The health impact of restricting public funds for abortion. October 10, 1977--June 10, 1978.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia implemented an eight-month prospective surveillance system in 24 hospitals distributed among states with and without public funding for abortion. Out of 3,157 visits for abortion-related complications, only 10 women gave a history of non-physician or self-induced abortion and none were Medicaid recipients. The small number of hospitals located in non-funded states and the smaller numbers of women served in these hospitals than in the funded states limited the power of out study. Women living along the Texas-Mexico border appeared more likely to have complications after illegal abortions than women from other areas of the country.     

Surgical management of ventricular septal defects and mitral regurgitation complicating acute myocardial infarction

Sixteen patients were studied subsequent to the development of acute ventricular septal rupture in 7 and severe mitral regurgitation in 9. These lesions occurred within two weeks of acute myocardial infarctions. Intraaortic balloon assistance was initiated when cardiovascular deterioration occurred, and hemodynamic improvement was obtained in all patients. Shunting through a ventricular septal perforation was reduced during balloon assistance, and mitral regurgitation, when present, was decreased. These effects were short-lived, and the patients were subsequently studied with coronary angiography and ventriculography.Two of 3 patients with anterior ventricular septal defect underwent successful surgical correction. Three patients had attempted closure of inferior ventricular septal defect without success. The fourth patient with an inferior ventricular septal defect died of his lesion without any attempt at surgical repair.Four patients with rupture of the papillary muscle were long-term surgical survivors. Coronary artery bypass grafting was carried out when indicated in these patients. Two of 5 patients with papillary muscle dysfunction who underwent operation during the acute period of their infarction were long-term survivors.The findings suggest that the mechanical lesions of mitral regurgitation and ventricular septal perforation are amenable to surgical intervention if a sufficient amount of residual functional muscle can be preserved in the left ventricle. Intraaortic balloon assistance allows a period of time to stabilize the condition of patients with these lesions, to reduce myocardial ischemia, and to carry out studies to determine the degree of associated coronary artery disease and the extent of irreversible myocardial damage. Based on the findings from these studies, surgical procedures may be selected.     

Noncontingent footshock attenuation of retrograde amnesia: a generalization effect

Mice were either well trained and rendered amnesic with transcorneal electroconvulsive shock (ECS) or poorly trained on a one-trial inhibitory avoidance task and given a retention test 24 and 48 hr later. Noncontingent footshock administered either 1 hr after the training or 1 hr after the 24 hr test significantly increased retention latencies of groups which had received training and ECS, as well as those of groups which were poorly trained. These findings suggest that animals which are partially amnesic or poorly trained are able to generalize the effects of a subsequent NCFS experience to the inhibitory avoidance training task.     

Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis (lipoid dermato-arthritis). An erosive polyarthritis with distinctive clinical, roentgenographic and pathologic features.

Detailed analysis of the progressive roentgenographic changes found in complete serial skeletal surveys of 2 men with multicentric reticulohistiocytosis (MR) have been correlated with pathologic finds and compared to features preivously reported. The lesions of MR predominate in skin and synovium and result in the following characteristic features: (1) sharply circumscribed, rapidly progressive, strikingly bilaterally symmetric erosions spreading from joint margins to articular surfaces; (2) interphalangeal joint predominance; (3) early and severe atlanto-axial involvement; (4) disproportion between severity of joint destruction and mildness of symptoms; (5) absent or minimal periosteal reaction; (6) absent or disproportionately mild osteoporosis compared to the severity of erosions; and (7) prominent, uncalcified soft tissue nodules. Since arthritis often precedes cutaneous manifestations, careful roentgenologic evaluation may play key role in early diagnosis.