Biobehavioural correlates of hand preference in free‐ranging female primates

In this research we examined biological and behavioural correlates of handedness in a subject cohort of 41 free‐ranging young female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Specifically, we examined relationships between handedness and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of the monoamine metabolites 5‐hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5‐HIAA) and homovanillic acid (HVA), plasma concentrations of the hormones cortisol and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), prolactin, and multiple indices of social behaviour, including proximity to other animals, grooming, submission, and aggression. Handedness was determined through systematic observation of animals reaching for food in their unrestricted home environment. We found a population‐level bias for left‐hand use in this cohort of young females. The frequency of right versus left hand use was positively correlated with CSF 5‐HIAA, plasma cortisol concentrations, the frequency of submissive behaviour, and with the frequency of bouts in which animals received low‐level aggression. The positive correlation between right versus left hand use, submissive behaviour, and received aggression found here in females contrasts with the negative correlation among these same variables that we have previously reported in rhesus males. We conclude that these results may be explicable in terms of sex‐based differences in rhesus life‐history patterns, and that the influence of the serotonergic system on patterns of male aggression, social behaviour, and handedness, and the associations between handedness and social behaviour found previously among males may not be generalised to female rhesus macaques.     

Prognostic factors in oligodendrogliomas

Summary An outcome analysis was performed on 96 patients with pure cerebral oligodendrogliomas operated in the 30-year period 1962 to 1991.The most important predictive prognostic factors were youth and no neurological deficit, demonstrated as a median survival for the group younger than 20 years of 17.5 years and for the group older than 60 years of 13 months. The group without neurological deficits had a 5-years survival of 43 per cent while the group with deficits had a 5-years survival of 5 per cent.The 5-years survival for oligodendroglioma of grade II was 46 per cent and for grade III 10 per cent.We found no effect of radiotherapy on survival, neither in the whole material or in any subgroup.     

Reduced In Vitro Fertilization of Human Oocytes Correlates with Raised Circulating FSH Levels During Ovarian Stimulation in Normogonadotropic Women Downregulated with GnRH-Analogues

Purpose: The possible effects of circulating FSH levels as used during IVF treatment on oocyte maturation and subsequent preembryo development were evaluated. Methods: Serum levels of FSH and LH on days 1 and 8 of ovarian stimulation and on the day of oocyte retrieval (OR) were correlated with subsequent preembryo development in vitro. After pituitary downregulation, 244 normogonadotropic women followed a fixed protocol for the first 7 days of stimulation. Results: The average FSH concentration on day 8 of stimulation was 11.5 IU/L and exceeded the expected midcycle surge of FSH by more than 25%. In contrast, levels of LH were below an average of 2 IU/L throughout the stimulation period. The concentration of FSH on day 8 and on the day of OR showed a significant inverse correlation with cleavage rate, whereas levels of LH, age, and body mass index showed no such correlation. Conclusions: Supraphysiologic levels of FSH seems to affect oocyte maturation negatively. Premature resumption of meiosis, leading to retrieval of postmature oocytes with a reduced developmental potential, is suggested as the underlying mechanism.     

Placental proteins in peripheral blood and tissues of ectopic pregnancies

Circulating human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), Schwangerschaftsprotein 1 (SP-1) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) were examined in 10 women with ectopic gestation in relation to distribution and intensity of staining for these molecules using immunohistochemical techniques applied to matched trophoblastic and decidualized endometrial tissues. All 10 women revealed strong staining for hCG and SP-1 in the syncytiotrophoblast, which was apparently unrelated to maternal levels of hCG and SP-1, levels being less than the 10th centile of the normal range in 9/10 and 7/10 women, respectively. By contrast maternal PAPP-A levels seemed to correlate with the intensity and the distribution of staining for PAPP-A. Circulating PAPP-A was undetectable (less than 5 mIU/l) in 4 patients, and below the 10th centile in the remaining 6. Using immunohistochemical techniques hCG, SP-1 and PAPP-A could not be demonstrated in any of the decidualized endometrial tissues studied.     

The reduction of pain on injection of propofol: the effect of addition of lignocaine

The effects of addition of 1 ml of lignocaine (10 mg) or isotonic saline to 19 ml of the emulsified preparation of propofol (Diprivan) were studied in a randomised, double-blind trial in 80 patients. The incidence and severity of pain on injection of propofol were significantly reduced by the addition of lignocaine (P less than 0.01).     

Measurements of hCG and PAPP-A in uncommon types of ectopic gestation

Seven out of 54 women with ectopic gestation had uncommon features such as extra-tubal implantation or multiple intratubal pregnancy. Depressed levels (less than 10th centile) or apparent absence of circulating human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) were seen respectively in 5 and 7 of 7 women studied. Normal levels of hCG were seen in two women, one with an abdominal and one with an angular pregnancy. These data suggest that the synthesis of placental proteins in ectopic pregnancies is independent of the site of implantation and the number of embryos. Measurements of maternal levels of the 2 placental proteins seem to be applicable as auxiliary diagnostic tests for ectopic pregnancy, regardless of the site of implantation.