Letter: Effect of lithium on disturbed severely mentally retarded patients.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D M Lynch.
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Stool specimens were examined for the parasite Trichuris trichiura from 1,860 patients in 17 hospitals for the mentally subnormal in the U.K. It was found in 10 of these hospitals, and an overall incidence of 13.2% was recorded. Most cases occurred in the South, where the overall incidence was 36.3%.Difetarsone was used in the treatment of infestations in two hospitals, and proved to be very well tolerated, cure rates of 81 to 88% being obtained.
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A direct and an indirect quantitative ELISA for antisperm antibody were compared using the spermatozoa and cell-free seminal fluid of 66 infertile males. The normal concentration of sperm binding immunoglobulin was less than or equal to 1.5 fg Ig per spermatozoon for the indirect seminal plasma assay and less than or equal to 1.5 fg Ig per spermatozoon by the direct assay. Of the 66 infertile males, 21% (14/66) had elevated levels of antisperm antibody in their seminal plasma and 26% (17/66) had elevated levels bound directly to their spermatozoa. The direct correlation between the results of these assays was 94%. A simple linear regression analysis between the indirect and direct measurements of antisperm antibody resulted in a correlation coefficient of r = 0.907. There was no statistically significant difference between results from the direct and indirect methods of the patients as a group. However, there was evidence of autospecificity in a small percentage of males who had elevated levels of antisperm antibody by the direct assay that was not detected by the indirect assay using pooled donor spermatozoa.
An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using F(ab')2 peroxidase-labeled antihuman immunoglobulin and o-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride (OPD) as a substrate was developed to measure serum platelet bindable IgG (S-PBIgG). The assay was made quantitative by standardizing the number of normal "target" platelets bound to microtiter plate wells, and by incorporating quantitated IgG standards with each microtiter plate tested to prepare a standard calibration curve. By this method, S-PBIgG for normal individuals was 3.4 +/- 1.6 fg per platelet (mean +/- 1 SD; n = 40). Increased S-PBIgG levels were detected in 36 of 40 patients with clinical autoimmune thrombocytopenia (ATP), ranging from 7.0 to 85 fg per platelet. Normal S-PBIgG levels were found in 34 of 40 patients with nonimmune thrombocytopenia. This method showed a sensitivity of 90 percent, specificity of 85 percent, and in the sample population studied, a positive predictive value of 0.86 and a negative predictive value of 0.90. This assay is highly reproducible (coefficient of variation was 6.8%) and appears useful in the evaluation of patients with suspected immune-mediated thrombocytopenia.
The rate of fat emulsion clearance from the blood of 10 healthy adult male volunteers administered 0.1 gram of fat per kilogram body weight as 10% or 20% safflower oil emulsion (Liposyn) was studied. The subjects were hospitalized for 2 days and each was given the predetermined amount of one of the two fat emulsions (10% or 20%) by rapid injection into a peripheral vein and the rate of clearance of the emulsion determined over a 60-minute period, beginning when half of the emulsion had been injected. There was no significant difference in the clearance rate between the two emulsions. It is concluded that 20% fat emulsion is a safe as 10% fat emulsion for use in intravenous nutritional support.