Fertility and use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine.

This study demonstrated that cigarette smoking was associated with an increase in both time to conception (among 2817 fertile women) and risk of primary infertility (among 1818 infertile women and their primiparous control subjects). The average time to conception was 4.3 months for women who never smoked, 4.

Screening for ovarian cancer: the preliminary experience of a familial ovarian cancer center.

Women with a family history of ovarian cancer represent a high-risk group for the development of epithelial ovarian cancer. From July 1990 through December 1992, 386 women with a first-degree or multiple second-degree relatives with confirmed ovarian cancer were enrolled in a study to assess the utility of screening with transvaginal sonography, color flow doppler, and CA125. The mean age of the group was 41; 85% were premenopausal and 89/384 (23%) had 2 or more relatives with ovarian cancer.

The prevention of accelerated cardiac allograft rejection in sensitized recipients after treatment with brequinar sodium.

Brequinar sodium (BQR) is a novel immunosuppressive agent that is highly effective in preventing B lymphocyte-mediated antibody production. We have examined the effects of BQR treatment in sensitized recipients on graft survival, donor-specific antibody responses (IgM and IgG), and the appearance of immunopathological lesions present in the grafts. LEW rat recipients were sensitized with single ACI skin graft on day 7 and received heterotopic ACI cardiac grafts on day 0.

Counselling: indications and results.

There are a number of distinct theoretical approaches to counselling. The most influential are behavioural, cognitive-behavioural, psychodynamic and person-centered treatments. However, the factors responsible for the beneficial effects of treatment remain to be discovered.

Effect of rational and irrational statements on intensity and 'inappropriateness' of emotional distress and irrational beliefs in psychotherapy patients.

Ellis's rational-emotive theory postulates that since irrational statements augment emotional distress, replacing irrational with rational statements should lessen distress. This hypothesis was tested in the initial stages of psychotherapy by having 13 and 14 clinical out-patients respectively repeat for one minute either rational or irrational statements about their major presenting psychological problem. The distinction by Ellis & Harper (1975) that 'inappropriate' emotions differ qualitatively from 'appropriate' emotions was also examined.

The synergism of brequinar sodium and cyclosporine used in combination to prevent cardiac allograft rejection in the rat.

Brequinar sodium (BQR) is a novel immunosuppressive drug that inhibits cell proliferation by virtue of its disruption of the de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. The basis of the immunosuppressive activity of BQR is distinctively different from that of cyclosporine (CsA), and we have recently evaluated in vivo and in vitro the efficacy of the two drugs when used in combination. Subtherapeutic doses of BQR and CsA were tested for their ability to prolong heterotopic cardiac allograft survival in the MHC- and non-MHC-mismatched ACI-->LEW rat strain combination.

Pig aortic endothelial cell antigens recognized by human IgM natural antibodies.

Human-to-pig xenoantibodies may constitute a major obstacle to the successful use of pigs as xenograft donors for human transplantation. Our studies demonstrate that normal human serum contains antibodies, primarily IgM, that are cytotoxic for pig aortic endothelial cells (PAECs). These antibodies bind to several antigens isolated from PAECs, lymphocytes, platelets, red blood cells, and the kidney.

Lung function in white children aged 4 to 19 years: II--Single breath analysis and plethysmography.

Objective: A study was performed to determine reference ranges for whole body plethysmographic gas volumes and single breath gas transfer in healthy prepubertal and pubertal schoolchildren.

Methods: The study was performed in 772 white London schoolchildren (455 male) who were clinically examined, assessed auxologically and, in 63% of cases, pubertally staged. Regression equations for the calculation of standard deviation scores were derived.

Lung function in white children aged 4 to 19 years: I--Spirometry.

Objective: A study was performed to produce reference standards for spirometric lung function in white children and to calculate standard deviation scores adjusted for gender and pubertal stage.

Methods: A cross sectional study was made of 772 white children aged 4.6 to 18.

Telephone answering machines: the influence of leaving messages on telephone interviewing response rates.

We studied women 45-54 years of age from two communities who failed to return a mailed survey in an experiment to assess the impact on interviewing response rates of leaving messages on telephone answering machines at the time of telephone follow-up. There were 88 and 103 subjects assigned to the "message" and "no message" groups, respectively. After adjustment for age, interviewer, and community, leaving messages increased the rate of reaching a household by about 15% and improved the overall interviewing response rate by about 15% as well.

Relation of female infertility to consumption of caffeinated beverages.

Several studies have reported an association between caffeine intake and delay to conception. To study this relation further, the authors examined caffeine use in 1,050 women with primary infertility and 3,833 women who had recently given birth during the period 1981-1983 in the United States and Canada. The cases were separated by the cause of their infertility: ovulatory factor, tubal disease, cervical factor, endometriosis, or idiopathic infertility.

Brequinar sodium: monitoring immunosuppressive activity.

There has been remarkable consistency in our laboratory for the experimental results derived from a variety of allogeneic and xenogeneic models of organ transplantation using BQR, a primary immunosuppressive agent, to prevent graft rejection. Considerable knowledge exists in a number of species with respect to the dose-response immunosuppressive efficacy, organ specificity, peripheral drug measurements, toxic side-effects, species sensitivity, and synergistic drug interactions. Despite the complexity of transferring experimental results to the clinical setting, the cumulative experience with this new immunosuppressive compound suggests that it may be highly effective when used for clinical transplantation.

Prevention of vascularized allograft and xenograft rejection in rodents by brequinar sodium.

The data that has been obtained from preclinical studies in rodents demonstrate that BQR is an effective primary immunosuppressive agent with important advantages for use in transplantation immunotherapy. The drug is highly effective when used as a single agent to prevent the rejection of a variety of vascularized allografts and xenografts. BQR is easily administered orally, the drug displays a high level of bioavailability, and drug plasma levels and immunosuppressive activity can be directly measured.

Removal of natural human xenoantibodies to pig vascular endothelium by perfusion of blood through pig kidneys and livers.

We have examined the nature of the binding of human xenoantibodies to pig liver and kidney vascular endothelium. Our results demonstrate that human serum contains IgM and IgG xenoantibodies that bind to pig vascular endothelium, and that the pattern of antibody binding is similar for both livers and kidneys. Immunohistochemical analysis of pig kidneys after perfusion with human blood demonstrated the binding of both IgM and IgG xenoantibodies, complement (C3), and fibrinogen to the vascular and glomerular endothelium.