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Biomedical subjects

E Barasch

Publications and source records attributed to E Barasch.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Persistence of normal right ventricular Doppler filling pattern early after tricuspid valve excision.

Two patients with acute tricuspid bacterial endocarditis in which a normal right ventricular Doppler filling pattern was demonstrated early following valvectomy are reported. After surgery, on pulsed Doppler examination, the sample volume positioned at the right atrioventricular level revealed a normal M-shaped filling pattern. A pathologic monophasic pattern was documented a few months later. Our findings suggest that early after surgery the preserved gradient throughout ventricular diastole leads to a passive and active filling similar to normal. Only at a later stage is the grossly dilated right atrium unable to maintain active filling, and the 'A' wave disappears despite the fact that sinus rhythm is maintained. Tricuspid valve diastolic motion represents a product of the several factors that determine atrioventricular gradient, but the valve itself appears not to be involved in the generation of a normal filling pattern.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1994

Progressively intractable seizures, focal alopecia, and hemimegalencephaly.

We report a 3-year-old boy with the neurocutaneous combination of unilateral alopecia, ipsilateral hemimegalencephaly, and intractable seizures. He was born with an asymmetric hair pattern consisting of absent patches of hair, a small left eyebrow, and less eyelashes on the left eye; he had normal development until age 17 months, when he experienced right focal seizures with fever. Two months later, fever triggered new seizures characterized by flurries of head and body flexion and adduction of the right arm. He had left hand preference and language regression. EEG manifested left hemihypsarrhythmia, and MRI showed left hemimegalencephaly with marked enlargement of the temporal lobe with ventriculomegaly. Seizures were refractory to treatment with phenobarbital, adrenocorticotropic hormone, pyridoxine, sodium valproate, clonazepam, carbamazepine, phenytoin, and felbamate. This may represent a previously undescribed neurocutaneous syndrome.

Alopecia↗
PubMed1994

Dobutamine stress echocardiography in clinical practice with a review of the recent literature.

Stress echocardiography has been developed in recent years as an effective noninvasive test for the detection and assessment of coronary artery disease. This method combines exercise with 2-dimensional echocardiography, which can assess regional and global left ventricular function during stress. Dobutamine infusion, a pharmacologic means of producing cardiovascular stress, appears to be an excellent alternative to exercise in echocardiographic studies. Currently, it is reserved for patients who cannot exercise at a meaningful level because of advanced age, physical deconditioning, or other factors. This review evaluates the current clinical application of dobutamine stress echocardiography and compares its efficacy with that of exercise echocardiography and nuclear perfusion imaging.

Contraindications↗
PubMed1993

Balloon aortic valvuloplasty in the elderly: useful when there is no alternative.

Of 63 elderly patients with calcific aortic stenosis in whom balloon aortic valvuloplasty was performed, 26 treated with the new technique of Cribier and Letac are the subject of this report. Patients were referred for the procedure because they were at high surgical risk, or were not candidates for surgery. Seven matched patients who fit the criteria for balloon valvuloplasty but refused the valvuloplasty procedure served as controls. Aortic gradient decreased from 78 +/- 27 mm Hg to 35 +/- 20 mm Hg and aortic valve area increased from 0.47 +/- 0.16 cm2 to 0.83 +/- 0.38 cm2 (P < 0.0001). Symptomatic improvement was immediately obtained in each patient. Complications were rare, with only one patient needing vascular repair for femoral artery occlusion. Three patients died during the initial hospitalization (none during the procedure). Valvuloplasty patients were followed for a mean period of 9.6 +/- 9.4 months. Three months survival was 87%, 6 months survival was 76%, and 12 months survival was 61%. Four of seven patients in the control group (57%) died within 3 months after initial referral. Balloon aortic valvuloplasty is a useful treatment in elderly patients who are poor surgical candidates. It may have a positive influence on short-term survival.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1993

Successful outcome of a left ventricular free wall rupture in a community hospital: case report.

Rupture of the myocardium in the setting of acute myocardial infarction has a universally grim prognosis. The time that elapses between diagnosis and definitive therapy is the most critical determinant of the patient's outcome when death is not instantaneous. Survivors of this catastrophic event have not been frequently reported. We present a case of free wall left ventricular rupture in a patient with an acute myocardial infarction hospitalized in the Cardiac Care Unit of a small community hospital. The patient was successfully transferred to the referral institution for surgery. Rapid diagnosis, primary bedside therapy, and utilization of new surgical techniques helped obtain a good outcome.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Dissecting aortic aneurysm--failure of standard noninvasive and invasive diagnostic techniques.

The diagnosis of cardiac tamponade due to dissection of an ascending aortic aneurysm in a middle-aged woman was not confirmed by the usual noninvasive and invasive procedures. The decision for surgery was based on clinical grounds only, resulting in an unnecessary delay of surgical intervention. Although some of the current noninvasive techniques seem to be most useful in the investigation of these patients, the clinical findings remain the cornerstone of a correct diagnosis.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Calcium antagonists in patients with heart failure. A review.

The presence of calcium ions is essential to the normal function of the cardiovascular system. Drugs such as calcium antagonists can modulate the interaction between these ions and specific cells at different levels, interfering with myocardial contraction and relaxation, vascular tone, specific conduction tissues and neuromuscular function. Vascular beds play a crucial role in adjustment of myocardial function to different body oxygen requirements; compensatory mechanisms in congestive heart failure (CHF) involve the vascular system to a large extent and paradoxically may worsen myocardial performance. Vasodilating drugs represent an important step forward in achieving better symptomatic results in CHF patients, and may also increase their survival. Of the different classes of vasodilator drugs calcium antagonists may represent an attractive alternative due to their anti-ischaemic and antiarrhythmic effects. Despite the overall good response to the acute use of these drugs in CHF, long term studies in which first generation calcium antagonists (nifedipine, diltiazem, verapamil) were used have produced disappointing results. Their main drawbacks were negative inotropism, lack of preload reduction and activation of neurohormonal mechanisms with a subsequent adverse effect on cardiovascular function, the latter effect being the most significant. A few long term studies, of between 1 and 52 months, have not demonstrated a consistent improvement in functional class in spite of apparently good initial results. The second generation of calcium antagonists have more potent and selective vasodilating properties with less negative inotropic effects; these properties might justify their use in the therapy of CHF, but no clear recommendations can be given due to the lack of large, long-term, controlled studies. Overall, the existing clinical trials with calcium antagonists in CHF have not proved the superiority of this group of drugs when compared to other vasodilators. If the aetiology of CHF is related to the presence of coronary artery disease or arterial hypertension, calcium antagonists might be considered as additional therapeutic options. Diastolic dysfunction may be corrected or improved and coronary tone may be diminished, both of which may lead to a better myocardial oxygen supply. Systolic myocardial function must be evaluated in CHF patients before starting therapy with calcium antagonists in order to avoid possible deleterious effects. Further studies may shed more light on this matter and may indicate decisively whether or not calcium antagonists should play a role in the therapeutic pharmacological arsenal of selected CHF patients.

Calcium Channel Blockers↗
PubMed1989

Spinal epidural lipomatosis: a serious complication of iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome.

Our experience and review of the literature demonstrate that spinal epidural lipomatosis is a rare but serious neurologic complication of iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome. Most patients develop slowly progressive paraparesis over months, but a subgroup exists which presents with acute, irreversible paraplegia. We consider therapeutic options.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Spontaneous perforation of the ureter diagnosed on technetium 99m DTPA excretory urography.

A case of nontraumatic rupture of the ureter secondary to a nonopaque calculus is presented. Because of the inherent high image contrast caused by the leak of technetium 99m-DTPA-labeled urine, the technetium 99m-DTPA excretory urogram is seen as an alternative to the intravenous urogram or contrast-enhanced computed tomography in selected cases of suspected ureteral rupture.

Humans↗
PubMed1988

Recurrent sustained ventricular tachycardia solely responsive to verapamil in a patient with a remote myocardial infarction.

A 49-year-old man with a silent remote postero-inferior wall myocardial infarction exhibited recurrent episodes of sustained ventricular tachycardia which was hemodynamically well tolerated. Ventricular tachycardia was neither terminated nor prevented by therapy with multiple class I and class III antiarrhythmic drugs. In contrast, ventricular tachycardia was repeatedly terminated within a few minutes following intravenous administration of 10 mg verapamil and did not recur during oral therapy with verapamil (360 mg daily). Electrophysiologic study suggested that ventricular tachycardia was due to a reentrant mechanism rather than to triggered or abnormal automaticity. Thus, in contrast to previous reports, findings in this patient indicate that verapamil may be very effective and safe in certain types of ventricular tachycardia occurring late after a myocardial infarction.

Heart Ventricles↗
PubMed1988

Pregnancy and Cushing's syndrome: example of endocrine interaction.

Pregnancy rarely occurs in women with Cushing's syndrome, and when it does, fetal mortality and morbidity are very high. We describe a 30-year-old woman who was found to have severe Cushing's syndrome in the 22nd week of her first pregnancy, after a year of unsuccessful attempts to conceive. The patient had the majority of the symptoms and signs characteristic of the syndrome. Laboratory examinations revealed hypokalemia of 2.7 mEq/l, serum cortisol 39.5 micrograms/dl without diurnal variation, free urinary cortisol 1,850 to 3,500 micrograms/24 h, 17-hydroxycorticosteroids (OHCS) 52.5 mg/24 h, 17-ketosteroids (KS) 12 mg/24 h, and ACTH 29 pg/ml. No suppression was observed upon dexamethasone administration (2 and 8 mg). Ultrasound examination of the adrenal glands revealed a left adrenal tumor with a diameter of 4.2 cm. An adrenocortical adenoma was successfully excised in the 24th week of pregnancy. During the 37th week of pregnancy, she delivered a normal baby girl. Postoperatively, the patient was put on maintenance therapy. One year after delivery, mother and child are in perfect health.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1988

Severe sexual impairment produced by morbid obesity. Report of a case.

A 45-year-old man, was admitted for investigation of severe sexual impairment. During 20 years of marriage, he had had no normal sexual intercourse and the couple was childless. Physical examination disclosed a severely obese man (weight 300 kg, height 1.75 m), with a relatively small and invaginated penis and small (5 ml) soft testes. Laboratory examinations disclosed the following: low serum testosterone (1 ng/ml), with a reduced response to HCG (3.8 ng/ml). Sex hormone binding globulin was at the lower limit of normal (0.38 microgram/dl), serum free testosterone was low (0.98% of total testosterone) as well as non-SHBG bound testosterone (22% of total testosterone). Daily total urinary estrogen excretion was increased (107 micrograms), the plasma estrone (78 pg/ml) and estradiol (74 pg/ml) were elevated. The gonadotropins were normal and responded adequately to LRH. Plasma growth hormone was decreased, prolactin, T4 and adrenal steroids were normal and responded normally to stimuli and inhibitors. Chromosomal constitution was 46XY. Thus, in this man the marked obesity produced a significant increase in estrogens which subsequently induced a severe decrease in testosterone and its free counterpart in excessive impairment of sexual function.

Hormones↗
PubMed1986

Pneumococcaemia as a presenting sign in 3 cases of multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma was diagnosed in 3 patients following episodes of pneumococcaemia associated with neutropenia and decreased serum concentration of normal immunoglobulins. Severe pneumococcal infection is commonly encountered during the course of multiple myeloma, but has not been stressed as a presenting feature of the disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1975

Hypertrophic Pulmonary Osteoarthropathy in Pulmonary Metastases.

Hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy is most commonly encountered in association with bronchogenic carcinoma and tumors of the pleura. Its association with pulmonary metastases from extrathoracic neoplasms is rare, with only 44 documented cases in the literature. Three additional cases are reported. Nearly half of the reported cases have been sarcomas, mainly of bone and soft tissues; among the rest are tumors of the nasopharynx and uterus and cervix. It has recently been noted that symptoms can be dramatically relieved by intrathoracic or cervical vagotomy.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

MRI visualization of bilateral quadriceps tendon rupture in a patient with secondary hyperparathyroidism: implications for diagnosis and therapy.

Many musculoskeletal conditions have in the past been best defined on a clinical basis. However, because of pain, limitation of motion and hematomas, tendon ruptures can often be misdiagnosed clinically and it would be quite helpful to the clinician to have a noninvasive imaging technique. This communication defines the role of MRI in the early diagnosis of a nontraumatic rupture of the quadriceps tendons bilaterally in a patient with renal failure and known secondary hyperparathyroidism. The imaging techniques accurately defined the presence of hemorrhage extending into muscle from the ruptured tendons as well as the actual site and extent of tendon rupture. Since tendons have low mobile proton content and have low signal on MRI--disruptions are easily seen--MRI is the ideal noninvasive imaging technique for tendon injury, acute.

Adult↗