Acute gastric dilatation in two black and white colobus monkeys

Acute gastric dilatation in two black and white colobus monkeys is described. The subfamily colobini have a ruminant-like stomach and a pregastric fermentation, of important for the observations described.     

Prevalence and Characteristics of Hyperthyroidism Among Patients With Sarcoidosis in the United States

ObjectiveWe aimed to determine the prevalence and clinical characteristics of self-reported hyperthyroidism in patients with sarcoidosis.MethodsA national registry-based study investigating 3836 respondents to the Sarcoidosis Advanced Registry for Cures questionnaire in the period between June 2014 and August 2019 was conducted. This registry is generated from a web-based questionnaire that is self-reported by patients with sarcoidosis. We compared patients with sarcoidosis who had hyperthyroidism with those who did not. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis to study the association between hyperthyroidism and different cardiac manifestations in patients with sarcoidosis.ResultsThree percent of the study respondents self-reported having hyperthyroidism and were generally middle-aged Caucasian women. Compared with patients without hyperthyroidism, patients with hyperthyroidism had more sarcoidosis-related comorbidities (59% vs 43%, P = .001) and more steroid-related comorbidities (56% vs 44%, P = .01), but there was no difference in the sarcoidosis-specific treatments they received, which included corticosteroids. Patients with hyperthyroidism reported sarcoidosis involvement of the heart (26.6% vs 14.9%, P = .005), kidneys (14.9% vs 8%, P = .033) and sinuses (17.7% vs 10.2%, P = .030) more frequently. Cardiac manifestations that were more frequently reported in patients with hyperthyroidism included atrial arrhythmias (11.3% vs 6.3%, P = .046), ventricular arrhythmias (17.2% vs 7.5%, P < .001), congestive heart failure (10.4% vs 5%, P = .017), and heart block (9.4% vs 4.7%, P = .036).ConclusionHyperthyroidism is infrequent in patients with sarcoidosis but is potentially associated with different cardiac manifestations. We suggest considering routine screening for hyperthyroidism in patients with sarcoidosis, especially in those with cardiac involvement. Further studies are needed to investigate the impact of identifying and treating hyperthyroidism in patients with sarcoidosis.     

Agnosia.

Object recognition can break down in a variety of ways after brain damage. The resulting different forms of agnosia provide us with useful constraints on theories of normal object recognition. Recent studies suggest a division of labor for the recognition of different types of stimuli (common objects, words, faces, direction of eye gaze, spatial relations among parts of the human body), a high degree of interactivity in the processes underlying object recognition, and the possibility that recognition and awareness of recognition may be neurally distinct.     

The actions of insulin on cardiac contractility

This review summarizes the effects of insulin on cardiac contractility of the normal, failing, anoxic and ischemic heart. In animal experiments under aerobic conditions a variety of effects of insulin on cardiac contractile force have been described which are frequently contradictory. The use of different insulin preparations of unknown purity make the interpretation of these findings rather difficult. The protective effects of insulin in the isolated heart on the rate of production of spontaneous heart failure require both glucose and insulin for maximal effect and are probably related to an improved cardiac carbohydrate utilization produced by insulin. Other cardiac effects of insulin independent of glucose could be due to ionic readjustments produced by insulin which are glucose independent.