Alopecia, chronic candidodis, mental retardation and repeated ketoacidosic comas curable by biotin administration: multiple carboxylases deficiency (author's transl)

Multiple carboxylases deficiency, a recently identified metabolic disease in infants, can be cured by the administration of biotine, a cofactor of the carboxylases: pyruvate, propionyl coenzyme A (CoA), methylcrotonyl CoA, and acetyl CoA. The disorder presents as alopecia, associated with chronic candidosis, psychomotor retardation, and frequent episodes of ketoacidosis coma which responded to biotine treatment. Biological signs, related to the deficiency of the individual enzymes, are observed as hyperlactacidemia, propionic aciduria, and methylcrotonylglycinuria. The metabolic basis of this vitamin-dependent size is still obscure, but the research stimulated by this new disease should clarify the still poorly understood physiological role of this vitamin in humans.     

A formative and summative evaluation model for special educational programs

During the past two decades the problems of recruiting minority students into careers in the health fields have been addressed by many educators and various special study groups. Recent efforts by schools of medicine and allied health sciences to find viable solutions to the problem have facilitated implementation of career exploration and study-skills programs. Although the focus and sophistication of evaluation designs vary substantially among educational programs of this type, all share some common problems. The positions taken by the authors is that evaluation, both during and at the end of a program, is an essential aspect of the program and that the use of a systematic evaluation model is central to this effort. Data are presented which illustrate the utility of a systematic evaluation model when applied in a realistic test situation (an operational program for minority students). Several advantages of using this model are discussed.