[Acute idiopathic interstitial nephritis: report of a case]. / Nefrite interstiziale acuta idiopatica: descrizione di un caso.

The Authors report the case of a 9 years old girl with acute intestitial nephritis. The clinical picture was characterized by the association of nonspecific systemic symptoms, poliuria, acute renal failure with signs of tubular disfunctions. There was no evident inciting agent of the disease. The patient experienced rapid improvement of both symptoms and laboratory parameters with normalization of the renal function.

[A case of atypical Kawasaki disease]. / Un caso di malattia di Kawasaki atipico.

The Authors describe the case of a 9 years old boy in whom the diagnosis of atypical Kawasaki disease was made. There was a rapid response to the treatment with i.v.I.G. The differences between the typical Kawasaki disease and the observed case are discussed.

[Craniosynostosis: is a prenatal diagnosis possible?]. / Craniosinostosi: è possibile una diagnosi prenatale?

The Authors give an account of a case in which a newborn was affected by craniosynostosis of the sagittal suture. The ultrasonographic biometric measurements of cranium taken during the course of fetal development, when compared with those of the trunk and limbs, led the Authors to suspect the correct diagnosis even before birth; this permitted the immediate planning of therapeutic conduct.

[Alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes in a case of transient hyperphosphatasemia]. / Gli isoenzimi della fosfatasi alcalina in un caso di iperfosfatasemia transitoria.

Authors reports the case of a seven months toddler with transient hyperphosphatasemia without clinical manifestations and no other hepatic or bone disfunctions. Resolution of both enzymes and bone isoenzymes occurs within 5 months.

Plasma exchange in myasthenia gravis.

Results obtained with P.E. therapy on 19 myasthenic patients are reported. 15 of them improved during treatment and 4 remained unchanged. We believe P.E. is an useful therapy in M.G. because it produces a rapid improvement in most patients.

Plasma exchange in radiculopolyneuropathies.

The AA. report the results obtained with Plasma Exchange (P.E.) therapy on 24 cases of polyradiculoneuritis; eleven patients had typical Guillain-Barré Syndrome (G.B.S.) ten suffered from a chronic progressive form and three were affected by a relapsing form. The acute patients were selected according to criteria established by the NNCDS Committee (1978) while guidelines laid down by Pineas & Load (1978) were followed in choosing chronic cases. Patients with G.B.S. had four sessions of P.E. at intervals of one or two days while those with chronic forms of polyradiculoneuritis had a total of 6 sessions spaced one to three days apart. P.E. produced no apparent change in chronic progressive patients but two out of three cases with the chronic relapsing form showed rapid and steady improvement resulting in complete cure within a few months. Nine of the eleven G.B.S. patients showed after only one or two sessions a clear and rapid improvement which led to a complete cure within a matter of weeks. The remaining 2 cases showed only partial improvement at first and remained stationary thereafter. The findings confirm the usefulness of P.E. in acute and chronic relapsing radiculopolyneuritis. However, potential side effects and the procedure's high cost suggest that its use should be limited to carefully selected cases, and in particular to those involving respiratory disorders.