Passive marijuana usage and water intoxication.

This article reports a case of a 3-month-old male presenting with hyponatremic seizure and hypothermia. The presence of marijuana in the infant''s urine was remarkable. An etiologic role for the drug is questioned. A review of the literature is provided and the hypothesis of child neglect in the genesis of water intoxication is explored.     

Gold-195m first-pass radionuclide ventriculography, thallium-201 single- photon emission CT, and 12-lead ECG stress testing as a combined procedure

Graded, sequential, rest/exercise, gold-195m (Au-195m) (T1/2 = 30 seconds), first-pass ventriculography and thallium-201 (T1-201) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) were performed simultaneously during a single, electrocardiograph-monitored, bicycle stress test in 24 individuals. The technical aspects and logistics involved in performing this combined radionuclide study are stressed in this preliminary report. Fourteen healthy volunteers each had a normal left ventricular ejection fraction and wall-motion response, along with normal Tl-201 perfusion and washout, as determined by both visual and quantitative analysis of the tomographic sections. Each of ten patients with coronary artery disease had at least one abnormality of these parameters. We suggest that it is technically feasible to evaluate both cardiac function and myocardial perfusion simultaneously by combining Au-195m ventriculography and T1-201 SPECT imaging into a single, noninvasive, diagnostic package.     

The multiple Coulomb scattering of very heavy charged particles

An experiment was performed at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory BEVALAC to measure the multiple Coulomb scattering of 650-MeV/A uranium nuclei in 0.19 radiation lengths of a Cu target. Differential distributions in the projected multiple scattering angle were measured in the vertical and horizontal planes using silicon position-sensitive detectors to determine particle trajectories before and after target scattering. The results were compared with the multiple Coulomb scattering theories of Fermi and Molière, and with a modification of the Fermi theory, using a Monte Carlo simulation. These theories were in excellent agreement with experiment at the 2 sigma level. The best quantitative agreement is obtained with the Gaussian distribution predicted by the modified Fermi theory.     

Effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation program in preventing and treating substance misuse: a review

This article reviews 24 studies on the benefits of Transcendental Meditation (TM) in treating and preventing misuse of chemical substances. Studies cover noninstitutionalized users, participants in treatment programs, and prisoners with histories of heavy use. All the studies showed positive effects of the TM program. Some of the survey-type studies were unable to exclude the possibility of self-selection or responder biases. However, longitudinal, random-assignment studies with objective measures also showed positive results. Taken together, these and other studies indicate the program simultaneously addresses several factors underlying chemical dependence, providing not only immediate relief from distress but also long-range improvements in well-being, self-esteem, personal empowerment, and other areas of psychophysiological health.     

Gated blood-pool emission tomography: a new technique for the investigation of cardiac structure and function

ECG-gated single-photon emission-computed tomography of the intracardiac blood pool is a new technique that has not previously been widely applied. It involves the acquisition of ECG-gated images of the intracardiac blood pools labelled with sodium pertechnetate Tc 99m in 32 projections around the left-anterior hemithorax using a rotating gamma camera. From these images, tomographic sections are reconstructed orthogonal to the long axis of the left ventricle. The heart is therefore imaged three dimensionally, and more extensive information is obtained than in planar radionuclide ventriculography where imaging is usually restricted to only a single projection. Both structure and function can be studied, and the left-ventricular volume and ejection fraction, and wall motion are obtained. Of 50 patients studied, 7 cases are illustrated in order to show normal findings, examples of wall motion that were not shown by planar-contrast and radionuclide ventriculography, examples of the localisation of ventricular hypertrophy, and a comparison between blood-pool and 201TI myocardial tomography.     

Clinical characteristics of driving phobia

Fifty-six subjects who were afraid of driving were recruited by advertisement and compared to 31 controls without this fear. Subjects were interviewed and given several questionnaires to gather information for making DSM-III-R diagnoses and to determine their agoraphobia avoidance behavior, driving history, and the history of their phobia. Our sample had a mean age of 48, was 82% female, and typically feared and avoided driving on freeways, bridges, and through tunnels, but were not so fearful about driving on quiet residential streets. Diagnostically, 81% of the phobics reported having had panic attacks, but only 14% (8/56) met criteria for Panic Disorder. Although on average phobics had had no more automobile accidents than controls, 15% (8/55) reported an accident as the primary reason for their phobia. The 53% (29/55) who reported panic attacks as the primary reason for their phobia were more concerned about anxiety symptoms while driving than phobics who gave other, nonaccident-related reasons for their phobia. We conclude that many driving phobics do not fit neatly into current DSM-III-R anxiety disorder categories, because they combine characteristics of Simple Phobia and Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia without meeting the criteria for either disorder.     

Human isolates of apramycin-resistant Escherichia coli which contain the genes for the AAC(3)IV enzyme.

Gentamicin-resistant Escherichia coli isolated at different periods from patients in two hospitals were tested for resistance to the aminoglycoside antibiotic apramycin. Twenty-four of 93 (26%) gentamicin-resistant isolates collected from the Royal Liverpool Hospital between 1981 and 1990 were resistant to apramycin. Thirteen isolates were highly resistant to apramycin (minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) > or = 1024 micrograms/ml), were also resistant to gentamicin, netilmicin and tobramycin, and hybridized with a DNA probe derived from the aminoglycoside acetyltransferase (3)IV (AAC(3)IV) gene. The proportion of gentamicin-resistant isolates which had high level resistance to apramycin increased from 7% in 1981-5 to 24% in 1986-90. Twelve gentamicin-resistant E. coli from Guy''s and St Thomas''s Hospital isolated between 1977 and 1980 were also tested for resistance to apramycin. For five of these isolates the MICs of apramycin was 32-256 micrograms/ml. None was shown to have a conjugative plasmid carrying resistance to apramycin and only one hybridized with the DNA probe for the AAC(3)IV enzyme.     

Altered residual ATP content in rat brain cortex subcellular fractions following status epilepticus induced by lithium and pilocarpine

Changes in residual ATP concentrations were investigated following subcellular fractionation of rat brain cortex after a prolonged period of status epilepticus induced by sequential administration of lithium and pilocarpine. After 2 h of continuous high-amplitude rapid spiking on EEG, we found significantly decreased levels of residual ATP in the homogenate and mitochondria fractions from status epilepticus rat brains compared to matched controls. No difference in residual ATP level was observed in the synaptosomal preparations of status epilepticus animals compared to controls. Inorganic phosphate concentration in the status animals was higher than controls in the cytosolic fraction only. F1-ATPase activity, an enzymatic indicator of mitochondrial ATP synthesis rate, was significantly higher in the status brains, whereas other mitochondrial enzymes were not different in the status and control rat groups. These findings, together with our earlier report of reduced synaptosomal ecto-ATPase activity, suggest that either the corresponding in vivo ATP concentrations were reduced as a result of status epilepticus or other biochemical changes had occurred that facilitated the hydrolysis of ATP following decapitation. Controls for and measurement of such other changes failed to provide an explanation for the observed changes in residual ATP.     

Treatment of trigger points with microamperage transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)--(the Electro-Acuscope 80)

One-half of the students taking part in a double-blind study received a microamperage electrical stimulation of trigger points in the neck and shoulder region with the Electro-Acuscope 80. All the subjects were evaluated by digital palpatory physical examination for the presence of trigger points before each of their treatments. Results indicate that the subjects who received treatment had a higher change of trigger-point indicators compared to those receiving the placebo treatment. A two-tailed t-test indicated significant results (P less than 0.001). It appears that microamperage electrical stimulation is effective in the treatment of trigger points.