[Two cases of peduncular hallucinosis. Vivid, colorful and dancing images and figures]. / Två fall av pedunkulär hallucinos. Livfulla, färggranna, dansande bilder och figurer.

Peduncular hallucinosis is usually caused by infarction of the mesencephalic portion of the brainstem, and is characterised by acute onset of vivid, colorful hallucinations often consisting of moving patterns, people or animals, which the patient is aware are unreal. Charles Bonnet's syndrome is a similar condition, caused by impaired version. Both syndromes may be explained by visual release phenomena caused by lesions in different parts of the visual system. The article consists in two case reports of peduncular hallocinosis and a review of partinent literature.

Clinical relevance of the CA 125 assay in monitoring of ovarian cancer patients.

CA 125 levels were measured longitudinally during treatment and follow-up of 248 epithelial ovarian cancer patients referred to the Department of Gynecological Oncology at Radiumhemmet, Stockholm, from 1984 to 1986. The aim of the study was to evaluate the value of CA 125 monitoring in clinical practice according to tumor burden at the time of referral to Radiumhemmet, the correlation of CA 125 values to tumor mass at second-look laparotomy, the lead time between increasing CA 125 values and tumor relapse, and the predictivity of normal CA 125 values after completion of first-line therapy. Ninety-one percent (32/35) of patients with a tumor volume greater than 5 cm at referral had elevated CA 125 values; 62% (22/35) with no tumor mass had normal CA 125 values. Elevated CA 125 values greater than 35 U/ml before second-look laparotomy predicted remaining tumors in 77% (15/19) of patients. The mean lead time between increasing CA 125 values and tumor relapse was 3 months. Normal CA 125 values at the end of first-line therapy may predict long survival times.

Influence of interferon on the growth of primary ovarian carcinoma cells in a semi-solid agar system: comparison with clinical effects of interferon therapy.

The sensitivity of primary human ovarian cancer cells to interferon (IFN) was studied in vitro by the use of a tumor cloning system in semi-solid agar. Tumor colonies were found in 37% (34/93) of the experiments with tumor cells from ascites and in 35% (6/17) of the experiments with solid tumors. The relative colony-forming ability could not be correlated to prior treatment. In 15 out of 18 patients the ascitic tumor cells were sensitive to IFN-alpha. Sensitivity was found in one test out of three with solid tumors. The sensitivity was dependent on the dose of IFN but could vary for the natural IFNs alpha and gamma. In seven patients the relation between in vitro and in vivo sensitivity of the tumor cells to IFN could be studied. Any correlation between in vitro and in vivo sensitivity could not be revealed in this small group of patients.