scholarly journals Ecstasy-Associated Pneumomediastinum

2007 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvana F Marasco ◽  
H Kiat Lim

INTRODUCTION Ecstasy, also known as MDMA (3,4, methylenedioxymethamphetamine), is a popular illicit party drug amongst young adults. The drug induces a state of euphoria secondary to its stimulant activity in the central nervous system. PATIENTS AND METHODS A database review at two major inner city hospitals was undertaken to identify patients presenting with pneumomediastinum and their charts reviewed. A Medline review of all reported cases of pneumomediastinum associated with ecstasy abuse was undertaken. RESULTS A total of 56 patients presenting with pneumomediastinum were identified over a 5-year period. Review of the charts revealed a history of ecstasy use in the hours prior to presentation in six of these patients, representing the largest series reported to date. CONCLUSIONS Review of previously reported cases reveals the likely mechanism is due to Valsalva manoeuvre during periods of extreme physical exertion, and not a direct pharmacological effect of the drug.

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1965 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-595
Author(s):  
John Lorber

1. The family histories of 722 infants who were born with spina bifida cystica were studied. 2. The index cases were referred for surgical treatment and were not selected in any way from the genetic point of view. 3. Intensive inquiries were made to obtain a complete family pedigree, including a prospective follow-up of siblings born after the index case. 4. Of 1,256 siblings 85 or 6.8% had gross malformation of the central nervous system: spina bifida cystica in 54, anencephaly in 22, and uncomplicated hydrocephalus in 9. 5. Of 306 children born after the index case 25 (8%) or 1 in 12 were affected. 6. There was a progressive increase in multiple cases in the family with increasing family size. In sibships of five or more, multiple cases occurred in 24.1%. 7. In 118 families cases of gross malformation of the central nervous system were known to have occurred among members of the family other than siblings. Cases occurred in three generations. 8. It is possible that spina bifida cystica might be a recessively inherited condition.


1973 ◽  
Vol 71 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvio Celso Goncalves da Costa ◽  
Samuel B. Pessoa ◽  
Neize de Moura Pereira ◽  
Tania Colombo

The main object of the present paper is to furnish a brief account to the knowledgement of Protozoa parasitic in common Brazilian frog of the genus Leptodactylus for general students in Zoology and for investigators that use this frog as a laboratory animal. Hepatozoon leptodactyli (Haemogregarina leptodactyli) was found in two species of frogs - Leptodactylus ocellatus and L. pentadactylus - in which develop schizogony whereas sporogony occurs in the leech Haementeria lutzi as was obtainded in experimental conditions. Intracellular forms have been found in peripheral circulation, chiefly in erythrocytes, but we have found them in leukocytes too. Tissue stages were found in frog, liver, lungs, spleen, gut, brain and heart. The occurence of hemogregarine in the Central Nervous System was recorded by Costa & al,(13) and Ball (2). Some cytochemical methods were employed in attempt to differentiate gametocytes from trophozoites in the peripheral blood and to characterize the cystic membrane as well. The speorogonic cycle was developed in only one specie of leech. A brief description of the parasite is given.


1994 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 400-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scot E. Purdon ◽  
Wilson Lit ◽  
Alain Labelle ◽  
Barry D.W. Jones

Elevated concentrations of blood serotonin have been documented in autistic children and mentally retarded adults. Antiserotonergic pharmacotherapy has been partially effective in treating a subgroup of children with autistic disorder. Therefore, the possibility is raised that an antiserotonergic treatment may be of value to adult psychiatric patients with a history of pervasive developmental disorder. Two such cases are described where the patients underwent psychiatric and neuropsychological examination before and after treatment with risperidone, a potent 5-HT2 antagonist with additional D2 antagonistic properties. Particular improvements were documented in both patients, despite long histories of cognitive compromise and high likelihood of damage to the central nervous system.


Author(s):  
Dieter Schmidt ◽  
Simon Shorvon

Five modern antiepileptic drugs have reached the fabled blockbuster status (more than $1 billion sales per year), albeit for treatment of not only epilepsy but for other disorders of the central nervous system too. These drugs generated huge profits, and the chapter asks, how were they discovered and are they worth their money? The history of the five blockbusters—levetiracetam, lamotrigine, topiramate, gabapentin, and pregabalin—provides an interesting study of chance, science, wrong ideas, and finance, and most importantly luck. The discovery of the antiepileptic effects of some of these compounds was stumbled upon by simple good fortune, and others barely escaped an early demise during an unpromising early development. Despite the commercial success, no study has shown any of these drugs to be any more effective than older drugs, yet they made billions. This chapter examines how industry could do this and what the drivers are for success.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Federico Nicolosi ◽  
Giovanni Nodari ◽  
Giannantonio Spena ◽  
Elena Roca ◽  
Karol Migliorati ◽  
...  

The involvement of the central nervous system in case of Wegener granulomatosis (WG) is infrequent and usually leads to cranial nerve abnormalities, cerebrovascular events, and seizures. Meningeal involvement is quite rare and usually is due to the spreading from adjacent disease in the skull base. We described the case of a remote intraparenchymal Wegener’s granuloma in a 55-year-old man presenting with seizures and a history of severe generalized WG. The radiological findings were not useful for the diagnosis, and the pharmacological treatment was ineffective. The importance of a surgery in case of localized WG has been emphasized, in order to confirm the diagnosis and to avoid additional medicaments, like antiepileptic drugs, potentially harmful in immunosuppressed patients.


Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1411
Author(s):  
Kristina Jeon ◽  
Jeffrey T. Joseph ◽  
Gerard H. Jansen ◽  
Anne Peterson ◽  
J. David Knox ◽  
...  

Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) is a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disease that can arise spontaneously, genetically, or be acquired through iatrogenic exposure. Most patients die within a year of symptom onset. It is rare, affecting 1–2 per million per year, and the majority of cases are sporadic. Primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) is also rare, affecting 2.4 per million per year. We present a case of an unusually long clinical course of CJD, almost five years, which began with symptoms of apraxia. The patient had biopsy-proven PACNS 16 years prior to clinical presentation, and the site of biopsy was the left parietal lobe. Autopsy revealed multicentric prion plaques in the cerebellum, in the setting of normal genetic testing. The presence of plaques in the cerebellum, and prior neurosurgery, raises the possibility of iatrogenic exposure. We present the details of this case, including pathology from the original biopsy and final autopsy, as well as a review of relevant cases in the literature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter V. Bui

Introduction. Neurosarcoidosis, either isolated or as part of systemic sarcoidosis, is an uncommon entity and has diagnostic uncertainty. Treatment for neurosarcoidosis can increase the risk of infections, including fungal infections such as disseminated histoplasmosis. Neurosarcoidosis may further predispose patients to infections of the central nervous system. Case Presentation. A 54-year-old male with a history of probable neurosarcoidosis on methotrexate and infliximab presented with encephalopathy, hypoxia, and reported fevers. The patient was found to have disseminated histoplasmosis involving the lungs (miliary histoplasmosis), central nervous system (neurohistoplasmosis), and bloodstream. The Histoplasma capsulatum infection was treated with amphotericin and then voriconazole. Discussion. Patients with neurosarcoidosis are suspected to have blood-brain barrier dysfunction. Lumbar puncture should be considered as part of initial investigative studies for infection. Empiric antimicrobial therapy for a patient with neurosarcoidosis on immunosuppressive agents may need to include antifungal agents.


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