Quantitative computed tomography in dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Men and women with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) had more brain atrophy and ventricular dilatation, measured by quantitative CT, than did respective age- and sex-matched healthy controls (p less than 0.05). The male DAT patients with mild dementia had a larger mean third ventricle volume, whereas male patients with severe dementia had larger lateral and third ventricle volumes, more CSF, and less gray matter than did controls. Statistically significant and appropriate correlations between several dementia scales and CT measures in the DAT patients indicated that brain atrophy and ventricular dilatation were related to the severity of dementia.

The use of minoxidil to attempt to prevent alopecia during chemotherapy for gynecologic malignancies.

Minoxidil 2% topical solution applied twice a day is known to induce hair growth and prevent hair loss in normal male pattern baldness. Based on this potential, this pilot study tested the effect of Minoxidil on hair loss during chemotherapy for gynecologic cancers. Ten women about to start alopecia-inducing chemotherapy protocols were entered into this non-randomized prospective trial. By study design, each patient served as her own control, as only a portion of the scalp was treated with Minoxidil. Four of the ten patients were unevaluable for failing to comply with the twice-a-day Minoxidil application schedule. Of the six evaluable patients, five experienced complete or severe symmetrically diffuse hair loss, all of which occurred within four weeks of initiating chemotherapy. One patient had no hair loss in either the treatment or control area. Application of the topical Minoxidil in all ten patients had no untoward side effects, skin changes or hypotension. Thus, in this pilot study, 2% Minoxidil was non-toxic but showed no benefit in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced alopecia.

Computed tomographic analysis of brain morphometrics in 30 healthy men, aged 21 to 81 years.

Computed transverse axial tomography (CT) was employed to examine brain morphometrics in 30 healthy men, aged 21 to 81 years. Seven consecutive CT slices 30 to 80 mm above the inferior orbitomeatal line were analyzed. CT numbers in gray and white matter regions were not correlated significantly with age (p greater than 0.05), nor were right/left ratios for derived parameters. The volume of gray matter was correlated negatively with age (p less than 0.05), and the volume of cerebrospinal fluid correlated positively with age, in the seven slices. The volumes of the lateral and third ventricles were elevated in the elderly, and volumes of the thalamus and lenticular nucleus were reduced. The results demonstrate that brain atrophy, evidenced by a loss of gray matter and by dilatation of cerebrospinal fluid spaces, occurs in the healthy elderly, and provide baseline CT-derived brain morphometric data for healthy men in relation to age.