RESPIRATORY AND HYPNOTIC EFFECTS OF NITRAZEPAM, DIAZEPAM AND PENTOBARBITONE AND THEIR SOLVENTS IN THE RABBIT AND THE MOUSE

Nitrazepam and diazepam only cause significant depression ofrespiratory rate and loss or righting reflex, in mice, at lethaldoses. In sub-lethal doses they induce a stage of deep but rousablesleep which is quite distinct from the intermittent dozing ofcontrol mice and the comatose state of mice injected with pentobarbitone.However, the respiratory effects of nitrazepam and diazepamin high doses in mice and low doses in rabbits are modifiedby the presence of solvent. Furthermore the solvent itself causesa loss of righting reflex in mice and the lethal dose of nitrazepamand diazepam is greatly reduced when the drugs are administeredin solvent     

INFLUENCE OF NEOSTIGMINE ON POSTOPERATIVE VOMITING

Thirty-eight patients undergoing elective hip or knee surgerywere randomly allocated to two groups. Neuromuscular blockadein group A was antagonized with neostigmine 2.5 mg and atropine1.2 mg, while group B received no drugs to facilitate antagonismof blockade. The incidence and severity of postoperative nauseaand vomiting were assessed 24 h after operation. Nausea andvomiting were significantly reduced in group B. The incidenceof nausea in group A was 68%, compared with 32% in group B (P<0.01).The incidence of vomiting was 47% in group A, compared with11% in group B (P<0.02). A significant relationship was shownbetween postoperative emetic symptoms and the antagonism ofneuromuscular blockade by neostigmine and atropine.     

The genetics of placental alkaline phosphatase: a possible ''null'' allele

Data are presented on the placental alkaline phosphatase (Pl) phenotypes of 3655 placentae, including those from 1143 dizygotic twin pairs. Discrepancies are present between the observed numbers and those expected according to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, homozygotes being apparently in excess. This statistical discrepancy can be reduced to insignificance by proposing that the Pl system contains a ‘null’ allele, Pl⁰, in addition to the 17 alleles for which there is electrophoretic evidence. The plausibility of this suggestion is examined in the light of what is known about ‘null’ alleles in other enzyme systems and in other species.     

HLA Sharing and Fertility in Hutterite Couples: Evidence for Prenatal Selection Against Compatible Fetuses

ABSTRACT: Antigenic differences between mother and fetus (i.e., blood group incompatibilities) were traditionally considered deleterious for viviparous reproduction. Recently, evidence has accumulated suggesting that maternal response to paternally derived fetal antigens, paradoxically, may facilitate maintenance of pregnancy. Thus, fetuses whose paternally derived antigens do not differ from maternal antigens (i.e., histocompatible pregnancies) may be at a selective disadvantage during pregnancy. Parents sharing histocompatibility antigens (i.e., HLA) may produce compatible fetuses and show overall reduced fertility. Indeed, increased HLA sharing has been reported in some couples experiencing repetitive spontaneous abortion. However, the effects of HLA sharing in couples not selected because of previous pregnancy losses have not been assessed. To elucidate the reproductive effects of maternal-fetal histocompatibility, we initiated prospective population-based studies of parental HLA sharing and reproductive outcome in the Hutterites, a population isolate that lives communally and proscribes contraception. The relationship between HLA-A, -B, and -DR sharing and reproductive outcome was examined in 111 Hutterite couples. Intervals from marriage to each birth were no longer among couples sharing antigens; differences were significant at the second birth and remained significant through the sixth birth (P < .05). When the effects of sharing at individual loci were examined, HLA-DR was the only individual locus that was a significant predictor of birth interval length (P = .025). Completed family sizes were 6.5 and 9.0 among couples sharing and not sharing HLA-DR, respectively (P = .082, 2-tailed). However, recognized fetal loss rates did not differ among couples sharing and not sharing antigens. We interpret these results as evidence for reduced fertility among some Hutterite couples sharing HLA, as a result of maternal-fetal compatibility for HLA-DR, per se, or alleles at an undefined, HLA-DR-linked locus. Our data further suggest that longer intervals associated with HLA-DR sharing may result from losses occurring early in gestation, before Hutterites would recognize pregnancy.     

Occult lupus nephropathy: a correlated light, electron and immunofluorescent microscopic study

Renal biopsies obtained from four adolescent girls who developed symptomatic thrombocytopenia with serologic evidence of systemic lupus erythematosus, without clinical signs of renal involvement, showed glomerular disease by electron and immunofluorescent microscopy with light microscopic changes in two cases. Subsequently, three of the patients developed proteinuria, and repeat biopsies from all four showed appearances ranging from resolution to significant glomerulitis. The findings illustrate the variable patterns of occult glomerulitis in lupus, and highlight the value of correlating light, electron and immunofluorescent studies in renal pathology.