Decreased caloric intake in normal-weight patients with bulimia: comparison with female volunteers

Patients with bulimia (binge-purge syndrome) frequently complain that they consume a very restrictive diet to avoid gaining weight. To investigate this claim, 23 hospitalized bulimic patients were assessed daily for body weight, caloric intake, macronutrient diet content, activity measures, and body composition estimates during weight-stable periods. Bulimic patients ate fewer kilocalories per kilogram body weight (22.1 +/- 4.6 kcal/kg) than did age-matched normal women (29.7 +/- 6.5 kcal/kg) but had similar activity levels and body composition. Clinical variables, such as history of laxative abuse, anorexia, or obesity, and physiological characteristics, such as body weight, activity level, or dietary content, could not account for this difference in caloric consumption. Bulimic patients tended to eat a diet lower in fat and higher in protein than did control subjects. These results agree with observations of increased efficiency of caloric utilization in obese patients and support patient complaints of a tendency to gain weight easily.     

Efficacy of transdermal clonidine for headache prophylaxis and reduction of narcotic use in migraine patients. A randomized crossover trial

Thirty patients completed a double-blind, randomized crossover study utilizing transdermal clonidine and an identical-appearing placebo. Crossover occurred at 6 weeks, with a total study time of 12 weeks. Subjects were asked to record daily in a special diary (1) the presence or absence of headache, (2) duration of headache, (3) severity of headache, and (4) use of pain medication for headache relief. The severity of the headaches was rated from 1 (very mild) to 5 (very severe). Although the subjects reported a decrease in frequency, duration, and intensity of headaches while using the medicated patch, these differences did not reach statistical significance. Nineteen patients subjectively preferred the medicated patch, while five preferred the placebo (P less than .01). During use of the medicated patch, a significant reduction (P = .039) occurred in use of class II narcotics. Three doses of these substances were used by the patients when treated with clonidine, while 34 doses were taken during placebo use. These findings suggest that clonidine might have a role in reduction of parenteral narcotic use in acute pain syndromes.     

Experimental induction of anxiety. The case of carbon dioxide

This paper reviews recent developments in the experimental approach to panic anxiety. Inhalation of carbon dioxide appears to trigger panic attacks in panic disorder patients and agoraphobics. The biological and psychopathological implications of this finding are discussed in the light of recent data on experimental pharmacology of anxiety.     

Scanning Electron Microscopic Observations on the Epithelium of the Human Prostatic Urethra

The human prostatic urethra has been investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy. On the posterior wall of the urethra, the seminal colliculus with the orifices of the ejaculatory ducts is clearly detectable. The upper portion of the prostatic urethra shows a typical transitional epithelium with large superficial cells of a ruffled appearance. In the lower portion of the organ (underneath the openings of the ejaculatory ducts), the apical pattern of the cells varies considerably. Four main aspects are recognizable: apices provided with microvilli, dome-shaped apices with an almost smooth surface, large apices with labyrinthic microplicae and ciliated apices. Also, apices showing intermediate characteristics can be noted. The functional significance of the morphological patterns as well as the possibility of a transition among the various types of surface structures are discussed.     

Monoclonal antibody against sialylated Lewis(a) antigen

We isolated hybridoma cells, which secreted monoclonal antibody (MAb) 121 SLE, an IgM showing the following reactivities: (1) by immunodiffusion, MAb 121 SLE and MAb NS 19-9 (a monoclonal antibody directed against a sialylated Lewis(a) antigen called CA 19-9) showed an identical precipitin line with mucin preparation containing this CA 19-9; (2) by immunoradiometric assay, MAb 121 SLE totally inhibited fixation of radiolabelled MAb NS 19-9; (3) by immunoperoxidase, MAb 121 SLE stained the normal gastrointestinal mucosa of Le-positive individuals exclusively, and this staining disappeared after neuraminidase treatment, as observed using MAb NS 19-9. However, the pattern of the staining obtained with MAb 121 SLE differed slightly from that given by MAb 19-9 on the different positive areas of the gastrointestinal mucosae. These differences principally concerned the number of positive epithelial cells and the intensity of their staining; (4) moreover, antibodies against idiotype determinant of NS 19-9 antibody did not react with the antibody 121 SLE. We concluded that MAb 121 SLE is different from the MAb NS 19-9. However, both these antibodies were associated with the same molecular sialylated Lewis(a) structure.