[Basilar migraine with alexia but not agraphia: arterial spasm on arteriography and the effect of naloxone]. / Migraine basilaire avec alexie sans agraphie: spasme artériel a l'artériographie et effet de la naloxone.

A basilar migraine with alexia without agraphia and episodes of dysmnesia was treated with naloxone. The triggering of an attack by angiography, allowed to see an arterial spasm. The beneficial effect of naloxone is discussed, together with the respective roles of spasm and neuronal metabolic changes in the mechanisms of symptoms and signs.

[Osteo-articular ultrasonography of the shoulder]. / Echographie ostéo-articulaire de l'épaule.

The objective of this course is to present the normal and pathological aspects of the various periarticular structures of the shoulder, and the practical modalities of their analysis. The anatomy and pitfalls of tendon imaging is recalled, as well as the interest to detect intra and peri articular effusions. The semiological aspects of complete and partial tears of the rotator cuff and the various impingement syndromes, well demonstrated with dynamic sonography, are then studied. The examination requires time and knowledge but the diagnostic and therapeutic impact is very important regarding the low cost of this technique. The standardisation of the procedure and the production of normal reference images seems to guarantee a global increase in quality of the sonographic examinations.

[Peroperative spinal cord ultrasonography in neurosurgery]. / L'échographie médullaire per-opératoire en neurochirurgie.

Intraoperative spinal sonography is a new method of investigation. We are reporting 14 observations. The results of these explorations permit to describe the normal spinal sonography and a spinal ultrasonic semeiology. We underline the advantage of this technic in the neurospinal surgery particularly to locate the tumors and to facilitate the removal.

[Relation between spermatozoids and reducing sugars (glucose and fructose) in human seminal fluid]. / Etude des relations entre spermatozoïdes et sucres réducteurs (glucose et fructose) dans le liquide séminal humain.

The prostatic fraction of seminal plasma contains components that are involved in the process of transforming fructose into glucose. If a positive correlation can be found between the slope of the decrease of fructose (estimated to be between 30 minutes and 5 hours) and the sperm count, with at the same time the maintenance of a relatively constant glucose level, then we have been able to demonstrate that glucose is more efficient than fructose to keep spermatozoa mobile. The enzyme process involved in transforming fructose into glucose may thus act to maintain definite glyspermia with a maximum value of 1.8 g/l. Aspermia in some circumstances then can be related to the absence or poor function of the transformation process and thus with the absence or decrease in prostatic secretion.

[The interpretation of athenospermia as a function of the parameters in a spermogram (author's transl)]. / Interprétation des asthénospermies en fonction des paramètres du spermogramme.

The study of spermiograms, conducted on patients consulting for sterility, showed relationships between motility and other variable factors of the sperm. Testicular and prostatic factors are involved in immediate asthenospermia, whereas factors are involved in secondary asthenospermia.

[Peroperative spinal cord echography]. / L'échographie médullaire peropératoire.

Real time intraoperative ultrasonography is used since 1982 in spinal surgery. It gives numerous information, so that the neurosurgeon may adapt his technique to the obtained views. The authors describe this technique and give their experience based on 25 preliminary cases and on the literature. The normal echoanatomy of the spinal cord and the spinal canal is described as well as the echostructure of the different components observed in all cases. They give afterwards the different aspects of intramedullary tumours, extramedullary lesions (intra or extradurally), spinal traumas and syringomyelia.

[Electrophoretic study of the protein composition of human seminal vesicle secretion]. / Etude électrophorétique de la composition protéique de la sécrétion vésiculaire humaine.

The SDS-PAGE and two-dimensional reductived electrophoretic study of the liquid aspirated from human seminal vesicles showed that this medium contains high molecular weight proteins (greater than 150 kDa). In addition to these high molecular weight proteins, native seminal vesicle secretion is characterised by the presence of a large 47.4 kDa protein band corresponding to seminogelin, described by Lilja. The high molecular weight proteins actually correspond to associations of three types of protein subunits with molecular weights of 75-76, 63-64 and 47-48 kDa, which represent the structural elements of the coagulum; one of these subunits consists of seminogelin. Seminal vesicle secretion contains very little or no proteolytic enzymes, so that its protein composition remains stable even after incubation for 24 hours.

Effects of prostatic secretion on reduced sugars in human seminal plasma.

Glucose and fructose levels were determined enzymatically in liquefied human seminal plasma (whole or collected in three fractions) and in preparations obtained by DEAE ion-exchange chromatography on whole seminal plasma. When these secretions or DEAE-extracted preparations were overloaded with fructose, the level of glucose increased. This increase is greater in fraction I of split ejaculates than in fractions II and III, and is greater in solutions containing elements of prostatic secretion obtained chromatographically than in whole seminal plasma. Using increasing quantities of fructose in the overloading test, glucose levels reached a maximum, suggesting that the process of conversion of fructose into glucose appears to be related to an enzymatic process. Other experiments suggest that the sperm-free fraction I of split ejaculates and compounds obtained from seminal plasma by ion-exchange chromatography contain enzymes of prostatic origin that are involved in the conversion of fructose to glucose.

Confirmation of the taxonomic position of Callimico goeldi (Primates, Platyrrhini) on the basis of its highly repeated DNA patterns.

The systematic position of Callimico goeldi has been analyzed by comparison of its highly repeated DNA fragments with those of three species of Callithricidae and two species of Cebidae. Our data, in agreement with those obtained by other authors by means of cytogenetic and molecular biology techniques, are in favour of the classification of C. goeldi in the family Callithricidae.

Pathological seminal plasma proteins by cellulose acetate electrophoresis.

Pathological seminal liquids were studied by using cellulose acetate electrophoresis as well as biochemical doses of proteins, acid phosphatases, reducing sugars, and zinc. It was also possible to show the frequent total absences of vesicular secretion, less frequent than prostatic secretion and less than the two at the same time. It was also shown that reductions were more frequent in prostatic secretion than in vesicular secretion. This method may also be a valuable assistance in the diagnosis of certain urogenital infections. The dissociation between prostatic secretions of acid phosphatases and zinc may lead to the diagnosis of the infection in the posterior or lateral lobes of the prostate.

Studies on the origin and nature of seminal proteins by cellulose acetate electrophoresis.

Electrophoresis of semen on cellulose acetate strips allowed the localization of 19 protein bands. Twelve of these were analyzed for their composition and ten for their tissue of origin. Four bands were composed of prostatic products, three contained secretions form the seminal vesicles, and various serum products composed six others. Assays were also performed for acid phosphatase activity, glycoproteins and proteins bound to zinc. Proteins in semen were found to be broken down with time during incubation at 37C and therefore only fresh specimens or material which is frozen immediately after liquefaction may be used with these techniques. Our experiments clearly show that electrophoresis of semen may be a useful technique in clinical andrology: in particular in the case of excretory azoospermia and infections of the genital tract.

Fructose, proteins and coagulation in human seminal plasma.

Fructose is produced and secreted by the seminal vesicles and it is believed to form tight bonds with certain proteins that are also of vesicular origin. Under normal conditions of liquefaction, fructose is totally dialyzable; however, blocking liquefaction by exposing semen to acidic conditions renders this sugar non dialyzable. Fructose therefore appears to play a role in the coagulation of semen. The formation of fructose-protein complexes may resolve physiological problems concerning osmotic pressure in the seminal vesicles: if all the fructose were present in free state, the osmotic pressure would be very high and incompatible with cell survival

Comparison of highly repeated DNA sequences in some Lemuridae and taxonomic implications.

Highly repeated DNA sequences of Eulemur fulvus mayottensis, E. coronatus, Lemur catta, and Hapalemur griseus griseus have been identified and compared. Sequence analysis of highly repeated DNA fragments isolated from L. catta and Hapalemur showed a high percentage of similarity (nearly 95%), as did fragments isolated from the two very close Eulemur species, whereas comparison of the DNA fragments isolated from the two Eulemur species and the L. catta/Hapalemur group showed a very low percentage (approximately 40%) of identity, as might be expected for distant species. These results confirm our previous data, obtained by Southern blot hybridization techniques on the same species, and strongly support the existence of a common trunk between L. catta and Hapalemur, but different from the leading to the Eulemur species.

Phylogenetic relationships among Indriidae (Primates, Strepsirhini) inferred from highly repeated DNA band patterns.

Comparative studies of highly repeated DNA from different species of Indriidae (Primates, Strepsirhini) allowed confirmation of the specific status of Avahi occidentalis, A. laniger and Propithecus tattersalli. The comparison of their band patterns revealed the existence of specific and common bands from which a cladogram of the family is inferred. This cladogram shows that Avahi clade is the sister-group of Indri and Propithecus clade, and that P. verreauxi is related to P. diadema. These results were discussed in view of those obtained from cytogenetic, morphological and molecular data (mitochondrial DNA). This study shows the capacity of the repeated sequence pattern comparison to be used as a tool for confirming taxa status, (taxinomic classification is a primary determinant of management priorities for endangered species, neglect of distinct taxa may lead to their extinction), and for inferring phylogenetic relationships among related species.

Comparative electrophoretic study between rabbit and human seminal fluid.

Cellulose acetate electrophoresis of rabbit seminal fluid give, after amidoschwartz staining, 19 protein bands, all migration towards the anode. Nine of them are present in at least 80% of the samples. With the acid of specific detection techniques, it was possible to demonstrate th presence of zinc in four bands, acid phosphatase activity in two and glycoprotein in three of the bands. Serum compounds seem to be present in small quantities. Study of fluids squeezed out from prostate, paraprostate, seminal vesicle and epididymal tail show few specific bands in these secretions: four in the case of prostate, three for paraprostate and one for seminal vesicle. Comparisons between human and rabbit seminal fluid electrophoresis show no relationship between these two types of secretion.

Soluble seminal fluid proteins from various animal species.

When soluble seminal proteins from different animal species are studied by cellulose acetate electrophoresis, important differences can be observed. These differences may be related to the type of coitus and the storage and migration of spermatozoa in the female genital tract. Seminal fluid can play a role in spermatozoal maturation by affecting the distribution of the surface charge of spermatozoal membranes.

Molecular and cytogenetic evidence for cryptic speciation within a rare endemic Malagasy lemur, the Northern Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur septentrionalis).

Evolutionary relationships of different populations of the threatened malagasy lemur Lepilemur septentrionalis were assessed by sequence analysis of mitochondrial DNA (D-loop region and partial Cyt b gene). One hundred and fifty nine samples were collected from five main different localities in the northern part of Madagascar. We applied the phylogenetic species concept based on fixed diagnostic differences to determine the status of different geographical populations. No nucleotide site diagnoses Ankarana from Andrafiamena or Analamera. However, numerous fixed differences separate Sahafary from all other populations. These results were corroborated by phylogenetic trees. As previous cytogenetic studies, our molecular data suggest that two cryptic species of Lepilemur occur in the extreme north of Madagascar. This speciation is probably caused by chromosomal rearrangements in at least one of the evolutionary lineages. Our study comprises another striking example of how molecular genetic assay can detect phylogenetic discontinuities that are not reflected in traditional morphologically based taxonomies. Our study indicates that the Sahafary population is a hitherto undescribed endangered endemic species which urgently needs conservation efforts.

Taxonomic relationships and sampling effects among Lepilemuridae and Lemuridae using a partial cytochrome b gene.

Partial cytochrome b sequences were used to study relationships between three Lepilemuridae species (Lepilemur dorsalis, L. septentrionalis and L. leucopus) and other Lemuridae species. L. dorsalis were subdivided into two sub-groups, according to their capture area (Nosy-Be island and Sahamalaza peninsula). Relationships deduced from phylogenetic trees as well as genetic distances lead to the classification of the Lepilemurs analysed here into separate species. These Lepilemurs form a monophyletic clade which is the sister clade of all other Lemurs used in this study. Reconstructions using randomly chosen sequences and step by step addition of sequences indicate that phylogenetic results for closely related species need to be analysed with caution, if only a small number of sequences are used to obtain them.