Plasma concentrations of ethynyl oestradiol and norethindrone after oral administration to women

Rapid vasicular resistance adjustments in the brain and in the circle of Willis have been continuously measured and enhanced by signal averaging methods. Naftidrofuryl, a drug chemically similar to local anesthetics and to beta adrenergic blocking agents, increases local CBF by reducing resistance in brain and in extracerebral supply arteries. It has also been reported to affect brain metabolism. Other similar drugs merit study for potential effects on CBF and brain metabolism which may be useful in treatment.     

Effective immunity to dental caries: passive transfer to rats to antibodies to Streptococcus mutans elicits protection

Rat dams, given intravenous injections of heat-killed Streptococcus mutans 6715, mutant C211 demonstrated significant agglutinin activity to the homologous S. mutans in colostrum, milk, and serum. This antibody activity was associated with the immunoglobulin G (IgG) class. High titers of anti-S. mutans antibody associated with the IgG class were also exhibited in the sera and saliva of the offspring that suckled these dams. After challenge with the homologous, live S. mutans, these offspring developed significantly fewer caries on all molar surfaces than did nonimmunized infected controls. A secretory immune response (manifested by the presence of specific IgA antibody to S. mutans in colostrum and milk) was elicited (i) in rat dams locally injected, in the region of the mammary gland, with heat-killed S. mutans antigen, and (ii) in other rat dams that were provided formalin-killed S. mutans in their drinking water. Offspring suckling these dams were challenged with virulent S. mutans before weaning and developed significantly fewer caries than did their infected controls. These findings clearly suggest that passively derived IgG or IgA antibodies to S. mutans are protective against dental caries.     

Value of bone marrow biopsy in the diagnosis of amyloidosis

Amyloid involvement of the bone marrow is not commonly diagnosed before necropsy. Paraffin sections of the trephine bone biopsy specimen are superior to marrow aspiration cell smears for the antemortem diagnosis. Thirteen cases of amyloidosis were diagnosed from the bone biopsy specimen during a ten-year period. Amyloid was detected in only two of the corresponding aspirates. Three morphologic patterns of marrow involvement were found: vascular, focal extravascular/perivascular, and diffuse. Five (38%) of the cases were associated with multiple myeloma. An abnormal immunoglobulin was detected in the serum or urine or both in ten of 11 cases when determined. Although the bone marrow may not be the best site for the diagnosis of amyloidosis, it should not be neglected and marrow biopsies taken for other diagnostic reasons may "incidentally" reveal amyloid. Amyloidosis should be included in the list of non-primary hematologic conditions of the bone marrow in which the trephine biopsy may prove useful for diagnosis.     

Some aspects of the psychological representation of speech sounds

If one listens to a meaningless syllable that is repeated over and over, he will hear it undergo a variety of changes that can be described systematically in terms of reorganization of the phones constituting the syllable and changes in a restricted set of phonetic distinctive features. When the repeated syllable is followed by a different syllable but in the same voice, the new (test) syllable will be misperceived in a manner related to the perceptual misrepresentation of the repeated syllable. In the present experiment subjects (N = 24) listened to 72 different experimental sequences of repeated syllables in a male voice followed by test syllables in a female voice. Identification of penultimate and test syllables was independent and in no instance were the phone constituting the syllables reorganized. These results are interpreted as evidence against both auditory and phonetic feature detector theories of speech perception.     

Comparison of mortality of patients with heart attacks admitted to a coronary care unit and an ordinary medical ward

During a 32-month period 2047 patients suspected of having heart attacks were admitted to hospital and were followed up prospectively. Out of 1480 eventually found to have definite or probable myocardial infarction, 483 had initially been admitted to an ordinary medical ward because of the shortage of coronary care unit (CCU) beds. More patients aged over 65 had been admitted to a ward than to a CCU, and more patients aged 65 or less had been admitted initially to a CCU. Within each age group, however, patients admitted initially to a CCU were clinically similar to those admitted initially to a ward. There was a higher proportion of successful resuscitations among patients admitted to a CCU, but there was no significant difference in mortality in either age group between patients admitted to a CCU and a ward.     

Slipped femoral capital epiphysis as a sequela to childhood irradiation for malignant tumors

Five cases of slipped femoral capital epiphysis were noted in children with prior irradiation for malignancy whose femoral head and neck had been included in the radiation portal. Three of the 5 were patients who had lymphoma. As a result of increasing survival rates for these types of patients, this previously unrecognized radiation-related growth disturbance may be more likely to be seen in the future.