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Biomedical subjects

V Menon

Publications and source records attributed to V Menon.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

An aetiological profile of optic atrophy.

484 cases of optic atrophy were studied for the distribution pattern and significance of various etiological factors in different age groups of both sexes. Bilateral optic atrophy was found to be two and a half times as common as unilateral optic atrophy. Intracranial neoplasm (29.5%) was the most frequent known cause of bilateral optic atrophy in either sex and the most common tumor was chromophobe adenoma (48% of intracranial tumors) with highest incidence over 20 years of age. Craniopharyngioma was the most frequent tumor responsible for bilateral optic atrophy before 20 years of age. Intracranial glioma also emerged as an important cause of bilateral optic atrophy. Head injury due to road accidents and periocular trauma were the most common causes of unilateral optic atrophy in males, whereas no definite factor could be elucidated in unilateral optic atrophy in females. Vascular factors were the usual cause of optic atrophy after 40 years of age, highlighting the significance of thorough systemic evaluation.

Adolescent

Skin test reactivity to whole body and fecal extracts of American (Periplaneta americana) and German (Blatella germanica) cockroaches in atopic asthmatics.

Forty-six atopic asthmatic subjects aged 3 to 58 years attending the allergy clinic of a university hospital were evaluated for prick skin test reactivity with commercially available extracts of cockroach (CCE) and house dust (HD). Additionally, skin testing was performed with American cockroach whole body (AWBE) and fecal extracts (AFE) as well as German cockroach whole body (GWBE) and fecal extracts (GFE) prepared in our laboratory. Commercial cockroach extract was prepared from American, German, and Oriental cockroach whole bodies. Skin test reactivity to the different extracts were as follows: 83% to HD, 70% to CCE, 70% to AWBE and/or GWBE, 63% to AWBE, 57% to GWBE, 63% to AFE and/or GFE, 52% to AFE, 50% to GFE, 48% to both AWBE and GWBE, and 39% to both AFE and GFE. The subjects with positive skin tests to AWBE and/or GWBE (70%) were the same individuals who showed skin test reactivity to CCE (70%). Subjects from lower income families (less than $10,000) had a significantly higher skin test reactivity to cockroach allergens than those from families with an annual income of $11,000 to $24,000 (P = .04). These results demonstrate the significance of cockroach sensitization in atopic asthmatics, suggest the importance of fecal cockroach allergens, and support earlier observations of shared interspecies allergens between American and German cockroach whole bodies.

Adolescent

Antinuclear antibodies and anticytoplasmic antibodies in bronchial asthma.

The presence of antinuclear antibodies and anticytoplasmic antibodies was evaluated in the sera of 50 patients with bronchial asthma and 35 matched control subjects with miscellaneous medical diseases with the use of an indirect immunofluorescent assay with HEp-2 cells as substrate. The results were compared to age, sex, atopic status, dose, and duration of the antiasthmatic medication, immunotherapy, severity of the disease, and presence or absence of myalgia. The patients had mild to moderate asthma. The incidence of fluorescent anticytoplasmic antibodies (FACA) in the sera of patients with asthma was statistically significant (p = 0.02) in comparison to FACA in the sera of the control subjects. The combined incidence of fluorescent antinuclear antibodies (FANA) and FACA was found to be significantly higher among atopic subjects with asthma (p = 0.03) and the subjects with asthma and with myalgia (p less than 0.05). The 20% incidence of FACA in this group of subjects with asthma was significantly greater (p less than 0.0001) than the reported 2.7% incidence of FACA in a group of patients with various rheumatologic diseases. Variables, such as dose and duration of antiasthma medications and immunotherapy did not appear to influence the presence of FANA and FACA in their sera. The significance of positive FANA and FACA in this group of subjects with asthma is not known and needs to be evaluated by long-term studies.

Antibodies

Amoebic peritonitis in pregnancy in the United Kingdom.

We describe a woman who developed hepatic amoebic abscesses during pregnancy, and subsequently amoebic peritonitis. We believe this to be the first such recorded case in the United Kingdom, and unusual in that the patient had never been abroad.

Adult

Cyclic vertical squint.

A rare case of cyclic vertical squint which developed after surgery on medial rectus muscle and its subsequent management by the Faden operation is described.

Adult

Congenital nystagmus with head posture (a modified approach in surgical management).

The surgical methods for correction of an abnormal head posture in congenital nystagmus presently in use, do not correct the head posture adequately and in some cases produce a postoperative tropia. We felt that this may be related to the arbitrary quantities of surgery suggested by various workers. We have observed that surgery on the medial rectus is approximately one and a half times as effective as on the lateral. Using this ratio, excellent results have been obtained in 5 cases which are reported herein.

Adolescent

VER in optic neuritis.

A prospective study was carried out on 27 patients with optic neuritis. Besides detailed clinical examination, visual evoked responses (VER) were studied utilising the checker board pattern reversal and flash stimuli. The recording with the 30 minute check size was found to be the most consistent both for the controls and the patients. Flash evoked VER was most useful in determining the wave form in cases with severe disruption of the visual pathways. Neither the implicit time nor the amplitude of the VER could be directly correlated to the visual acuity changes or other clinical parameters. Implicit time offered a more reliable criterion for evaluation as compared to the amplitude in patients with optic neuritis. The VER recording helps in serial follow-up of a patient and can indicate previous attacks suffered by the patient.

Adolescent

Myopic strabismus fixus convergens.

A case report of myopic myositis, a rare entity, leading to strabismus fixus convergens, occurring in a high myope at the age of 46 years is presented. The possible differential diagnosis along with the aetiopathogenesis is discussed.

Convergence, Ocular

Pupillary automatism.

An unusual case of cyclic pupillary movements in an otherwise complete oculomotor nerve palsy in a five year-old girl is reported. This is considered to be due to destruction of somatic and visceral nuclei of the oculomotor nerve following injury to its fascicular part. Pupillary automatism has been explained on the basis of the presence of aberrant autonomic cells in the ciliary ganglion which are discharging in a regular rhythm independent of higher control.

Child, Preschool