N1-Hetaryl substituted pyridine- and pyrazinecarboxamidrazones with antimycobacterial activity.

A series of amidrazones was prepared and characterized by 1H NMR and mass spectroscopy. The substances were tested against M. tuberculosis, M. avium, M. intracellulare, and M. lufu. Compounds 11-13 exhibit a satisfactory inhibition of mycobacteria.

[Lipoxygenase inhibitors. 3. Synthesis of tetrahydrobenzazepinone phenylhydrazones]. / Lipoxygenase-Inhibitoren, 3. Mitt.: Synthese von Tetrahydrobenzazepinon-phenylhydrazonen.

Tetrahydro-2H-benz[b]azepin-2-ones as starting substances are synthesized by Beckmann rearrangement of Schmidt reaction. The tetrahydrobenzazepinones are transformed into the thiones, thiolactim ethers and phenylhydrazones. The compounds are tested as inhibitors of soja lipoxygenase.

[Synthesis of lipoxygenase inhibitors. 1. Synthesis of open-ring amidrazones]. / Synthese von Lipoxygenaseinhibitoren. 1. Mitteilung: Synthese von offenkettigen Amidrazonen.

The synthesis of some amidrazones as bioisosteric diazaallyl radicals is described starting from the reaction mechanism of the lipoxygenases which postulates the existence of a radical after hydrogen abstraction from the arachidonic acid, N1,N3-diaryl-, N1-aryl-N3-alkyl-benzamidrazones and N1-arylacetamidrazones are strong inhibitors of the soja lipoxygenase.

[Cerebellar infarction in the area of the posterior cerebellar artery. Clinicopathology of 28 cases]. / Les infarctus du territoire de l'artère cérébelleuse postéro-inférieure. Etude clinico-pathologique de 28 cas.

We report a neuropathological study of cerebellar infarctions involving the territory of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) in 28 cases. Fifteen cases involved the PICA territory only. In 13 cases infarctions in the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) territory and/or in the superior cerebellar artery (SCA) territory were also present. A thorough post-mortem study of the arterial supply of the brain from the heart up to the cerebellar arteries, including the cervical spine segment of the vertebral arteries was performed in 27 cases. The territory of the cerebellar infarcts has been ascertained. In 15/28 cases (54 percent), infarction involved the PICA territory only (17 infarcts). All of these cases had a benign outcome and death was due to another cause. Six of these were recent infarctions. None had evidence of swelling and tonsillar herniation. Infarcts were generally of small size and involved the entire PICA territory in only 2 cases. Most of these cases were unexpected discovered at autopsy. Cerebellar infarction in the territory of the medial branch of the PICA (9/17 infarcts) drew grossly a set square with a dorsal base and a ventral top headed for the IVth ventricle. Five out of these cases were associated with infarction in the dorsal and lateral medullary territories. Retrospective clinical study showed that they had been unnoticed or overshadowed by other neurological disorders (4 cases), or presented as Wallenberg's syndromes (4 cases), or as a pure vestibular syndrome (due to an infarction involving only the cerebellum) mimicking an acute labyrinthine disorder (1 case). Infarctions in the territory of the lateral branch of the PICA (5/17 infarcts) always occurred without medullary involvement. All of them were unexpectedly discovered at autopsy, and were unnoticed during the life (3 infarcts) or were overshadowed by other neurological disorders (2 infarcts). That was also the case in 2 cases of infarction in the whole PICA territory (3/17 infarcts). Thus infarctions strictly localized to the entire PICA territory only were rare. Thirteen/28 cases (46 p. 100) of infarction in the whole PICA territory were associated with infarction in the AICA and/or the SCA territories. This resulted from an association with other infarctions and not from an abnormally large territory of the PICA. Cerebellar swelling with brain stem compression and tonsillar herniation occurred 8/13 cases (62 p. 100). There were other massive median and paramedian brain stem infarctions involving midbrain, pons or medulla in 55 p. 100 of 13 cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The clinical spectrum of alcoholic pellagra encephalopathy. A retrospective analysis of 22 cases studied pathologically.

A retrospective clinical study of 22 heavy alcohol drinkers is reported in which postmortem study showed diffuse chromatolysis of neurons identical to that found in neurological pellagra, associated in 13 cases with Marchiafava-Bignami disease and/or Wernicke-Korsakoff disease. The clinical features included confusion and/or clouding of consciousness, marked oppositional hypertonus ('gegenhalten') and myoclonus. Because of the frequent coexistence of other alcoholic encephalopathies in the same patient, alcoholic pellagra was often unrecognized. Fifteen patients received thiamine and pyridoxine therapy without niacin. It appeared to aggravate the neurological state or to trigger the development of alcoholic pellagra encephalopathy in 9 cases. The relationship between pellagra occurring during thiamine and pyridoxine therapy and 'nicotinic acid deficiency' is discussed. Multiple vitamin therapy should be given in the treatment of undiagnosed encephalopathies in alcoholic patients.

[Transient ischemic attack in amyloid angiopathy]. / Accès ischémiques transitoires au cours d'une angiopathie amyloïde.

Two cases of cerebral amyloid angiopathy with transient ischemic attacks are reported. Both patients died of cerebral hemorrhage. Transient ischemic attacks seem to having been due to the cerebral angiopathy a disease in which small infarcts are frequently mentioned at post-mortem examination. However only 6 other cases of transient ischemic attacks with cerebral amyloid angiopathy have yet been reported.

[Prognosis of herpes simplex encephalitis. Retrospective study of 19 cases]. / Le pronostic des encéphalites herpétiques. Etude rétrospective de 19 cas.

The vital and functional prognoses of 19 patients admitted for herpes simplex encephalitis between rate was 26%, a figure close to those reported in the literature. Death occurred before the 4th month in patients with prolonged coma, and it was due to respiratory disorders. The functional prognosis was favourable in one-half of the survivors, but one-third of these remained with severe neurological and behavioural sequelae, predominantly Korsakoff's syndrome and Klüver-Bucy syndrome. Hemiplegia and aphasia, when present, usually regressed within a few months. The prognosis of herpes simplex encephalitis has improved owing to advances in intensive care and to the advent of antiviral treatments, notably acyclovir the effectiveness of which has been demonstrated by several therapeutic trials. In view of its low toxicity, acyclovir should be tried when the disease is suspected on clinical ground, without waiting for the diagnosis to be confirmed by serological tests; treatment can thus be instituted before the patient becomes comatose.

[Thrombopenia and disseminated intravascular coagulation during treatment with heparin: 2 cases with neurological complications]. / Thrombopénie et coagulation intravasculaire disséminée au cours d'un traitement par l'héparine: deux cas avec complications neurologiques.

We report two cases of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (H.T.) associated with a disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC). Heparin was prescribed after a cerebral infarct in the first case and after an orthopedic surgical procedure in the second case. The DIC induced neurological complications and the death of both patients. Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is common but is exceptionally associated with neurological symptoms. Heparin-induced DIC is quite uncommon, since only 20 cases have been reported but neurological complications (focal deficits or disturbances of consciousness) are noted in about one third of the cases and the outcome is fatal in 60 percent of the cases. The treatment of heparin-induced DIC and thrombocytopenia is disappointing. Monitoring of the platelets count is warranted during heparin treatment to prevent this severe complication.

[Deficiency of the 6th component of complement. Recurrent meningococcal and streptococcal meningitis]. / Déficit en sixième composant du complément. Méningites récidivantes à méningocoque et à streptocoque.

A 39-year old male patient with a history of four episodes of meningitis (two of them due to Neisseria meningitidis) since the age of 12 developed meningitis caused by an ungroupable streptococcus. Deficiency of the sixth component of complement was discovered, making this the ninth case of recurrent meningitis associated with C6 deficiency. Streptococcal meningitis had never been reported in such cases.

[Behçet's diseases with multiple intracranial arterial aneurysms]. / Maladie de Behçet avec anévrysmes artériels multiples intracraniens.

A case of multiple intracranial arterial aneurysms occurring in a 43 year-old patient with an 8-year history of Behcet's disease is reported. The diagnosis was based upon the past occurrence of polyarthritis, oral and scrotal aphthous ulcers and cutaneous hypersensitivity. There was a three year remission after a brief treatment with corticosteroids. At the end of this period, a left hemiplegia occurred. CT scan showed an infarction in the right middle cerebral artery territory. Angiography showed fusiform aneurysms of the intracranial right internal carotid, right anterior and middle cerebral arteries. The draining veins and sinuses were normal. Careful angiographic examination of visceral and peripheral arteries showed only bilateral retinal artery aneurysms. Large artery involvement is a rare complication of Behcet's disease, and a thorough review of the literature showed only one reported case of an intracranial aneurysm.

[Pituitary abscess. Study of a case and review of the literature]. / Abcès hypophysaire. Etude d'un cas et revue de la littérature.

The authors report one case of pituitary abscess; the diagnosis of which was particularly difficult due to its association to a multiple sclerosis that began twelve years before. A review of thirty-one pituitary abscess reported in the literature from 1970 to 1985 is made. Opto-chiasmatic compression is observed in fifty-five per cent of the cases, pituitary insufficiency in fifty-five per cent, and meningitis in sixty per cent of the cases. Although the characteristic association of meningitis and pituitary tumor symptoms occur in thirty per cent of the cases, the diagnosis is made at surgery. Pituitary adenoma and craniopharyngioma were the most frequent preoperative misdiagnosis for pituitary abscess. The extended use of cerebral C.T. Scan will allow an easier recognition of this rare entity. The discussion includes life and visual prognosis. The etiology remains unexplained in nearly half of the cases.

Immunosuppressive effects of isoprinosine in man: a comparison to chlorambucil effects in multiple sclerosis.

Immunological and clinical functions were studied over a 2 year period in conjunction with a placebo controlled trial of isoprinosine and chlorambucil in 21 patients with exacerbating remitting multiple sclerosis. Laboratory and clinical evaluations were performed at 3 month intervals and during relapses. In placebo-treated patients, the decrease in circulating T8+ cells was maximum during relapses, T lymphocyte function was impaired, and five of the six patients experienced clinical worsening. Chlorambucil treatment was responsible for a decrease in circulating T4+ and T8+ cells; nevertheless, T lymphocyte function was slightly improved during relapses. The alterations of delayed hypersensitivity responses were not accompanied by improvement in relapse rate or in intensity and major side effects: mainly infections with leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. During isoprinosine therapy, a regulation of circulating T lymphocytes and cell proliferation occurred. The higher level of circulating T cells was related to the increase in T4+ and T8+ cells, which did not decrease during relapses. The absence of Leu 7+ cell modifications suggest that NK were numerically unaffected by isoprinosine therapy and that in vivo regulation of circulating T suppressor cells was performed by this treatment. Four out of seven patients did not experience any relapse during the duration of the trial. In relapsing patients, the frequency and duration of the relapses were significantly different from that of other patients. A reduction of the disease progression was observed without any side effects. While no conclusion can be drawn on the long-term effectiveness, the results of this pilot study are consistent indicators of the immunological and clinical beneficial effects of isoprinosine therapy in patients with exacerbating remitting multiple sclerosis.

[2 cases of Waldenstrom's disease associated with a glioblastoma]. / Deux cas associant une maladie de Waldenström à un glioblastome.

The association of Waldenström disease and glioblastoma was observed in two patients. Both diseases were diagnosed almost simultaneously. In the first patient the diagnosis of glioblastoma was made on cerebral biopsy. In the second case, the diagnosis was confirmed at autopsy. The association of Waldenström's disease and glioblastoma is rare but it does not seem to be coincidental. The physiopathological problems related to this coexistence are discussed.

Nerve and muscle microvasculitis in peripheral neuropathy: a remote effect of cancer?

In a series of 50 cases in which nerve and/or muscle microvasculitis was seen on biopsy, seven were associated with malignancy. In two cases, the cancer was found after the discovery of microvasculitis. All patients exhibited sensory-motor neuropathy, which was often painful and asymmetrical, with a progressive course. ESR and CSF protein levels were always elevated. Motor conduction velocity was slightly reduced in three cases, unmeasurable in one case, and normal in three. Cancers involved were adenocarcinoma in five cases (three prostate and two lung), Hodgkin's disease in one and immunoblastic lymphadenopathy in one. A thorough search for cancer should be performed when microvasculitis is seen in nerve or muscle biopsy specimens, especially when ESR and CSF protein levels are elevated.