Selection of chronic schizophrenic patients for rehabilitation.

A study was carried out to look for factors that would make useful predictors for the rehabilitation of long stay schizophrenic patients. The results showed that after 36 months of rehabilitation, the variables that were related to favourable outcome were (1) shorter duration of illness, (2) milder form of illness according to Wing's classification, (3) family acceptance, (4) less negative symptoms, and (5) less social withdrawal. Other variables like age, education, occupation, and symptoms like delusion, hallucination, thought disorder were not related to the final rehabilitation status 36 months later. Only 15% were rehabilitated at the end of 12 months and 19% at the end of 36 months. This was not unexpected as the subjects were very chronic schizophrenic patients.

Studies on the male antifertility agent gossypol acetic acid. VII. Effect of motility stimulated factors on the revival of human spermatozoal motility after gossypol treatment in vitro.

Human spermatozoa were incubated with gossypol acetic acid (100 micrograms/1 X 10(6) spermatozoa/ml) at 37 degrees C for 30 min. The drug treatment inhibited the spermatozoal motility significantly. Washing of the spermatozoa, after gossypol treatment, did not effect their motility. A partial revival in the motility of the spermatozoa was observed when gossypol treated spermatozoa were incubated, after washing, with motility stimulating factors, e.g. theophylline, dibutyryl-cAMP and Kallikrein.

PIP: This brief experiment asked the question whether the inhibition of sperm motility imposed by gossypol is reversible by washing away the polyphenol. Human spermatozoa were incubated in Bakers buffer, 1 million/ml at 37 degrees C. for 30 minutes in the presence of 100 mc gossypol. Gossypol was dissolved in ethanol and diluted to 0.01% with distilled water, then 0.01 ml was added to 1.0 ml spermatozoa. Controls contained 0.1 ml of 0.01% ethyl acetate. Gossypol reduced motility from a range of 66.1 to 79.4% to a range of 32.1 to 38.1% (p0.01). Washing the spermatozoa by centrifuging twice at 343 x g for 10 min. and reincubating in a buffer had no effect on motility. Addition of the sperm motility stimulating agents theophylline 10 mM, kallikrein 100 KIU or dibutyryl-caMP after washing away the gossypol restored motility to 55.1%, 58.7% and 50.0%, respectively (p0.01).

Studies on the male antifertility agent--gossypol acetic acid. V. Effect of gossypol acetic acid on the fertility of male rats.

Gossypol acetic acid was given to male rats at a dose of 7.5 mg/rat/day six days a week for ten weeks. After nine weeks of gossypol treatment no implantation sites were observed in the females mated with gossypol treated males. After ten weeks of gossypol treatment all the spermatozoa in the vas deferens were non-motile. Gossypol treatment did not affect the body weight and the weights of the accessory sex organs. Plasma LH and FSH levels, hCG binding in testis and succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) and adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activities in liver, kidney and testis were not affected by gossypol treatment. Histological observations of the testis revealed partial damage to the seminiferous tubules. Single high doses of gossypol did not induce significant changes in the body weight and weights of testis and accessory sex organs. ATPase activity in the testis was reduced significantly after gossypol treatment, the enzyme activity in liver and kidney, was however, affected at high doses only. Gossypol treatment had no effect on the histoarchitecture of the testis. Intratesticular administration of gossypol evoked localized damage in the testis. Gossypol treatment had no effect on I125 FSH binding to the rat testis homogenate in vitro.