Neurocardiogenic syncope in a 10-year-old boy.

We present a case with a suspected epileptic disorder. This may be a result of a neurocardiogenic syncope leading to seizures. A 10-year-old boy suffered two episodes of sudden loss of consciousness after getting injections. Electrocardiography (ECG) and electroencephalography recordings during a venipuncture showed asystole of 6 seconds followed by a generalized seizure with clonic jerks of the right arm and leg while theta waves in the EEG were noted. Tilt-table testing could not provoke a pathological reaction.

Intervertebral disc calcification in childhood--a case report and review of the literature.

The authors report the case of a 10-year-old girl with intervertebral disc calcifications from the levels C6/C7 to Th1/Th2, presenting with a herniated calcified intervertebral disc at the C7/Th1 level, causing spinal cord compression with subsequent progressive paresis and sensory loss of her left leg. After anterior cervical discectomy and fusion the neurological deficits completely resolved within 2 weeks. It can be concluded that calcification of an intervertebral disc is a rare syndrome in childhood, causing progressive neurological deficit only in a few reported cases. Although the treatment of choice is conservative, surgery is required in patients who develop progressive neurological deficit.

[Acquired toxoplasmosis with cerebral involvement and subsequent hearing loss]. / Erworbene Toxoplasmose mit zerebraler Beteiligung und nachfolgender Hörstörung.

In immunocompetent patients the postnatally acquired toxoplasmosis is usually a mild or asymptomatic disease. CNS manifestations are rare, e.g. in patients with HIV infection or in patients with other types of immunosuppression. We report on a 9-year old healthy boy, who was hospitalized after one week with subfebrile temperatures and headache with clinical signs of encephalitis and unilateral deafness. We diagnosed a toxoplasmosis and treated the patient with pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine. While most of the signs and symptoms disappeared rapidly the deafness persisted.

Septic cavernous sinus thrombosis following infection of ethmoidal and maxillary sinuses: a case report.

A 10-year-old boy with a unilateral septic cavernous sinus thrombosis complicating infection of the ethmoidal and maxillary sinuses is described. The causative agents identified were Eikenella corrodens and Staphylococcus aureus. The disease was cured without any sequelae.

[Development of body weight and height of small-for-gestational-age infants in relation to the degree of intrauterine retardation]. / Gewichts- und Längenentwicklung ehemals hypotroph geborener Kinder in Abhängigkeit vom Schweregrad der intrauterinen Retardierung.

The increase of weight of 238 hypotrophic and 31 eutrophic newborns is analyzed and assigned to 4 clusters in the course of their first 21 months. It is compared with body weight curves by Prader. Cluster 1 Increase in weight about the 50th percentile Cluster 2 Increase in weight between the 50th and 3rd percentile Cluster 3 Increase in weight just below the 3rd percentile Cluster 4 Increase in weight clearly below the 3rd percentile More than a half of all hypotrophic newborns had a body weight below the 3rd percentile by Prader (cluster 3 and 4) on attaining the age of 21 months. The appearance of hypotrophy in the newborns is subdivided into 4 groups by means of gestational age and relative birthweight: Group 1 eutrophic and moderate hypotrophic (n = 77) Group 2 premature and moderate hypotrophic (n = 46) Group 3 eutrophic and distinct hypotrophic (n = 62) Group 4 premature and distinct hypotrophic (n = 53) We found that the increase of weight correspond to cluster 4 in 4% of group 1, in 22% of group 2, in 32% of group 3, and in 43% of group 4. At last the increase of body weight is hard influenced in the first 3 years of life by hypotrophy and degrees of maturity of the newborns.

[Pathogen spectrum in bacterial meningitis in childhood and subsequent therapeutic strategy]. / Erregerspektrum bakterieller Meningitiden im Kindesalter und sich daraus ergebende therapeutische Strategie.

In a total of 223 children over one month old suffering from purulent meningitis, there was a predominance (n = 96) of meningococci over hemophilus influenzae (n = 68) and pneumococci (n = 59). Crucial to therapeutic strategy for purulent meningitis is early diagnosis, in our laboratory covering both liquor and blood cultures. Initial therapy has to take account of these three chief causal agents. We have not as yet observed any resistance to penicillin from meningococci or pneumococci, and none of the liquor-cultivated hemophilus influenzae stock has been resistant to ampicillin. In the first two years of life, initial therapy for bacterial meningitis should include ampicillin, a liberal (300-400 mg/kg KM/d) dosage continuing to be important after the onset of improvement. In view of the lack of resistance of the causal agents cultivated, we had hitherto no cell to deploy modern cephalosporins in cases of bacterial meningitis in children.

[Adaptational behavior and late prognosis in newborn infants following severe intrauterine hypoxia with fetal pH under 7.0]. / Anpassungsverhalten und Spätprognose von Neugeborenen nach schwerer intrauteriner Hypoxie mit fetalem pH unter 7,0.

The course of perinatal periods as well as the latest statomotor and psychomotor developments were examined in 30 children (gestational age: 38.8 +/- 2.2 weeks; weight: 3,118 g +/- 668 g) with umbilical blood pH below 7.0 for assessment of the risk of neuromotor and psycho-intellectual retardation in newborns who had undergone severe intra-uterine hypoxia. The following findings were established from the probands at ages between seven and 80 months: normal condition of 15 children, mild retardation with normal neurological status in eight children, medium retardation with emphasis on psychoneurotic symptoms in five children, and severe retardation with multiple symptoms in two children. The strongest informative potential in terms of long-range prognosis was established for the perinatal combination of low pH with neurological and respiratory findings. Good long-range prognosis was recorded even for children with a record of pH below 7.0, provided well-timed and adequate treatment for severe intra-uterine hypoxia and unimpaired adaptation following primary re-animation.

Apical region of the crayfish retinula.

The base of the crystalline tract, the distal part of the eighth retinular cell and its rhabdomer constitute a structural unit in the apical region of the retinula of Astacus fluviatilis and A. leptodactylus, shielded from the blood by a special covering cell.

[Effect of the hypotrophy factor on the prognosis of the development of premature and newborn infants from the neurologic and psychologic viewpoint]. / Der Einfluss des Faktors Hypotrophie auf die Entwicklungsprognose ehemaliger Früh- und Neugeborener aus neurologischer und psychologischer Sicht.

Neurological and psychological examinations have been conducted of prematurely born babies in good bodily condition and hypotrophic new-born infants (including control groups) as part of a not yet concluded longitudinal study. The hypoplastic premature infants showed a comparatively high proportion of statomotor retardation and neurological disturbances, which were also found in premature infants in good bodily condition with a pregnancy duration of 26-30 weeks. Cerebral motor disturbances were found primarily in hypoplastic new-born babies and especially in premature infants. The EQ (development quotient) for the premature infants in good bodily condition with a pregnancy duration between 26 and 30 weeks, and for the hypoplastic premature infants was lower than for other high-risk groups. These two groups were also responsible for the larger proportion of children showing light and medium psychic retardation. Behavioral peculiarities were, however, distributed also over other high-risk groups, and some were even more frequent there. It was also found that speech development was delayed. The study shows the necessity of following the development of high-risk babies and using individual therapies.