Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility of median nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) measurements using the indirect method (ellipsoid formula) and the direct or tracing method. Methods. The median nerve CSA was measured in 22 wrists of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome by means of high-frequency sonography. Measurements were made at the level of the pisiform bone by a standardized sonographic examination protocol. Two observers with different levels of experience performed the measurements, independently and blinded. An analysis of reliability was carried out, and the concordance between the methods was determined with parametric statistical tests. Results. The results point to good reproducibility of the median nerve CSA measurements obtained by both methods, whether performed by an experienced observer or by an inexperienced observer after a short learning period. Conclusions. The results suggest sonography for median nerve CSA measurements is reproducible by either the direct or indirect method when a standardized sonographic examination protocol is used.
A comparative study of the voice with sustained phonation of the vowel /a/ was made in 3 groups of male patients: (1) 20 patients receiving total laryngectomy for epidermoid carcinoma of the larynx who had acquired good voice quality after a phonatory fistuloplasty with a Herrmann voice prosthesis; (2) 20 patients undergoing total laryngectomy for epidermoid carcinoma of the larynx who had learned esophageal speech; and (3) 20 subjects with normal voices. Statistical analysis yielded significant differences in fundamental voice frequency between the 3 groups, with the patients with phonatory prostheses revealing the closest to a normal voice. For other parameters used, such as jitter, shimmer, and harmonics/noise ratio, voice quality with a phonatory prosthesis was similar to that obtained with esophageal speech.
Purpose: Because immune mechanisms involved in cutaneous melanoma have not been fully elucidated, efforts have been made to achieve prognosis markers and potential targets for immune therapies, but they have not been entirely fruitful thus far. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate the involvement of early changes in CD8 T cells and CD56 natural killer (NK) cells expressing NK receptors in different HLA-C dimorphism groups of melanoma patients. Experimental Design: CD8 T cells and CD56 NK cells were analyzed in 41 patients and 39 sex-and age-matched controls with different HLA-C genotypes by flow cytometry. HLA-C dimorphism at position 80 was tested by PCR sequence-specific primers and PCR sequencespecific oligonucleotide to examine whether it could mediate in the emergence of cells expressing killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors. Results: Thirty-five of 41 patients had benign sentinel node, and showed an imbalance in the absolute number of CD8 +
The optimal injection site for anterior MR arthrography of the shoulder is the upper third of the humeral head, a simple, rapid procedure that is well tolerated by patients and reduces the radiation dose administered.
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