Menière's disease, petrous bone tomography. A new radiographic sign?

Direct measurements on tomograms of the petrous bone in Menière's disease revealed a decreased thickness of the retrolabyrinthine part of the petrous bone. This could help to confirm previous theories that the cause of Minière's disease is developmental.

Characterization of stable conformational variants of erythrocyte carbonic anhydrases

Limiting viscosity numbers of bovine and ovine erythrocytes carbonic anhydrase variants were calculated by the objective method of comparing viscosimetric data obtained from low-activity-human erythrocyte carbonic anhydrase and its natural variant. Shifts of mobilities and isoelectric points are shown for all species variants, but variations of limiting viscosity numbers were only detected for human and bovine variants. Results of the study are consistent with the observation that variants arise by deamidation of erythrocyte carbonic anhydrases, and that deamidation is responsible for changes in structure and hydration (i. e. "conformational" modifications). Thus, all the variants so far investigated are stable conformational variants or erythrocyte carbonic anhydrases.

[2 cases of "ganglionic sinusal histiocytosis". A new term in cervical and rhino-pharyngo-laryngeal pathology?]

By 1974, Rosai, who is keeping a world-wide register of a condition described for the first time in France by Destombes, had collected 60 cases: the condition is called ganglionic sinusal lipid histiocytosis. The disease manifests itself principally in the form of adenopathies, usually cervical adenopathies, showing intermittent development over several years. It is rarely found in the viscera. The authors describe two cases, one typically confined to the ganglia, the other naso-ganglionic.