Accessibility of government-run sheltered workshops to people with psychiatric histories.

Government-run sheltered workshops in the Netherlands are not as easily accessible to people with psychiatric histories as they are to other groups, such as those with physical and intellectual disabilities. This was found in a large-scale nationwide study in 21 such workshops, commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. The workshops varied in their degree of accessibility.

Element analysis of the early stages of age-related macular degeneration.

The accumulation of basal laminar deposit (BLD) in the macula is considered to be a precursor of age-related macular degeneration. To learn more about the composition of BLD and the role of zinc in age-related macular degeneration, we investigated the elements in BLD, as well as in surrounding structures in 38 postmortem human maculae by electron-probe x-ray microanalysis. Basal laminar deposit and capillary vessel walls of the choriocapillaris appeared to contain no typical elements.

Iron and uroporphyrin in hepatocytes of inbred mice in experimental porphyria: a biochemical and morphological study.

Unlabelled: Hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria is iron dependent and characterized by the decreased activity of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase and the accumulation of porphyrins in the liver. To examine the relationship between iron and porphyrins in liver tissue, we performed a biochemical and morphological (histological, ultrastructural and morphometrical) study in the livers of C57BL/10 mice. Mice were treated with hexachlorobenzene, iron dextran or the combination of hexachlorobenzene and iron dextran.

Is basal laminar deposit unique for age-related macular degeneration?

The ultrastructural nature and distribution of basal laminar deposit, considered to be a precursor of age-related macular degeneration, were studied in 42 human maculae. Basal laminar deposit was found from age 19 years on, not only between the retinal pigment epithelial cells and their basement membrane but also more often on the choriocapillary side of Bruch's membrane. No direct relationship was found with other aging changes, such as calcifications in Bruch's membrane, accumulation of lipofuscin granules, or drusen in the macular area.