Effect of mebendazole on the larval development of three Hymenolepidid cestodes

Mebendazole or Telmin (which contains 16.7% mebendazole) markedly retarded the development of Hymenolepis diminuta and H. nana when their intermediate hosts Tribolium confusum were fed on flour mixed with it from day 1 to day 10 p.i. Though retardation also occurred with H. microstoma, the effect of the drug on this parasite was noticeably less pronounced than with the other 2 species of this genus.

Total and "activated" peripheral blood T lymphocytes in patients with thyroid disorders

The percentage of total and "activated" peripheral blood T lymphocytes was measured in patients with (i) hyperthyroid Graves' disease selected for absence of ophthalmopathy, (ii) treated Graves' disease, with ophthalmopathy, and (iii) other thyroid disorders including subacute thyroiditis, using sheep red blood cell rosette tests. No patient had significantly increased levels of either total or "activated" T lymphocytes. On the other hand, the percentage of total T cells was below normal in 8 of 18 patients with hyperthyroid Graves' disease and in 6 of 18 patients with ophthalmopathy compared with only one of 12 patients with nodular goitres. Similarly, low levels of "activated" T cells were demonstrated in 5 of 18 patients with hyperthyroid Graves' disease and in 10 of 18 patients with ophthalmopathy compared with only one of 12 patients with nodular goitres. Three of four patients with subacute thyroiditis tested had depressed levels of total T lymphocytes whilst only one had low levels of "activated" T lymphocytes. Levels returned to normal during the recovery phase in the two patients with positive tests who were retested. Depressed levels of T lymphocyte populations in patients with Graves' disease and subacute thyroiditis may be due to feedback suppression and/or "exhaustion" in association with the thyroidal and orbital immunological reactions.

Empathic listening test: an instrument for the selection and training of telephone crisis workers

Although telephone crisis centers have been shown to be a viable mode of community service, they are not without problems. Empirically based research upon which to make appropriate clinical and administrative decisions, particularly in the selection and training of volunteers has been lacking. In response to that need, a construct was developed that fused listening, the primary communicative behavior, with empathy, the most important interpersonal function of crisis center workers, to provide a criterion for selection and training. A 60-item situational instrument was developed to measure three dimensions of Empathic Listening, (a) Understanding, (b) Interest, and (c) Response-Ability. This study was designed to establish validity and reliability data for the instrument. The instrument was shown to have potential for selecting and training crisis center workers.

Angiotensin- and norepinephrine-induced myocardial lesions: experimental and clinical studies in rabbits and man

The ability of large doses of exogenous angiotensin II to cause widespread multifocal microscopic myocardial necrosis in the rabbit has been confirmed. Angiotensin II also consistently produced acute renal failure with, less consistently, renal tubular necrosis. Norepinephrine infusions caused histologically indistinguishable myocardial lesions, but did not detectably affect renal function or histology. Severe renal failure, induced by bilateral nephrectomy (with or without concurrent glycerol administration) was not associated with similar cardiac lesions. Acute renal failure of comparable or greater severity to that induced by angiotensin II was produced by intramuscular cephaloridine, and was not associated with cardiac lesions. Rabbits infused with saline intravenously or "sham"-operated by simply opening and closing the peritoneal cavity did not develop renal failure and showed no cardiac or renal lesions histologically. Myocardial lesions, apparently identical to those seen in the rabbits, were observed postmortem in three patients known to have had high circulating levels of angiotensin II before death, although in all three cases alternative explanations are possible. Unexplained arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, and central chest pain without clear cardiographic or serum enzyme evidence of myocardial infarction occurred in two other subjects with very high plasma levels of angiotensin II. These attacks ceased after bilateral nephrectomy and a consequent fall in plasma angiotensin II. The cardiac attacks in these five patients all occurred during or shortly after procedures, such as sodium-depleting dialysis, renal artery surgery, or diazoxide administration, known to cause increase in plasma concentrations of renin and angiotensin II.

The transplacental passage of thyroxine and foetal thyroid function in the rat

A study has been made of the transplacental passage of thyroxine (T4) in rats when the hormone is present in physiological concentrations, and of the activity of the foetal thyroid gland in the perinatal period. Several aspects of foetal thyroid function were assessed in intact and thyroid-ectomized (TX) pregnant rats maintained with graded doses of T4. A daily dose of 2 μg T4/100 g body weight yielded near normal maternal and foetal serum PBI levels; with a dose of 1 μg the values were slightly low. Both these doses resulted in a decrease in the total and T4 iodine content of the foetal thyroid; an even greater decrease occurred in rats maintained with 5 μg/100 g body weight/day. The rate of uptake of iodine by the foetal gland was significantly depressed by the 2 but not the 1 μg dose. Serum PBI levels in the foetus were related directly to the dose of T4 and inversely with the degree of depression of the thyroid gland. Both maternal and foetal serum PBI levels in the unsupplemented TX rats were at least 60 % of normal and there was evidence of increased secretion of T4 by the foetal thyroid. The data indicate that the placenta is readily permeable to T4 when the hormone is present in maternal serum in doses that are close to physiological. However it was not possible to estimate the extent of the placental transfer of endogenous hormone. Significant foetal thyroid function was evident near term. It is suggested that both the foetal and maternal thyroids contribute to the maintenance of serum T4 levels in the foetus.