Untoward effects of lithium treatment in children aged four through six years.

Objective: To explore the relationship between lithium dose and serum lithium level on the occurrence of untoward or toxic effects of lithium in the treatment of 20 hospitalized aggressive and/or mood-disordered children aged 4 through 6 years.

Method: Clinical and research records of 20 children treated with lithium according to an established inpatient protocol were reviewed. Side effects as reported by psychiatric staff were categorized by organ system affected and severity.

Gamma-linolenic acid for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: placebo-controlled comparison to D-amphetamine.

In a Latin-square double-crossover with random assignment to sequence, 18 boys, aged 6-12 years, with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder received 1 month each of placebo, D-amphetamine, and Efamol (evening primrose oil containing gamma-linolenic acid, with vitamin E as preservative). Parents' ratings were noncontributory. Teachers' ratings showed a trend of Efamol effect between placebo and D-amphetamine.

Equivocal karyotype analysis and prenatal counseling.

An uncertain amniotic fluid karyotype analysis may result in months of intense anxiety for the parents. An illustrative case demonstrates that thorough and accurate diagnostic steps, active involvement of the family physician, coordination of counseling efforts by all involved health-care professionals and attention to the social and financial concerns of the parents are helpful in this situation.

Pulmonary compliance: alteration during infection.

Lungs excised from rats infected with Mycoplasma pulmonis are more difficult to inflate with air than those from uninfected animals; they show no significant differences from controls inflated with saline. The altered pulmonary function in lungs from infected rats is attributed to an increase in surface forces, implying disruption of the lung surfactant system.