Theoretical aspects of the study of benzodiazepine receptors in infantile autism.

This paper is part of a special section on 'psychopharmacotherapy in children' and focuses on benzodiazepine receptors in autism. Infantile autism in an early and pervasive developmental disorder described by Kanner in 1943. Anatomical, pathological and magnetic resonance imaging studies have indicated changes in the cerebellum and hippocampus of autistic subjects.

Assessment of liver iron content in 271 patients: a reevaluation of direct and indirect methods.

Two direct methods for hepatic iron assessment (liver iron concentration and stainable liver iron--judged by a new histologic grading) and three indirect methods (serum iron and transferrin saturation, deferoxamine-chelation test, and ferritinemia) were reevaluated in 271 patients. These patients consisted of: 103 with idiopathic hemochromatosis, 39 with alcoholic cirrhosis, 54 with noncirrhotic alcoholic liver diseases, 13 with nonalcoholic liver diseases, and 62 with miscellaneous disorders. The results indicate that: (a) liver iron concentration, well correlated with mobilized excess iron (r = 0.

[B virus chronic hepatitis in the haemodialysed uraemic patient. Correlation between hepatic lesions and the presence of antigen e in 12 patients (author's transl)].

Twelve patients on haemodialysis for 6 months to 3 years contracted AgHBs positive hepatitis, 9 being also Ag e positive. They continued to carry the same antigens. Histological surveillance was begun from the 6th month of the disease onwards, with 2 to 4 repeated biopsies in 1,5 to 3,5 years in 9 patients, the last 3 having only one biopsy between the 8th and the 15th month.