Interclavicularis anticus digastricus muscle in a female body donor: a case report.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Muscular variations of the ventral thoracic wall are generally common and of great clinical interest. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An unusual muscular variation of the ventral thoracic wall was observed and dissected in a West-European female body donor. RESULTS: An interclavicularis anticus digastricus muscle was observed and studied. It originated from the manubrium sterni and inserted bilaterally to the clavicles. Both muscle bellies were interconnected by a tendon on the ventral surface of the manubrium sterni. The muscle was innervated by branches of the lateral pectoral nerve. CONCLUSIONS: The interclavicularis anticus digastricus muscle is a muscular variation of the ventral thoracic wall of unknown prevalence. This variation might be of clinical interest in orthopaedics and thoracic surgery. It is also a vulnerable structure during infraclavicular insertion of a subclavian vein catheter or fractures of the clavicle.

Exogenous hormone use, reproductive history and risk of adult myeloid leukaemia.

BACKGROUND: A hormonal aetiology is one explanation for the lower incidence of myeloid leukaemia in women compared with men. METHODS: In this population-based case-control study, we evaluated associations between exogenous hormone use and reproductive history and myeloid leukaemia, overall and by disease subtype. RESULTS: We observed a suggestive association between oral contraceptive use and acute myeloid leukaemia (odds ratio=0.55, 95% confidence interval=0.32-0.96). Hormone replacement therapy and reproductive factors were not associated with risk. CONCLUSION: Despite the biological plausibility for a role of oestrogen in leukaemogenesis, other aetiologic factors are likely to explain the differing incidence rates in males and females.

Analgesic use during pregnancy and risk of infant leukaemia: a Children's Oncology Group study.

BACKGROUND: Infant leukaemia is likely initiated in utero. METHODS: We examined whether analgesic use during pregnancy was associated with risk by completing telephone interviews of the mothers of 441 infant leukaemia cases and 323 frequency-matched controls, using unconditional logistic regression. RESULTS: With the exception of a reduced risk for infant acute myeloid leukaemias with non-aspirin non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) use early in pregnancy (odds ratios=0.60; confidence intervals: 0.37-0.97), no statistically significant associations were observed for aspirin, non-aspirin NSAIDs, or acetaminophen use in early pregnancy or after knowledge of pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Overall, analgesic use during pregnancy was not significantly associated with the risk of infant leukaemia.

Maternal vitamin and iron supplementation and risk of infant leukaemia: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

BACKGROUND: Prenatal supplementation has been inversely associated with childhood, but not with infant, leukaemia. METHODS: Mothers of 443 cases of infant leukaemia diagnosed during 1996-2006 and 324 frequency-matched controls completed interviews. Associations were evaluated by unconditional logistic regression. RESULTS: We observed no associations between prenatal vitamin (odds ratio (OR)=0.79, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44-1.42) or iron supplementation (OR=1.07, 95% CI: 0.75-1.52) and infant leukaemia after adjustment for race/ethnicity and income. Similar results were observed for leukaemia subtypes analysed separately. CONCLUSION: The observed null associations may be attributable to high supplementation rates and/or national fortification programmes.

Childhood and maternal infections and risk of acute leukaemia in children with Down syndrome: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Children with Down syndrome (DS) are highly susceptible to acute leukaemia. Given the potential role of infections in the aetiology of leukaemia in children without DS, we investigated whether there was an association between early-life infections and acute leukaemia in children with DS. Maternal infections during pregnancy were also examined. We enrolled 158 incident cases of acute leukaemia in children with DS (97 acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and 61 acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)) diagnosed at Children's Oncology Group institutions between 1997 and 2002. DS controls (N=173) were selected from the cases' primary care clinics and frequency matched on age at leukaemia diagnosis. Data were collected on demographics, child's medical history, mother's medical history, and other factors by maternal interview. Analyses were conducted using unconditional logistic regression adjusted for potential confounders. A significant negative association was observed between acute leukaemia and any infection in the first 2 years of life (adjusted odds ratio (OR)=0.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.33-0.92); OR=0.53, 95% CI (0.29-0.97); and OR=0.59, 95% CI (0.28-1.25) for acute leukaemia combined, ALL, and AML respectively). The association between acute leukaemia and maternal infections during pregnancy was in the same direction but not significant. This study offers support for the hypothesis that early-life infections may play a protective role in the aetiology of acute leukaemia in children with DS.

Culturally congruent end-of-life care for Jewish patients and their families.

This qualitative study was conducted to determine cultural influences in end-of-life care among Jewish people. The conceptual framework for this study was drawn from Leininger's culture care theory. Informants consisted of 16 professional caregivers, family members, and rabbis who had experience with end-of-life care for Jewish patients. Interviews using open-ended and focused questions were used to gather informants' descriptions of their generic values, beliefs, and practices. Findings revealed the strong influence of religious, cultural, and historical factors in caring. Sanctity of life and life promotion are central to Judaism. Caring is a communal obligation that unites the family and community into a cohesive unit. Attitudes toward death are influenced by beliefs about afterlife and suffering. The value put on expert knowledge influences patients' and family members' expectations of professional caregivers. Similarities and differences were noted among different groups of informants.

Minimal precycle testing and ongoing cycle monitoring for in vitro fertilization and fresh pre-embryo transfer do not compromise fertilization, implantation, or ongoing pregnancy rates.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess the fertilization, implantation, and ongoing pregnancy rates with a minimal precycle and ongoing cycle monitoring protocol for in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review was conducted of 103 consecutive cycles of fresh in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer from 1996 to 1998. Precycle screening included semen analysis without strict morphologic analysis, and hysterosalpingography-sonohysterography within the last year. Serum prolactin, serum thyroid-stimulating hormone, reactive plasma reagin, human immunodeficiency virus, rubella titer, blood type, hepatitis B surface antigen, and hepatitis C antibody testing was performed on all patients within 3 months of cycle initiation. Women > or =37 years old underwent clomiphene challenge testing. The monitoring protocol included the following: baseline transvaginal ultrasonography after 12 to 14 days of midluteal gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist down-regulation to assess endometrial thickness and adnexal appearance, transvaginal ultrasonography for follicle evaluation at 7 and 10 days, serum estradiol assay if > or =20 follicles, quantitative beta-human chorionic gonadotropin 12 to 14 days after pre-embryo transfer, repeat quantitative beta-human chorionic gonadotropin 3 to 5 days later, and transvaginal ultrasonography for intrauterine gestational sac confirmation 7 to 9 days after the initial positive pregnancy test result. The dose of gonadotropin used remained constant unless the sonogram obtained on day 7 indicated a suboptimal response (<3 follicles each, with an average diameter of 10 to 12 mm) or hyperresponse (> or =15 follicles with an average diameter of 10 to 12 mm). RESULTS: The per embryo implantation rate (fetal cardiac activity) was 13.1%, and the live birth rate per 100 pre-embryo transfers was 31.5 for patients < or =40 years old. The average number of pre-embryos transferred was 3.1. The singleton pregnancy rate was 71%, and there were no multiple gestations greater than twins. The mean number of oocytes fertilized was 66%. There was 1 case of failed fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection. There were two other cases of failed fertilization. One case of severe ovarian hyperstimulation occurred in spite of cryopreservation of all embryos. CONCLUSIONS: In vitro fertilization and embryo transfer can be accomplished with minimal precycle testing and ongoing cycle monitoring without compromising fertilization, implantation, and ongoing pregnancy rates. This results in reduced overall costs for couples.

Loss of functional hemispheric asymmetry in Alzheimer's dementia assessed with near-infrared spectroscopy.

In a total of 10 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer-type (DAT) and in 10 healthy controls near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), a new non-invasive optical method, was used to measure the changes of concentrations of oxy- (O2HB) and deoxyhemoglobin (HHB) in left and right hemispheric prefrontal brain tissue areas during performance of the Verbal Fluency Test (VFT). On a neuropsychological level, the healthy subjects performed better in the VFT than patients with DAT. Statistical analysis of the relative concentrations of O2HB and HHB measured with NIRS during performance of the VFT revealed a significant interaction of the hemispheric effects with the diagnosis. A possible interpretation of this finding is that a good performance in the VFT relies on a predominantly left hemispheric activation observed in controls, whereas a low number of correct responses is associated with a loss of this asymmetric activation in patients with DAT. Although both, patients and controls, performed better in the category version of the VFT, the metabolic effects of this task were significantly less pronounced than in the letter version. This indicates that different energy demands, according to the type of access to the memory stores, may be interpreted as the result of a less energy-demanding access to categorically stored information and adds further evidence to the view that memory departments in humans are organized according to categorical principles.

Cryopreservation of human embryos as a useful tool for infertile couples.

In order to improve the pregnancy rate per oocyte retrieval while reducing the chance of multiple-gestations, a technique of cryopreservation of human embryos was used for our initial study consisting of 100 infertile patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure. These patients combined a "fresh" embryo transfer with cryopreservation. The embryos were cryopreserved with 1,2-propanediol. Twenty-nine (29%) patients achieved ongoing pregnancies from the fresh embryo transfer. Thirty patients received a transfer of thawed embryos in a natural cycle. Nine of these patients achieved ongoing pregnancies. Combining these 2 transfers results in a 38% ongoing pregnancy rate. Forty-one patients have yet to receive their frozen embryos. The current success rate in this study indicates that over 50% of the patients in this group can expect to become pregnant by the time all the cryopreserved embryos have been transferred.

Treatment of human spermatozoa with an egg yolk medium can enhance the outcome of in vitro fertilization.

In at least 4 of 7 cases, fertilization of intact human oocytes was more successful when spermatozoa were pretreated with TEST yolk medium at 5 degrees C for 2 hours as compared with the standard treatment with Ham's F-10 only. Both pregnancies that were obtained after the transfer of the fertilized oocytes resulted from oocytes fertilized by TEST yolk-treated spermatozoa. No decrease in fertilization occurred in any of the cases after TEST yolk treatment. If these results hold true for a larger series of patients, it may be worthwhile for the standard IVF incubation system of spermatozoa to include TEST yolk.

Karyotype analysis of blighted ova in pregnancies achieved by in vitro fertilization.

Pregnancies achieved by IVF and resulting in blighted ovum were karyotyped. The rate of aneuploidy was found to be 38% (5/13). In vitro fertilization does not appear to be a risk factor for chromosome anomaly in live births or miscarriages, and the data reported so far may suggest that aneuploid rates are actually lower for pregnancies achieved by IVF.

[Doppler echocardiographic analysis of the short-term results of surgical repair of mitral valve prolapse in myxomatous degeneration]. / Valutazione ecocardiografica Doppler dei risultati a breve termine dell'intervento di riparazione di prolasso valvolare mitralico nella degenerazione mixomatosa.

Ten consecutive patients with pure mitral regurgitation due to floppy valve underwent valve repair operations. Postoperative mitral continence or regurgitation and diastolic flow across the valve were evaluated by Doppler echocardiography. Mean follow-up was 6.4 months. Four patients showed minimal and 3 mild regurgitation; no regurgitation was detected in 3. A significant peak diastolic atrioventricular gradient (10 mmHg) was observed in only one patient. All patients showed symptomatic improvement and a decrease in ventricular diameters. Repair of floppy mitral valves is feasible and gives good results. Doppler echocardiography is a useful technique for monitoring postoperative valve function.

Short-term use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (leuprolide) for in vitro fertilization.

A common problem encountered by in vitro fertilization (IVF) programs is the premature occurrence of the spontaneous luteinizing hormone (LH) surge during ovarian stimulation cycles. Administration of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRH-a) for 2 to 3 weeks produces a state of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, thus allowing ovarian stimulation to proceed uncomplicated by a spontaneous LH surge. We have elected to treat seven patients with GnRH-a in a "short-term" protocol, with GnRH-a initiated on cycle day 3 along with exogenous gonadotropins. In this series, we found that the spontaneous LH surge was abolished, while ovarian responsiveness seemed to be improved. These results suggest that the initial surge of gonadotropins elicited by GnRH-a administration may enhance ovarian stimulation and that spontaneous LH surge is blocked when GnRH-a and exogenous gonadotropins are initiated concomitantly.

Ultrasound-guided transvaginal needle aspiration of follicles for in vitro fertilization.

In search of a simpler and less traumatic method of oocyte retrieval for in vitro fertilization (IVF), 37 infertile patients underwent ultrasound-guided transvaginal needle aspiration of the follicles instead of the conventional laparoscopic aspiration. Although only intravenous analgesics and sedatives were used, patients experienced little discomfort. There were no infections or bleeding complications after the procedure. Eleven patients (30%) achieved ongoing pregnancies; this rate of success is comparable to that with our laparoscopic method. Considering this reasonable pregnancy rate, lack of substantial morbidity, and good patient acceptance, laparoscopic oocyte retrieval for IVF can be largely replaced by the ultrasound-guided transvaginal needle aspiration technique.

Five hundred cases of amniocentesis without bloody tap.

Five hundred amniocenteses were carried out at midtrimester for prenatal diagnosis. A 22-gauge spinal needle with a stylet was used. The needle was guided by a real-time sector ultrasonograph. A transducer was placed adjacent to the puncture site and the needle tip was observed entering the amniotic cavity. By this technique, a bloody tap was avoided. There were only three (0.6%) spontaneous abortions in this group of 496 patients. Amniocentesis guided by ultrasound is a safe method for the mother and the fetus.

The diagnosis of airway obstruction in children.

Airway obstruction in children has many causes. Although vascular rings may have early onset of symptoms there was considerable delay in establishing the correct diagnosis. Barium swallow is diagnostic. Other tests, such as angiocardiography, bronchoscopy, bronchography, and lung scan are usually unnecessary. Pulmonary sling is a less common cause of vascular obstruction. Barium swallow showing anterior indentation at the level of the pulmonary hilum is diagnostic. Cysts and tumors are other causes of severe airway obstruction. The diagnostic and operative problems in three patients are discussed as examples. It is concluded that barium swallow is the most important single investigation in the evaluation of airway obstruction.

Gonadoblastoma in a patient with an isodicentric X chromosome.

Although gonadoblastoma is known to be associated with the presence of a Y chromosome, this case report of a 15-year-old patient with gonadal dysgenesis, gonadoblastoma, and an idic(Xq-) chromosome provides evidence for the occurrence of gonadoblastoma even in the absence of a Y chromosome. A review of previous cases reported to have gonadoblastoma in the absence of a Y chromosome revealed that the presence of some breast development was the common denominator among those patients. Therefore, a patient who presents with gonadal dysgenesis with some breast development, but lacks a Y chromosome may observe as close scrutiny as the patient with gonadal dysgenesis in the presence of a Y chromosome.

Surgical management of vascular ring.

Between 1968 and 1980, 51 children had an operation for various forms of vascular ring. Additional cardiac malformations were present in five patients, and six had noncardiac congenital anomalies. Although symptoms started within the first month of life in 39 infants, only 16 came to operation under three months of age, and a delay of more than six months occurred in 15. Stridor, often life-threatening, and recurrent infections were the most common symptoms, but dysphagia was also important. The reasons for delay in diagnosis are discussed. Barium swallow provided the diagnosis in 44 patients and suggested it in a further four patients. Innominate artery compression of the trachea was not diagnosed by barium swallow. Operations of various types were performed. Accuracy in diagnosis is important because not all patients could be treated through the classic left thoracotomy. Severe tracheomalacia was responsible for the only two deaths in the series; one of these had tracheostomy performed in the referring hospital, the second child also had Fallot's tetralogy. The large majority of the patients have done well, 76% being asymptomatic at follow-up. Minimal to moderate stridor persists among the remainder to the present time.

Cytogenetic analysis of choriocarcinoma cell lines.

Five permanent cell lines were established in vitro from patients with gestational choriocarcinoma. Chromosome study with Q-band technique showed a modal chromosome number per cell in the hypotetraploid range in all cell lines. There were unidentifiable, structurally altered chromosomes in each cell line. BeWo cell line from choriocarcinoma following delivery of a normal male baby lost identifiable Y chromosome, whereas Jar cell line following delivery of a normal male did have a Y chromosome. One of the two cell lines following complete hydatidiform mole had a Y chromosome. The significance of this finding is discussed.