Effect of calcium p-chlorphenoxyisobutyrate and calcium carbonate on plasma lipids and lipoproteins of patients with hyperlipoproteinaemia.

Since dietary calcium had been reported to reduce plasma lipids, the effects of calcium carbonate (CaCO3, 2 g/day) and the calcium salt of p-chlorphenozyisobutyrate (Ca-CPIB, 2 g/day), both singly and in combination, were studied in outpatients with primary hyperlipidaemia. Three groups of five patients were followed in a double-blind cross-over study, in which placebo and the drugs were given alternately during four-week periods. The main results were: 1) CaCO3 alone did not produce any significant changes in plasma lipids.

Effect of atropine-pethidine premedication on peripheral blood lymphocytes.

Phenothiazines, which are also employed for premedication, are known to have an inhibitory effect on the cell-mediated immunity. Therefore, the effect was studied in nine patients of the most commonly used atropine-pethidine premedication on the leucocyte and differential count, the number of T-and B-lymphocytes and the lymphocyte transformation by phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), Concanavalin A (ConA), pokeweed mitogen (PWM) and purified protein derivative of tuberculin (PPD) in cultures of separated lymphocytes and of whole blood. The premedication increased the proportion and absolute number of surface immunoglobulin-positive (B) lymphocytes in the peripheral blood and reduced the PHA and PPD responses in whole blood cultures.

The effect of anaesthesia and total hip replacement on the phytohaemagglutinin and concanavalin A responses of lymphocytes.

Cell-mediated immunity as a part of the immune host defence mechanisms was studied in 12 patients undergoing total hip replacement surgery. The combined anaesthesia used did not lower the phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (Con A) responses of lymphocytes in whole blood culture during the first hour of anaesthesia before the beginning of surgery, but a clear decrease occurred after the beginning of the operation. The mitogenic responses started to recover immediately after the operation, but complete recovery was not obtained during the follow-up of 9-14 days.

Immunosuppression after cholecystectomy.

The effect on immune functions of cholecystectomy under combined anaesthesia was studied in nine patients. The parameters examined were the leucocyte and differential count, the T-and B-lymphocyte count, and the lymphocyte transformation induced by phytohaemagglutinin, concanavalin A, pokeweed mitogen and purified protein derivative of tuberculoprotein. The anaesthesia and operation decreased the total lymphocyte count in the peripheral blood.

Peripheral blood T- and B-lymphocytes in operating theatre personnel.

The effect of operating theatre work on peripheral blood T- and B-lymphocytes was studied by the rosette method. There was no statistically significant difference between operating theatre personnel and the controls in the number of T- and B-lymphocytes. This study supports the view that work in operating theatres does not cause changes in the immune response.

Increased cholesterol content and esterification in rabbit aortic medial cells cultured in hyperlipidemic serum.

Cells of early atherosclerotic lesions have an increased content of cholesteryl esters and enhanced rate of cholesterol esterification. The present study was carried out to elucidate whether these changes could be reproduced in a purely in vitro system. Cultures of rabbit aortic medial cells were incubated in a medium containing 10% of either normal rabbit serum (control cells) or serum from rabbits with cholesterol-induced hyperlipidemia (hyperlipidemic cells).

A case of limbic system dysfunction with hypersexualith and fugue state.

This paper describes a case of limbic dysfunction in a 28-year-old female veteran who presented with psychoses and sexual promiscuity. She had EEG abnormalities and showed dramaic improvement with anti-convulsant medication. Limbic system dysfunction in general may present as "functional psychoses.