Volunteer blood donors who fail the copper sulfate screening test. What does failure mean, and what should be done?

Volunteers attending blood donor sessions who fail the copper sulfate screening test merit an explanation of why they are considered ineligible to donate. During a 30-month period, 0.24 percent of men and 2.

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, plasma and serum viscosity as measures of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis.

The activity of rheumatoid arthritis was assessed in 96 unselected out-patients by performing a number of clinical measurements and comparing them to ESR, plasma and serum viscosity. It was found that ESR correlated with clinical parameters better than did both plasma and serum viscosity. These tests were repeated 3 months later in 87 of the same patients and again change in ESR correlated with change in disease activity better than did change in plasma viscosity.

Factors influencing haematological measurements in healthy adults.

By studying 516 healthy adults normal reference intervals were established for the Coulter "S" haematological indices with the plasma ferritin, B12, folate and red cell folate in a subgroup of 306. Significant sex related differences were found for all measurements other than MCV, MCH and B12. After allowing for these sex related differences, the effects of age, body size, fasting, smoking, alcohol, exercise and contraceptive pill usage on the parameters studied was defined.

Defective in vitro immunoglobulin production in response to pokeweed mitogen in patients with Hodgkin's disease pretreatment and in remission.

In vitro production of IgG and IgM from peripheral blood lymphocytes and B-cell enriched fractions was assessed in a group of Hodgkin's disease (HD) patients and normal controls using pokeweed mitogen (PWM) stimulation. Our studies demonstrated a significant (P less than 0.01) reduction in the absolute number of helper (OKT4 positive) T cells and a significant alteration in the helper/suppressor T-cell ratio (0.

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in adults in the northern region of England--a study of 75 cases.

Over a ten-year period we have studied 75 cases of adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Sixty of the cases were seen from 1979 to 1984 and represent an unselected series of all known cases in a region of 3 000 000 people. Study of these patients has given further insight into the heterogeneous, clinical and cytological nature of adult ALL.

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase activity in childhood and adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

The measurement of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TDT) activity in leukaemic blasts of 26 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) (13 children less than 14 years, 13 adults greater than 14 years) demonstrated significantly greater activities of the enzyme on a proportion of the adults. The predominant cytological sub-type in the adult patients was L2 (FAB classification) whereas L1 cytological sub-type dominated in the childhood group. There was no relation between TDT values and FAB sub-type but the highest activities in the childhood group were seen in patients assessed at the time of relapse.