturally occurring bacterial population are the initial colonizers of different types of surface.

Ultrastructural and biochemical changes in rat soleus muscle following tenotomy

This study was designed to correlate changes in the rate-limiting enzymes of glycogen synthesis (glycogen synthase) and glycogen breakdown (glycogen phosphorylase) with the ultrastructural changes which occur in the soleus muscle following tenotomy. Soleus muscles were removed at 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 63 days after tenotomy and were prepared for electron microscopy or frozen for enzyme analysis. In the first 7 days posttenotomy, soleus muscle fibers underwent a series of degenerative changes, while both synthase and phosphorylase activities decreased. Over the next 8 weeks the histological appearance of the soleus muscle eventually returned to normal while synthase and phosphorylase activities increased. We suggest that recovery from tenotomy involves an increase in the energy demands of the muscle, resulting in the increased activity of the key rate-limiting enzymes of muscle glycogen metabolism from the drastically reduced levels observed in the period before recovery begins.

Changes in sarcomere length following tenotomy in the rat

The medial belly of the gastrocnemius and the extensor digitorum longus muscles of rats were tenotomized. One day following tenotomy, the mean sarcomere length of the fast medial gastrocnemius was 1.8 microns, a value comparable to that of tenotomized slow soleus. The mean sarcomere length of the tenotomized extensor digitorum longus, however, was 2.0 microns, a figure which differed significantly from the values obtained for both the soleus and the gastrocnemius. Histological preparations showed the presence of central core degeneration in slow fatigue-resistant fibers of the tenotomized gastrocnemius comparable to that seen in the soleus. No changes were found in the fibers of the tenotomized extensor digitorum longus. The fact that central core lesions were produced in the fibers of soleus and medial gastrocnemius but not in the extensor digitorum longus may be related to the lesser reduction in sarcomere length following tenotomy of the latter muscle.

Recovery from central core degeneration of the tenotomized rat soleus muscle

The soleus muscle of the rat undergoes degenerative changes after tenotomy. The effects are maximal one week postoperatively, after which follows a period of recovery. Muscle histology eventually returns to normal six week after tenotomy. Recovery is effected by means of peripheral myofibril splitting and de novo synthesis of myofibrils within the central portion of the fiber.

Laboratory growth rates of six species of freshwater Gymnamoebia

Laboratory growth rates of six species of Gymnamoebia, isolated from English chalk streams and cultured on bacteria, have been determined at four different temperatures. Generation times ranged from 4.46 to 33.3 h. A linear relationship between log₁₀ specific growth rate and the reciprocal of the absolute temperature was demonstrated for four species. A significant regression of log₁₀ generation time on log₁₀ cell volume was obtained for data on amoebae in combination with data on ciliates taken from the literature. This regression may be used to predict the growth rates of other species of amoebae and ciliates of known cell volume.

Changes in length of sarcomeres following tenotomy of the rat soleus muscle

Tenotomy of the proximal and distal tendons of the soleus muscle of female Wistar rats was performed and sarcomeric length and muscle fascicle length measured. On the first postoperative day muscle bellies were found shortened and their sarcomeric length considerably reduced. Four weeks following tenotomy, although the muscle bellies remained shortened, sarcomeric length was comparable with that of control muscles. Measurement of muscle fascicle lengths at this time showed that those of experimental muscles were nearly 50% less than those of control muscles. It was concluded from these experiments that a reduction of the number of sarcomeres in series had occurred, thus compensating for the reduced length of the muscle belly.

Estimation of bacterial production in fresh waters by the simultaneous measurement of [35S]sulphate and d-[3H]glucose uptake in the dark

Sulphate uptake in the dark by phytoplankton constitutes a severe limitation to the determination of bacterial heterotrophic production from sulphate-uptake rates. Consequently a modification to the 35S-method has been developed involving size fractionation to separate the algae from the bacteria. Both the whole water sample and the algae-free filtrate are incubated in the dark with trace quantities of [3H]glucose, whereas the filtrate alone is incubated with 35SO4. The experimental determined ratio (whole sample glucose assimilation: filtrate glucose assimilation) is used to correct the measured sulphate uptake (filtrate) and yields an estimate of bacterial sulphate uptake in the whole sample. A potential filtration artefact has been demonstrated in the 35SO4 uptake methodology. Excision of the outer edge of the membrane filter and counting of the inner wetted circle alone eliminated this problem and significantly improved the analytical performance of the method: coefficient of variation approximately 5%, detection limit approximately 2 ng S l-1 h-1. The modified [35SO4]-[3H]-glucose method was applied to samples from an English chalk stream: bacterial sulphate uptake was higher during the spring diatom maximum (10.6 ng S l-1h-1) than 3 weeks later when detritus dominated the seston (4.9 ng S l-1h-1). We estimate the corresponding rates of formation of particulate (bacterial) carbon to be 0.53 and 0.24 microgram C l-1h-1 respectively.

Autoradiographic study of the permeability characteristics of the small intestine

This autoradiographic study demonstrates the distribution of a range of small solutes and macromolecules in the mucosa of the guinea-pig small intestine after intracardiac injection. The substances investigated were: 14C-urea, 3H-mannose, 3H-inulin, and 125I polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Small bowel biopsies were taken at intervals from one to 60 minutes after injection and the tissues processed for autoradiography. Light microscopic examination of the autoradiographs showed that the compartmental distribution depended on the molecular size of the substances being studied. Urea and mannose, as small solutes, were uniformly distributed throughout the intravascular, extravascular, and epithelial compartments. Inulin was evenly distributed in the vessel lumen and extravascular space but there was a considerable drop in concentration in the epithelium. PVP exhibited the most marked gradients, the concentration being greatest in the vascular lumina, lower in the extravascular space, least in the epithelium. Thus there appear to be two barriers to macromolecular passage which are freely permeable to small solutes: the capillary wall and the epithelium. At a light microscopical level it is not possible to observe whether the limiting membrane of each of these barriers is the cell plasmalemmal membrane or the basement membrane. The selectivity of the epithelial barrier is greater than that of the capillary barrier.

Role of the accompanying anion in the effect of calcium salts on potassium uptake by excised barley roots

The effect of addition of Ca salts on accumulation of K from 5 mN KCl or K(2)SO(4) solutions was found to depend on whether Ca was added as Cl or SO(4) salt. Chloride as well as K uptake was increased when Ca and Cl concentrations in culture solutions were increased. Pre-treatment of roots with CaCl(2) stimulated subsequent K uptake from K(2)SO(4) solutions as compared to pre-treatment with distilled water but pre-treatment with CaSO(4) did not. The results indicate that addition of Ca salts to KCl or K(2)SO(4) solutions increased anion uptake and the effect of the addition of the Ca salts on K uptake was in part the result of increased anion uptake and not entirely a direct effect of Ca.In contrast, accumulation of Na and K from solutions containing these ions as SO(4) or Cl salts was changed from preferential uptake of Na to preferential uptake of K by addition of either CaCl(2) or CaSO(4). Thus, while Ca salts may influence K accumulation partly as a result of effects on anion uptake, the selectivity for K uptake depends on the presence of Ca and is influenced little by the accompanying anion.