Hypoglossal nerve palsy in a patient with internal carotic dissection.

This is a case report of a 38-year-old, previously healthy man who was initially seen at an otorhinolaryngological department due to "swelling" of his tongue. Further history revealed four days of severe, non-specific headache and lisping. Two weeks prior to hospital admission he had seen a chiropractor due to neck pain. On examination at the hospital there was isolated left hypoglossal nerve palsy. He was urgently referred to a department of neurology. Magnetic resonance angiography showed internal carotid artery dissection. Aspirin and clopidogrel were commenced. At the three months follow-up examination he had recovered completely symptom wise and a renewed magnetic resonance imaging was normal.

An explorative study of non-invasive ultra-weak photon emission and the anti-oxidative influence of oral zinc sulphate in light-sensitive patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria.

BACKGROUND: Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) is a rare, inherited disorder of haem biosynthesis owing to deficient ferrochelatase (FECH) and accumulation of protoporphyrin IX (PPIX). This results in acute cutaneous photosensitivity upon light exposure with production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) as a by-product. We investigated if UPE evaluated the light sensitivity in EPP patients and influence of zinc treatment. METHODS: Fourteen EPP patients took zinc sulphate (3 × 200 mg/day) during spring and summer. Using a photomultiplier (PM), UPE was measured from the buttock skin and dorsal hand before and after solar-simulated light (SUN) exposure. Blood samples were analysed routinely for plasma zinc, iron, ferritin, transferrin, haemoglobin, erythrocyte PPIX and Zn-PPIX. RESULTS: UPE in EPP patients resembled that seen in healthy individuals. Without treatment, a seasonal decrease was seen from spring to summer in four control patients. However, oral zinc treatment reduced ROS formation significantly regardless of SUN exposure. After SUN exposure, the initial burst was correlated to plasma iron and erythrocyte PPIX. During treatment, an inverse correlation was found between plasma zinc concentration and the initial burst. CONCLUSION: Measurements of UPE can be used for monitoring UVA-induced oxidative processes in vivo in the skin of EPP patients.

Performance evaluation of a specific IgE assay developed for the ADVIA centaur immunoassay system.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and evaluate a liquid phase immunoassay for accurate determination of allergen-specific IgE (sIgE) as a useful tool in the diagnosis of allergy patients. DESIGN AND METHODS: A fully automated, quantitative sIgE assay was developed for the ADVIA Centaur technology platform using a unique calibration method based on a recombinant reference allergen. Compared to most other IgE-assays, the assay employs a reverse sandwich architecture using monoclonal mouse anti-human IgE antibody covalently bound to paramagnetic particles in the solid phase and capturing the sample IgE. Bound sIgE reacts with liquid biotin-labeled allergen, which is detected as chemiluminescence using acridiniumester-labeled streptavidin. RESULTS: The ADVIA Centaur sIgE assay (Centaur assay) has exclusive reactivity to human IgE and performs with excellent linearity in the assay range 0.35-100 kU/L and high precision (imprecision within-run <2.6%, between-run <4.9%, and total imprecision <7.1%). The analytical sensitivity is <0.10 kU/L. Using Pharmacia CAP system FEIA (CAP) as a comparative method, positive/negative concordance was 94% at 0.35 kU/L cut-off, and the Centaur assay has a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 98%. Validation of the assay in a general population sample (The Copenhagen allergy study) revealed that sIgE was highly associated with a clinical diagnosis of inhalation allergy. CONCLUSIONS: The Centaur assay is an allergen-specific assay for measurement of IgE without interference from other types of immunoglobulins or nonspecific IgE. The assay performs with a linear reaction, high assay range, and good reproducibility. The assay correlates well with the CAP system and is in agreement with clinical diagnosis.

Sunless skin tanning with dihydroxyacetone delays broad-spectrum ultraviolet photocarcinogenesis in hairless mice.

Sunless tanning with dihydroxyacetone (DHA) is not considered to be a sunscreen although it does absorb parts of the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum. We investigated the protection with topical application of DHA against solar UV-induced skin carcinogenesis in lightly pigmented hairless hr/hr C3H/Tif mice. Broad-spectrum UV radiation, simulating the UV part of the solar spectrum was obtained from one Philips TL12 and five Bellarium-S SA-1-12 tubes. Three groups of mice were UV-exposed four times a week to a dose-equivalent of four times the standard erythema dose (SED), without or with application of 5 or 20% DHA only twice a week. Similarly, three groups of mice were treated with DHA and irradiated with a high UV dose (8 SED), simulating a skin burn. Two groups (controls) were not irradiated, but either left untreated or treated with 20% DHA alone. The UV-induced skin pigmentation by melanogenesis could easily be distinguished from DHA-induced browning and was measured by a non-invasive, semi-quantitative method. Application of 20% DHA reduced by 63% the pigmentation produced by 4 SED, however, only by 28% the pigmentation produced by 8 SED. Furthermore, topical application of 20% DHA significantly delayed the time to appearance of the first tumor >or=1mm (P=0.0012) and the time to appearance of the third tumor (P=2 x 10(-6)) in mice irradiated with 4 SED. However, 20% DHA did not delay tumor development in mice irradiated with 8 SED. Application of 5% DHA did not influence pigmentation or photocarcinogenesis. In conclusion, this is the first study to show that the superficial skin coloring generated by frequent topical application of DHA in high concentrations may delay skin cancer development in hairless mice irradiated with moderate UV doses.

Dihydroxyacetone, the active browning ingredient in sunless tanning lotions, induces DNA damage, cell-cycle block and apoptosis in cultured HaCaT keratinocytes.

Dihydroxyacetone (DHA), the active substance in sunless tanning lotions reacts with the amino groups of proteins to form a brown-colored complex. This non-enzymatic glycation, known as the Maillard reaction, can also occur with free amino groups in DNA, raising the possibility that DHA may be genotoxic. To address this issue we investigated the effects of DHA on cell survival and proliferation of a human keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT. Dose- and time-dependent morphological changes, chromatin condensation, cytoplasmic budding and cell detachment were seen in cells treated with DHA. Several dead cells were observed after long-time (24 h) incubation with 25 mM DHA or more. Furthermore, an extensive decline in proliferation was observed 1 day after DHA exposure for 24 h. When applied in different concentrations (5-50 mM) and for different time periods (1, 3 or 24 h) DHA caused a G(2)/M block after the cyclin B(1) restriction point. Exit from this cell-cycle block was associated with massive apoptosis, as revealed by a clonogenic assay, TUNEL staining and electron microscopy. Furthermore, DHA caused DNA damage as revealed by the alkaline comet assay. Preincubation with antioxidants prevented the formation of DNA strand breaks. The DHA toxicity may be caused by direct redox reactions, with formation of ROS as the crucial intermediates. The genotoxic capacity of DHA raises a question about the long-term clinical consequences of treatment of the skin with this commonly used compound.

[Neuritis vestibularis can be a cause of vertigo among children].

Neuritis vestibularis (NV) as a cause of vertigo is common among adults but very rare among children and is often underrecognized and underdiagnosed. Viral infection is suspected to be the most common cause and symptoms are sudden onset of vertigo, nausea, vomiting, impaired balance and horizontal nystagmus. This case report describes a three-year-old boy diagnosed with NV. To our knowledge it is the first case diagnosed in Denmark.

[Intranasal non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosed as subsidiary finding by epistaxis]. / Intranasalt non-Hodgkin-lymfom diagnosticeret som bifund ved næseblødning.

A 84 year-old woman was transferred to the ENT ward for treatment of epistaxis. An anterior rhinoscopy revealed a posterior bleeding source which was cauterised. A submucosal bulge was found in the cavity floor and biopsied. Histologic examination showed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Oncologic examination disclosed Ann Arbor stage 1A. The patient was treated with chemotherapy followed by involved field radiation therapy. She responded well to the therapy. Intranasal lymphoma is rare in Denmark with an incidence rate of 0,1-0,2 per 100,000 per year.

Immediate breast reconstruction: a retrospective study with emphasis on complications and risk factors.

The use of skin-sparing mastectomy (SSM) with immediate reconstruction is preferred, as it has cosmetic and psychological advantages, and comprises one operation. We retrospectively reviewed the complication rate after SSM and immediate reconstruction with implants in 141 consecutive patients with 208 reconstructions. Risk factors were related to both patients and the procedure. The overall morbidity was 42/208 (20%) with one or more minor or major complications including epidermolysis, skin necrosis, or infection. The overall explantation rate was 26/208 (13%). Smoking was a significant risk factor for infection and explantation, and tended to increase risk of necrosis (p = 0.05). Preoperative radiation did not increase the risk of explantation. Age above the median of 44 (range 25-67) years implied a significantly increased risk of epidermolysis, infection, and explantation. Women who had a one-stage procedure with implantation of fixed-sized implant experienced explantation four times more often than women who had a two-stage procedure with tissue expander (p = 0.001). In conclusion, SSM with immediate reconstruction yields a low complication rate when patients are carefully selected. SSM with immediate reconstruction should be done for younger women who have had no previous radiation. Patients should stop smoking to ensure optimal outcome.

Comparison of ADVIA Centaur and Pharmacia UniCAP tests in the diagnosis of food allergy in children with atopic dermatitis.

In a study comprising 63 children diagnosed with atopic dermatitis, the results of the ADVIA Centaur system was compared with the results obtained with the Pharmacia UniCAP100 system, which has been widely considered as a reference method for seric specific IgE (sIgE) measurements. The individual immunization against the most common food allergens [egg (f1), cow milk (f2), cod (f3), wheat (f4), peanut (f13) and soy bean (f14)] was determined by in vitro serum IgE testing and skin prick test (SPT). The comparison of the sIgE titers revealed a good concordance between the Centaur and the UniCAP tests for f1, f3, and f13 (94 %, 91 %, and 96 % respectively). However, the concordance was lower for f2, f4, and f14 (76 %, 77 %, and 77 % respectively) because of discrepancies between the two techniques. When compared with SPT and clinical diagnosis, on the 40 discordant cases found between the Centaur and the UniCAP, the Centaur showed concordance with the patients food reaction and SPT in 34/40 cases, and UniCAP in only 6/40 cases. Accordingly, the Centaur test displayed a statistically significantly better performance on specificity and concordance with SPT for f2, f4, and f14 (concordance/specificity = 70%/71%, 76%/75% and 90%/88% respectively), than the CAP test (49%/54%, 51%/52% and 67%/65% respectively).

Phototoxicity to diuretics and antidiabetics in the cultured keratinocyte cell line HaCaT: evaluation by clonogenic assay and single cell gel electrophoresis Comet assay).

BACKGROUND: Potential phototoxicity has been described for a number of drugs and chemical substances. Psoralens, chlorpromazines and fluoroquinolones have been described as inducing photomutagenicity and photocarcinogenicity in vitro and in vivo. We wanted to investigate oral antidiabetics and diuretics for potential phototoxicity and possible DNA damage in the HaCaT cell line. METHODS: : The oral antidiabetics tolbutamide, glibenclamide and glipizide, and the diuretics bendroflumethiazide, butizide, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide and trichlormethiazide were dissolved in DMSO to final concentrations of 1 mM, 0.1 mM, and 0.01 mM, incubated together with the cells, and exposed to UVA1 (23 or 48 J/cm2). Cell survival was evaluated in a clonogenic assay and phototoxic DNA damage was investigated by single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay). To investigate possible inhibiting effects of antioxidants, L-ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol were added at a final concentration of 1 mM 24 h before treatment with the drugs. RESULTS: Bendroflumethiazide, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, trichlormethiazide and tolbutamide induced dose-dependent phototoxicity in the clonogenic assay. Cells incubated with bendroflumethiazide, tolbutamide and glibenclamide and irradiated with UVA1 demonstrated increased oxidative DNA damage, revealed as alkali-labile sites in the comet assay. Pretreatment with L-ascorbic acid or alpha-tocopherol suppressed the UVA-induced DNA damage in cells incubated with 1 mM bendroflumethiazide, furosemide, glibenclamide, glipizide, tolbutamide or trichloromethiazide. CONCLUSION: Several oral antidiabetics and diuretics show phototoxic effects in the HaCaT cell line. Inhibiting effects of antioxidants point towards involvement of reactive oxygen species in phototoxic DNA damage, suggesting a link between the phototoxic and photocancerogenic potential of the sulfonamide-derived oral antidiabetic and diuretic drugs. Excessive exposure to UV light may be deleterious for patients treated with oral antidiabetic and diuretic drugs.