A Case of Apoplexy Attack-Like Neuropathy due to Hereditary Neuropathy with Liability to Pressure Palsies in a Patient Diagnosed with Chronic Cerebral Infarction

Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies is an inherited disease associated with the loss of a copy of the PMP22 gene. The condition leads to mononeuropathy due to compression and easy strangulation during daily life activities, resulting in sudden muscle weakness and sensory disturbance, and displaying symptoms similar to cerebrovascular diseases. We report the case of an 80-year-old man with left paralysis due to chronic cerebral infarction. His medical history indicated remarkable recovery from about 4 months after the onset of left hemiplegia with predominant involvement of the fingers. Despite subsequent recurrent monoplegia of the upper or lower limbs, brain magnetic resonance imaging consistently revealed only previous cerebral infarction in the right corona radiata without new lesions. Medical examination showed reduced deep tendon reflexes in his extremities on both the healthy and hemiplegic sides. Nerve conduction studies showed delayed conduction at the bilateral carpal and cubital tunnels and near the right caput fibulae. Genetic analysis revealed loss of a copy of the PMP22 gene. Thus, he was diagnosed with a cerebral infarction complicated by hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies. Stroke patients develop sudden muscle weakness and sensory disturbance. However, if such patients have no hyperactive deep tendon reflexes and show atypical recovery of paralysis that does not correspond to findings of imaging modalities, nerve conduction studies and genetic analysis may be necessary, considering the complication of hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies

A Study of Human Adaptability in Antarctica

The metabolic and nutritional conditions in Antarctica were studied in 29 members of the 10th Japanese wintering party (1968-1970), 25-47 years of age. 1. Change in basal metabolism : It has long been known that there is an apparent seasonal variation in basal metabolism of Japanese people ; higher rate in the winter and lower late in the summer. There has hitherto been much argument, and many possible factors such as natural environment, composition of food, mode of living, racial disposition, have come up for discussion. However, little is known about the real mechanism causing this peculiar phenomenon. This report is the experiments carried out by author in hope that a comparative study in a special environmental condition might throw light on this problem. Generally, in Antarctica, the basal metabolism showed the highest value, 40-43 kcal/m^2/h in January-February, then it gradually decreased to 35-38 kcal in the Antarctic fall. Then it tended to rise again to 39.42 kcal in August and September. In the Antarctic winter, June and July, there is little daylight and little chance to go out, and basal metabolism drops to the lowest level of the year. As described above, the characteristic feature of basal metabolism in Japanese, the apparent seasonal variation, was not affected by the Antarctic environmental and living conditions. However, the values for basal metabolism in Antarctica are higher in every age than the standard values in Japan, as recorded by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. 2. As to the behavioral pattern and activity level of wintering members in Antarctica, several studies have been reported. The author tried to show physical activity level of the subjects by counting daily step using a stepmeter (pedometer). On the average, in the Antarctic summer, December and January, the step count is 15,000, the largest count of the year. It drops to the lowest level, 6,000 steps, in the antarctic midwinter, June and July. These changes seem to have a close relation to the changes in length of daylight. The correlation coefficient between step count and ambient temperature was 0.53, and that between step count and daylight length was 0.64. 3. Food intake: In general, the metabolic balance was always positive throughout the year in Antarctica, resulting in the weight-increase of most wintering members during their stay in Antarctica. Skinfold thickness in the upper arm and around the navel increased in parallel with body weight. 4. Comparing the sleeping pattern of the summer with that of the winter, there was no conspicuous feature in the former, but a symptom of intermittent sleep and a tendency of nocturnal habits were observed. 5. Considering monthly the change of physical rhythm per day, there was only narrow margin of variation and the night-and-day rhythm was absent in midwinter period

The distance to a star forming region in the Outer arm of the Galaxy

We performed astrometric observations with the VLBA of WB89-437, an H2O maser source in the Outer spiral arm of the Galaxy. We measure an annual parallax of 0.167 +/- 0.006 mas, corresponding to a heliocentric distance of 6.0 +/- 0.2 kpc or a Galactocentric distance of 13.4 +/- 0.2 kpc. This value for the heliocentric distance is considerably smaller than the kinematic distance of 8.6 kpc. This confirms the presence of a faint Outer arm toward l = 135 degrees. We also measured the full space motion of the object and find a large peculiar motion of ~20 km/s toward the Galactic center. This peculiar motion explains the large error in the kinematic distance estimate. We also find that WB89-437 has the same rotation speed as the LSR, providing more evidence for a flat rotation curve and thus the presence of dark matter in the outer Galaxy.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, accepted, 16 pages, 4 Figure

Discovery of the first methanol (CH3OH) maser in the Andromeda galaxy (M31)

We present the first detection of a 6.7 GHz Class II methanol (CH3OH) maser in the Andromeda galaxy (M31). The CH3OH maser was found in a Very Large Array (VLA) survey during the fall of 2009. We have confirmed the methanol maser with the new Expanded VLA (EVLA), in operation since March 2010, but were unsuccessful in detecting a water maser at this location. A direct application for this methanol maser is the determination of the proper motion of M31, such as was obtained with water masers in M33 and IC10 previously. Unraveling the three-dimensional velocity of M31 would solve for the biggest unknown in the modeling of the dynamics and evolution of the Local Group of galaxies.Comment: Letter, accepted by ApJ

Combination cryosurgery with hyperthermia in the management of skin metastasis from breast cancer: a case report

Introduction: Skin metastases may impair the quality of life due to physical appearance, odour, and bleeding. Presentation of Case: A 70-year-old woman presented with two enlarging nodules (measuring 12 cm and 3 cm in diameter) consistent with metastatic breast cancer in the left subclavicular area. The larger tumour did not respond to initial cryosurgery. Therefore we added hyperthermia using a disposable body warmer. In addition, the cryosurgery technique was modified to freeze deeper tissue. The entire tumour was covered with dry cotton, to which liquid nitrogen was applied. Twenty weeks later, the tumour became nearly flat and the patient noted improved activity in her daily life. Discussion: Combination treatment with sufficient freezing is important for controlling the tumour, while hyperthermia may accelerate the antitumor effects of cryosurgery. Conclusion: This treatment provides an alternative for unresectable breast cancer skin metastases resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy