Anaemia of pregnancy in northern India. Nature and therapeutic follow-up

Investigations on 114 anaemic pregnant women revealed that megaloblastosis occurred in more than half. A therapeutic follow-up approach clearly indicated that vitamin B12-deficiency was fairly common in such patients; the need of iron supplementation in many of them for achieving complete remission emphasized the poor status of iron stores. All patients with normoblastic marrow achieved full remission with iron therapy alone. The deficiency of haematinic factors appears to be largely due to poor nutrition.

Precipitation of abstinence-like syndrome in morphine-dependent mice by pargyline

In mice rendered morphine-dependent by pellet implantation for 3 days, the administration of pargyline 6 hours after pellet removal intensified narcotic abstinence behavior, particularly the narcotic withdrawal jumping response. Pargyline, 75 mg/kg i.p., caused a 6- to 9-fold increase in the incidence of jumping in mice withdrawing from morphine 6 hours after removal of the pellet, whereas this effect was not observed: 1) 1 hour after the injection of pargyline or 2) in animals still implanted with the morphine pellet. The median effective dose (ED50) of pargyline required to elicit withdrawal jumping in mice implanted with morphine decreased with increasing physical dependence. The ED50 for 72 hours was about one-sixth that after 24 hours of implantation. Additionally, pargyline potentiated naloxone-precipitated withdrawal jumping as evidenced by a reduction of the naloxone ED50 by approximately one-half. Administration of other monoamine oxidase inhibitors such as pheniprazine, iproiazid or tranylcypromine failed to alter the indicence of jumping in dependent mice undergoind abrupt morphine with drawal. Further, dopamine receptor stimulation by amphetamine, pheniprazine or amantadine antagonized the pargyline-induced jumping response. These data suggest that the increased incidence of withdrawal jumping observed after pargyline in morphine-dependent mice is not related to monoamine oxidase inhibition but rather to a possible pargyline-induced decrease in dopaminergic activity.

Avulsion injury of uterovaginal prolapse and bladder

A 40-year-old postmenopausal female with complete uterine prolapse received an avulsion injury when her sari was caught in the fast-moving belt of a flour mill machine. Part of the prolapsed anterior vaginal wall with underlying bladder wall was torn off. Primary repair together with vaginal hysterectomy led to an uneventful recovery.

Primary rhabdomyosarcoma of the heart: a case report, with autopsy

A case of rhabdomyosarcoma of the heart in a 45-year-old man is reported. The diagnosis was suspected because of refractory congestive cardiac failure, a bulge on the left cardiac border, and was confirmed histologically at necropsy.

Placental morphometric and morphologic alterations in maternal undernutrition

Placentas, mothers, and neonates belonging to different socioeconomic groups were examined for morphometric and gross morphologic changes to assess the effect of maternal undernutrition. The mean maternal caloric intakes for socioeconomic Groups I, II, and IIII + IV are 2,919, 2420, and 1,589 calories per day, respectively, and differences were significant (P less than 0.001). The mean protein intakes were respectively, 76.1, 67.3, and 52.0 Gm. per day for socioeconomic Groups I, II, and III + IV, respectively (p less than 0.001). The birth weight, placental weight, volume, surface area, and number of cotyledon showed significantly decreasing trends (P less then 0.001) with the fall in socioeconomic group and maternal dietary intakes. Placentas of socioeconomic Group I had significantly higher incidence of well-defined cotyledons and central cord attachment. In lower socioeconomic groups and small-for-dates placentas there was significantly higher incidence of hemorrhages. There were no changes in incidences of placental infarcts, calcifications, and degeneration in various socioeconomic groups.