Serum levels and clinical response in long-term pharmacotherapy with zuclopenthixol decanoate

Twenty-six patients diagnosed as chronic schizophrenics were given injections of zuclopenthixol decanoate (cis(Z)-clopenthixol decanoate) 200 mg every 3 weeks for at least 6 months. Before treatment and on each day of injection the patients' mental state was assessed by Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), 18 items. A registration of side effects and basal laboratory data was also performed. Blood samples were drawn on each day of injection before injection and 3–7 days after injection (time of maximum concentration). Neuroleptic activity, which was considered equivalent to the concentration of zuclopenthixol, was determined in serum by radio-receptor assay (RRA). Based on amelioration scores ≥50% on the BPRS, 15 patients were characterized as responders and 11 as non-responders. The responder group showed a statistically significant reduction in BPRS score, whereas this was not the case for the non-responders. Apart from a few patients, the serum concentrations showed a low intra-individual variation, but a relatively high inter-individual variation. The responder group had a significantly higher mean preinjection concentration than the non-responder group, whereas no significant difference was found in day 3–7 concentrations. The fluctuation of the serum concentration expressed as the ratio between maximum (days 3–7) and minimum (pre-inj.) was found to be significantly lower for responders than for non-responders. Thus although the present study did not demonstrate a clear relationship between serum level and clinical effect, it indicates that the best antipsychotic effect is obtained with a serum concentration which fluctuates only slightly (the ratio max/min concentration not exceeding 2.1).     

NSE与视频脑电图在儿童热性惊厥的相关性研究

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of serum neuron specific enolase and Video EEG inFebrile Convulsion of childen. Method:Serum NSE was detected by RIA on the first day and the seventh day afterseizure in 40 children with simple febrile convulsion and 18 with complex febrile convulsion. Video EEG was per-formed at 1st, 7th and 30th day in all the patients. Results: There were significant differences between NSE levels at24th hour and on 7th day after convulsion (P<0.01). NSE concentrations in patients with SFC and CFC were also     

A rapid solid-phase extraction and HPLC/DAD procedure for the simultaneous determination and quantification of different benzodiazepines in serum,blood and post-mortem blood

Summary A rapid and quantitative method for the determination of benzodiazepines using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode-array detection (DAD) is reported. The drugs were extracted from serum, blood or post-mortem blood using C₁₈ extraction columns. Brotizolam was used as internal standard. Experiments with spiked serum/blood samples resulted in recoveries between 75% and 94% for all investigated benzodiazepines. Excellent linearity was obtained over the concentration range 5–1500 ng benzodiazepine/ml. The limit of detection was approximately 2 ng/ml. The detection of low therapeutic serum levels of highly potent benzodiazepines is also possible.      

Total extrusion of the talus: A case report

Total extrusion of the talus without recovery of the bone is a very unusual injury. The authors present a case of a 25-year-old man who sustained an open total enucleation of the talus in a motorcycle accident. The talus was not recovered at the scene of the accident. An immediate tibiocalcaneal stabilization was performed by using an external fixator. In the postoperative period, a polymicrobic infection was observed and treated with parenteral antibiotics. Nine months after injury, the patient developed an infection of both the empty space and the distal third of the tibia. A wound debridement with tibial sequestrectomy and insertion of gentamicin-impregnated polymethylmethacrylate beads was performed. Three months later, after multiple negative bacteriologic examinations, a tibiocalcaneal arthrodesis with staples and autogenous bone graft was performed. Because of a pseudoarthrosis, the patient underwent a revision of the arthrodesis by retrograde tibiocalcaneal nailing, achieving clinical and radiographic success. The definitive treatment of total enucleation of the talus is still controversial because of its rarity and the high rate of complications, such as avascular necrosis, osteomyelitis, and ankle stiffness. In this case, without recovery of the talus, retrograde nailing afforded good stability by bypassing the bone defects.     

测定血浆心钠素对小儿心功能不全的诊断意义

采用放射免疫法测定60例心血管病患儿的血浆心钠素,结果,在心功能不全,先天性心脏病、心肌炎者,明显高于正常组;心功能不全组明显高于非心功能不全组。非心功能不全的心血管疾患(如:先天性心脏病、心肌炎)之间无显著差异。说明血浆心钠素测定可作为心功能不全判断指标,并可指导治疗。     

Stereological ultrastructural analysis of rat cardiomyocytes after total hyperthermia

Hyperthermia results in the suppression of intracellular regeneration in cardiomyocytes, manifested as intensified lysis and destruction of organelles, and leads to myocardial atrophy. Intracellular reorganization of cardiomyocytes is characterized by increases in the volume and surface density of myofibrils, sarcoplasmic reticulum, and T system. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 117, N ^o 1, pp. 96–100, January, 1994 Presented by V. A. Trufakin, Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences     

Estimating neuron dendritic length in 3D from total vertical projections and from vertical slices

The recently developed method of total vertical projections is illustrated to estimate the total dendritic length of a human Substantia Nigra neuron. Next, the length of the different orders of dendritic branches, and the mean segment length for each order - commonly regarded as important parameters in neuron physiology - are also estimated. Finally, it is shown how to estimate the mean dendritic length in a population of neurons from vertical slices of arbitrary and unknown thickness. Being unbiased and highly efficient, the proposed methods offer interesting alternatives to current procedures used for the metric analysis of neuron arborizations.     

ARTHROSCOPIC REMOVAL OF ACRYLIC CEMENT FROM UNREDUCED HIP PROSTHESIS

A case is reported in which entrapped polymethylmethacrylate following traumatic dislocation of a total hip replacement prevented complete reduction. A combined arthroscopic and fluoroscopic technique was used to remove the entrapped polymethylmethacrylate. Manipulation of the total hip prosthesis was done after removal of polymethylmethacrylate to minimize mechanical abrasion. This technique allows direct visual assessment of the articulating surfaces as well as the mechanical stability of the prosthesis. The morbidity related to the procedure is minimal and a short rehabilitation period is the major advantage.     

Diabetes prevalence in England, 2001--estimates from an epidemiological model.

AIMS: To estimate the total prevalence of diabetes mellitus (diagnosed and undiagnosed) at national, regional and local level in England to support health-care planning and delivery. METHODS: An epidemiological model was constructed by applying age-sex-ethnic-specific reference prevalence rates from epidemiological studies to resident populations (2001 census) of England at national, regional, and local authority/Primary Care Trust levels. RESULTS: Estimated prevalence of total diabetes for all persons in England was 4.41% in 2001, equating to 2 168 000 persons. Type 2 diabetes was estimated to affect 2 002 000 persons (92.3%) and Type 1 diabetes 166 000 persons (7.7%). Diabetes prevalence was estimated to be higher in women (5.17%) than men (3.61%). People from ethnic minority groups had higher crude prevalence than White Europeans (4.29, 5.69, 6.63 and 2.13% among White Europeans, Black African/Caribbeans, South Asians and 'other' groups, respectively). Prevalence increased sharply with age (0.33, 3.37 and 13.92%, respectively, in those aged 0-29, 30-59 and 60+ years). The model allows use of user-defined population denominator estimates to derive numbers and prevalence of people with diabetes for a given local population group, such as at ward or general practice level. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported diabetes prevalence estimates from community surveys underestimate the true burden of diabetes. The model can be used to derive the expected total prevalence of diabetes in health areas that lack reliable data to facilitate the implementation of the National Service Framework for diabetes. It will also allow estimates of future diabetes prevalence to be derived, and can potentially be used for prevalence estimates in all of the UK.     

格林—巴利综合症血清唾液酸、磷脂、胆固醇的测定及其临床意义

本文应用硫代巴比妥酸(TBA)法对34例格林—巴利综合征(GBS)患者51次血清唾液酸(SA)测定。结果显示:患者血清SA含量显著高于50例对照组,血清SA阳性率亦显著高于对照组;GBS患者四肢肌力与血清SA呈负相关;以重型GBS血清SA含量显著高于轻型,病程初期高于患病后期;血清磷脂含量GBS明显高于对照组,而血清胆固醇两组变化无显著性意义。本文提示GBS血清SA含量变化能够反映周围神经损伤的程度。