The effect of thalamic stimulation in processing of verbal stimuli in dichotic listening tasks: a case study.

In dichotic listening tasks, the (dominant) right ear's superiority in processing verbal stimuli has been attributed to its direct anatomic connection with the left dominant hemisphere. The role played by extralinguistic factors, such as attention and functional tuning of the associated cortical structures, has not been carefully examined. This investigation was undertaken to evaluate the effects of the left thalamic electric stimulation on the processing (recognition and recall) of dichotically presented CVC verbal stimuli in a patient being treated for chronic pain. We report the positive effects of electric stimulation (confirmed by increased subcortical metabolic activity using SPECT, a brain imaging technique) on the processing of dichotically presented verbal stimuli.

Efficacy of nalidixic acid in the treatment of acute bloody diarrhea.

Of sixty four children (mean age 20.1 +/- 1.2 mo) with acute bloody diarrhea and high fever, 47 had infection with non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) (20), Shigella (15) and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) (12) and were treated with nalidixic acid (NA). The mean duration (h) of presence of macroscopic blood in the stool following institution of treatment was significantly shorter (p less than 0.05) in those with EPEC (11.5 +/- 4.9) as compared to NTS (30.4 +/- 15.4) or Shigella groups (22.9 +/- 15.6). The number of children having less than or equal to 50% reduction in stool frequency within 72 h was: NTS (17); Shigella (14); EPEC (10). Negative stool cultures on day 5 were obtained in all patients with Shigella and EPEC and 16 (80%) of those with NTS. Two patients with NTS and one with EPEC failed to respond to NA.

Comparison of a lactose-free cereal-based formula and cow's milk in infants and children with acute gastroenteritis.

Sixty children less than 2 years of age suffering from mild acute gastroenteritis with less than 5% dehydration were randomly assigned to two different isocaloric feeding regimens, viz., a locally prepared milk-free formulation (group A) of rice, lentil, sugar, and coconut oil and a spray dried commercial cow's milk formula (group B). There were two treatment failures in group A and one in group B. The postintervention duration of diarrhea (days) in group A (11.0 +/- 10.0) was higher than in group B (7.6 +/- 10.8), but these differences were not significant (p greater than 0.05). The energy intake (kcal/kg/24 h) on postintervention day 4 was 78.7 +/- 31.7 in group A and 101.3 +/- 41.1 in group B (p greater than 0.05). The corresponding values for day 7 were 74.2 +/- 29.1 and 110.0 +/- 41.1, respectively (p less than 0.05). The mean weight gain (g/kg/24 h) between admission and the day of recovery in group A (2.0 +/- 4.2) was significantly lower (p less than 0.05) than in group B (5.8 +/- 7.8). Similar trends in weight gain were observed at days 4 and 7. These findings suggest that a cow's milk-based formula is well tolerated by majority of the infants with mild acute gastroenteritis after initial rehydration with ORS. The infants who were fed the milk-free cereal-based diet showed significantly less energy intake and gained weight less rapidly than those who were fed the cow's milk-based formula.