Calcium homeostasis in long-term lithium-treated women with bipolar affective disorder.

The authors investigated the effect of long-term lithium administration on intracellular calcium mobilization. The subjects were 13 women with bipolar affective disorder stabilized on lithium and 12 matched healthy controls. Total and ionized serum calcium, intracellular calcium ion concentration, plasma parathyroid hormone (PTH) and tyrotropin (TSH), serum electrolytes and cyclic AMP (cAMP) activity in platelets were measured.

Complex genetic control in a rat model for rheumatoid arthritis.

We have defined previously five quantitative trait loci controlling development of pristane-induced arthritis in a cross between E3 and DA rats. To define new loci controlling the disease we have mapped three recombinant inbred strains between DA and E3 and analysed an F2 cross between DA rats and one of these RI strains. Two novel loci affecting disease severity are identified on chromosome 1 (Pia8) and chromosome 4 (Pia7) respectively.

Mortality in 497 patients with affective disorders attending a lithium clinic or after having left it.

The impact of lithium prophylaxis on mortality has been studied in 497 patients, 405 bipolars and 92 unipolars, who attended the same out-patient lithium clinic for up to 30 years. In order to avoid preselection, no minimum period of lithium treatment was required in our study. Of a total of 6014 patient-years, 4330 were spent in regular contact with the study clinic.

Triglyceride turnover, lipoprotein lipase activity, and fat cell size in adipose tissue of rats during the first 2 weeks of pregnancy.

Understanding the biological function of the fat retained during pregnancy is important when estimating energy needs during reproduction. Women as well as rats are often considered to gain fat at specific anatomical sites during pregnancy and use this fat as a source of energy during lactation. However, mobilized body fat covers only a minor part of the energy needed by the lactating rat dam.

HLA DQ-DR haplotype and susceptibility to cervical carcinoma: indications of increased risk for development of cervical carcinoma in individuals infected with HPV 18.

The association of HLA class II DQB1 and DRB1 alleles with the development of cervical carcinoma was studied in 150 Swedish patients using PCR-based HPV and HLA typing. The association of cervical carcinoma with alleles encoding the DQ3 antigen, previously found among German and Norwegian patients, was not observed in the Swedish patients. Five DQ-DR haplotypes were indicated to be positively associated with development of cervical carcinoma in the Swedish patients.