Sex differences in pervasive developmental disorders

Assessed differences in sex ratio, severity of associated mental retardation, and various metrics of severity of autism in autistic, PDD-NOS, and developmentally disordered (non-PDD) cases. Males with autism were more frequent than females, particular at higher IQ levels. The three clinical groups differed, in expected ways, in the various measures of severity of autism with the PDD-NOS cases being intermediate between the strictly diagnosed autistic group and the non-PDD developmental disordered group. Sex differences were primarily confined to IQ; sex differences in other metrics of severity of autism were not prominent. Implications for future research are discussed.This study was supported by grant HD-03008 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, by NIMH grants MH-30929 to the Mental Health Clinical Research Center and MH-46961 to F. R. Volkmar. A previous version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, San Francisco, October, 1991.     

The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales: Supplementary Norms for Individuals with Autism

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales Special Population norms are presented for four groups of individuals with autism: (a) mute children under 10 years of age; (b) children with at least some verbal skills under 10 years of age; (c) mute individuals who are 10 years of age or older; and (d) individuals with at least some verbal skills who are 10 years of age or older. The sample included 684 autistic individuals ascertained from cases referred for the DSM-IV autism/PDD field trial collaborative study and five university sites with expertise in autism. Young children had higher standard scores than older individuals across all Vineland domains. In the Communication domain, younger verbal children were least impaired, older mute individuals most impaired, and younger mute and older verbal individuals in the midrange. Verbal individuals achieved higher scores in Daily Living Skills than mute individuals. The expected profile of a relative weakness in Socialization and relative strength in Daily Living Skills was obtained with age-equivalent but not standard scores. Results highlight the importance of employing Vineland special population norms as well as national norms when evaluating individuals with autism.     

A method for the analysis of a large number of specific and multispecific B cell hybridomas derived from primary immunized lymph nodes

A previously described efficient short term immunization protocol enables analysis of the specificities of large numbers of monoclonal antibodies in murine lymph nodes. In this paper we measure the B cell responses against two highly immunogenic antigens, rat type II collagen (NRC) and chick ovalbumin (OVA), as well as against the poorly immunogenic denatured rat type II collagen (DRC). We found that relatively large numbers of specific B cell hybridomas could be produced after immunization with NRC (28%) and lower numbers with OVA (6%) and DRC (3%). However, in all immunizations there were also generated large numbers of hybridomas producing multispecific antibodies (5-15%). The multispecificity was sustained when the hybridomas were subcloned. These results show that large numbers of immunogen-reactive hybridomas can easily be obtained with the present method. They also show that different immunogens differ in their immunogenicity. The very high efficiency of native type II collagen to induce an antibody response, which is widely crossreactive with autologous type II collagen, could possibly be explained if it is assumed that the natural occurring repertoire is based on stimulation of autoantigens.     

Bilateral ankle skin temperature as a predictor of early vascular graft patency

The efficacy of postoperative bilateral ankle skin temperature as a predictor of early graft patency was prospectively evaluated in 138 consecutive cases of femoropopliteal bypass surgery. The difference between ipsilateral and contralateral ankle temperature (hourly registrations) was significantly greater in the patients with patent graft on postoperative day 1 than in those with an occluded graft. In measurements 8 h postoperatively, highest sensitivity (84 per cent) and specificity (93 per cent) of the test were obtained when the difference was +0.4 degrees C. The overall accuracy of prediction with this simple method was 89 per cent.     

Blood flow measurements in autotransplanted pancreatic islets of the rat. Impairment of the blood perfusion of the graft during hyperglycemia.

No information is available on the rate of blood flow in transplanted islets. In this study, adult rats were partially depancreatized, and islets from the excised pancreas were then isolated, maintained for 7 d in tissue culture, and subsequently transplanted back to the animal, beneath the renal capsule. Some rats were rendered diabetic with streptozotocin before transplantation. A month after transplantation the blood flow of the grafts was measured by a microsphere technique. Autotransplantation to streptozotocin-diabetic rats of approximately 500 islets did not revert the hyperglycemia, and the blood flow of these grafts was approximately 25% of that in the normoglycemic-transplanted rats. However, in insulin-treated diabetic rats the blood flow of the pancreatic graft was similar to that in the normoglycemic rats. The present results suggest that the blood flow in transplanted islets is markedly diminished by hyperglycemia and that this can be enhanced by insulin administration.     

Long-term follow-up of patients treated with an implantable left ventricular assist device as an extended bridge to heart transplantation.

Four patients were given the TCI implantable left ventricular assist device as a bridge to heart transplantation. The median treatment time was 541 days (range 462 to 873 days), with a total of 2,417 treatment days. The patients were followed with exercise tests and echocardiography 3 to 18 months after implantation. An invasive method was used for quantification of inflow valve incompetence.     

Traumatische Schäden am Rückenmark

Trauma und Berufskrankheit - Zusammenfassung Aufgrund ihrer Häufigkeit und den oft schwerwiegenden Folgen stellen Verletzungen des gesamten Rückenmarks, insbesondere des zervikalen...     

Comparison of two methods to assess the tissue/blood partition coefficient for xenon in subcutaneous adipose tissue in man

Summary. A new method to calculate the tissue/blood partition coefficient (Λ) for xenon in studies on the subcutaneous adipose tissue blood flow was compared with a previously reported method based on local skinfold thickness (Λ_LSt). The former method included needle biopsies from the abdominal and femoral subcutaneous adipose tissue, and the mean fat cell diameter was measured (Λ_ECT)- The extracellular tissue fraction in subcutaneous tissue was then estimated from a diagram. The tissue lipid content was approximated to equal the relative intracellular volume and Ostwald's solubility coefficients for ¹³³Xe, based on the distribution of xenon in lipid, albumin and 0.9% saline were applied. Estimated Λ-values based on needle biopsies from the abdominal site were: 8.6±0.1 versus 9.9±0.4 ml g^-1 (meanæ) (P<0.05) and from the femoral site: 9.1±0.1 versus 9.6±0.2 in lean (n=10) and obese subjects (n=10), respectively. The corresponding Λ-values obtained from skinfold measurements were: 6.2±0.5 versus 11.0±0.4 (P<0.001) and 6.9±03 versus 11.4±0.4 (P<0.001) in lean and obese subjects, respectively. Pooled Λ_LsT-values correlated positively with estimated adipose tissue blood flow (ATBF) (r: 0.34, P<0.05, n=40) whereas no such correlation was found for Λ_ECT-values. In conclusion, a new method is presented which may allow an accurate determination of, and which may lead to reliable data on, subcutaneous ATBF in both lean and obese subjects. Comparative studies indicate that the widely used Λ-value of 10.0 in subcutaneous adipose tissue may be used as a rough estimate for subcutaneous blood flow studies in these patient groups.