[Voluminous hypernephroma of intermittent development. Diagnostic difficulties (author's transl)]

The authors report a case of cancer of the kidney of intermittent development for which nephro-urotomography was negative. They stress the interest of: --preliminary echotomography in patients with palpable masses in the left hypochondrium; --pharmaco-angiography for improved visualization of masses that are only weakly opaque; --a rapid infusion technique, proposed by various authors, which appears to be the most appropriate for the study of this type of mass which is mainly intermittent in its development.

[Kaposi's sarcoma and malignant lymphoma. Discussion of this association (author's transl)]

Kaposi's sarcoma was diagnosed in a 62 year old female at the last stage of an indefined malignant lymphoma. Clinically and histopathologically, some cutaneous aspects were consistent with mycosis fungoides. However, the histological examination of lymph-nodes led to the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease, sometimes associated with features of Kaposi's sarcoma. During the past few years, the occurrence of Kaposi's sarcoma in the course of cancers, malignant lymphomas and especially during Hodgkin's disease, has been reported. It has been suggested that immunosuppressive therapy undertaken for the initial tumor could account for a viral carcinogenesis. In this respect, the vascular proliferation observed in Kaposi's sarcoma could be compared with the lymphocyte induced angiogenesis, which occurs during the experimental graft versus host reaction. Therefore, Kaposi's sarcoma could be the result of a tumoral rejection. In the case of our observation, it does not seem possible to diagnose an angio-immunoblastic lymphadenopathy; but it is of interest to note that, in this later disease, histological features of vascular neogenesis have also been reported.

[Hormones and hair growth in man]

A literature review tries to diminish the ambiguity between hormones and hairs. Therefore the hormonal action in general (regulation of the protein synthesis indirectly by enzymatical regulation of the AMP-system or directly by hormones as active metabolites) and the methods to explore hormones-hair-interaction are discussed. Hormones pertaining to the pituitary-adrenal-gonadal axis are regarded as the paramount hormones; therefore the results of research in testosterone, 5-alpha-dihydrotestosterone, estrogens, progesterone, glucocorticoids, the hypophysis and its tropins are recapitulated. The main disorders of hair-growth, pattern baldness and "idiopathic" hirsutism, which would be dependent on a similar disturbance of androgen metabolism, are discussed. Pathology in hair-growth may arise in any point of the cascade of hormone action.

[Prevalent frequency of prosopagnosia in males]

In order to find out how frequent prosopagnosia is in males in comparison to females, all cases hitherto published have been reviewed and a remarkably greater frequency in males has been pointed out. Since the etiology has resulted to be in the majority of cases vascular, the epidemiology of vascular diseases as possible factor of this different incidence is discussed. It is concluded that the greater frequency observed in males seem to be a real fact inherent to prosopagnosia, and not related to other factors.

[Incidence of oxyuriasis in a schoolchild population in Milan, with socio-economic correlations. Verification of the therapeutic effectiveness of pyrantel pamoate]

440 children aged between 3 and 5 were examined for Oxyuriasis in three schools of Milan during three different days. 31% of the children resulted parasited by Enterobius vermicularis: a clear correlation between parasitosis and socio-economic condition has been demonstrated. Treatment with "pirantel pamoate" has been proved effective in 88% of the cases.

Studies on rat hair cultures. IV. The effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone

By means of two different quantification techniques the Authors were able to show that the addition of increasing concentrations of testosterone to the medium of hair-cultures simultaneously provokes an increased volume of epidermis as well as of hair-follicles and a better differentiation of hair follicles. The addition of dihydrotestosterone, on the contrary, does not induce any change.

Metabolism of testosterone 4-14C in skin of castrated rats

Testosterone metabolism was studied in the skin and preputial glands of normal and prepuberally castrated male rats during the 2nd hair cycle. In catagen-telogen the 17-beta-OHSDH of dorsal skin was higher in castrated than in control animals; 5-alpha-reductase instead, remained unchanged through out the hair cycle. Also in the preputial glands of castrated rats 17-beta-OHSDH was higher than in normal rats. So was 5-alpha-reductase. A possible direct control of a substrate, like Testosterone, and/or of a hypophyseal tropin, like prolactin, on enzymes that direct the metabolism of steroids in target tissues is conceivable.

Adenyl-cyclase activity in rat-hair-cycle

In the skin of rat, during telogen phase, a high adenyl-cyclase activity coincides with maximal catecholamines content, minimal histamine level and blocking of mitoses in epithelial cells. These events suggest that in telogen the control of mitotic activity in rat hair follicles may operate through a block of G1 cells as already suggested for epidermal cells.

[Deep immersion in the light of current scientific knowledge]

Physiological and technical problems related to deep diving are discussed. Starting from a brief summary of fundamental data, the Author deals with breathing mixture, the diver protection, copression rates and other various problems the principal syndromes originated by gases at high pressure in hyperbaric conditions. An analysis of the most important physical factors which can interfere with the tolerability for long period in such artificial athmospheres has been conducted.

[Streptozotocin and malignant insulinomas. Apropos of the case. Review of the literature]

In spite of possible toxicity streptozotocin now appears to be the best treatment for malignant islet cell tumour with liver metastases, i.e. inoperable tumours with a poor prognosis either due to extension of the tumour itself or due to hypoglycemic attacks. Out of about 60 patients thus treated, 1 to 2 years survival were obtained. 22 out of 52 patients reported by Broder and Carter are still alive and one may estimate the overall percentage of favourable results at 65%. On the other hand out of another 100 patients treated elsewhere with this antineoplastic agent, only a few cases of carcinoid tumour gave encouraging results. The course of the others was not modified significantly.

(+)-catechin effects on x-rays irradiated skin of rats

The effect of (+)-catechin on the skin of rats previously irradiated was a net decrease of AMPS content and a partial recovery of the insoluble collagen-loss due to X-Rays.

[Cytogenetic study of 30 couples having had several spontaneous abortions]

In 30 couples consulting after two or more failed pregnancies, the authors detected two women with reciprocal translocation in the heterozygous condition: t (5 ; 6) (q 35 ; q 21) in one case. t (5 ; 10) (q 15 ; q 25) in the other case. In both cases, there was, later, birth of a normal boy of karyotype 46, XY. It thus appears obvious that the balanced structural changes which occur in the fertility of these couples, reduces the latter.