Objective: To study the role of increased sympathetic tone in pathogenesis of hypertension in patients with essential hypertension with neurovascular compression. Methods: Twenty-three patients with essential hypertension, 13 patients with secondary hypertension, and 46 normotensive subjects were investigated. Neurovascular compression was evaluated by MRT. The power spectral components of heart rate variability as indices of autonomic nerve tone were determined to investigate the possibility that sympathetic tone mediates the neurovascular compression-induced increase in blood pressure. Results: Neurovascular compression of the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) was observed in 70% of essential hypertension group, none of secondary hyperension group and 16% of normotensive group (P Ͻ 0.001). The age-adjusted low-frequency power spectral density (A-PSD) (0.04 to 0.15 Hz), which is an index of

Emphysematous osteomyelitis is a rare but potentially fatal infection. It is caused by gas-forming organisms and is characterized by the presence of intraosseous gas. A 75-year-old woman with untreated diabetes mellitus presented with difficulty in moving and anorexia. Laboratory studies revealed inflammation, a urinary infection, and diabetic ketoacidosis. Klebsiella pneumoniae was detected in both urine and blood cultures. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed emphysematous lesions in the paravertebral soft tissue, spinal canal, and iliopsoas muscle, with intraosseous gas at L1 and L2. These findings led to a diagnosis of emphysematous osteomyelitis. We herein review 35 reported cases of emphysematous osteomyelitis including our case.

A 69-year-old male patient presented with multiple lung nodules revealed by chest-computed tomography (CT) during a preoperative examination for an appendiceal tumor. The nodule diameters ranged from 2-10 mm without either pleural thickening or effusions. A fluorine-18-labeled fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/CT scan showed a high FDG uptake in the appendiceal tumor, but almost normal standardized uptake values in the bilateral lung nodules. A CT-guided biopsy led to a diagnosis of pulmonary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, a rare vascular tumor with a radiological presentation similar to that of a metastatic lung tumor. The present case is the first to describe successful treatment using a CT-guided biopsy instead of more conventional methods.

A 50-year-old Japanese man presented with fever and upper respiratory tract symptoms that required urgent inpatient admission. A physical examination revealed conjunctival hemorrhages and peripheral embolic phenomena. Blood cultures grew Pasteurella multocida, and an echocardiography revealed a mitral valve vegetation suggestive of infective endocarditis (IE), which was confirmed using the Modified Duke Criteria. After several antibiotic regimens proved ineffective, valve replacement was performed, with a good eventual outcome. P. multocida IE is rare and may sometimes have no preceding risk factors. P. multocida infections of the upper respiratory tract are unusual but may be an inciting event for IE. It is essential to check blood cultures and to repeat the performance of physical examinations to appreciate the developing features of IE.

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