ALCOHOL AND SOCIAL INFLUENCE: FEMALE YIELDING TO MALE AND FEMALE GROUP PRESSURE

Thirty college women were randomly assigned to either an alcohol,a placebo, or a control group. The alcohol group drank 0.8 mlof 100% alcohol/kg body weight. Subjects estimated the lengthof lines and were exposed to a simulated group pressure. Yieldingto the group pressure constituted the dependent variable. Boththe alcohol and the placebo groups showed increased number ofyieldings compared to the control group. Different theoreticalexplanations are discussed suggesting psychological mechanismsto be the most important.     

MIB-1 and involucrin expression in laryngeal squamous carcinoma: the relationship to host and tumour factors and survival

MIB-1 is an antibody which attaches to the Ki67 antigen expressed by proliferating cells. MIB-1 immunoreactivity may be used to quantify the proliferative component of a tumour. Involucrin is a protein expressed by mature keratinocytes and may be used as a marker of differentiation. The present paper studies the expression of these two markers in a group of patients with squamous carcinoma of the larynx. Tumour cell kinetics were studied in 49 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx using antibodies to `Ki67' and involucrin. The median potential follow-up for the group was 8.1 years with a minimum follow-up of 5 years. The median MIB-1 index was 32%. The median involucrin index was 56%. Fifteen patients had no or only slight involucrin staining whereas 34 stained intensely for this protein. Involucrin expression was found to be associated with histological grade with those patients expressing involucrin tending to have well differentiated tumours and those not expressing this parameter tending to have poorly differentiated tumours ( P = 0.045). There were no other associations between host and tumour factors and the various biological parameters. Survival analysis demonstrated that patients with an involucrin count above the median value had a better 5-year survival than those below the median (89% and 56% respectively) ( P < 0.05). In addition, patients with no (or poor) involucrin expression had an increased risk of developing a recurrence at the primary site ( P < 0.05). Involucrin appears to be a promising marker of tumour differentiation and survival in squamous carcinoma of the larynx.     

Malignant tumours of the cervical oesophagus

Forty-seven patients with malignancy of the cervical oesophagus are described and compared with a group of 647 patients with hypopharyngeal malignancy. There was a higher proportion of non-squamous malignancy in cervical oesophageal cancer compared with hypopharyngeal cancer. Cervical oesophageal malignancy tended to present earlier with significantly lower T stage and neck node metastases were relatively unusual at presentation. Patients with cervical oesophageal malignancy were frequently incurable at the time they are first seen and 21 had palliative treatment only, 26 patients had curative treatment, 12 underwent radical radiotherapy and 14 had surgery. Cervical oesophageal malignancy had a significantly worse prognosis than hypopharyngeal malignancy with an 18% 3 year survival compared with a 33% 3 year survival (χ²₁=7.1089, P <0.01). Those patients with oesophageal malignancy who were treated fared considerably better than the whole group with 30% being alive at 3 years (χ²₁=10.5185, P <0.01).     

Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Signal-Averaged Electrocardiography in Patients with Repetitive Monomorphic Ventricular Tachycardia and Otherwise Normal Electrocardiogram

Early or localized forms of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) have been proposed as the arrhythmogenic substrate of repetitive monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (RMVT) originating in the right ventricular outflow tract in patients without any underlying cardiac abnormality on clinical examination and echocardiography. To further examine this hypothesis, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and signal-averaged electrocardiography (SAECG) were performed on 23 patients with RMVT and normal 12-lead standard ECG of conducted sinus beats. MRI was performed using ECG-gated turbo spin-echo images of the heart in order to detect signs of early or localized forms of ARVD, such as localized wall thickness reductions, signal intensity increase indicating adipose tissue infiltrates, and regional bulgings or aneurysms. MRI was normal in 22 (96%) of 23 study patients. In the remaining patient (4%), MRI demonstrated signal intensity increase in the intraventricular septum but not in the right ventricular outflow tract. Time-domain analysis of the SAECG was normal in 21 (91 %) of 23 patients and revealed ventricular late potentials in 2 study patients (9%). Frequency-domain analysis of the SAECG was normal in 22 (96%) of 23 patients and revealed ventricular late potentials in one study patient (4 %). We conclude that normal MRI findings of the heart and absence of ventricular late potentials in the SAECC in most patients with RMVT and otherwise normal ECG do not support the hypothesis that early or localized forms of ARVD create the arrhythmogenic substrate in the majority of these patients.     

Voltage Dip in Pacemaker Battery Supply: A New Cause of Pacemaker Mediated Tachycardia

A new cause of pacemaker medialed tachycardia was observed in a patient equipped with a Vitatron® Quintech 931 DDD pacemaker. In this type of pacemaker the microprocessor is switched off during the atrial refractory period. Beyond the recommended replacemenl lime, the internal resistance of the battery may increase to such an extent that switching on and off the microprocessor may cause voltage dips. Those voltage dips are erroneously interpreted as P waves hy the atrial sensing amplifier, which may cause self-triggering of the pacemaker and initiate a pacemaker mediated tachycardia.