[Leukoplakia-like epidermal nevus of the mouth mucosa. Case report].

We report on a nevus of the oral mucosa, which became present in the age of 30 of a male patient. By microscopic examination we did not find any vacuolation of the spinous layer of the epithelium. So this nevus has been considered quite different from the typical white sponge nevus, and we prefer to name it leucoplakial nevus of the oral mucosa.

Intravenous yohimbine. Selective enhancer of norepinephrine and cortisol secretion and systolic blood pressure in humans.

Yohimbine hydrochloride was administered intravenously to nine normal volunteers to assess alpha 2-adrenergic receptor function. Plasma catecholamines, cortisol, and psychophysiological parameters (blood pressure, pulse, somatic symptoms checklist, and visual analogue scales assessing mood) were used as dependent variables. Plasma norepinephrine and plasma cortisol increased significantly after yohimbine administration, while epinephrine remained unchanged.

[Extreme basalioma variants--case reports].

Considering two cases of extremely extended basal cell epitheliomas the histological results are discussed in relation to the clinical aspect.

Anxiogenic effects of caffeine on panic and depressed patients.

Caffeine increases anxiety in people with anxiety disorders. To determine whether caffeine exerts a similar effect in depression, the authors compared retrospective reports of caffeine intake and symptoms produced by caffeine ingestion in patients with panic disorder, patients with major depression, and control subjects. Panic patients consumed less caffeine and reported more symptoms than depressed or control subjects.

Chronic caffeine consumption and the dexamethasone suppression test in depression.

Acute caffeine administration increases cortisol and converts the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) to nonsuppression in normal humans; data concerning chronic administration as well as effects in depressed patients are minimal. To determine whether caffeine intake influenced DST results in depression, we retrospectively studied the relationship between regular daily caffeine consumption and pretreatment DST status in major depressives. Daily intake was not correlated with either post-DST cortisol levels or symptom ratings.

Serial dexamethasone suppression tests in simultaneous panic and depressive disorders.

Recent work suggests that the simultaneous occurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD) and panic disorder (PD) may be of relevance for clinical findings, therapeutic outcome, and prognosis. It is of interest to know whether or not this relevance extends to biological findings. We addressed this question through comparison of serial Dexamethasone Suppression Test (DST) results in patients who had either MDD alone or simultaneous MDD and PD.

Age effects in serial hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal monitoring.

To evaluate age effects on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) regulation in depressives, we studied 65 patients with major depressive disorder, endogenous subtype. With each patient serving as his or her own control, we compared weekly dexamethasone suppression test (DST) results among three age subgroups (less than 40 years, n = 18; 40-70 years, n = 40; greater than 70 years, n = 7). The oldest patient group had higher mean post-dexamethasone plasma cortisol concentrations both before and after treatment, and more were DST nonsuppressors.

Self-reported diurnal mood changes, early morning awakening and the dexamethasone suppression test in endogenous depression.

Several authors have suggested that Dexamethasone Suppression Test (DST) non-suppression is related to circadian alternations of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function. Two clinical manifestations of altered circadian rhythms in depressed patients are early morning awakening and diurnal variation in mood. To observe whether these clinical symptom patterns were associated with an increased frequency of abnormal DSTs, we examined post-DST plasma cortisol concentrations and matched clinical ratings of early morning awakening and diurnal variation in mood in 49 patients with major depressive disorder, endogenous subtype.

Maternal nutritional status and adolescent pregnancy outcome.

To investigate the determinants of low birth weight of infants born to adolescent mothers, we studied the obstetric population attended at the Maternity Hospital of Lima, Peru. From this population we selected for study a sample of 1256 adolescent mothers ranging in age from 12 to 25 yr. The study included anthropometric and biochemical measurements used to evaluate nutritional status and physiological maturity of the mother and newborn.

Elbow breadth as a measure of frame size for US males and females.

Correlation coefficients of weight, bitrochanteric and elbow breadth to the log-transformed skinfold thickness and age were calculated using 16,494 adult Black and white samples derived from the data sets of the US Health and Nutritional Examination Survey I of 1971 to 1974. Among the variables, elbow breadth exhibited the lowest correlation with skinfold thickness and changes little with age. The analysis shows that elbow breadth can be used as an indicator of frame size.

Relative merits of old and new indices of body mass with reference to skinfold thickness.

Correlation coefficients among the various commonly used indices of body mass and measures of skinfold thickness were calculated using 16,459 adult Black of white samples derived from the data sets of the US Health and Nutritional Examination Survey I of 1971 to 1974. Compared to weight and weight-height cube ratio, weight-height square ratio, and weight-heightp ratio exhibit the highest correlation with skinfold thickness. Furthermore, weight-height square ratio and weight-heightp ratio showed the same amount of correlation with skinfolds.