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Biomedical subjects

D F Cohn

Publications and source records attributed to D F Cohn.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

The effect of anticonvulsant drugs on the development of male rats and their fertility.

Albino male rats were injected with diphenylhydantoin, carbamazepine, valproic acid or clonazepam for three months immediately after weaning. Following the treatment the fertility of the rats was tested by caging them with proestrus females and recording impregnations. The males were decapitated and their sex organs weighed. Epididymal sperm content and motility rate were recorded. A decrease in the prostate weight was found in the valproic acid and the carbamazepine treated rats. Epididymal weights were found decreased only in the valproic acid treated rats. These rats had diminished sperm content and sperm motility and their fertility was decreased. Carbamazepine treated rats had a lowered epididymal sperm content which did not affect their fertility.

Animals

Painful ophthalmoplegia: the Tolosa-Hunt syndrome.

Painful ophthalmoplegia is characterized by unilateral involvement of the IIIrd, IVth and VIth cranial nerves, as well as supra- and retro-orbital pain, i.e. participation of the Vth cranial nerve. The pain is relieved within 48-72 h with steroid therapy. The paresis of the eye muscles in various combinations usually subsides gradually from within a few weeks to several months. The etiology is unknown. The few pathological examinations reported in the literature showed an unspecific inflammatory granulation tissue around the intracavernous portion of the carotid artery and on the dura mater in the vicinity of the cavernous sinus. Carotid arteriography may show stationary waves of this artery and narrowing of its intracavernous portion. With orbital phlebography the occlusion of the supraorbital vein and obstruction of the cavernous sinus are sometimes demonstrable. The syndrome is well defined and its etiology still unknown.

Adult

Effect of diphenylhydantoin on the reproductive function of the male rat.

Male rats were injected with 5, 10, and 20 mg diphenylhydantoin daily for two months and then caged for five days with cyclic females. Thereafter the males underwent necropsy, the organs of the genital tract were examined, and found to be unaffected. Blood testosterone and Leydig cell counts were normal. A significant reduction of fertility was observed which appears to be loss of libido on behavioural grounds. Except for similar behavioural changes described in human epileptics no further reports are available concerning anticonvulsants and fertility. Our findings indicate that there is no reason to suspect that diphenylhydantoin had endocrine-mediated effects on male fertility in the rat.

Animals

Papilledema in endemic typhus.

A 21-year-old women developed severe bilateral papilledema during an acute febrile disease. Her optic disk margins were blurred and the disks were elevated up to 5 diopters. Splinter hemorrhages, cotton-wool exudates, cytoid bodies, and sheathing of veins were also present. The pyrexia was caused by murine typhus diagnosed by serologic tests. These tests revealed that Proteus OX-19 agglutination titer rose to 1:12800, and a positive complement fixation test titer was 1:640 with Rickettsia mooseri antigens. Neurological examination results, skull roentgenograms, brain scan, electroencephalogram, and the cerebrospinal fluid were all within normal range, thereby excluding intracranial hypertension. After the patient's recovery from the rickettsial disease, the papilledema abated gradually until her fundi reverted to normal.

Adult

The central nervous system in a case of neurolathyrism.

We examined the central nervous system of a 67-year-old man who showed symptoms of lathyrism after being imprisoned at age 35 and fed on a diet of chick peas, Lathyrus sativus. The most obvious changes were loss of axons and myelin in the pyramidal tract in the lumbar spinal cord. These alterations correlated with spastic paraparesis. Other changes at the same level were a mild degree of degeneration of anterior horn cells. Pallor of Goll's tracts and axonal swelling in Goll's nuclei were also observed. A few examples of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles were observed in Ammon's horn.

Aged

Anterior horn cell changes in a case of neurolathyrism.

Light and electron microscopic studies were made of the anterior horn cells in a case of neurolathyrism. Eosinophilic inclusions were observed at the light microscopic level. Fine structural study revealed the presence of two types of cytoplasmic inclusions. The first were aggregates of filaments, approximately 80-100 A in width, arranged in small bundles. The second were crystalloid structures composed of elongated elements, about 800 A wide, with hexagonal cross sections. The relationship to each other and the significance of these inclusions are unknown.

Aged

Computed tomography of the temporo-mandibular joint.

Computed tomography (CT) of the temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ) has only been occasionally reported. As CT techniques improve, more detailed information is available. Though conventional radiography of the TMJ can supply sufficient diagnostic detail, it may well be replaced by CT as a preliminary examination, as it is able to offer more information with less radiation and minimal patient discomfort.

Adolescent