Calcinosis as the presenting sign of juvenile dermatomyositis in a 14-month-old boy

We describe a 14-month-old child with dermatomyositis in whom calcinosis was the first sign of the disease. This case shows that calcinosis, usually a late complication of dermatomyositis, may be the presenting sign of the disease even in young children and when Gottron's sign is still absent and muscular weakness not prominent.

Systemic lupus erythematosus with Jaccoud's arthropathy mimicking juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

We describe a girl who presented at age 5 with objective signs of arthritis and was initially diagnosed as having juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Over the following years, she developed slowly progressive joint deformities indicative of Jaccoud's arthropathy. When she was 11 years old, symptoms typical of systemic lupus erythematosus appeared, accompanied by anti-DNA antibodies. This case illustrates that in children also, Jaccoud's arthropathy may be a precocious manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Anuria due to bilateral cystine urolithiasis in an infant

A 10-month-old female presented with anuria due to bilateral cystine urolithiasis. Although bilateral obstruction of the ureters by calculi is very rare in children, it may be the presenting feature of cystinuria even in the first year of life.

[Presacrococcygeal congenital cyst in the adult]

Two cases of congenital cyst of the presacral space in the adult are presented. The unusualness of the lesion is stressed, and reference is made to the usefulness of a classification covering all retrorectal neoformations, including congenital forms. Attention is given to the manner of diagnosis. Variations in the surgical technique employed depend on the clinical and anatomical picture, and the potential inflammatory and degenerative aspects of the lesion. Emphasis is placed on the absolute need to section the sacrococcyx to prevent recurrences.

[Angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy. Treatment of 2 cases]

Following a review of the literature, 2 cases of angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinaemia are reported. Anatomo-pathological examination of the lymphonodes shows widespread change in the structure with vascular and lympho-immunoblastic proliferation and deposit of amorphous eosinophil substance. The most significant clinical and morphological aspects are reported and these are related to the therapeutic response. The effectiveness of cortisone therapy is shown by comparison of laboratory examination data at admittance and after three months.

[Actinic lesions of the ileum]

After an examination of the literature regarding the causes of lesions from rays, their most frequent sites, the diagnostic difficulties and the various types of treatment, the paper draws attention to the increase in such lesions in relation to the use of megavoltages, and the advisability of exploratory laparotomy in previously irradiated subjects even in cases apparently labelled as neoplastic relapses.

[A case of primary echinococcosis of the breast]

A case of hydatid cyst of the breast is reported. Stress is laid on its extreme rarity, the aspecificity of its symptomatology and the importance of considering this type of pathology in the differential diagnosis of cystic conditions of the breast.

[Gardner's syndrome in familial popyposis: clinical contribution and etiopathogenetic, therapeutic and prognostic considerations]

Starting from one case of Gardner's syndrome of their own observation, and in light of Watne's results, the authors argue that in the syndrome just named--and in familial polyposis in a broader sense--genetic factors do not play a predominant role; rather, polyps seem to result from the prolonged action of noxious agents. At any rate, said action can be neutralized, and possibly prevented either with a surgical modification of the distal gut or by treatment with a chemical substance identified as ascorbic acid. In view of these considerations, the authors recommend preventive medical therapy.

[Immediate surgical treatment of penetrating wounds of the heart. Clinico-diagnostic and therapeutic considerations on 2 cases of suture of the myocardium]

The authors, on the basis of their experience on two cases of cardiac tamponade, and from the revision of literature, retain that immediate thoracotomy, followed by re-examination of the pericardial sac and myocardiorrhaphy, represents a treatment preferable to the evacuant pericardiocentesis, confining the latter only to diagnostic conditions and immediate decompression in cases which arrive in unequipped places.

A new biological method for estimating od protein nutritive value

1. A new method has been devised for the nutritional evaluation of food protein quality. The method is analogous to the classical determination of net protein utilization (NPU). The suggested new criterion, the protein utilization by the liver (LPU), expresses the amount of food nitrogen ‘retained’ in the liver as a percentage of the food nitrogen intake.

2. Five different foods, casein, soya-bean protein isolate, maize gluten, wheat gluten, cottonseed meal alone or with supplements of amino acids, a total of thirteen samples, were tested for LPU and NPU in groups of six rats. The correlation coefficient between values for LPU and NPU for all seventy-eight rats was +0.85 and was highly significant.