Neurosarcoidosis without systemic sarcoidosis--case report.

A 20-year-old male presented with symptoms of isolated neurosarcoidosis including epilepsy. Magnetic resonance imaging disclosed multiple enhanced right temporal and frontal lesions. Cerebrospinal fluid examination identified mild lymphocytic pleocytosis, and histological examination of a stereotactic brain biopsy specimen demonstrated noncaseating granulomas, so fungal or other inflammatory or granulomatous diseases were excluded. The diagnosis was cerebral sarcoidosis, despite the absence of systemic manifestations. Corticosteroid therapy improved his neurological state and radiological findings. Neurosarcoidosis is a well-recognized occurrence in systemic sarcoidosis, but diagnosis may be difficult in the absence of extracerebral manifestations.

Intradermal stitch blepharoplasty for orientals: does It disappear?

Intradermal stitch blepharoplasty is one of the most frequently performed aesthetic surgeries in Japan. The major disadvantage of this method is the general feeling that it is nonpermanent. Mutou and Mutou [1] first published this technique in 1972. From 1957 to 1997, they have performed 20,098 cases of this procedure. The aim of this study was to furnish a retrospective analysis of a failure rate after intradermal double-eyelid operations that had been performed by a single surgeon (Y. Mutou). We evaluated consecutive patients (male 115, female 1,457) from 1986 to 1993 who underwent intradermal blepharoplasty at Sapporo Chuo Keisei Geka Clinic. Fifty patients (male 3, female 47) revisited our clinic complaining of the "disappearance" or loss of the fold. The estimated disappearing rate was 3.43%. Thirty percent of the disappearance occurred within 1 year. Eighty-eight percent of the disappearances occurred within 5 years postoperatively.

[Clinical usefulness of trans-brachial angiography for abdominal diseases].

Trans-brachial angiography for abdominal disease has several advantages for the patient. For example, the patient can walk immediately following angiography and can return home or eat in the sitting position after examination. We performed trans-brachial angiography on 451 cases of abdominal disease from June 1992 to March 1995. The purpose of performing angiography in 215 of these cases was examination only, while that in the remaining 236 cases was embolization of liver tumor. Four hundred and five cases were used for the study of safety and accuracy, and the remaining 46 cases as well as another 51 cases of trans-femoral angiography were used for the study of technical difficulty. Based on these experience, we have concluded that trans-brachial angiography for abdominal disease is highly useful, safe and accurate, and can provide significant advantages for patients requiring abdominal angiography.

[Relationship of Helicobacter pylori to chronological transition of endoscopic atrophic pattern].

The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (HP) were studied in 117 subjects with no gross findings whose stomach age was equal to its chronological age. HP was detected by culture. The prevalence of HP significantly was higher in thirties and forties than other ages, and in C3 and O1 groups than other groups. Most of forties and fifties belonged to C3 or O1 groups. Histologically, HP infection was significantly frequent in the gastric mucosa with advancing inflammation. These findings suggest that HP infects in early middle age, causes the destruction and atrophy of gastric mucosa and disappears with ageing and chronological expansion of mucosal atrophy. We consider that HP infection may play a causative role of the aging process of the stomach.

[New infusion port for intermittent infusion chemotherapy].

We devised a new infusion port for the intermittent infusion chemotherapy to the hepatic artery. This device has the following advantages: 1. A large needle (18 G) may be used to infuse the medicine because of the special urethane gum parts of the port. 2. One need only exchange the port for a new one or to the tube for continuous infusion chemotherapy under local anesthesia. 3. This port can be employed for arterial embolization because of its large inner diameter. In this report we introduce the structure and advantages of this new port device.