PLAQUE ASSAY FOR PSITTACOSIS VIRUS IN MONOLAYERS OF CHICK EMBRYO FIBROBLASTS.
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Piraino, F. (City of Milwaukee Health Department, Milwaukee, Wis.), and C. Abel. Plaque assay for psittacosis virus in monolayers of chick embryo fibroblasts. J. Bacteriol. 87:1503-1511. 1964.-A tissue culture system for the assay of 6BC psittacosis virus by plaque production on chick embryo fibroblast cells is described. Experiments are given which characterize the specificity of the reaction and identify factors found to cause variations in plaque counts. The statistical data obtained indicate this assay to be a precise and highly reliable procedure for the detection of 6BC virus and antibody. (+info)
THE 1961 CHOLERA EPIDEMIC IN MANILA, REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES.
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A pandemic of El-Tor-type cholera began in south-east Asia during 1961. Many members of the medical profession, as well as government officials and the public, were confused by the relationship between the disease caused by the El Tor organism and classic Asiatic cholera. The authors observed large numbers of cholera patients admitted to San Lazaro Hospital, Manila, early in the Philippine epidemic, and in the present communication they draw attention to certain clinical and epidemiological features of so-called El Tor cholera. The paper not only describes the patients and the epidemic, but also suggests some of the treatment needs during such an epidemic. No indication was found that the disease caused by the classic cholera vibrio is different from that which is designated the El Tor variant. (+info)
CERVICAL DISC INJURY. SYMPTOMS AND CONSERVATIVE TREATMENT.
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Primary traumatic cervical disc disease and chronic disc disease associated with spondylitis aggravated by injury causes referred pain to the head, face, neck, arms, shoulders and chest, and even in the low back. Such pain may be reproduced by the injection of contrast medium for cervical discography. Dorsal nerve root pain is rare.Clear-cut disc derangement or annular incompetence may be demonstrated by discography at levels which reproduce symptoms. The pain pattern at each level is not consistent. Conservative treatment, involving primarily the use of a cervical extension collar, results in substantial improvement in 75 per cent of cases. (+info)
SPONTANEOUS PNEUMOTHORAX IN THE NEWBORN.
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Spontaneous pneumothorax can occur in the newborn infant and if not recognized may have fatal consequences. It should be suspected in any infant in respiratory distress. It may be caused by over-enthusiastic attempts at resuscitation with pressure breathing apparatus, but more often it occurs spontaneously. In the latter instance it is probably due to occlusion of some of the smaller air passages by aspirated meconium. The patient with a small pneumothorax and only moderate distress may recover completely with no treatment other than observation in an oxygen-enriched atmosphere. If considerable distress persists, continuous drainage of the pneumothorax should be provided by means of an intercostal drain and an underwater seal. (+info)
PARADOXES OF TAKAYASU'S DISEASE.
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Takayasu's disease (or arteritis) has been defined as an "idiopathic aortitis usually affecting young women." It can come to light from very spectacular and often quite puzzling clinical manifestations. Six cases of Takayasu's disease were investigated at the UCLA Hospital in the years 1961-1962, and signs and symptoms of central nervous system involvement were found in five of the patients. This relatively high incidence of neurological deficit prompted a review of case reports in the literature and this in turn led to a series of "unexpected" findings in the historical evolution of the illness as well as in its anatomopathological aspects. The study indicated that Takayasu's disease is frequently associated with neurological manifestations, at times very severe. In addition, the disease appears to be far more extensive than its classical description suggests. New criteria for the diagnosis of Takayasu's disease must include, among other things, special emphasis on the disseminated nature of the disease. (+info)
THYROID OPERATIONS. A REVIEW OF 364 CONSECUTIVE CASES.
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Three hundred sixty-four operations on the thyroid gland done in a five year period (1956-1961) in two private suburban Los Angeles Hospitals were reviewed. Two hundred twenty-three of the operations were done for the treatment of solitary nodular goiter (clinical diagnosis). Twenty-three cancers were found, an incidence of 10.5 per cent. Only one cancer was definitely diagnosed preoperatively. Multinodular non-toxic goiters were diagnosed clinically in 39 cases and two cancers were present. Cancer was not found in the 23 cases of nodular toxic goiter.Graves' disease was treated surgically in 35 cases, or almost 10 per cent of the total series. In four the microscopic appearance of Hashimoto's thyroiditis was present. Thyroiditis was diagnosed by the pathologist in 51 instances, or about 14 per cent of the series. It was Hashimoto's thyroiditis in 40 cases. Three cancers were found associated with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. There was nothing definitely diagnostic about the protein-bound iodine test or the I(131) uptake test or scan in nodular goiter, thyroiditis or cancer. Cancer was found in six "cold" nodules, in one hypofunctioning nodule and in one "warm" nodule. Cancer was not found in any cases clinically diagnosed as toxic nodular goiter. The clinical accuracy of the preoperative diagnosis was 70 per cent for solitary nodular goiter and 90 per cent for multinodular goiter. Only three cases of Hashimoto's thyroiditis were definitely diagnosed preoperatively. Needle biopsy was not done.Eighty-six per cent of the cancers were papillary, mixed or follicular; 14 per cent were anaplastic. In 24 per cent of the cases of cancer there was local invasion or metastasis to lymph nodes, lung or bone by the time operation was done. (+info)
THE NATURE OF HERPES ZOSTER: A LONG-TERM STUDY AND A NEW HYPOTHESIS.
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Dr Hope-Simpson presents a study of all cases of herpes zoster occurring in his general practice during a sixteen-year period. The rate was 3.4 per thousand per annum, rising with age, and the distribution of lesions reflected that of the varicella rash.It was found that severity increased with age, but that the condition did not occur in epidemics, and that there was no characteristic seasonal variation. A low prevalence of varicella was usually associated with a high incidence of zoster.Dr Hope-Simpson suggests that herpes zoster is a spontaneous manifestation of varicella infection. Following the primary infection (chickenpox), virus becomes latent in the sensory ganglia, where it can be reactivated from time to time (herpes zoster). Herpes zoster then represents an adaptation enabling varicella virus to survive for long periods, even without a continuous supply of persons susceptible to chickenpox. (+info)
URINE OSMOLALITY IN A POPULATION STUDY OF HYPERTENSION.
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High blood pressure occurs in the majority of cases of chronic kidney disease, while renal damage is common in the more advanced cases of essential hypertension. In a population study of hypertensive disease, therefore, it is important to provide information on renal function. Determination of plasma creatinine concentration fails as a screening test since a normal or nearly normal plasma creatinine value does not necessarily exclude severe reduction of filtration ability. The specific gravity is the most widely used index of the concentration power of the kidneys. The disadvantage of this method is that considerable variation of specific gravity may occur in urines of like osmolality. In a sample of 855 50-year-old men selected at random, the authors of this article have correlated the lowered osmolality of an early morning urine specimen with hypertension. Renal involvement and/or altered rhythm of water and solute excretion can be the cause of lowered osmolality. The determination of the concentration of early morning urine samples has a legitimate place in population studies of cardiovascular diseases. A method of determining urine osmolality is described that requires relatively simple equipment and gives results with a small standard error. (+info)