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Les auteurs étudient un cas d'anémie pernicieuse compliquée par la dégenérescence combiné subaig de la moelle. La maladie a commentée en 1946, à 1'âge de 18 ans, par faiblesse des jambes et paresthésies des mains et des pieds. Un éxamen clinique realisé en Avril 1948, pourtant, n'a pas montré l'existence de signes somatiques objectifs. Seulement quatre mois plus tard (fin de Juillet), le malade a presenté tout à fait brusquement un syndrome clinique de section transverse de la moelle, dont l'anesthésie montait jusqu'à la limite de T3. II est décedé le 3 de Septembre, par bronchopneumonia À l'autopsie on a rencontré des lésions caracteristiques de la dégenérescence combinée de la moelle. Le malade était un arrieré mental et son père souffrait aussi d'anémie pernicieuse et dégenérescence subaig de la moelle. Les auteurs étudient les aspects héredo-familiales, le début précoce et l'évolution aig de la maladie.

Os autores apresentam o caso de um paciente originário de Pernambuco, com antecedentes sugestivos de contaminação por furcocercárias e portador de hepatosplenomegalia, no qual se desenvolveu déficit motor generalizado, predominando nos membros inferiores, com arreflexia e hipotonia, hipoestesia superficial nas mãos e membros inferiores, e desordens da sensibilidade profunda consciente nos segmentos distais dos membros. O diagnóstico de esquistossomose sistêmica foi confirmado pelo encontro de ovos de Schistosoma mansoni nas fezes e pela positividade das reações intradèrmica e de fixação de complemento no sangue. O diagnóstico clínico de provável esquistossomose medular foi reforçado pelas alterações meningo-parenquimatosas do liqüido cefalorraqueano, destacando-se hiperci-tose média com eosinofilorraquia e, particularmente, a alta positividade da reação de fixação de complemento para bilharziose. Antes que pudesse ser instituído tratamento antimonial o paciente faleceu. À necropsia foram verificadas lesões que costumam ocorrer na esquistossomose visceral, mantendo-se o diagnóstico clínico, apesar de não terem sido encontrados ovos nos tecidos. Encèfalo normal; na medula foi comprovada a existência de aracnoidite produtiva, radiculite, degeneração bilateral de raízes da cauda eqüina e degeneração secundária dos fascículos gráceis.

Disturbances of sensation in the hand were studied during and after experimental arrest of circulation to the arm. Blockage of circulation was performed as outlined by Lewis and Pochin, by putting the cuff of a sphygmomanometer on the upper arm and bringing the pressure rapidly up to 200 mm/Hg. The experiments listed below were intended to demonstrate the variability of a central reaction brought about by fairly definite disturbances of the ischaemic periphery. All experiments were made on the present writers and repeated on nine other subjects, none of whom had systolic pressure reaching 150 mm/Hg. I - Blockage of circulation in both arms led to symmetrical phenomena in both hands (thermal paresthesias, tingling and hyposthesia), both under symmetrical experimental circumstances, and under the following variations: So long as the cuff pressure on both arms was above the systolic blood pressure, differences as great as 300 mm/Hg in one cuff and 150 mm in the other did not alter the symmetry of the effects. Neither was symmetry and synchronism of paresthesias affected when compression on one side preceded equal compression on the other up to 20 seconds. II - When a punctate pressure is applied to the paresthetic field the paresthesias disappear around that point and the latter is clearly brought out from the indifferent background produced in the area of depressed skin. On the basis of Kugelberg's findings, it seems that this occurs because the impulses caused by pressure have a higher frequency and substitute the spontaneous abnormal discharges of the ischaemic nerve fibers. III - Repeated mechanical stimulation of a fingertip during the experiment failed to show any influence on sensory (touch) thresholds, in contrast, therefore, to what would be expected on the basis of the physiologic experiments which show rapid fatigue of ischaemic structures. IV - In contrast to what might be expected from the intense changes undergone by receptors in the muscles during ischaemia, as observed by Matthews, weight discrimination and the capability of hitting targets with objects of different weights were not significantly altered, even during the painful phase of fatigue. V - A nervus digitalis volaris proprius was stimulated with A.C. current of 60 cycles at a just tolerable intensity. After three minutes of stimulation the initial paresthesias and pain had almost disappeared, and were followed by numbness and increased sensory thresholds in the field of distribution of that nerve. A few seconds after stimulation was interrupted, sensation was again normal in that field. Comparable phenomena were observed under normal conditions, in the absence of ischaemia. VI - Novocaine block of a finger in the ischaemic side did not influence "pins and needles", which appear after arrest of circulation is released. Therefore, the field of origin of the "pins and needles" does not seem to be the receptor field (Weddell and Sinclair) but more probably the nerve fibers themselves (Lewis, Kugelberg). VII - As is well known, "pins and needles" are accentuated by tapping the fingers and, much less, by pressing them. Thermic and painful stimulation have no effect on these paresthesias. Tapping would probably stimulate muscle and touch receptors. On the basis of our observations and Kugelberg's physiological analysis, we are inclined to consider the nerve fibers of these receptors as the field of origin of these paresthesias. VIII - No accentuation of "pins and needles" was found by (a) tapping an anesthetized finger, nor (b) pressing the muscles; but (c) tapping the fingers does reinforce these paresthesias, also during the phase when simple pressure has the opposite effect of extinguishing them. So, it seems that accentuation is related to specific nerve fibers, but it is only brought about when a special function is at play. Therefore, enhancement of those paresthesias is limited to the correlated function of proprioceptors and touch receptors when indicating the moment of encountering an object. The following conclusions drawn from these observations seem to show the variability of central sensory reactions to experimental disturbances of the ischaemic periphery. Hyposthesias and paresthesias observed in an ischaemic limb are specially intense at the fingertips and behave, therefore, according to the type of predilection of most focal disturbances in the sensory sphere of the nervous system. This shows that the structures that are best supplied with afferent nerve fibers have no greater capacity to compensate for limited disturbances but are, on the contrary, the most vulnerable substrata of function. On the basis of Kugelberg's analysis of spontaneous impulses in ischaemic nerve fibers it seems to us that the coordinated afferent impulses resulting from a stimulus are related to exteroceptive functions, whereas the spurious irregular impulses give rise to the interoceptive representation of the abnormal status of the ischaemic hand (II). The symetry and synchronism of paresthesias and numbness (referred to in I) indicate that the interoceptive representation of the abnormal hand, as well as the disturbances of sensation to external stimuli, do not follow exactly the ischaemic disturbances in the periphery; on the contrary, they seem to develop in an autonomous order of predilective type. This independency of the reaction from the causative disturbance make numbness and the dysesthetic changes comparable to interoceptive pain and tenderness of visceral origin. Besides the change in the type of reaction, our observations show also the following compensations and modifications of the exteroceptive functions, in correlation with a partial incoordination of the afferent impulses: lack of lability of thresholds as demonstrated by continous stimulation of the sense of touch (III) and stimulation of the muscle receptors (IV) ; development of numbness and hypos-thesia on continous faradic stimulation of a nervus digitalis proprius (V). To identify the functional substratum affected under ischaemic conditions, the effect of certain stimuli on the paresthesias was observed, and these were correlated to Kugelberg's physiologic findings (II and VII). Going beyond Kugelberg's conclusions our findings seem to indicate that not only specific fibers as such, but only specific fibers under specific functional conditions can modify the paresthesias. The type of reaction is the factor that transforms an anatomic substratum to a functional one. In itself, this statement, is not contrary to the classical concept. In classical studies of reflexes, for instance, estimation of quantitative relation between stimulus and effect depends on a previous "adjustment" producing a constant functional substratum (pattern). However in ischaemic experiments, as ours have shown, one is not dealing with a constant type of reaction, but with one of a changeable nature; function and effects of stimulation influenced by central factors should always be taken into consideration in the light of that variability, so that deductions of parallelistic nature may be avoided.

Estudo anátomo-clínico de um caso de adenoma maligno de células cromófobas da hipófise, com hipertensão intracraniana, hemianopsia homônima esquerda, hemiparesia capsular esquerda, hipersônia, distúrbios da memória para fatos recentes, diminuição progressiva da potência coeundi e hipoacusia, sintomatologia essa de 2 anos, precedida, um ano antes, por algumas perturbações visuais passageiras; nos últimos 6 meses, juntaram-se ao quadro clínico crises uncinadas e escarros sanguinolentos. Essa sintomatologia encontra plena explicação no substrato morfológico observado pelo estudo radiográfico e anátomo-patológico do caso. Radiologicamente, foram constatadas a localização selar do tumor e a dilatação dos ventrículos laterais. Esses achados foram confirmados pela necrópsia, que revelou a grande extensão do tumor, com destruição das paredes da sela túrcica, partes adjacentes do corpo e das pequenas asas do esfenóide, bem como das pontas dos ossos petrosos. Expandindo-se, dum lado o tumor atravessou o osso esfenóide e fez saliência na abóbada faríngea e, doutro, invadiu e lesou, à direita, a área perfurada anterior, região pré-óptica, porções supra-óptica e tuberal do hipotálamo, tracto óptico, partes inferiores do núcleo lentiforme e do segmento lentículo-caudado da cápsula interna, e, no lobo temporal, o uncus e a porção adjacente do giro hipocampal. O quadro histológico do tumor difere do que se observa nos adenomas comuns de células cromófobas da hipófise, principalmente pelo grande polimorfismo celular, maior freqüência de figuras mitóticas, e menor regularidade do arranjo das células.

Os autores fazem uma síntese sobre o problema atual das doenças desmielinizantes do sistema nervoso, salientando o papel da alergia, de acordo com os trabalhos mais modernos, em particular os de Ferraro e col. Assinalam a dificuldade para o estabelecimento de uma classificação, em virtude da falta de conhecimento dos agentes etiológicos desencadeantes na maioria dos casos. Apresentam uma observação anátomo-clínica de mielo-patia neuro-óptica com artério e arteriolosclerose, em que a doença se iniciou pelo acometimento do nervo óptico direito, e, somente dois meses depois, surgiram os primeiros sinais de acometimento da medula espinal. No quarto mês de doença estabeleceu-se, de modo completo, o quadro medular, com uma sindrome motora tetraplégica pirâmido-extrapiramidal, outra motora primária nas extremidades distais dos membros superiores, por acometimento das pontas anteriores e, finalmente, uma sindrome sensitiva de tipo cordonai, abrangendo todas as formas de sensibilidade, a partir de C3. A enfermidade evoluiu em 12 meses, ocorrendo a morte em conseqüência de insuficiência respiratória de origem bulbar provável. O exame anátomo-patológico mostrou atrofia e esclerose total dos nervos ópticos, discretos infiltrados parvicelulares em torno de alguns vasos intracerebrais e piais e, na medula, um quadro histopatológico comparável ao que de regra se encontra na oftalmoneuromielite; apenas, no segmento cervical, onde as lesões eram muito extensas, havia foco de amolecimento mais pronunciado do que aqueles que se observam mais freqüentemente. 0 fato talvez decorra de esclerose arterial concomitante existente neste caso. Havia, também, lesões bulbares discretas.

No decorrer de exames laparoscópicos, estimulamos pelo toque com a lâmpada acêsa do laparoscópio, pontos da porção ântero-lateral do peritôneo parietal, obtendo, em todos os casos, uma reação dolorosa designada igualmente por todos os doentes como uma "sensação de facada". Verificamos a exatidão da localização da sensação dolorosa comparando o ponto indicado pelo doente com o ponto estimulado, no qual se via a luz do laparoscópio, graças à suficiente transparência das paredes abdominais. Êste modo de proceder tem vantagens sôbre o que foi empregado por Capps e Coleman, pois o estímulo fica limitado às camadas superficiais da serosa, não havendo deslocamento do restante da parede abdominal. O caráter da reação dolorosa que obtivemos, especialmente no que respeita à variação temporal de sua intensidade, corresponde exatamente à reação dolorosa obtida por Capps e Coleman mediante estímulos mecânicos. Estas reações dolorosas foram comparadas, pelas pessoas examinadas, à "sensação de facada", que é bem conhecida pelos clínicos por ser uma reação característica dos processos que acometem a pleura e o peritôneo parietais. Contràriamente ao conceito de Lewis, segundo o qual a variação temporal da intensidade de uma sensação dolorosa dependeria do modo de irritação independentemente do campo receptor e, portanto, do órgão onde se originou a excitação, verificamos, em nossas observações experimentais - concordantes com a experiência clínica - que qualquer irritação localizada no peritôneo parietal provoca sempre a mesma "sensação de facada". Admitimos, assim, ser a "sensação de facada" uma reação característica da serosa parietal, designando-a como "tipo eletivo" de reação dolorosa.

Diffuse sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica, multiple sclerosis, subacute combined degeneration and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis are briefly described from the anatomical point of view, especially with reference to their variations and to those of their interlocking aspects that point to a unitary concept of their pathogeny. Their features of similarity are compared to the changes described in cases of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (Ferraro) produced in laboratory animals. Illustrations stress some of the features that are common to those diseases, either in their "typical" or "atypical" forms.

The antibacterial action of penicillin in the presence as well as in the absence of pus, and the innocuousness of its therapeutic concentra-tions in relation to tissues in general, tend to further stimulate the generalized practice of its use in prophylactic and in curative treatment of local infections. This study was undertaken to evaluate the influence of penicillin on nerve regeneration, both under asseptic conditions and in the presence of contamination. This preliminary note refers only to partial results observed in the aseptic material. In these animals, whether treated or not with penicillin, nerve regeneration developed in a like manner, and along the usual general lines.