Plasma high-density lipoproteins and liver lipids and proteins in man. Relation to hepatic histology and microsomal enzyme induction

The association of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) in plasma with liver lipids and proteins was investigated in 28 subjects with diagnostic liver biopsy. Lipids and proteins were evaluated in relation to hepatic histology and microsomal enzyme induction, assessed by liver cytochrome P-450. Moderate-severe hepatic parenchymal changes were associated with low liver phospholipids, protein and cytochrome P-450, low plasma HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), and high hepatic triglycerides. Liver microsomal induction accompanying anticonvulsant therapy was associated with high liver phospholipids and protein, high plasma HDL-C, apoproteins A-I and A-II, and high HDL-C/total cholesterol (T-C) ratio. HDL-C, A-I and the HDL-C/T-C ratio were directly proportional to liver phospholipids, protein and cytochrome P-450, inversely related to hepatic triglycerides. Increases in hepatic phospholipids and protein, characteristic of microsomal induction, may lead to the elevation of plasma HDL apoprotein and HDL-C levels and HDL-C/T-C ratios, and thus reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.     

Emotional and behavioural symptoms in 8–9-year-old children in relation to family structure

The association between family structure and behavioural and emotional symptoms in prepubertal children was studied in an epidemiological survey conducted in Finland. Five thousand eight hundred thirteen children aged 8 and 9 years were screened using the Rutter Parent Questionnaire (RA2) for parents and the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire (RB2) for teachers. Information concerning family type, birth order and sibship size were obtained from the parents. The majority of the children (84%) in the sample lived with both their biological parents, 10% with a single parent, and around 5% with a biological parent and a stepparent. Around 1% of the children lived outside their original home. The prevalence of behavioural and emotional symptoms was lowest in children living with both their biological parents and highest among children living outside their original home according to both parents’ and teachers’ reports. Children living with a parent and a stepparent had problems more often at home, but less often at school than children living with a single parent. Living with a single father was associated with having more externalising, school-related problems, while living with a stepfather was associated with having more internalising, home related problems. Having younger siblings seemed to be associated with fewer problems at school, and being the youngest child with having less problems both at home and at school.     

Reforming the self and the other: The temperance movement and the duality of modern subjectivity

This article looks at temperance history to understand how modern preventive alcohol-control systems were created and to understand why their ideological basis has now weakened. Temperance movements made a core contribution to the development of alcohol-control systems, but their argumentation contained an interesting paradox. While they demanded availability restrictions on alcohol they also stressed individual self-determination in alcohol consumption. They were able to combine these goals, which in contemporary public health policy discourse are felt to be contradictory. This duality was possible for two reasons. First, the temperance issue was raised in nascent nation-states and parliamentary political institutions. Convictions of moral superiority led some of the movements to seek in national prohibition a complete solution to all social ills. Second, the movements were not indifferent to the desires that the self-controlling will was expected to constrain. Abstinence from drink was embedded in a Utopian vision of authentic living and independent emotional life in the individual family. As soon as the movements lost the Utopian content of their pursuits they turned into conservative single-issue movements. Today the role of parliamentary nation-states as moral communities has been lost and the endorsement of the good family-centred life can no longer be the narrow objective of public policy. Alcohol control can only be justified in terms of specific consequences, particularly those for public health.     

Effect of a sport drink mixture with and without addition of fluoride and magnesium on plaque formation, dental caries and general health of rats

A sport drink mixture (pH 3.2) containing 6% sucrose was given to Osborne-Mendel rats for 42 days. In some experimental groups the drink was supplemented with 15 ppm F, 38.5 ppm Mg or both F and Mg. The rats were fed a slightly cariogenic powdered diet containing 15% sucrose. Sport drink mixture increased significantly the accumulation of plaque but, compared with a group that drank distilled water, did not affect caries. Addition of fluoride to the sport drink mixture, alone or with magnesium, significantly reduced caries and tended to decrease plaque; addition of magnesium had no clear effect on plaque or caries. In spite of the fact that the rats had a sport drink mixture as the only drink for 6 wk, there were no untoward effects on growth, in histological studies of the inner organs, or in Ca, Mg, Na and K contents of kidney, heart and aorta.     

Hand workload and the metacarpal cortical index. A study of middle-aged teachers and dentists

We studied load-related predictors (handedness, occupation and workload history) of cortical bone mass as estimated by the metacarpal cortical index (MCI). After being randomly selected from trade-union registers, 295 female dentists and 248 teachers, aged 45–63 years (mean 54 years), participated in the study. The MCI was defined from the second metacarpal of both hands by analogue radiographs. Data regarding anthropometric measures, handedness, occupational exposure, number of pregnancies, hormonal therapy and contraceptive use, the presence of chronic diseases, dietary factors, smoking and leisure time physical activity were collected by questionnaire. Weight was measured. The dentists workload was assessed in detail in 10-year periods. Multivariate methods were used in the statistical analysis. The metacarpal index averaged 0.62 in the right hand and 0.61 in the left hand (P=0.02) among the right-handed subjects, while no differences by hand were observed among the left-handed or mixed-handed. The MCI of the teachers and dentists did not differ from each other, when we controlled for potential confounders. The MCI decreased similarly by age in both occupational groups. Among the dentists, workload history was inversely associated with the MCI in multivariate analyses by age group. Computer use was a positive predictor for MCI among dentists aged 55–63 years. Occupational factors seem to have contradictory effects on the MCI. Too heavy or one-sided manual work may be deleterious for cortical bone mass.     

Abdominal cystic mass in infancy—in utero perforated Meckel’s diverticulum?

Meckel's diverticulum occurs in 2% of the population. Of these, 4% may present as intestinal bleeding, intussusception, diverticulitis, volvulus, or perforation at any age, including neonates. We describe a 3-month-old baby whose giant Meckel's diverticulum had probably perforated in utero, leading to the formation of a large intra-abdominal pseudocyst.     

Fathers' and mothers' perceptions of their child and maternal depressive symptoms

Fathers' reports concerning their children have seldom been considered in the previous studies on maternal depression and child development. The literature on parental reports in general suggests that discrepancies in mothers' and fathers' perceptions are associated with the psychological state of the parent and the gender of the child. As part of a prospective follow-up study, fathers' and mothers' perceptions of children's social competence and behavioural/emotional problems were assessed by the Child Behavior Checklists (CBCLs) when the firstborn children were 8-9 years old. The depressive symptoms of the mothers were screened by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at the same time point. The level of children's social competence and behavioural/emotional problems reported by the fathers were analysed by background factors. The reports of both parents were explored by the gender of the child and by the presence of maternal depressive symptoms. The concordance of parental reports concerning child's social competence was high, but fathers usually reported lower problem levels than mothers, particularly for boys' problems. The presence of maternal depressive symptoms was associated with child's high problem levels from both fathers' and mothers' perspective. Parental ratings of children's externalizing problems in particular were associated with high maternal depressive symptom level.     

Anticardiolipin and antinuclear antibodies in epilepsy--a population-based cross-sectional study

Increased prevalence of autoantibodies has been suggested in patients with epilepsy. This study determined the presence of autoantibodies in a representative cohort of 960 patients with epilepsy. The frequency of antinuclear antibodies (ANA), immunoglobulin G class anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) and anti-B2-glycoprotein I antibodies were studied in 960 consenting adult patients with epilepsy and in 580 population-based reference subjects identified from the Finnish Population Registry. Overall the frequencies of the autoantibodies studied did not differ between patients with epilepsy and reference subjects. aCL were present in 4.5% of the patients and in 5.0% of the reference subjects and 17% of both the patients and the reference subjects had antinuclear antibodies. However, patients with partial epilepsy for > or =30 years were three times more likely to have aCL than patients with partial epilepsy for <10 years. Patients with partial epilepsy and > or=1 seizure per month were 2.2 times more likely to have aCL than patients with partial epilepsy with <1 seizure per month. Moreover, ANA tended to be more frequent among patients with > or =1 seizure per month. No association was found between the major antiepileptic drugs and autoantibodies. Overall the frequencies of the autoantobodies studied were similar in the large epilepsy cohort and in matched reference subjects from the general population. However, a long duration of epilepsy and poor seizure control were associated with an increased presence of aCL in patients with partial epilepsy.