The New York University Spinal Cord Trauma Center recently completed an evaluation of 200 patients seen over a period of four years, from 1974 to 1978. A unique group of 23 patients with cervical spinal stenosis and myelopathy without fracture or dislocation was isolated. The presence of a narrow canal significantly influenced morbidity and prognosis. Based on a review of plain roentgenograms and myelograms, there were seven patients with an average age of 41 who had absolute low levels of narrowing of the spinal canal without evidence of degenerative changes. The remaining 16 patients, averaging 61 years of age, had superimposed spondylosis. In both groups, patients with the lowest anteroposterior diameters of the spinal canal had the most severe myelopathy after trauma. Patients with absolute stenosis were more susceptible to traumatic myelopathy than were those with relative stenosis. Varying the dose of steroids to maximal levels had no effect on prognosis. Patients showing improvement during the initial 48 hours had the greatest degree of eventual recovery.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Total vertex craniectomy for the treatment of scaphocephaly.

Sutural stripping, morcellation, subtotal craniectomy, and even subtemporal decompression, have been employed in the treatment of sagittal synostosis. This report describes a further modification of past techniques, the total vertex craniectomy. This procedure, employed in 9 patients, has achieved uniformly excellent cosmetic results.

Craniotomy↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Binding specificity of a monoclonal antibody to human Hb A.

HemoCardTM kits use monoclonal antibody-conjugated metal sol particles in an immuno-concentration assay. The HemoCard Hbs S, C, and E kits detect the three most common hemoglobin variants in both adult and newborn samples. The HemoCard Hb A kit can be used in conjunction with HemoCard Hbs S and C (but not HemoCard Hb E) to distinguish heterozygotes from homozygotes. We examined the antigen-binding domain of a monoclonal antibody to Hb A by testing samples from human and animal sources. We confirmed that the Hb A conjugate recognizes an epitope in which glutamic acid at beta 6 is necessary to provide the proper conformation for binding. This binding is not affected by substitutions at positions directly adjacent to beta 6. However, extensive substitutions in the primary sequence (e.g. in chicken, beta 6: glutamic acid, substitutions at beta 3, beta 5, beta 9, beta 10, beta 11) may produce conformational changes, resulting in diminished binding.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Priorities for change--some preliminary proposals from the White House Conference on Children.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Child Welfare↗