Sleep disturbances following mild traumatic brain injury in childhood.

OBJECTIVE: To examine objective and subjective reports of sleep disturbance in school-aged children who had sustained mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) at least 6 months prior to the study. METHODS: Eighteen children aged 7-12 years with a history of mild TBI (GCS 13-15. LOC < 15 min) were compared to 30 children with orthopedic injuries using actigraphy and parental and self-report sleep questionnaires. RESULTS: Parents reported greater sleep disturbance in the mild TBI group. No significant differences were found in parental ratings of daytime sleepiness, child-reported sleep difficulties, or objective (actigraph) sleep measures. CONCLUSIONS: The finding of greater parental reports of sleep disturbance following mild TBI 6 months after injury requires greater exploration and future research with a larger sample followed from the point of injury would seem appropriate.

Special antigens on sperm from autoimmune infertile men.

Sera from three fertile men and four infertile men without sperm antibodies, 17 infertile men with sperm antibodies in serum and seminal plasma (S.P.), and 25 infertile men with sperm antibodies in S.P. were tested by Western Blot analysis against sperm membrane extracts and S.P. from fertile nonautoimmune men and infertile autoimmune men. Sera from fertile men reacted against common antigens with molecular weights (MW) of 28, 38, 48, 60, and 68 kD present on sperm from autoimmune and nonautoimmune men and special antigen of MW 76 kD on the sperm of fertile men. Sera from 15 of 17 (88%) autoimmune infertile men with sperm antibodies in serum and S.P. detected special antigens with MW of 58 kD (sera reactivity in 47% of these men), 43kD (in 29%), 30 kD (in 24%), 35 kD (in 18%), 52 kD (in 12%), 41 kD (in 6%), and 71 kD (in 6%) on the sperm of autoimmune men in addition to the common antigens. Sera from 15 of 25 (60%) men with sperm antibodies in their S.P. showed reactivity to special antigens with MW 52 kD (in 20%), 35 kD (in 16%), 41 kD (in 16%), 58 kD (in 8%), 70/71 kD (in 8%), 30 kD (in 8%), and 56 kD (in 4%). Sera from 18 of 42 (43%) infertile men with sperm antibodies also detected special antigens of MW 26, 46, and 76 kD present only in fertile men's sperm. Sera from only 15 of 42 (36%) autoimmune infertile men reacted against special antigens with MW 17, 20, 23, 30, 43, and 58 kD in the seminal plasma of autoimmune infertile men.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)