Protection by misoprostol against naproxen-induced gastric mucosal damage.

The protective effect of misoprostol against naproxen-induced gastric mucosal damage was the subject of a double-blind, randomized, parallel-group study. Thirty-two healthy subjects were treated with naproxen 500 mg twice daily and either misoprostol 200 micrograms or matching placebo twice daily for seven days. Gastroscopy was performed before and after the treatment period and the mucosa was assessed for erosive and petechial lesions according to a predetermined scoring scheme.

Dynamics of glycoprotein metabolism in familial polyposis coli-derived colonic epithelial tissue.

Familial polyposis coli is a disease state that offers an opportunity to obtain colon tissue in a predictable manner in terms of identifying putative premalignant markers. Our results support the hypothesis that a sequential series of alterations occur in the dynamics of glycoprotein metabolism as normal colonic mucosa progresses to colon adenocarcinoma. Specifically, both nonmalignant polyps and colon adenocarcinoma tissue expressed diminished glycosylation of proteins, whereas an elevated level of activity for membrane-associated glycosyltransferases does not appear until colon cancer itself develops.

Jump function following nerve division.

This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the conduction of nerve impulses across the suture line of freshly repaired nerves. The sciatic nerves of ten New Zealand white rabbits were divided and repaired using microsurgical techniques. The conduction impulses from a nerve stimulator across the repair was compared with the conduction before division.

Psychosocial benefits of a cancer support group.

Many clinicians use group support to reduce the psychosocial difficulties of persons with cancer. This study compared the long-term benefits of a thematic counseling model used both as a structure for group support and for counseling patients individually. The thematic model included eight counseling sessions focused on information about cancer and positive health strategies such as progressive relaxation, diet, and exercise.

A profile of 125 women requesting reversal of sterilization.

A series of 125 consecutive requests from patients in a private practice for reversal of sterilization has been analysed. Most of the women (65,6%) had changed their marital status since the sterilization, 93,9% of these having been divorced (most of whom remarried--73,1% of the new husbands being younger than their wives and 89,6% marrying for the first time) and 6,1% widowed. In the 34,4% in whom there had been no change in marital status, a reappraisal and the wish to have another baby, sometimes consequent upon the death of a child (16,3%) or an improvement in health (7,0%) led to the request for reversal of sterilization.

Unilateral ureteric reimplantation for primary vesicoureteric reflux in children. A policy re-evaluated.

Fifty-one children had unilateral ureteric reimplants for primary vesicoureteric reflux over an 11-year period. Reflux was abolished in 50 patients but in 8 (15.7%) it developed or became worse on the contralateral side.

Ego development and intelligence in a psychiatric population: Wechsler subtest scores.

The relationship between Loevinger's measure of ego development and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales subtest scores was investigated in 91 adolescent and young adult psychiatric inpatients. Correlations with Verbal IQ and verbal subtests in general were positive and significant. The correlation with the Comprehension subtest was the highest and remained significant when Full Scale IQ was partialled.

Skin conductance changes and psychotherapeutic content in the treatment of a phobic patient.

This study examined the relationship between skin conductance response (SCR) and psychotherapeutic content in a single case study. Four SCR conditions of one minute's duration each, reflecting maximal increase (amplitude) and least amount of change as well as one-minute periods preceding these criterion conditions, were measured for each psychotherapy session across 12 consecutive sessions. Psychotherapeutic content corresponding to these SCR conditions was evaluated according to 14 categories by five judges.

Drug-responsive symptoms in melancholia.

Depressive symptoms present in 43 patients with unipolar nondelusional melancholia were studied to determine which symptoms were the best measures of response to desipramine hydrochloride. An extended Hamilton Depression Scale was used to identify symptoms that were present frequently. We then determined which symptoms improved in direct relation to achievement of therapeutic plasma desipramine concentrations, using multiple regression analysis to account for pretreatment symptom severity.

Family history in delusional depression.

Family psychiatric history was compared in the 472 first-degree relatives of 31 delusional and 35 nondelusional inpatients who met DSM III criteria for major depression with melancholia. Morbid risks for psychiatric illness or for psychiatric treatment variables did not differ between the two groups. Specifically, rates of affective and psychotic illnesses in families did not distinguish delusional from nondelusional probands.

Subjective complaints during desipramine treatment. Relative importance of plasma drug concentrations and the severity of depression.

Subjective complaints, including those traditionally considered tricyclic antidepressant side effects, were studied in 43 depressed inpatients during a three-week trial of desipramine hydrochloride. Multiple regression analysis was employed to examine the independent relationship of pretreatment symptoms, concurrent depression, and plasma drug concentrations to subjective complaints reported during treatment. As a group, subjective complaints were positively associated with pretreatment symptoms and the concurrent severity of depression, but not with plasma desipramine concentration.

The clinical utility of family history for the diagnosis of melancholia.

History of psychiatric illness in 982 first degree relatives of 155 inpatients with major depression was examined to determine its clinical value for distinguishing melancholic from nonmelancholic major depressions. A positive family history of unipolar depression was not more common in the melancholic patients, although relatives of melancholic probands were more likely to have received electroconvulsive therapy or experienced nonaffective psychosis. Whereas the morbid risk estimate for unipolar depression was higher in the relatives of nonmelancholic probands, this appeared to be related to the manner in which morbid risk was calculated.

Psychosocial reactions to the diagnosis of gynecologic cancer.

Data are presented on the psychosocial impact of gynecologic cancer derived from both a structured interview and self-report scales administered to 60 women newly diagnosed with cervical, uterine, and ovarian malignancies. Findings show that such women experience mild to moderate symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as impairment of vocational, domestic, and sexual functioning. The women with cancer reported significantly fewer symptoms of depression and social impairment than acutely depressed women without cancer.

Cell surface and cytoskeletal interactions in a temperature-sensitive strain of SV40-transformed mouse fibroblasts.

In order to assess the role of cytoskeletal structure in modulating cell surface topography during cell transformation, cytoskeletal organization of 3T3 mouse cells transformed with a tsA mutant of simian virus 40 (SV40) was studied in detail by correlative light and electron microscopy. Detergent-extracted, critical-point dried whole cells observed in the electron microscope were seen to contain well-organized microfilament bundles (stress fibers) traversing the longitudinal axis of cells grown at the restrictive temperature (39 degrees C). When grown at the permissive temperature (32 degrees C), cells prepared in this manner were not observed to contain such structures.

Sodium-gradient-stimulated transport of L-alanine by plasma-membrane vesicles isolated from liver parenchymal cells of fed and starved rats. Crucial role of the adrenal glucocorticoids.

The ability of liver efficiently to take up amino acids, particularly l-alanine, during starvation was studied in a cell-free system by isolating plasma-membrane vesicles in a transport-competent state from rat liver parenchymal cells. These membrane vesicles have the capacity to accumulate l-alanine against an apparent concentration gradient when exposed to an artificial and transient transmembrane Na(+) gradient (extravesicular Na(+) concentration greater than inside). The rate of accumulation of l-alanine is dependent on the plasma-membrane vesicle concentration, and the steady-state concentration attained is inversely related to the osmolarity of the medium.

Desipramine plasma concentration and antidepressant response.

The relationship of desipramine hydrochloride plasma concentration and antidepressant response was determined in 30 depressed inpatients treated for three weeks with desipramine. All patients had a nondelusional unipolar depression, met DSM-III criteria for major depressive episode with melancholia, and had a Hamilton score of 18 or greater after one week of hospitalization without medication. Eighty-nine percent of the patients with plasma concentrations above 115 ng/mL responded, in contrast to 14% of those with concentrations below this level, a significant difference (Fisher's exact test, P less than .

Ego boundary disturbance in anorexia nervosa: preliminary findings.

Boundary disturbance and the developmental level of the Rorschach human representations of anorectic patients were studied. A group of 12 anorectics was compared with a control group in regard to their degree of boundary disturbance, the developmental level of their human responses, the degree to which they attribute affect to their percepts, and the nature and degree of drive-dominated ideation. The anorectic patients showed significantly more contamination responses, reflective of a breakdown in their self-other boundaries.

Major adverse reactions during desipramine treatment: relationship to plasma drug concentrations, concomitant antipsychotic treatment, and patient characteristics.

Major adverse reactions interrupting drug therapy during treatment of 84 patients with desipramine hydrochloride were studied to determine their relationship to desipramine plasma concentrations and other clinical variables. The frequency of adverse reactions was higher in patients over 60 years old (39%), and in patients also receiving antipsychotic medications (32%), but low in patients under 60 years old (7%). Desipramine plasma concentrations in patients having side effects did not differ significantly from those in patients without side effects.