Technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime single photon emission tomography of the brain in early Parkinson''s disease: correlation with dementia and lateralization

In order to assess the seroepidemiology of protective antibodies against rubella among women from León, Guanajuato, Mexico, a prospective study was done. The sample consisted in 176 serum samples from urban and rural women at reproductive age, drawn from June 1990 to June 1991. Samples were tested by the classic hemagglutination inhibition method, titers of 1:8 or higher were considered as positive. Global positivity was 71 per cent (125 sera). Seropositivity did not increase with women's age; the lowest values were seen at the rural zones (58.9%). This survey showed a lower seropositivity than the previously reported in Mexico, and confirms data from new official studies. With this information authors suggest that the utility and viability of a national vaccination program should be reviewed and propose that it could be risky that individual clinicians to recommend children vaccination because the lack of coordination could increase adult cases of rubella.     

The cost of antidepressant overdose

Ninety percent of suicide attempts referred to a general hospital are by self-poisoning. Among women, drug overdose is the commonest means of suicide. In a retrospective naturalistic review of 200 patients who were treated in the Critical Care Unit of a general hospital following medication overdose, 12% were antidepressant overdoses. The mean duration of hospital stay for overdose with tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) was more than double that for overdose with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) (7 vs 3 days; z = 2.20, p < 0.05). The dollar cost of hospital treatment for patients who overdosed on TCAs was four times greater than that for patients who overdosed on SSRIs ($22,923 vs $5,379; z = 2.30, p < 0.05). The tricyclic compounds clearly have a price advantage over more recently introduced antidepressant agents fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, venlafaxine, and bupropion. The apparent cost advantage of prescribing a less expensive drug may be nullified by the cost associated with adverse consequences.     

Plasma histamine changes during provoked bronchospasm in asthmatic patients

Seven patients with bronchial asthma underwent bronchial inhalation challenge with aerosolized allergen extracts and methacholine. Simultaneously, venous blood samples were collected and histamine was measured. Each patient was challenged on successive days with an allergen extract to which he had no skin-sensitizing antibody (skin test-negative allergen), followed by methacholine and skin test-positive allergen. Bronchospasm was not induced by inhalation of skin test-negative allergens but was observed in all patients after methacholine and in the majority of patients after skin test-positive allergens. No changes in plasma histamine were detected after challenges with methacholine and skin test-negative allergens. After challenge with skin test-positive allergens, significant rises in plasma histamine were detected in 5 of 7 patients. Plasma histamine was elevated within the first 5 min after inhalation of aerosolized allergen, and elevations persisted as long as 30 min. These studies showing that histamine increases significantly in the plasma during allergen-induced asthma in man suggest that histamine should be considered as at least one of the mediators of bronchospasm in allergic asthma. Bronchospasm induced by the cholinergic drug methacholine, unlike allergen-induced bronchospasm, is not associated with changes in plasma histamine.     

Ferromanganese Nodules from Lake Ontario (Bay of Quinte): Minor Element Geochemistry

Spark source mass spectroscopy was used to analyze 61 elements in ten ferromanganese nodules found near Glenora in the Bay of Quinte at the eastern end of Lake Ontario.Most minor elements, including As, Pb, and Hg, have concentrations between 1–100 μg g^?1. F, S, Co, Zn, and La have concentrations in 100 μg g^?1 range. Ba and Sr are present at levels of 1% and 0.1% respectively. Compared to similar measurements on nodules found in the Great Lakes and in other parts of the globe, values reported here are generally lower.Compared to their marine equivalents, lake nodules appear to be inferior scavengers of minor elements. Examination of all available data corroborates the postulate that marine biological material is an important source of minor elements found in oceanic nodules.     

An analytical technique for uni,bi, and trimodal paleocurrent data

Accurate paleogeographic reconstructions of sedimentary rock associations require a method of paleocurrent analysis in which each individual current system present can be analyzed separately. Such a method has been developed whereby mixtures of up to three populations in any one paleocurrent distribution can be analyzed individually. For each population the mean direction (u_i), concentration about the mean (k_i), and proportion of that population in the entire distribution (p_i) are determined from the data, along with a chi-square, goodness-of-fit test of the model selected.