Incidence of morphofunctional lesions in the cervical region of patients with gall-bladder dyskinesia.

During research performed in humans of both sexes, aged 17-30, suffering from disorders of gall-bladder kinetics, we found a constant association between this disorder and a cervical syndrome with occipital cephalea, spasmophilia, pre-molar and molar dental decay, even to edentation. We believe the mechanism inducing those disorders originates in the malabsorption of vitamin D2, caused by the absence of biliary salts in the intestine. Our findings could be of interest for the therapeutic management of such cases. In conclusion, we describe a new clinical framework establishing a pathological pattern that is functionally and morphologically coherent. The pattern includes the motor-biliary condition that induces disorders in the mechanism of calcium metabolism control. It also includes major neuromuscle hyperexcitability in the pre-vertebral region associated with the biped posture. Functional and morphological lesions in the cervical region of the spine, with Arnold-type manifestations and spasmophilia prevail in the final clinical picture. This picture is very early associated with multiple dental caries that may progress to edentation. The clinical picture appears as a coherent pattern, from a clinical, morpho-functional and pathogenic perspective.

Electrical activity induced by ischemia in the skeletal muscle of patients with spasmophilia.

The incidence of spontaneous electrical activity during ischemia was studied in normal and spasmophilic subjects with a Bronk electrode inserted in the first dorsal interosseous muscle. Subjects were of both sexes, aged 16 to 65 years. The diagnosis of spasmophilia was established electromyographically by a variant of the Alajouanine test. Ischemia induced in many cases an electrical activity consisting of discharge potentials that have the amplitude, duration and morphology of motor unit potentials. The number of discharging motor units varied, sometimes leading to an electrical Trousseau associated to a carpal spasm. The discharge of individual motor units was irregular and practically uninfluenced by passive manipulations on the muscle or voluntary contraction. The activity started usually 30 sec to 1 min after the onset of ischemia, reached a maximal intensity (as to the number of motor units and frequency of discharge) in about 1 min and declined gradually in the following minutes. This activity was encountered in 55.06% of 770 cases of spasmophilia and only in 11.66% of 283 normal subjects, with a tendency to more intense discharge in spasmophilia. Its incidence in the spasmophilic group was closely related to the intensity of spontaneous repetitive discharges appearing electromyographically after the activation test, reaching 78.63% in most severe cases. The behaviour was interpreted as indicating a higher susceptibility in spasmophilia of axons to depolarization induced by hypoxia. This higher susceptibility appears as an important component of the excitability alterations leading to the complex neuromuscular disorders occurring in spasmophilia.

Experimental researches regarding the metabolic changes determined by the prolonged exposure to light or by keeping in darkness.

The authors conducted complex investigations in the domain of the intermediary metabolism under experimental conditions on 24 dogs grouped into three lots: lot A, twelve dogs, exposed for six months to the action of continuous light; lot B, six dogs, maintained in darkness; lot C, six dogs, maintained for the same period in the animal house, getting the same food as the other two lots, which are the control lot. We determined some biochemical, hematological, enzymatical parameters, before the beginning of the experiment, and after 24 hours, 48 hours, 7, 14 and 21 days, one, two, three, six months. Then the animals were sacrificed, and fragments from the aorta, coronary vessels, myocardium, brain, adrenals, pancreas and liver were examined both on the optical and on the electronic microscope and we analysed some fats from the vascular tissues. The net decrease of proteinemia with lot A was registered, concomitantly with a net decrease of serumalbumins, of the alpha 1-globulins and of the gamma-globulins, and with a rise of the alpha 2- and beta-globulins. The values of glycemia increased with lot A, and less with lot B. The thrombocytes decreased obviously with lot A, and less with lot B. GPT decreased with lot A, and GOT increased. The serum Zn decreased slowly with lot A, and more irregularly but more obviously with lot B. The serum Cu increased with lot A, and decreased with lot B. Alterations on the level of arterioles from the brain, aorta, myocardium and pancreas were evidenced, as well as electronmicroscopical alterations of the arteriolar walls and of the cellular organelles. The lipids from the brain, aorta and myocardium increased with both of the experimental lots and so did the cerebrosides, lecithins and the sphyngomyelin.