ABSTRACT
Development of medical countermeasures for chemical and biological threats is a mission of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command. Several such countermeasures were fielded during Operation Desert Shield/Storm and a controversy developed in the press and in the courts over the use of these "experimental drugs" in service members. Far from experimental, these drugs were, however, fielded as "investigational" products. Describing the products as investigational is a result of Food and Drug Administration regulations, not a comment on the extent to which the products have been tested.
Subject(s)
Drugs, Investigational , Ethics , Military Personnel , Vaccines , Warfare , Humans , Informed Consent , Saudi Arabia , Terminology as Topic , United StatesSubject(s)
Narcolepsy/diagnosis , Adult , Cataplexy/etiology , Hallucinations/etiology , Humans , Male , Military PersonnelSubject(s)
Brain Neoplasms/diagnosis , Brain Stem , Evoked Potentials, Auditory , Glioma/diagnosis , Adult , Electroencephalography , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Amiodarone, a drug used to treat refractory cardiac arrhythmias, produced a peripheral neuropathy in 5 of 50 cases (10%). Although the neuropathy may be severe, it tends to improve with lowering of the dosage or discontinuation of the medication.
Subject(s)
Amiodarone/adverse effects , Benzofurans/adverse effects , Nervous System Diseases/chemically induced , Aged , Arrhythmias, Cardiac/drug therapy , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Paresthesia/chemically induced , Peripheral Nervous System Diseases/chemically induced , Tremor/chemically inducedABSTRACT
Visual evoked potentials were measured in eight exteriorized near-term fetal lambs prior to and during 8 minutes of asphyxia and during 1 hour of newborn survival. Four of the lambs were then extubated, and measurements were continued while the lambs were observed for behavior and gross motor function. Early in the asphyctic period, marked changes in the visual evoked potential occurred in association with a fall in Po2, whereas during the postexposure period the visual evoked potential appeared to recover independently of cardiovascular or arterial blood gas values. Moreover, early wave components of the visual evoked potentials were more resistant to asphyxia than were later components and responded more quickly to resuscitative efforts. During the survival period the visual evoked potential did not correlate with gross motor function when animals were exposed to moderate acidosis. After severe acidosis abnormal visual evoked potentials were seen during periods of clinical deterioration.
Subject(s)
Asphyxia Neonatorum/physiopathology , Brain/physiopathology , Evoked Potentials, Visual , Fetal Hypoxia/physiopathology , Acidosis/physiopathology , Animals , Animals, Newborn , Blood Gas Analysis , Female , Hemodynamics , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Oxygen/blood , Pregnancy , SheepSubject(s)
Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial/diagnostic imaging , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Adult , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
The visual evoked potential (VEP) of five healthy, near-term exteriorized fetal lambs was compared with the VEP obtained from the same animals during the first hour after ventilation. Characteristics of the individual wave components and their relationship to blood pressure, heart rate, and arterial blood gas measurements concomitantly obtained were examined. Results show that the VEP of the healthy fetus is a stable, reproducible signal consisting of four basic components, and that the latencies (msec) and the amplitude (mu V) of the individual components of the VEP are similar to those of the newborn. In two related experiments, fetal asphyxia of unknown duration was encountered during fetal exteriorization an instrumentation. In the first case, neonatal, acidosis persisted despite aggressive resuscitation efforts and was accompanied by an atypical VEP. In the second case, the neonatal VEP obtained after 15 min of resuscitation was markedly depressed despite restoration of acid-base balance but gradually recovered during the remainder of the 1-hr newborn period. In conclusion, the VEP is a reproducible measure of cortical function in the healthy fetus and neonate and may reflect the acute status of cerebral function during fetal asphyxia and neonatal resuscitation.
Subject(s)
Animals, Newborn/physiology , Asphyxia Neonatorum/physiopathology , Fetus/physiology , Animals , Blood Pressure , Evoked Potentials, Visual , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Pregnancy , Reaction Time , SheepABSTRACT
Lymphomatoid granulomatosis is a malignant form of pulmonary angiitis that has characteristics in common with Wegener granulomatosis and lymphoma. Neurologic symptoms occur in up to 30% of the cases and are the presenting complaints in up to 21%. CNS, cranial nerve, and peripheral nerve involvement occur singly or in combination. In the CNS there is a pathologic triad of angiitis, lymphoreticular infiltration, and necrosis. In the involved peripheral nerves there is demyelination and lymphoid cell infiltration. Neurologic involvement tends to indicate a worse prognosis. Treatment has been based on steroids and cytotoxic agents and may improve symptoms but does not seem to alter the disease process.
