Filling Data Gaps in Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Services.

Improving access to mental health and substance use (MHSU) services continues to be an area of growing concern in Canada, amplified by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also identified as a priority for federal, provincial and territorial governments in the Shared Health Priorities (SHP) work (CIHI n.d.

Opioids in Canada.

The opioid crisis in Canada is a complex issue with devastating consequences for individuals, families and communities. Pan-Canadian data that provide a better understanding of the crisis are a high priority to help guide efforts for reducing opioid-related harms. The objective of this study is to summarize recent trends of opioid-related harms and opioid prescribing across Canada.

Pretransplant panel reactive-antibody screens. Are they truly a marker for poor outcome after cardiac transplantation?

Background: The effect of pretransplant sensitization on outcome after cardiac transplant has been controversial. Sensitization, defined as a positive panel-reactive antibody (PRA) screen in patients awaiting transplant, represents circulating antibodies to a random panel of donor lymphocytes (usually T lymphocytes). The significance of pretransplant circulating antibodies to B lymphocytes has not been reported, and many centers disregard its use.

Outcomes of patients undergoing transplantation with older donor hearts.

Background: The limited number of donor hearts relative to the number of waiting recipients is the major determinate of a growing inequity. Although a number of potential options are being vigorously pursued, the most effective immediate solution is to expand acceptance criteria for donor age and medical condition. This report is a review of our early and late results with the use of older donors, including simultaneously "bypassed" donor hearts.

Effect of pravastatin on outcomes after cardiac transplantation.

Background: Hypercholesterolemia is common after cardiac transplantation and may contribute to the development of coronary vasculopathy. Pravastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, has been shown to be effective and safe in lowering cholesterol levels after cardiac transplantation. Cell-culture studies using inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase have suggested an immunosuppressive effect.

Immunological and chromosomal studies in a patient with Sézary syndrome.

A patient with the small-cell variant of Sézary syndrome was studied before and during treatment with low-dose chlorambucil. He had depressed responses to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A that returned to normal with clinical improvement. Spontaneously dividing cells were found in the peripheral blood by culturing lymphocytes without PHA for 24 hours.

Evidence for origin of certain childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemias and lymphomas in thymus-derived lymphocytes.

Lymphoblasts from children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or malignant lymphoblastic lymphoma were studied using surface markers characteristic of T and B lymphocytes. A B-cell marker, i.e.

T and B lymphocyte subpopulations in children.

T and B lymphocyte subpopulations were examined in the peripheral blood of children using the E and EAC rosette assays. Children under 18 months of age were found to have a decreased percentage of E-binding (T) lymphocytes and an increased percentage of EAC-binding (B) lymphocytes compared to older children (18 months to 10 years) and adults. The absolute number of E-binding and EAC-binding lymphocytes was increased in children under 18 months of age.

Lymphocytes bearing complement receptors, surface immunoglobulins and sheep erythrocyte receptors in primary immunodeficiency diseases.

Nine patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases were studied for the presence of lymphocytes bearing surface immunoglobulins, complement receptors, and sheep erythrocyte receptors. All were found to have a normal or increased percentage of lymphocytes bearing complement receptors, often despite a deficiency of immunoglobulin-bearing lymphocytes. The results suggest that these patients have a deficiency of surface immunoglobulin synthesis but are not deficient in B lymphocytes.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemic cells with T (thymus-derived) lymphocyte markers.

Five of nine children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia had lymphoblasts that bound sheep erythrocytes or reacted with antiserum to thymocytes, suggesting involvement of T (thymus-derived) cells. When lymphoblasts from all patients were examined by immunofluorescence they were found to lack a marker for B (bone marrow or bursa-equivalent) cells, that is, the presence of surface immunoglobulins.