Immunological changes and vascular thrombosis induced by oestro-progestative hormones (author's transl)

The association of vascular complications and oral contraception (OC) use is well documented; the mechanism by which such accidents occur is still not clear. The responsibility is usually attributed to the estrogen component of OCs, and to metabolic and enzymatic changes, but these changes are not clinically correlated with vascular complications. The authors suggest the hypothesis that an immunologic mechanism may be at the origin of vascular accidents in OC users. In many OC users the existence has been proven of antiethinyl estradiol antibodies which form circulating immune complexes (CIC) with the synthetic hormone. According to a recent study these antibodies have been found in 78% of women on OCs and with vascular accidents, and in only 28% of asymptomatic OC users. Another study has shown that CICs have been found in more than 95% of women who had a vascular accident while under OC treatment, in 30% of women under OC treatment , and in less than 5% of controls. Prompt detection of CICs would permit the screening of women at risk of vascular accidents during OC use. Some women appear to be more genetically predisposed than others to this type of immunologic reaction, and smoking seems to increase the risk.     

Behavioral and neurochemical alterations in mice deficient in anaplastic lymphoma kinase suggest therapeutic potential for psychiatric indications.

The receptor tyrosine kinase product of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene has been implicated in oncogenesis as a product of several chromosomal translocations, although its endogeneous role in the hematopoietic and neural systems has remained poorly understood. We describe that the generation of animals homozygous for a deletion of the ALK tyrosine kinase domain leads to alterations in adult brain function. Evaluation of adult ALK homozygotes (HOs) revealed an age-dependent increase in basal hippocampal progenitor proliferation and alterations in behavioral tests consistent with a role for this receptor in the adult brain. ALK HO animals displayed an increased struggle time in the tail suspension test and the Porsolt swim test and enhanced performance in a novel object-recognition test. Neurochemical analysis demonstrates an increase in basal dopaminergic signalling selectively within the frontal cortex. Altogether, these results suggest that ALK functions in the adult brain to regulate the function of the frontal cortex and hippocampus and identifies ALK as a new target for psychiatric indications, such as schizophrenia and depression, with an underlying deregulated monoaminergic signalling.     

Handedness and schizotypal features in healthy subjects.

BACKGROUND: An excess of mixed-handedness has been repeatedly reported in schizophrenia and schizotypy. Handedness is a measure of atypical cerebral lateralization, which is considered as a risk factor for schizophrenia. Several studies have attempted to identify correlations between handedness and dimensions of psychosis but the results obtained so far remain inconclusive. OBJECTIVE: To explore a possible link between mixed-handedness and the three classical dimensions of psychosis. As speech and language disorders may be associated with cerebral lateralization, we predicted a correlation between mixed-handedness and disorganized dimension. METHODS: We used the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI) to study the correlation between mixed-handedness scores and positive, negative or disorganized dimensions in a sample of 62 healthy subjects. RESULTS: We found a negative correlation between mixed-handedness and the disorganized dimension of schizotypy, as individuals with prominent mixed-handedness showed more severe disorganization. CONCLUSION: We have identified a link between mixed-handedness and the disorganized dimension that may help to identify genetic vulnerability factors involved in psychosis.     

An investigation of mortality from cancer and other causes of death among workers employed at an east Texas chemical plant

The cause-specific mortality of 2,510 males employed at an east Texas chemical plant was examined in a historical prospective study to evaluate a suspected increase in deaths from multiple myeloma and brain cancer. Potential exposures from chemicals, either used in manufacturing processes or produced during the study period 1952-1977, included the fuel additive tetraethyl lead, ethylene dibromide and dichloride, inorganic lead, and vinyl chloride monomer. Overall mortality for all workers (156 observed vs. 211.14 expected) and for workers first employed between 1952 and 1959 (131 observed vs. 167.33 expected) when tetraethyl lead was the single major product was lower than expected when compared to the United States general population. There were no significant increases in mortality from malignancies or other causes of death. The deficits may be due to the small number of total deaths, and the low power for detecting excess risk of mortality from multiple myeloma (Z1-beta = 27, alpha = .05), brain cancer (Z1-beta = 31, alpha = .05), or other rare causes of death; lack of complete workplace exposure data for production workers; and the absence of historical measurements on the extent of environmental exposure to tetraethyl lead and other chemicals.