A 6-month-old baby was diagnosed as having Russell-silver syndrome. Dermatoglyphics showed no difference between his parents and normal chlidren, except that both thumbs were arch ridged. Nail fold microcirculatory observations showed a distinct breadth for each finger of the right side of the loops, the character and rate of blood flow being normal. Those of the left revealed vague loops and the charater and rate of blood flow were unclear.
A case of Isaacs' syndrome with continuous muscle-fibre activity or neuromyotonia is reported. The age of onset was 10 years. The course was progressive. Muscle stiffness was the prominent feature, especially in the hands and feet. The electromyogram at rest and during sleep, electroencephalogram, motor nerve conduction velocity and nerve blocks with procaine at motor point and nerve trunk were studied. Sodium dilantin appeared therapeutieally effective. Our observation tended to support the view that the condition is an anomaly of the distal part of the motor nerve fibres. The relationship between the syndrome and "flu" with fever requires further studies.
The author used both in vivo and in vitro methods in the study of the effect of various factors on the intestinal absorption of glucose after adrenalectomy. The results were as follows. a. On the 5th day of adrenalectomy, the intestinal glucose absorption in the adrenalectomized rats was greatly decreased as measured in vivo. Sham operation was not responsible for the decreased glucose absorption, nor was the reduction of food intake, anorexia and fasting. There was no relationship between the blood sugar level and the absorption rate of glucose. b. Treatment with cortisone (1 mg/day) had the same effect as with desoxycorticosterone acetate (3 mg/day), and 0.9% NaCl supplements could also turn glucose absorption normal. c. The decreased glucose absorption in normal rats might result from the inhibitive absorption of Na+. Hyperkalemia after adrenalectomy might be the major cause for the great decrease in glucose absorption of the small intestine. d. Since xylose absorption was unaffected in adrenalectomized rats, it was believed that the disturbance of the blood flow was not the major cause for the decreased glucose absorption of the intestines of the adrenalectomized rats. e. There appeared no remarkable difference in glucose absorption between the normal and the adrenalectomized rats (5th day following adrenalectomy). QO2 of the small intestine in adrenalectomized rats was not changed either. It was, therefore, concluded that in the early period following adrenalectomy, the adrenal control of intestinal glucose absorption was not primary, but secondary to water and electrolytes imbalance. f. On the 15th day of adrenalectomy, the intestinal transport of glucose in adrenalectomized rats was remarkably decreased as compared with the controls. NaCI therapy could only partly correct the decreased rate of glucose absorption as measured both in vivo and in vitro experiments. At this time QO2 and alkaline phosphatase both decreased. It was suggested that because of deficiency of adrenal cortical hormones; there must be some disturbances in the active glucose transport system of the small intestine.
Ten cases of extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) in the head and neck were studied. There were 6 males and 4 females, the ages ranging from 30 to 72 years. Except one located in the thyroid, most tumors appeared in the upper respiratory tract and oral cavity: 6 in the nasal cavity, paranasalsinus and nasopharynx; 1 in the tonsil and pharynx; 1 in the root of the tongue and cervicallymph node; and 1 in the lingula gingiva. The tumors originating in the nasal cavity, paranasalsinus and nasopharynx usually appeared polypoid with a smooth surface, dark red in color. In microscopy, they consisted of the tumorous plasma cells. According to the ratio of the mature plasma cells to atypical ones, the tumors fell into two histologic groups: well-differentiated (4 cases) and poor-differentiated (6 cases). Diverse histologic patterns might be found in different sections of the same tumor. Follow-ups of 6 cases showed a high radio-sensititivity and little correlation between the histologic feature and prognosis of the disease. The differentiation between EMP and plasma cell granuloma was discussed. Coexistance of EMP of the thyroid and Hashimoto's struma in one of our cases might probably be referred to a cause-and-effect relationship bewteen these two diseases.
Serum angiotensin-I converting enzyme activtiy in the normal adult Chinese was measured by means of ultraviolet spectrophotometry. Hippuryl-glycyl-glycine was used as substrate. The total number of the people tested was 875, aged 15-85 years, averaging 39.5. Serum angiotensin-I converting enzyme activity was 35.7±7.6 (mean±SD)nmol/ml/min. No differences were found between sexes or among age groups and regions. The average value of serum angiotensin-I converting enzyme of smokers was slightly higher than that of non-smokers.
Thirty patients with tumors of the lateral ventricle were operated upon in this hospital in a period of ten years, with the tumors totally removed in 24 and subtotally resected in 6. No operative death occurred. Postoperative deep X-ray irradiation and chemotherapy were given to 17 cases. All the 30 cases were followed up for 1-9 years; 19 of them were still surviving up to 1982. Of the 19 survivors, 15 had resumed their work, while the other 4 had to be taken care of. The essential points in diagnosis, treatment as well as method of improving surgical results are discussed.
Of 59 cases of nervous diseases shown to have complete loss of sensation by classical sensory examinations, 39 were found to have acupuncture sensation. Detection of presence or absence of acupuncture sensation is helpful in judgement of the status of the condition, prediction of its prognosis, differentiation of organic from functional disease, and, as in index for or against surgical treatment, in selection of clinical managements.
Malayan filariasis is mainly found in the north western part of Fujian province, whereas bancroftian filariasis is found in the central and southern part of this province. There were approximately 2,000,000 patients with filariasis in this province in 1958. The prevalence rate was higher in male (9.4%) than in female (7.7%). Fever attacks and elephantiasis of limbs were common in the malayan filariasis endemic areas, but less common in the bancroftian filariasis endemic areas. Analysis of hydrocele fluid showed that hydrocele was not caused by exudative reaction from the stimulation of the living worms, but was caused by inflammatory obstruction of lymphatic vessles. The periodicity indices obtained from both species of filaria in the endemic areas were over 92%. Investigation showed that C. fatigans is the chief vector of W. bancrofti while An. lesteri anthropophagus is the true vector of B. malayi. Diethylcarbamazine citrate (Hetrazan) had been used for the treatment of malayan and bancroftian filariasis with good results. The control of filariasis is closely related with the improvement of living standard. Through mass survey and treatment, the W. bancrofti microfilarial rate had dropped from 8.3% in 1956 to 0.76% in 1980 in the most densely populated Xiaoqiao District in Fuzhou city.
Mouse L6565 leukemia is a viral lymphocytic leukemia, its strain was established in 1965 in China. The isolation of mouse L6565 leukemia virus with gel chromatography was described in this paper. The virus isolated from L6565 showed to be type C-like particle under electron microscope and was identified by simultaneous detection of reverse transcriptase activity and high molecular weight RNA determination. It was shown that the endogenous reverse transcriptase activity in mouse L6565 virus was senstive to RNase and resistant to the inhibition of actinomycin D; divalent cation was required for the endogenous reverse transcriptase activity, Mn++ being more effective than Mg++. The virus was confirmed to be leukemogenic by inoculation of virion into newborn mice of Kun Ming strain. Experiments indicated that mouse L6565 leukemia virus can be classified as a biologically active oncornavirus.
In the determination of the status of estrogen receptor (ER) of breast cancer, cytochemical (with 17-FE, ligand) and biochemical methods were used. The former was used to designate positivity, and the latter provided a quantitative value for ER (fmol/mg). Both could interpret the status of ER within a same tumor. To express the quantitative value with cytochemical method, breast tumors from 41 patients and 7 C3H mice were used and the data on ER status were detected with the two methods. Through statistical analysis and mathematic modeling, the relative weight (θ) of each positive type of cells and coefficients were obtained. The relative weights of Types A, B and C (θ1, θ2 and θ3) were 4.4, 2.8 and l.8 respectively in human tumors, and 1.9, 0.3 and 1.3 respectively in mice tumors. Thus, biochemical method could also yield the same quantitative value obtained by cytochemical method (fmol/mg). The inadequacy of both methods were suggested. About half amount of the ER was undetected only by detecting cytosol of tumor with dextran-coated charcoal (DCC) method. The status of ER may be detected morphologically and quantitatively by cytochemical method (17-FE).
