Basal plasma hormone levels in depressed perimenopausal women.

BACKGROUND: An association between abnormal changes in reproductive endocrine function during the perimenopause and the onset of depression in some women has been suggested but remains controversial. METHODS: We examined basal plasma hormone levels in two samples of women with well characterized, first onset depression (major or minor) during the perimenopause and matched comparison groups of asymptomatic women. Results were compared by analysis of variance. RESULTS: No significant diagnosis-related differences were observed in plasma hormone measures of the following: follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), estrone (E1), total (T) or free testosterone (FT), or the E2/LH ratio. We did identify significantly lower morning plasma dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulphated metabolite DHEA-S (but not cortisol) levels in the depressed women compared to the non-depressed comparison group. Women with hot flushes (regardless of the presence of depression) were significantly older than women without flushes, had significantly higher plasma levels of FT, LH and FSH, and had significantly lower E2/LH ratios. CONCLUSIONS: Women with first onset depression during the perimenopause are not distinguished from controls on the basis of basal hormone measures of ovarian estrogens, testosterone, or gonadotropins. However, perimenopause-related changes in E2 may interact with low levels of DHEA in some women to increase their vulnerability to develop depression. In contrast to perimenopause-related vasomotor symptoms, depression during the perimenopause is not associated with a simple hormone deficiency state. The relatively low levels of E2 and E1 in the depressed women may have met statistical significance in a much larger and homogenous sample.

Characterization of mycobiont adaptations in the foliose lichen Xanthoparmelia chlorochroa (Parmeliaceae).

A cross section of the vagrant soil lichen Xanthoparmelia chlorochroa was analyzed using proton microprobe PIXE. Data were used to generate quantitative, two-dimensional element distribution maps for Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Sr. Element maps show differential element partitioning between the stratified layers of the thallus. These data document transfer of inorganic nutrients across the thallus to the algal layer. Inorganic particle entrapment was also evident in the element maps. Dense accumulations of calcium oxalate at the junction of the medulla and the algal layer on the order of 10% by dry mass were discovered. Scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analyses were used to characterize the calcium oxalate region. These data provide evidence for possible functional roles of the calcium oxalate layer, including regulation of water and light. Data also provide support for a mutualistic interpretation of the lichen association.

The role of folic acid in deficiency states and prevention of disease.

Folic acid, a water-soluble vitamin, has been used since the 1940s to treat some cases of macrocytic anemia without neurologic disease. Folate deficiency is best diagnosed with red blood cell folate levels along with macrocytosis and/or megaloblastic anemia. In addition to reversing overt deficiency, the vitamin may reduce the incidence of neural tube defects by 45% in women who receive 400 micrograms per day. It is recommended that all women of childbearing age take 400 micrograms of folate per day. Elevations in homocysteine levels, a metabolite intimately associated with folate, are also being found with increasing regularity in those with cardiovascular diseases. Homocysteine levels are reduced by folic acid administration. Therefore, there is some biologic plausibility, but not currently direct proof, for the assumption that folate supplements may prevent heart disease, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease. Controlled trials should take place before widespread food supplementation with folate is carried out on a large scale because of the possibility of outbreaks of permanent B12-related neurologic damage in those with undiagnosed pernicious anemia. However, if a patient has a premature cardiovascular event and has minimal risk factors, ordering a test to determine homocysteine level may be advisable, and if elevated, treating with folic acid supplement as long as B12 deficiency does not coexist.

Experience of children with sickle cell anemia in a regular summer camp.

The Sickle Cell Program of the Queens Hospital Center Affiliation of the Long Island Jewish-Hillside Medical Center arranged for a group of children from the hospital Sickle Cell Clinic to spend one week during the summer of 1978 in a sleepaway camp for healthy children. This paper analyzës the results of the experience.

The effectiveness of sickle cell education in New York City public elementary schools.

The present study attempts to ascertain the effectiveness of the health education component of the Queens Hospital Center Sickle Cell Education & Screening Program. The study is limited to children in grades four through six in the New York City public school system. Such elementary school students, representing a large segment of the population, are easily accessible and can be effectively educated about sickle cell disease. The findings indicate that professional sickle cell educators can successfully teach young children about the disease and can do so more effectively than the average schoolteacher.

The effectiveness of sickle cell counseling.

Patients received information about hemoglobinopathies before blood testing. Those in whom sickle cell trait was confirmed were counseled. Then, this group responded to a questionnaire to evaluate understanding and retention of information about sickle cell disease. Ninety percent correct responses were obtained on general information. However, only 70 percent correct responses were received on questions about genetics. Modifications of techniques of sickle cell counseling are suggested by these results.

Granulocyte function in patients with chronic renal failure: surface adherence, phagocytosis, and bactericidal activity in vitro.

The defects in host defense mechanisms that explain the enhanced susceptibility to infection of patients with chronic renal failure are not understood, and previous studies concerning function of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL), the major antibacterial defense, conflict. Therefore, the antimicrobial functions of PMNL obtained from chronically uremic patients and serum factors essential for PMNL activity were evaluated. The potential modifying effect of high concentrations of serum from uremic patients on PMNL of uremic patients was determined, and granulocyte adherence, an activity related to recruitment of cells to inflammatory sites, was measured. Phagocytosis of 14C-labeled Staphylococcus aureus and bactericidal activity were normal and unaffected by high concentrations of uremic serum. Serum from uremic patients opsonized staphylococci and yeast normally. Oxidative metabolism of PMNL [14C-1]glucose oxidation, O2 consumption, and quantitative protein iodination) was normal, as was PMNL adherence. If the uremic patient has an increased risk of infection, this risk cannot be ascribed to defects of PMNL responses that have been studied in these patients.

An autoradiographic study on the localization of 131I-labeled thyroid hormones in the tissues of the pig.

Autoradiographic studies on the localization of 131I-labeled thyroxine and triiodothyronine in the various organs and tissues of the pig have been conducted. The isotopes were compared as to the intensity of radioactivity on the basis of the concentration of developed silver grains in the tissues following the respective radioactive hormone injections. In general, for an identical dose of the isotope and with analogous processing procedures, the autoradiographs of most of the tissues after triiodothyronine were relatively more radioactive than after thyroxine. In both the hormone treatments, the tissues from younger pigs were relatively more radioactive than the tissues of older pigs. The various tissormones. Based on differential localization of radioactivity, the pigs excreted more radioiodine through bile, pancreatic and salivary secretions and in urine.

Localization of radioiodine in the tissues of swine: an autoradiographic study.

An attempt was made to visualize the sites of accumulation and distribution of 131I and 125I in the organs and tissues of swine by a modified autoradiographic dipping technique. Radioactivity was substantially higher with the injection of 125I than that of 131I. There was a tendency in all tissues for concentration of radioiodine to vary with the age of the animals. Concentration was evident in the lung, muscle, liver, pancreas, intestinal mucosa, thymus and spleen, in addition to the known accumulation sites, such as the adrenal, pituitary and gonads. The isotopes were concentrated at the striated border of the epithelial cells of the duodenum. The submandibular gland had a marked concentration in the collecting ducts and a lesser one in the secretory parenchyma of the gland. The most radioactive organ examined was the thyroid gland. The readioactivity was consistently higher in the follicular epithelial cells than in the connective tissue between the follicles. The bound radioiodine formed rings over the colloid-cell interface.