Delayed toxicity following acute ingestion of valpromide.

As valpromide is a prodrug of valproic acid (valproate), the clinical presentation of overdoses with either valpromide or valproate sodium is generally considered similar. Whereas plasma peak levels and signs of central nervous system depression occur within a few hours after the acute ingestion of regular-release forms of valproate sodium, delayed toxicity and time to peak levels following valpromide ingestion can be seen as shown by the three reported cases. They were initially considered as mild because patients presented with no or only moderate symptoms and serum valproate levels were below or at therapeutic levels on admission more than 3 hours post-ingestion in two of the three patients. Serum valproate levels were not monitored until marked deterioration more than 10 hours after ingestion. At the time of deterioration, serum valproate was at toxic level in the three reported cases. Therefore, large intake of valpromide should be closely monitored because no or moderate symptoms together with low plasma levels in the first few hours after ingestion do not exclude a subsequent severe intoxication. Despite the usual favourable outcome and the poor correlation between plasma levels and toxic symptoms, patients should not be discharged until plasma levels are documented to remain at low levels for at least 10 hours after the ingestion of valpromide and the patient asymptomatic.

Neonatal handling induces anovulatory estrous cycles in rats.

Since previous work has shown that stimulation early in life decreases sexual receptiveness as measured by the female lordosis quotient, we suggested that neonatal handling could affect the function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis. The effects of neonatal handling on the estrous cycle and ovulation were analyzed in adult rats. Two groups of animals were studied: intact (no manipulation, N = 10) and handled (N = 11). Pups were either handled daily for 1 min during the first 10 days of life or left undisturbed. At the age of 90 days, a vaginal smear was collected daily at 9:00 a.m. and analyzed for 29 days; at 9:00 a.m. on the day of estrus, animals were anesthetized with thiopental (40 mg/kg, ip), the ovaries were removed and the oviduct was dissected and squashed between 2 glass slides. The number of oocytes of both oviductal ampullae was counted under the microscope. The average numbers for each phase of the cycle (diestrus I, diestrus II, proestrus and estrus) during the period analyzed were compared between the two groups. There were no significant differences between intact and handled females during any of the phases. However, the number of handled females that showed anovulatory cycles (8 out of 11) was significantly higher than in the intact group (none out of 10). Neonatal stimulation may affect not only the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, as previously demonstrated, but also the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis in female rats.

Neonatal handling induces anovulatory estrous cycles in rats

Since previous work has shown that stimulation early in life decreases sexual receptiveness as measured by the female lordosis quotient, we suggested that neonatal handling could affect the function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis. The effects of neonatal handling on the estrous cycle and ovulation were analyzed in adult rats. Two groups of animals were studied: intact (no manipulation, N = 10) and handled (N = 11). Pups were either handled daily for 1 min during the first 10 days of life or left undisturbed. At the age of 90 days, a vaginal smear was collected daily at 9:00 a.m. and analyzed for 29 days; at 9:00 a.m. on the day of estrus, animals were anesthetized with thiopental (40 mg/kg, ip), the ovaries were removed and the oviduct was dissected and squashed between 2 glass slides. The number of oocytes of both oviductal ampullae was counted under the microscope. The average numbers for each phase of the cycle (diestrus I, diestrus II, proestrus and estrus) during the period analyzed were compared between the two groups. There were no significant differences between intact and handled females during any of the phases. However, the number of handled females that showed anovulatory cycles (8 out of 11) was significantly higher than in the intact group (none out of 10). Neonatal stimulation may affect not only the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, as previously demonstrated, but also the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis in female rats

Acute poisonings with ethyle loflazepate, flunitrazepam, prazepam and triazolam in children.

Even though acute poisonings with benzodiazepines are extremely common, less is known of the clinical toxicity of recent derivatives, particularly in children. 1,989 cases involving ethyle loflazepate, flunitrazepam, prazepam or triazolam recorded at the Lyons Poison Center and due to 1 compound and associated with clinical symptoms were selected for study. Children less than 16-y of age accounted for 482 cases. Sleepiness, agitation and ataxia were significantly more frequent in the children. Hypotonia was seldom observed but was indicative of severe poisoning. The dangerous toxic dose of these compounds in children is suggested to be 0.78-0.90 mg ethyle loflazepate/kg, 0.26-0.29 mg flunitrazepam/kg, 7.80-9.00 mg prazepam/kg and 0.06-0.07 mg triazolam/kg. These results are in keeping with the relatively low acute toxicity of the older benzodiazepines.

[Analysis of 10 cases of pregnancy after renal transplantation]. / Analyse de 10 cas de grossesse après transplantation rénale.

Renal transplantation has changed completely the fertility of women who had been dialysed. Our study is on 10 pregnancies which we followed up in 7 women who had had renal transplants in the University Hospital of Pitié Salpêtrière (Professor Y. Darbois) between 1979 and 1985. All patients were treated by the same technique and the same methods of prevention of rejection of the transplant. The mean interval between the transplant and pregnancy was 53 months. In 3 cases there was hypertension and raised creatinine levels (more than 150 in 3 cases). In 2 cases the two conditions were associated. The prognosis is bad when a raised blood pressure or a change in renal function occurs before pregnancy starts, leading to a real deterioration in renal function during the pregnancy when such function was abnormal before the pregnancy started. As far as the infants were concerned, the most common complication was IUGR (intrauterine growth retardation) which was found in half of all cases. Blood flow studies in these fetuses are particularity interesting. There were two cases of intra-uterine fetal death. The reasons for these were not necessarily connected with the deterioration in renal function. All the deliveries were by caesarean section, for medical reasons in 7 out of 10 cases. The average duration of the pregnancy was 35 weeks of amenorrhoea. As far as the mothers were concerned, they did not have more infections than other women in spite of being immuno-suppressed (this was excluding urinary tract infections).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Specific IgM of cytomegaloviruses and primary infection in kidney transplant patients]. / IgM spécifiques du cytomégalovirus et primo-infection chez les transplantés rénaux.

In 20 renal transplant recipients suffering from symptomatic CMV infection we looked if a specific IgM response was indicative of a primary infection. By an ELISA technique we investigated the specific IgG and IgM in a pair of sera taken at the time of the transplantation and later at the time of the CMV isolation. For 7 out of 8 patients exhibiting an IgM response in the late serum, the pretransplant serum did not contain either IgG or IgM specific antibodies. Therefore the specific IgM response was associated in 7 out of 8 patients with a primary CMV infection. Nevertheless in 6 other primary infected patients no specific IgM response was detected. Otherwise rheumatoid factors appeared in each primary infected patient developing a specific IgG response, with or without specific IgM response.

[Restoration of urinary tract continuity in a non-functioning bladder after renal transplantation]. / Rétablissement de la continuité urinaire après transplantation rénale dans les vessies exclues.

The restoration of the continuity of the urinary tract after renal transplantation in anuric patients, an increasingly frequent situation, raises a number of theoretical problems: is it possible to use a bladder which has been non-functioning, sometimes for many years (20 years)? What should be performed during pre-operative assessment? Which surgical technique should be used? The authors try to answer these questions on the basis of their experience of 116 transplanted anuric patients. Anuria, even of long duration, does not prevent the use of the bladder, provided that the bladder was originally normal and is not infected. The pre-operative assessment is the same as for other patients and urodynamic investigations are not required. The optimal reimplantation technique is the Leadbetter-Politano open bladder technique and every effort should be made to obtain abundant diuresis immediately. Under these conditions, reimplantation into these non-functioning bladders is not associated with more complications than in the case of normal bladders.

[Responsibility of the left renal vein and inferior vena cava in certain cases of myelitis and syringomyelia. Value of ligation of the venous reno-spinal trunk. Apropos of 30 cases]. / Responsabilité de la veine rénale gauche et de la veine cave inférieure dans certains cas de myélites et de syringomyélie. Intérêt de la ligature du tronc veineux réno-rachidien. A propos de trente cas.

Certain diffuse forms of myelitis may be due to raised intra-spinal venous pressure resulting in veritable "varicose veins of the spinal cord". The origin of this increased pressure is often multifactorial, but may be due to venous reflux of blood from the left kidney into the intraspinal plexuses via the reno-spinal trunk. Ligation of this trunk results in a considerable and often complete improvement in the neurological syndrome. This operation was performed for the first time by our team in 1973 and since then has been successfully performed on 30 occasions for 21 cases of myelopathy and 9 cases of syringomyelia.

Early monitoring of human renal transplantations by N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase isoenzyme activities in urines.

Monitoring of variations in N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) urinary activity, following renal transplantation, has been proposed for the early diagnosis of rejection episodes. In this study, the measurement of urinary NAG-B activity was conducted as a complement to total NAG (A + B) measurement, which is normally used alone. Selective measurement of NAG-B activity is carried out after fixation of NAG-A on ion exchanger in test tubes. Results of NAG (A + B) activity confirm that the assay of urinary NAG is a useful indicator of rejection, but a positive correlation between NAG-B and NAG (A + B) activities was observed during the various complications which can occur after transplantation. The specific measurement of this isoenzyme does not, therefore, seem to provide additional information in the early monitoring of human renal transplantations. Apart from rejection episodes, other factors are likely to produce marked NAG-B excretion, e.g. gentamicin therapy.

[The use of a Buselmeier shunt as initial vascular access for repeat hemodialysis]. / Utilisation du shunt de Buselmeier comme premier temps d'abord vasculaire pour l'hémodialyse itérative.

The construction of an arteriovenous fistula is not always immediately feasible. Temporary recourse to a Buselmeier shunt and the subsequent conversion of the shunt into an arteriovenous fistula, using the same vessels, provides an economy of the vascular sites. This technique precludes the need for permanent or frequent recourse to central venous catheters.

Intractable dysphagia following placement of Angelchik prosthesis for reflux esophagitis.

In 1979, Angelchik and Cohen [1] reported a series of 46 patients in whom a Silastic prosthesis was used to control gastroesophageal reflux. The initial results were good, and to date, no long-term complications have been noted. We discuss a patient whom severe dysphagia developed following placement of an Angelchik prosthesis. Preoperative evaluation revealed no motor abnormality and no stricture, but there was acute angulation of the gastroesophageal junction. The prosthesis was removed through a left thoracotomy, and a Belsey repair resulted in good relief of symptoms.

Clinical and experimental evaluation of left ventriculoiliac shunt bypass during repair of lesions of the descending thoracic aorta.

Temporary ventriculoiliac bypass with a tridodecylmethylammonium chloride-coated shunt has been used routinely at the University of North Carolina for the past seven years for repair of lesions of the descending thoracic aorta. Although the technic appears to be safe and reliable, the hemodynamic effects of prolonged nonvalved apical diversion on left ventricular function are not defined. To evaluate left ventricular performance during ventriculoiliac shunt bypass, the procedure was investigated in adult sheep. Systolic flow through the shunt was pulsatile and accounted for approximately 35% of the total cardiac output. Reversed flow was minimal. No significant change occurred in cardiac output, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, or left atrial pressure. Perfusion of the abdominal viscera through the shunt was sufficient to prevent intestinal and renal ischemia. Our results indicate that the shunt provides left ventricular decompression without evidence of deterioration in left ventricular performance for up to three hours of apical bypass and aortic occlusion. It is included that bypass with a left ventriculoiliac shunt provides safe and effective diversion during repair of lesions of the descending thoracic aorta and offers and excellent alternative to methods involving greater technical hazard or requiring systemic anticoagulation.