A prospective three-year follow-up study of borderline personality disorder inpatients.

Prospective long-term follow-up studies on patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) have been uncommon. Clinical data suggest that their treatment is highly demanding and that short-term results are sometimes limited. In this study, changes in symptoms and social management were monitored during a hospitalization period of 91 days (mean, range 21-296 days) and during a 3-year follow-up period in 62 patients admitted during 1989 to an open ward specializing in the psychotherapeutic treatment of BPD. The patients were thoroughly evaluated, using various rating scales, at the beginning and at the end of the index admission and after the follow-up period. Forty-two patients (70%) participated in the follow-up evaluation. Most patients suffered from overt anxiety and depressive symptoms at the beginning of hospitalization, and these declined significantly during hospital treatment. At the end of the follow-up period, depressive and anxiety symptoms were at the same level as on discharge, as assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Although treatment response was otherwise maintained, the patients often showed suicidal behavior. During the follow-up period the sample clearly differentiated in two groups: those continually fit for work (33%) and those chronically incapable of working (46%).

Vitamin E deficiency and the susceptibility to lipid peroxidation of mouse cardiac and skeletal muscles.

Effects of a short-term vitamin E deficiency on some lipid peroxidative properties were investigated in mouse cardiac and skeletal muscles. The concentration of vitamin E decreased 35.8% in 5 weeks and 61.2% in 12 weeks in skeletal muscle. The corresponding decrease in cardiac muscle was 65.7% in 12 weeks. Simultaneously the susceptibility of muscle homogenates to in vitro lipid peroxidation increased with 48.6% (5 weeks) and 44.5% (12 weeks) in skeletal muscle and with 101.8% (12 weeks) in cardiac muscle. Highly significant negative correlations were observed between the concentration of vitamin E and in vitro lipid peroxidation in cardiac and skeletal muscles. Also the sensitivity to Fe2+-induced peroxidation was increased in skeletal muscle after the deficiency of 5 weeks. The total contents of peroxidizable lipids (Fe2+-induction) were significantly (approx. 20%) decreased after 12 weeks in cardiac and skeletal muscles. The concentration of lipofuscin was unaffected in both muscles of vitamin E-deficient mice. Vitamin E deficiency (5 weeks) decreased the activity of selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase in skeletal muscle but did not affect the activities of catalase and beta-glucuronidase and the concentrations of protein, reduced glutathione and total sulfhydryl groups. These results show that a short-term vitamin E deficiency affects the peroxidative properties of cardiac and skeletal muscles and may thus expose the muscles to peroxidation injuries.

Selenium levels in whole blood of Finnish volunteers before and during organic and inorganic selenium supplementation.

High selenium barley biscuits containing 1 mumol (70 micrograms) organic Se were administered to healthy male volunteers for 5 weeks at doses of 2.1 mumol Se (group A) or 6.4 mumol (group B). In addition, 2 mg Na-selenate capsules (5.4 mumol Se) were given to two other groups at daily doses of 2 mg (group C) or 8 mg (group D). Groups A, B and C each comprised eight healthy men and group D eight healthy women and three men. The initial median concentration of whole blood selenium (B-Se for groups A, B and C were 1.0-1.1 mumol/l (range 0.7-1.7) and for group D 1.3 mumol/l (range 0.9-1.8). In 1-2 weeks time the B-Se concentrations rose to 1.6 mumol/l for groups A and C, to 1.8 mumol/l for group B, and to 2.2 mumol/l for group D. There was no decrease 1 week after the Se intake ceased. As expected, the level of B-Se increased more (in relation to dose) in those given organic Se than in those given inorganic Se. Groups A, B and C, however, had rather moderate increases. The daily dose required to raise the B-Se of Finns up to the North American level (2.2 mumol/l) was as high as 8 mg Na-selenate (21.5 mumol or 1700 micrograms Se), but the dose of organic Se which would be required to achieve this level is not yet known.

Elimination of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxine in goat milk.

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxine (TCDD) 200 ng/day, was given orally to 7 goats for 2 months, followed by an elimination period of 1 month. Then a daily dose of 400 ng TCDD was given for 1 month to the same animals. Two animals were killed and the rest of the animals were observed for several months. The excretion of TCDD in milk was studied by glass capillary gas fragmentography, where the minimal detectable concentration was below 5 ppt. After the first feeding the concentration of TCDD in milk achieved a maximum of 20.8 +/- 6.6 ppt while a similar value of 19.3 +/- 6.6 ppt was observed after the second feeding. After this period, the concentration of TCDD decreased slowly with values, after 18 weeks, of 4, 2 +/-, 3 and 6 ppt. The concentration of TCDD in the liver in the two animals killed was 1039.0 and 898.0 ppt. There were no differences in clinical observations or blood and urine analyses when experimental animals were compared with controls.

Determination of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in goat milk and tissues by glass capillary gas chromatography and medium resolution mass fragmentography.

An analytical method has been developed for the study of the elimination of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) by lactation and its determination in various tissues of goat. The method is based on the alkaline hydrolysis of milk, liver, fat, muscle, blood, faeces and urine samples, extraction with n-hexane, treatment with sulphuric acid-saturated silica gel, chromatographic clean-up on silica gel and alumina micro-columns, and glass capillary gas chromatography-medium resolution mass fragmentography (resolution 2000). 1,2,3,4-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin is used as the internal standard, the concentration of TCDD being determined from the calibration curve calculated from the peak heights of TCDD and the internal standard in the mass fragmentogram of the ion m/e 321.9. The minimum detectable level of TCDD varied from 0.5 to 1 ppt in milk (20 g), 1 ppt in muscle (10 g), 1 to 2 ppt in liver (10 g) and 2 to 5 ppt in fat (1 g). The TCDD level in the control animals was below the detection limit. The recovery of TCDD varied between 73 and 100%. The reproducibility of the analyses expressed as the relative standard deviation, was 5.1% at the 500-ppt level and 3.6% at the 20-ppt level. The reproducibility of the gas chromatographic-mass fragmentographic analysis was 2.4% (50-100 pg).

An evaluation of a model ecosystem with DDT.

The reproducibility, variability, and reliability of a simple aquatic-terrtestrial model ecosystem experiment was tested with p,p'-DDT. The variation among the model replicates as well as within the units was studied by using hierarchal analysis of variance. the complete budget of the chemical was calculated and a theoretical transport model was constructed. The degradation and accumulation of DDT was followed by gas chromatographic residue analysis, which showed good reproducibility of the experimental design. The degradation of DDT in the model was similar to that found in the field, but the determination of concentration factors was questionable. The material balance tables revealed that the soil and bottom substrates were the main contributors, which regulated the fate of the chemical in the model. The usefulness of the model is presented in this report.

Morphological and biochemical changes in striated muscle after experimental tourniquet ischaemia.

Histological and biochemical changes were studied in the striated muscle following total tourniquet ischaemia between one and four h, the reflow time being 30 min and 24 h. Electronmicroscopy was applied to study the fine structure of the muscle after 24 h reflow. In light microscopy ischaemic changes were not seen even when the tourniquet time was extended to four h. When a four-h ischaemia was followed by a 24-h recovery period, the electron microscopy showed a variety of minor mitochondrial changes such as condensed and slightly dilatated mitochondria. The SDH activities did not vary significantly between the experimental and control samples even after a four-h ischaemia followed by 30 min or 24h reflow. The differences between the experimental and control samples were, however, highly significant in the LDH values in the groups where ischaemia had lasted for three and four h. The results indicate that tourniquet ischaemia for two to three h does not significantly affect the striated muscle of a rabbit and the alterations even after a four-h ischaemia seem to be partly reversible.

Activity of acid hydrolases in skeletal muscle of untrained, trained and detrained mice of different ages.

The activities of p-nitrophenylphosphatase, beta-glucuronidase and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase from crude skeletal muscle homogenates of 4 and 7 months old mice were assayed after short-term intensive and long-term moderate training and after terminated training. In the older untrained mice the activity of the hydrolases was higher than in the younger mice. The level increased with training and this increase was far more pronounced in the older animals. Cessation of training for 7 and 21 days decreased this activity in the older animals but it was again increased 42 days later and close to the level observed in the trained mice. In young mice 3 days' terminated training increased the activity of the acid hydrolases above the level of the trained animals but after additional 4 and 11 days' terminated training the activity decreased to slightly below that of the trained mice. The changes were most prominent in the activity of beta-glucuronidase and to a lesser extent in that of beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase while p-nitrophenylphosphatase activity was almost unaffected by training or terminated training. The effects of terminated training can be intepreted as representing altered catabolic processes in the turn-over of tissue components of skeletal muscle.

Morphological and functional differentiation of the surface epithelium of the bursa Fabricii in chicken.

Morphological and functional differentiation of the mucosal surface epithelium of the bursa Fabricii was studied in White Leghorn chicken fetuses and newly hatched chickens. First signs of differentiation towards two types of epithelial cells appeared on the thirteenth day of incubation: The apical cells of the epithelial buds projected towards the lumen, and an increase in the number of Golgi regions was observed in the epithelial cells between the buds. On day 15 the follicle-associated epithelium contained small apically situated vacuoles, and large mucin granules appeared in the interfollicular surface epithelium. Towards the day of hatching both epithelial cell types were arranged to a monolayered or pseudostratified cylindrical epithelium. The follicle-associated epithelium had invaginations and small vacuoles in the apical cytoplasm, whereas the interfollicular surface epithelium had numerous microvilli on its apical surface and large mucin granules in the apical cytoplasm. In functional studies, endocytosis of colloidal carbon was demonstrated in four out of ten 19-day fetuses and in all chickens studied immediately after hatching.

Ultrastructural changes in striated muscle after experimental tourniquet ischaemia and short reflow.

The effect of experimental tourniquet ischaemia on the fine structure of a rabbit's hind limb striated muscle was studied. The tourniquet time varied from 1 to 4 h. Samples were obtained from the tibialis anterior muscle 30 min after releasing the tourniquet, the contralateral limb serving as the control. As the first sign of ischaemia, dilatation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum was observed after a tourniquet blockade of 1 h. After 4 h ischaemia myofibrillar components showed advanced degeneration. Ultrastructural alterations were distinct in the mitochondrial morphology. After 2 h, the mitochondria showed moderate but clear condensation. After 3 h many mitochondria showed high amplitude swelling and structural disorganization. Total blockade of the limb circulation up to 4 h effects the energy-producing organelles in the first place, especially sarcoplasmic reticulum, T tubules and mitochondria prior to the alterations in myofilaments. Ischaemia extended up to 3 h induces sublethal damage to the muscle cells.