ALBERT

Description: To investigate the role of a patent foramen ovale in the pathogenesis of multiple brain lesions acquired by sport divers in the absence of reported decompression symptoms. Design: Prospective double blind cohort study. . Setting Diving clubs around Heidelberg and departments of neuroradiology and neurology. Subjects: 87 sport divers with a minimum of 160 scuba dives (dives with self contained underwater breathing apparatus). Main outcome measures: Presence of multiple brain lesions visualised by cranial magnetic resonance imaging and presence and size of patent foramen ovale as documented by echocontrast transcranial Doppler ultrasonogra~hy. Results: 25 subjects were found to have a right-to-left shunt, 13 with a patent foramen ovale of high haemodynamic relevance. A total of 41 brain lesions were detected in 11 divers. There were seven brain lesions in seven divers without a right-to-left shunt and 34 lesions in four divers with a right-to-left shunt Multiple brain lesions occurred exclusively in three divers with a large patent foramen ovale (P=0.004). Conclusions: Multiple brain lesions in sport divers were associated with presence of a large patent foramen ovale. This association suggests paradoxical gas embolism as the pathological mechanism. A patent foramen ovale of high haemodynamic relevance seems to be an important risk factor for developing multiple brain lesions in sport divers.

Description: Recent expeditions to the cold, northern waters of the Arctic have revealed giant deep-sea coral reefs. In this article, Tina Kerby and Jason Hall-Spencer describe the latest findings from a project to study these surprising environments.

Description: The UK seamounts, Rosemary Bank, George Bligh, Anton Dohrn and Hebrides Terrace, were investigated in this study, analysing VMS data, surveillance data and landings into UK ports between 2003 and 2005 to assess the fishery on these fishing grounds. Results of VMS data compared with reports from patrol vessels and aircraft surveys revealed that monitoring and surveillance is fragmentary for the UK seamounts. Of the four, Rosemary Bank was the seamount with the highest fishing intensity, fishing effort and highest demersal landings in the study period. Demersal landings from all seamounts showed for the study period the same development as in whole ICES subarea VI, a general downward trend in landings of deep-water species. In comparison to fishery in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, Rosemary Bank was assessed to be not intensively fished. But because deep-water species differ in their life history traits from shallow-water species a comparison in fishing intensity should be accomplished with other seamounts or deep-sea areas. Only one pelagic species, blue whiting, was landed from all seamounts with highest quantities from Hebrides Terrace, demersal fishery played a minor role at this seamount. Fishing effort was low at this seamount, but considering the seamount area, Hebrides Terrace had the second highest fishing intensity. For the study period no significant seasonality in fishery was apparent at all seamounts but to indicate seasonality, a longer time period should be taken into account. However, Rosemary Bank was the only seamount being fished throughout the whole year. Fishery was mainly conducted down to 1000 m and declining beyond this depth. Individual findings of cold-water corals on the seamounts indicate a susceptible environment and as mainly demersal species were fished at these seamounts the employed gear is believed to have impacts on the benthos. To what extent the cold-water corals are distributed at the seamounts and how they have been affected by demersal fisheries requires further studies.