[Acute pancreatitis in a patient with alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency. Is there a causal relationship?]. / Acute pancreatitis bij een patiënt met alfa 1-antitrypsinedeficiëntie. Is er een oorzakelijk verband?

The clinical pattern and the pathophysiological mechanism of the hereditary disorder alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency are outlined. It appeared that the patient described suffered not only from emphysema, cirrhosis of the liver and hepatocellular carcinoma, but also from acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis. The combination of acute pancreatitis and alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency has not been described before. Screening of relatives is important because of possible treatment.

Provision of services for mentally handicapped children in the Witwatersrand area.

Childhood mental retardation is defined as significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing together with difficulty in adaptive behaviour, manifesting during the period from birth to 18 years. We addressed the issues of diagnosis, placement and management of the mentally handicapped child in the Witwatersrand area and surveyed facilities available for them. According to our calculations, facilities were adequate for 69.7% white, 26% Indian, 9.3% coloured and only 7.6% black children. Urgent attention must be given to providing more care for these children, especially those with profound mental retardation. A special class in a regular school is the most appropriate environment for the mildly to moderately retarded group.