Endoscopic optic nerve decompression for traumatic blindness.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to compare the outcome of patients with traumatic optic neuropathy (TON) treated with high-dose steroids with the outcome of patients with TON treated with endoscopic optic nerve decompression (EOND) after failing high-dose steroid treatment. METHODS: During this retrospective review of patients with TON seen from 1994 to 1998, all patients were first treated with megadose methylprednisolone for 48 hours. Patients with no improvement or with worsening visual acuity were offered EOND. RESULTS: Eleven of 34 (32%) patients treated with high-dose steroids showed improvement, and 23 (68%) did not. Seventeen of the 23 patients without improvement after high-dose steroid treatment underwent EOND. Fourteen of 17 (82%) surgically treated patients had improved visual acuity, and 3 (18%) did not, with an overall improvement in 25 of 34 (74%) patients (chi(2) = 11. 338, P = 0.0007). CONCLUSION: EOND is an appropriate treatment technique for patients with TON in whom high-dose steroid treatment has failed.

Is the new TNM (1997) the best system for predicting prognosis?

In 1997, the U.I.C.C. (International Union against Cancer) modified the previous TNM stage grouping published in 1987. In the present study, TANIS and TNM '97 systems were compared in order to evaluate their prognostic ability. Data from 164 patients affected by primary squamous cell carcinoma cancers of the oral cavity (n=100) and oropharynx (n=64) were analyzed by means of survival analyses. Both systems showed a significant correlation with survival rate. TANIS yielded better results in association with the survival rate as compared with TNM '97.

Stage grouping reliability: TNM '97 versus TANIS in laryngeal cancer.

PURPOSE: To compare the correlation of TANIS and TNM '97 with the survival rate in laryngeal cancer. METHODS AND MATERIAL: From 1970 to 1990, 599 patients at the ENT Clinic, University of Ferrara, had a complete follow-up and met the criteria of enrollment. Data were analyzed by means of survival analyses (Kaplan-Meler and Cox algorithms). RESULTS: Both systems showed a significant correlation with the survival rate. TANIS advanced subcategories were better correlated with the mortality rate than TNM stages IVa and IVb. Again, in the final statistical model, TANIS was more highly correlated with survival rate than TNM.

The response of the ageing heart to regular physical exercise. An echo and Doppler study.

In upper middle age healthy subjects the functional cardiac reserve is known to be decreased (Port et al., 1980; Aubert et al., 1994). On the other hand regular physical exercise improves the cardiovascular function (Nishimura et al., 1980). The aim of this study was to establish whether regular physical exercise is associated with a significant change in the ageing process of the cardiovascular system.

Genesis and acoustic quality of the physiological fourth heart sound.

The genesis of the fourth heart sound (S4) is commonly related to the rapid set in vibration of the left ventricular walls, resulting from the rapid inflow of the blood due to the atrial contraction (Nishimura et al., 1989). S4 can be recorded in normal young subjects as an expression of physiologic atrial dynamics but it is more common in pathologic conditions characterized by decreased ventricular distensibility (Tavel, 1978). Employing the spectral analysis of heart sounds (Longhini et al., 1979; Longhini et al., 1981; Aubert et al., 1984) we searched for the relationship between different components of the frequency spectrum of S4 and various echocardiographic parameters, with the aim of identifying the cardiac structures involved in its genesis (Longhini et al., 1989; Baracca et al., 1991).

Effects of the passive transfer of anti-gB antibodies in a rabbit model of HSV-1-induced keratitis.

The effectiveness of passively transferred antibodies directed against the secretory form of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein B (gB1-s) was tested in a rabbit model of ocular HSV-1 infection. The animals were passively immunized through the intramuscular injection of a homologous polyclonal anti-gB1-s antiserum at different times from the viral ocular challenge (i.e. at -24, 0, +24 and +48 h from infection). The effects observed in this trial were compared with those obtained in an active immunization trial, in which the animals were vaccinated with gB1-s before the ocular infection with HSV-1 (large variant). The results have shown that passive immunization appears quite effective in prophylactic utilization, whereas it is less effective when performed at 24 or 48 h after inoculation. By contrast, active immunization of rabbits proved to be highly effective both in preventing the development of fatal encephalitis and in reducing the severity of corneal lesions.

Peripheral vascular circulation in trained athletes.

Modifications in the neurogenic control are important in cardiovascular adaptation to physical training. To examine the influence of such variations on arterial blood pressure, heart rate and limb blood flow the Authors have studied the reaction to cardiovascular stress tests of soccer players and sedentary controls. No difference was found in the blood flow response between athletes and sedentary subjects. However, the tests inducing sympathetic activation determined blood pressure response of different intensity, possibly related to the differences in the autonomic nervous system control.