[Dieulafoy ulcer associated with acute drug-induced gastritis: a rare case]. / Ulcera di Dieulafoy associata a gastrite acuta da farmaci: un raro caso.

The lesion in Dieulafoy's disease consists of an unusually large and tortuous artery in the base of an ulcer. The disease is underdiagnosed rather than truly rare and often presents with a massive and potentially fatal, usually repeated, haematemesis. The authors describe a case of Dieulafoy's disease associated with acute drug-induced gastritis whose gravity required, in the case reported, a very serious emergency treatment.

[Pancreatic encephalopathy. Description of an unusual case]. / Encefalopatia pancreatica. Descrizione di un raro caso.

The authors describe a case of pancreatic encephalopathy. This uncommon condition, rarely described in the literature, occurs with neuropsychiatric signs 3-4 days after the onset of acute pancreatitis. Diagnosis is due to clinical and biochemical findings and to post mortem examinations revealing also amylase in CSF.

Functional properties of dilute Hb solutions studied without tonometric techniques.

The authors found that, by continuously bubbling pure nitrogen within a dilute Hb solution, the latter releases its oxygen with an intensity which is quite proportional to the duration of bubbling. Such a procedure can be employed instead of the common tonometric technique, to measure functional properties of Hb. In fact, not only dissociation curves can be obtained, but also a correct evaluation of the affinity changes upon pH variations (Bohr effect). The results obtained by this technique are not far from those recently reported by using tonometry, although the method is less precise and still not suitable for routine purposes. Nevertheless, it can be substantially improved.

Functional behaviour of dilute solutions of Hb-Kempsey: beta 99 (G-1) Asp--Asn.

The authors report that a diluted solution of Hb-Kempsey, beta 99 (G-1) Asp-Asn, can be chromatographically separated from the coexistent Hb-A and functionally examined if progressively depleted in O2 by bubbling pure nitrogen in the solution. Next, at fixed times, the O2 saturations of Hb are compared with the pO2s measured. Hb-Kempsey has a p50 of 1 torr, with an n-value of 1 and a Bohr effect of -0.2. Normal Hb-A of the same patient, examined with identical methods, presents: p50 = 4.5 torr; n = 2.7; Bohr effect = -0.412. Therefore, Hb-Kempsey is strongly hyperaffinic, does not display any heme-heme interaction, and has a half-normal Bohr effect.