乳酸脱氢酶实验检测细胞新陈代谢的实验研究

目的 探索LDH实验检测细胞活力的可行性。方法 原代培养骨髓细胞和软骨细胞，用LDH实验测定上述两组细胞的活力，并与镜下活体观察到细胞的生长状况相比较。与目前比较成熟的测定细胞活力的MTS实验的测得的值相比较。结果 LDH实验对上述两组细胞的活力的测定结果与镜下活体观察到的结果相符合。与MTS实验的测得的结果经统计学处理无显著差异。结论 LDH实验可用于细胞活力的直接测定，而对活细胞的生存、繁殖无影响。     

Advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with folinic acid (F), fluorouracil (FU), vincristine (O), and mitomycin-C (Mi), (F-FOMi).

Thirty-one patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were treated with a combination of folinic acid, fluorouracil, vincristine, and mitomycin (F-FOMi). Eight partial responses (26%), eight stable disease (26%), and 15 progressive disease (48%) were obtained. Patients with performance status (PS) 0-1 had a significantly better response rate than those with PS 2-3. Overall actuarial survival was 10 months. Toxicity was mild and mainly gastrointestinal with mucositis and diarrhea. F-FOMi seems to be comparable to regimens more widely used in the treatment of NSCLC.     

Legionellosis associated with artesian well excavation

In October 1990 pneumonia due toLegionella pneumophila was diagnosed in two employees working in the area of Apulia, southern Italy, where artesian wells were in construction. Although the exposure to excavation has been associated with Legionnaires' disease, in our investigation the illness occurred only in those employees who were present when the water emerged from the ground under high pressure. On the basis of this report, water appears as the most likely reservoir of the organism and the main route of infection.Corresponding author.     

Immune cell imbalance in major depressive and panic disorders.

We investigated subsets of peripheral immunologic cells in 12 drug-free patients affected by major depression according to DSM-III-R criteria, and who had recent evidence of somatic diseases. They were compared with 10 drug-free depressives, with 10 patients with panic disorder, and with 12 healthy volunteers, all without somatic disease. The immune subsets were measured by flow cytometry. The results showed that both groups of depressives had the same abnormalities in immune cells compared with the healthy volunteers or the panic disorder patients; in particular they presented a lower number of CD3+, CD8+ and HLA-DR+. The patients with panic attacks did not differ from healthy controls, except for CD4+ cells which were significantly lowered, even in comparison with the depressive groups. These data, although preliminary and in a small sample, suggest that some immune parameters may be influenced by the presence of a major psychiatric disorder.     

Antidepressant response and well-being in pre-, peri- and postmenopausal women with major depressive disorder treated with fluoxetine

BACKGROUND: We assessed the impact of menopausal status on treatment response and well-being in a cohort of outpatient women with major depressive disorder (DSM-III-R criteria), who received treatment with fluoxetine (20 mg/day for 8 weeks). METHODS: Menopausal status was defined based on age, presence of menstrual irregularity or amenorrhea and vasomotor symptoms. Remission and response of depression were defined as a 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D-17) score or=50%, respectively. Well-being was assessed by self-rating with the Symptom Questionnaire. Remitters were followed up for 28 additional weeks. RESULTS: No differences in rates of response and remission as well as in levels of well-being were observed among pre- (n = 121), peri- (n = 28) and postmenopausal (n = 35) women at the endpoint of the acute phase, even after adjustment for baseline depression severity. Residual symptoms, however, were significantly more common in postmenopausal women, except for the continuation phase endpoint. Differences in residual symptoms during the acute phase subsided after adjustment for baseline depression severity. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, menopausal status did not significantly affect the response to fluoxetine treatment and the degree of posttreatment well-being among major depressive disorder patients.     

Mutations in the Ca(2+)-sensing receptor gene cause autosomal dominant and sporadic hypoparathyroidism

Parathyroid hormone secretion is negatively regulated by a 7- transmembrane domain, G-protein coupled Ca(2+)-sensing receptor. We hypothesized that activating mutations in this receptor might cause autosomal dominant hypoparathyroidism (ADHP). Consistent with this hypothesis, we identified, in two families with ADHP, heterozygous missense mutations in the Ca(2+)-sensing receptor gene that cosegregated with the disorder. None of 50 normal controls had either mutation. We also identified a de novo, missense Ca(2+)-sensing receptor mutation in a child with severe sporadic hypoparathyroidism. The amino acid substitution in one ADHP family affected the N-terminal, extracellular domain of the receptor. The other mutations involved the transmembrane region. Unlike patients with acquired hypoparathyroidism, patients with these mutations had hypercalciuria even at low serum calcium concentrations. Their greater hypercalciuria presumably reflected activation of Ca(2+)-sensing receptors in kidney cells, where the receptor negatively regulates calcium reabsorption. This augmented hypercalciuria increases the risk of renal complications and thus has implications for the choice of therapy.      

Measurement Issues in Emotion Research With Children and Adolescents

The need for a multimethod approach to the study of emotion in children and adolescents is crucial, as is a multilevel analysis in which emotional experience is assessed at a variety of levels (Solomon, 2002). This review highlights the critical role of emotion theory when constructing and selecting appropriate assessment tools with a focus on Functionalist theory that emphasizes the importance of contextual variables ( Barrett & Campos, 1987 ). The review begins with an examination of theoretical and pragmatic issues in emotion measurement followed by discussions of four basic methods of emotion assessment (i.e., self-report, other-report, observation, neurophysiology). Implications of emotion assessment for clinical practice and future directions for research conclude the review.