Aspects of trapping efficiency and matrix effects in the development of a restricted-access-media-based trap-and-elute liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry method.

Online restricted access media with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry for the direct analysis of small molecules in biological fluids represents an interesting alternative to time-demanding traditional sample preparation techniques. In this study, important considerations concerning the development of a restricted access media with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry method for the analysis of dansylated estrogens in biological matrix are presented. Parameters influencing peak tailing and trapping efficiency were evaluated. The key factors included the ion strength of the mobile phase, a loading flow rate of the sample onto the trap column, and selection of a proper stationary phase of the trap column for a given set of analytes. These parameters have proven to be essential for minimizing any unwanted chromatographic peak tailing. The bulk derivatization of the analytes in the biological fluids and its relationship to the observed matrix effects was evaluated as well.

Cerebrospinal fluid findings in cattle with central nervous system disorders: a retrospective study of 102 cases (1990-2008).

BACKGROUND: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis is routinely used to aid in the diagnosis of central nervous system (CNS) disease in animals. There is little comprehensive information available on the diagnostic utility of CSF analysis in cattle. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this retrospective study was to review the characteristic CSF findings of specific CNS diseases in cattle. METHODS: Medical records of cattle in which CSF analysis had been performed between 1990 and 2008 were reviewed. Cattle were included in the study if they had a confirmed diagnosis of CNS disease (based on clinical signs, laboratory testing, and/or histopathologic results). Cattle were categorized as having infectious or noninfectious causes of CNS disease and subgrouped based on specific disease diagnosis. CSF results were summarized and compared using nonparametric statistical tests. RESULTS: Data from 102 cattle, mostly female Holsteins, were included in the study. Bacterial infections, particularly listeriosis and neonatal meningitis, were the most common cause of CNS disease. Neonatal meningitis was characterized by a marked, predominantly neutrophilic, pleocytosis. Mild mononuclear pleocytosis was typical of listeriosis, but was also seen with abscesses, viral infections, salt poisoning, and trauma. Variable CSF results were seen in cattle with otitis-related meningitis and thromboembolic meningoencephalitis. CSF results were usually normal with toxic, metabolic, degenerative, and neoplastic disorders. CONCLUSIONS: CSF analysis is a useful adjunctive test for the diagnosis of CNS diseases in cattle. When interpreted together with signalment and clinical signs, CSF results can assist clinicians in the antemortem diagnosis of specific bovine CNS disorders.

Symptom predictors of cerebrospinal fluid leaks.

BACKGROUND: Spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks, which are considered a cause of intracranial hypotension, generally do not cause any local symptoms. Although symptoms are key elements for further evaluation, few studies have examined symptom predictors of intracranial hypotension. The aim of this study was to determine what symptoms are predictors of CSF leaks in patients suspected of intracranial hypotension. METHODS: We performed radionuclide cisternography in 207 consecutive patients suspected of intracranial hypotension. Intracranial hypotension was suspected when a patient had a history of minor trauma and complained about uncontrolled headache, cranial nerve dysfunction, autonomic dysfunction, or higher brain dysfunction. The leakage of CSF was defined as direct signs of tracer leak into the spinal epidural space or early accumulation of the tracer in the urinary bladder. We obtained information on 16 symptoms commonly reported in previous studies. RESULTS: CSF leaks were observed in 154 cases (74%). Back pain, limb pain, and limb numbness were inversely associated with CSF leaks (p = 0.042, p = 0.045, and p = 0.006, respectively). In logistic regression analysis, diplopia was a positive predictor of CSF leaks (odds ratio [OR], 6.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.49 to 28.51), whereas limb numbness was a negative predictor (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.17 to 0.84). Of the 21 patients in whom diplopia was present and limb numbness was absent, 20 had CSF leaks (specificity, 98%; positive predictive value, 95%). CONCLUSION: Some symptoms may be helpful in the diagnosis of CSF leaks in patients suspected of intracranial hypotension.

[The mechanisms of central regulation disorder under combat exposure conditions]. / Mekhanizmy narusheniia tsentral'noi reguliatsii v usloviiakh boevykh deistvii.

Results of research in central regulation system's disorders in the local wars' participants suffering from environmental psychoemotional and traumatic stress. It has been established, that there was an upsetting of interaction between neurodynamic processes in the sub-dominant hemisphere and a reduction of the functional reserve of the brain. Neurophysiology disorders discovered come from the pathological system that had been formed up in the central nervous system preserve their persistence for several years after the war.

Punção liquórica cervical lateral em C1-C2: um procedimento de grande utilidade em pacientes vítimas de trauma ­ Relato de série de casos / Lateral Cervical Spinal Puncture at c1-c2: A Useful Procedure in Trauma Patients - Report of a Series of Cases

A punção liquórica cervical lateral no espaço C1-C2 foi descrita a partir de uma modificação da técnica utilizada para cordotomia percutânea anterolateral. Neste artigo, é descrita uma série de 14 pacientes vítimas de trauma, submetidos à punção liquórica cervical lateral. Todos os procedimentos foram realizados para pesquisa de meningite bacteriana. Presença de escara lombar e occipital, fratura instável de coluna vertebral, tração ou imobilização ortopédica e ventilação mecânica controlada foram os principais motivos para se optar pela punção liquórica cervical lateral. A taxa de sucesso foi de 93%. Não foram evidenciadas maiores complicações per ou pósprocedimento. A punção liquórica cervical lateral se mostrou um método eficaz para obtenção de líquor em pacientes vítimas de trauma, pois não requer mudança de decúbito ou angulação da cabeceira, o que evita complicações em pacientes entubados e com fratura instável de coluna vertebral. Estudos prévios sugerem que a punção liquórica cervical lateral deve ser o método de escolha em pacientes vítimas de trauma com restrição de mobilização.

The lateral cervical spinal puncture at C1-C2 was described from a modification of the technique used for percutaneous anterolateral cordotomy. In this article, we describe a series of 14 patients of multiple trauma victims who underwent lateral cervical spinalpuncture. All procedures were performed as a screening for bacterial meningitis. Low back and occipital ulcer, unstable spinal fractures, orthopedic traction or immobilization and ventilated patients were the main reasons to opt for the lateral cervical spinal puncture over standard techniques of liquor puncture. The success rate was 93%. There was not major complication per or post procedural. The lateral cervical spinal puncture proved to be an effective method of obtaining liquor in victims of trauma because it does not requires changing position or rotation of the head, preventing complications in patients with orotraqueal tube and unstable spinal fractures. Previous studies suggest that the lateral cervical spinal puncture should be the method of choice in trauma patients with restriction of mobilization.

Evaluation of postmortem serum and cerebrospinal fluid levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone with special regard to fatal hypothermia.

The aim of the present study was to undertake, during routine forensic work, a comprehensive analysis of the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and to examine hypophyseal TSH immunopositivity in relation to the cause of death, with particular regard to fatal hypothermia. Medicolegal autopsy cases (n=120; within 48 h postmortem; survival time, <24 h), including cases of blunt injury (n=9), sharp instrument injury (n=8), fire fatality (n=18), mechanical asphyxiation (n=10), drowning (n=21), poisoning (n=6), hypothermia (n=10), and acute ischemic heart disease (n=38), were examined. Serum and CSF TSH concentrations were measured using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. TSH immunoreactivity in adenohypophysis was quantitatively analyzed. Serum and CSF TSH levels were significantly lower in cases of hypothermia than in the other groups (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively). TSH immunopositivity in adenohypophysis was significantly lower in cases of hypothermia, but exhibited a large case-to-case variation for poisoning. These observations suggest that a decrease in serum and CSF TSH levels in hypothermia is related to hypothalamic adenohypophyseal dysfunction.