Recurrent lumbosacral herpes simplex in the bedridden hospitalized patient.

A clinical variant of genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection, recurrent lumbosacral HSV, occurs in bedridden hospitalized patients. We want to call attention to an uncommon pattern of HSV infection in the hospitalized bedridden patient seen by the dermatology consultation service in a large university hospital. HSV is characterized by a mixture of recurrent groups of herpetic vesicles in all stages of development, with multiple, persistent hyperpigmented patches bilaterally distributed over the lumbosacral (buttocks) area.

Selective deficits of vibrotactile sensitivity in dyslexic readers.

Developmental dyslexia is a disability of literacy skill that has also been associated with sensory processing deficits, primarily for the detection of dynamic auditory and visual stimuli. Here we examined whether analogous deficits extend into the domain of somatosensory perception. Detection thresholds for each of three frequencies of vibration were obtained for 11 readers with a prior history of dyslexia and 14 similarly aged adult controls. The poor readers were significantly less sensitive to vibration at 3 Hz (P<0. 01) but not at either 30 or 100 Hz. Detection of each of these three vibration rates is mediated primarily by a separate somatosensory fiber tract; deficits selective to 3 Hz therefore suggest an impairment within the slow-adapting I (SAI) fiber system beginning with Merkel-cell mechanoreceptors in the glabrous skin. Such evidence is compatible with the hypothesis of a generalized, multisensory deficit of temporal processing functions in dyslexia.

Neonatal urticaria due to prostaglandin E1.

Prostaglandin E1 is commonly used in the management of cyanotic congenital heart disease. While cutaneous flushing and peripheral edema are well recognized side effects of prostaglandin E1 therapy, other cutaneous effects have not been described in the dermatologic literature. We report a neonate with transposition of the great vessels who developed urticaria during treatment with prostaglandin E1.

Distinguishing between activated and nonactivated eosinophils by AC impedance measurements.

A cellular electrical impedance device which can detect the activated state of eosinophils has been developed and tested. This impedance device consists of a small gold electrode (50 microns x 50 microns) and a large gold electrode (1.5 cm x 0.5 cm) on a glass substrate, and it was fabricated by standard photolithographic techniques. Eosinophils, which belong to the granulocytic class of white blood cells, exhibit different physical properties when they change from the nonactivated state to the activated state. Hypothetically, these changes should correspond to a change in the measured electrical impedance. In this paper, data from the measured electrical impedance of eosinophils is presented. The measurements show that the average impedance of the activated eosinophils is 26% lower than the average impedance of the nonactivated eosinophils. Statistical analysis of the measured data shows that there is a significant difference between the measured impedances of activated and nonactivated eosinophils.

Theoretical determination of the current density distributions in human vertebral bodies during electrical stimulation.

Electrical stimulation with a 60 kHz sinewave input signal, supplied via external plate electrodes on the skin surface, is presently being studied as a treatment for human systemic osteoporosis. In this paper, Maxwell's equations were solved for voltage and current density values at nodal points in a three-dimensional, anatomically-based, finite element grid model of the human trunk constructed from T5 to L5. Based on the dose response results from Luessenhop's castrated Sprague Dawley breeder rat experiment and our theoretical determination, the magnitude of the input current to the electrodes necessary to induce a response in the human vertebral body was determined. Four different electrode systems in current clinical use were evaluated, and the optimal input current determined. In addition, the effect of subcutaneous fat was studied.

Field distributions in vertebral bodies of the rat during electrical stimulation: a parametric study.

The electrical field and current density distributions were found in the various tissues of a mathematical model of the experimental rat used to study systemic osteoporosis. The finite element method was used to solve the boundary value problem derived from Maxwell's equations using a quasistatic approximation for a 60 kHz external output signal applied via skin electrodes. A parametric study was done initially to determine the principle factors which effect the solution of the field in the vertebral bodies. Grid coarseness, model length, and intervertebral space width had little effect on the solution while trabecular bone and abdominal cavity conductivity values had strong effects. The two pair of transversely placed electrodes spaced by at least three vertebral bodies produced the most uniform field distributions and was used in the experimental rat model. The range of current density values in the trabecular bone was determined to be 3.0-5.0 microA/cm2 at the external output signal where evidence of a reversal of bone loss due to castration osteoporosis had been found in the experimental rat.

Obturation of the ileum by a jejunal diverticular enterolith.

A case of obstruction of the distal portion of the small intestine by a concretion that had originated within a jejunal diverticulum is presented. Obstruction was relieved by removal of the calculus through an enterotomy. The patient's recovery was uncomplicated.