Teaching psychiatric ethics

In the last decade, we have witnessed a burgeoning of interest in ethical issues amongst psychiatrists. Teaching of the subject, however, remains at a rudimentary stage. Various approaches to such instruction are available, particularly modelling (students observe their experienced counterpart), the case method (examining specific clinical situations which involve a need for ethical decision-making), and the seminar approach (trainees are exposed to a core body of knowledge, mainly theoretical in nature). Faced with these different teaching models, the University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry has opted for a blend of all three approaches, which incorporates two goals: an increase in the trainees' sensitivity to the many intricate moral dilemmas facing the psychiatric profession; and their familiarity with salient concepts in moral philosophy which constitute a basis for ethical reasoning and which have a bearing on clinical practice. The teaching programme comprises the following: a pair of trainees prepares a presentation on an aspect of psychiatric ethics under the supervision of a senior psychiatrist. A moral philosopher assumes the role of discussant of the ethical problems raised by the trainees; this is followed by a general discussion. Topics have included involuntary hospitalization, dual loyalty, suicide, psychiatric diagnosis, and ethical issues in various spheres of psychiatric practice such as sex therapy, psychotherapy and child psychiatry. The approach has worked effectively and proved rewarding to all participants involved.     

A new modification in temporary stent technique of microvenous anastomosis — An experimental study

Summary A new modification of microvenous anastomosis, which has increased patency rates while simultaneously decreasing the difficulty of the procedure, is presented in this paper. The primary purpose of this study was to compare the classical and the temporary stent techniques of microvenous anastomosis. Because of problems such as mixing and tangling of strings during insertion and tying of the last four sutures while applying the temporary stent technique, we decided to modify the procedure. The silastic tube was removed through an incision (venotomy), distant from the actual suture line. This modified technique and the other above mentioned techniques were carried out on rat femoral veins. The results indicate that this modification has increased patency rates, shortened the time of anastomosis and facilitated the procedure.     

Papilliferous keratoameloblastoma

A case of papilliferous keratoameloblastoma is reported which is only the second ever documented. The patient was a 76-yr-old black woman with a large expansile multilocular radiolucency of the body, angle and ramus of the mandible. Histologically the lesion consisted of sheets of cystic follicles filled with necrotic debris and sometimes parakeratin. The vast majority of the follicles were lined by a papilliferous epithelium consisting of large rounded cells with centrally placed nuclei. True papillary projections with cores of connective tissue were also present. The remainder of the follicles were lined by a thin parakeratinising stratified squamous epithelium. Histological features characteristic of ameloblastoma were absent. Final classification of these lesions will have to await the reporting of further cases.     

HBsAg母婴传播的研究

对HBsAg(+)母亲所生婴幼儿,连续两年的动态观察,发现这些婴幼儿的感染绝大多数皆在出生3个月后,其感染频率与母亲HBsAg的滴度成正相关,表明母婴传播阻断应以HBsAg(+)母亲所生之子女为重点对象。     

Long-term results in the treatment of menorrhagia and hypermenorrhea with a thermal balloon endometrial ablation technique.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Evaluation of long-term results using a thermal balloon endometrial ablation technique to treat menorrhagia and hypermenorrhea, considered dysfunctional uterine bleedings. METHODS: A single-arm, prospective study with long-term follow-up of 48 months at the department of obstetrics and gynecology, University of Kiel, Germany. Following hysteroscopic evaluation of the uterine cavity and fractionated curettage, the Cavaterm endometrial thermal ablation technique was performed on 70 patients over the age of 40 with menorrhagia and hypermenorrhea in whom medical treatment had previously failed. The study included a group of 10 patients with adenomyosis and uterine fibroids. RESULTS: In 65 patients, a complete 48-month follow-up evaluation was possible: 58% of patients reported amenorrhea and 33% hypomenorrhea. Nine percent of patients remained eumenorrheic. Fifty percent of the small group with failed indications for the procedure had to undergo a hysterectomy. CONCLUSIONS: The Cavaterm thermal coagulation system in the earlier mode of application (15 minutes at a temperature of 70 degrees C and a pressure of 200 mm Hg) is a safe and highly effective method of endometrial ablation resulting in a minimal amount of posttreatment menstrual bleeding.     

Efficacy of radiology of the esophagus for evaluation of dysphagia

The efficacy of radiology in evaluating dysphagia was studied in 86 patients by comparison to endoscopic findings. In the 66 patients with endoscopic abnormalities radiology was correct in 54, for a sensitivity of 82%. Sensitivity of radiology improved to 95% if mild esophagitis was excluded. In the 20 patients with normal endoscopy, radiology was normal in 18 (90%). Thus radiology proved to be a reliable means of evaluating the esophagus in patients with dysphagia.     

Effects of galanin on insulin and glucagon secretion in the rat

Galanin-like immunoreactivity has been visualized in nerve fibers in the islets of Langerhans, suggesting an involvement of galanin in the neural regulation of islet function. In this study, we investigated the effects of galanin on basal and stimulated insulin and glucagon secretion by infusing the peptide at three different dose rates in rats. We also studied the direct effect of galanin on insulin secretion from freshly isolated rat islets. At 320 pmol/kg/min, but not at 20 or 80 pmol/kg/min, galanin lowered basal plasma insulin levels. In contrast, basal plasma glucagon levels were lowered by galanin already at 20 and 80 pmol/kg/min. Furthermore, galanin inhibited both glucose- and arginine-induced insulin release at all three dose levels, whereas arginine-induced glucagon release was not affected by galanin. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from isolated rat islets was dose-dependently suppressed by galanin (10^-6-10^-8M). Therefore, it is concluded that galanin in rats inhibits insulin secretion, both in vivo and in vitro, and that at lower dose levels, the peptide also inhibits basal glucagon release.     

TRH、EGF及地塞米松促进未成熟胎肺组织分化及表面活性物质合成的研究

目的 比较TRH、EGF与地塞米松对未成熟胎肺形态发育及表面活性物质水平的影响。方法 在兔妊娠第22－24d或第24－26d分别用TRH、EGF或地塞米松母体静脉注射治病，通过光镜、图像分析及电镜等技术观察胎肺的形态结构，并检测胎肺的磷脂水平。结果 光镜下，TRH、EGF与地塞米松治疗组第25d及27d胎肺肺泡腔、肺泡间隔发育均明显好于对照组；EGF、TRH与地塞米松治疗组第27d胎肺的肺泡腔与肺泡间隔的面积比无明显差异。但EGF和TRH治疗组第25d胎肺的肺泡腔与肺泡间隔之比明显小于地塞米松治疗组。电镜下，三个治疗组第27d胎肺内含有板层体的Ⅱ型上皮细胞数量明显多于对照组，但各治疗组及对照组第25d的胎肺Ⅱ型上皮细胞胞浆内几乎未见明显板层体，相反胞浆内糖原含量却非常丰富。此外，三个治疗组27d胎肺的磷脂水平均明显高于对照组。结论 EGF、TRH及地塞米松在兔妊娠第24－26d母体治疗均能促进胎肺的形态发育和表面活性物质的合成，三种治疗方法对胎肺的影响程序无明显不同；在妊娠第22－24d治疗，地塞米松对胎肺形态结构的促进作用较EGF和TRH更明显，但三者对Ⅱ型上皮细胞分化及表面活性物质的合成均无明显影响。     

窒息鼠脑组织型纤溶酶原激活物活性变化与脑水肿的关系

目的：探讨窒息对鼠脑分泌组织型纤溶酶原激活物（TPA）的影响与脑水肿的关系。方法：通过“延迟剖宫产术”致胎鼠宫内窘迫，实验分空白对照组，窒息15min组，窒息30min组，窒息15min复氧30min组，窒息30min复氧30min五个实验组，每组各取8例测试脑组织TAP的活性及含水量，结果：窒息后鼠脑TPA活性与含水量均升高（P＜0．01），结论：窒息可致TAP活性增高，同时发生脑水肿，高活性的TPA可能是脑缺氧缺血致不可逆神经元损伤的一个重要媒介。     

Synthesis of deramciclane* labeled with tritium in various positions

[(1R)‐endo]‐(+)‐3‐bromocamphor was dehalogenated with tritium gas to [3‐³H]camphor and via [3‐³H]phenylborneol converted to [3‐³H]deramciclane isolated as the fumarate salt (specific activity 51.8 GBq/mmol). This three step synthesis from [3‐³H]camphor gave an overall yield of 22%. Benzyloxy‐acetic acid methyl ester was reduced with sodium‐borotritide to 2‐benzyloxy‐ethanol‐[1‐³H], and through a four step procedure was converted to 2‐dimethylaminoethyl‐[2‐³H] chloride. The latter was condensed with the sodium derivative of 2‐phenylborneol giving rise to [2‐dimethylamino‐[2‐³H]ethoxy]deramciclane isolated as the fumarate (specific activity 8.177 GBq/mmol). This six step synthesis from [³H]NaBH₄ gave an overall yield of 6%. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.