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Sterols isolated from two species of marine brown algae, Fucus gardneriand Sargassum muticum, were fed to young Leghorn cockerels. Both sterols caused a significant diminution in plasma cholesterol level.

ASSOCIATED with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health is an ' agency designated to investigate certain deaths occurring in psychiatric hospitals. In the last 11 years eight deaths incident to insulin coma or subcoma therapy have been reviewed: four in state hospitals, two in private institutions, one in a veterans hospital, and one following treatment in a patient's home.Numerous fatal insulin reactions have been reported.1 Most of the clinical papers have been concerned with the events of the final coma. Little attention has been paid to factors, other than overt organic diseases, which give warning of an untoward reaction. Certain clinical features and aberrant physiological responses occurring prior to the fatal reaction, and of possible value in prognosticating it, are presented in this report. CASE 1. —A white man aged 47, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, paranoid type, was treated with insulin coma. On the 63d treatment, 28th coma,

THE EXISTENCE of cerebral edema and the therapeutic value of drainage of the cerebrospinal fluid in acute methyl alcohol poisoning have been recognized. The use of frequent lumbar puncture in treatment of this type of intoxication was first recommended in 1920 by Zethelius and Wersen and by Pincus.1 In a series of 7 patients whom they treated with frequent lumbar punctures the visual capacity became normal in 4, while the remaining 3 had restoration of fairly good visual acuity. Other authors2 have corroborated their results. Duursma and Huizinga2b cited a case from the clinic of psychiatry and neurology at Groningen in which the spinal fluid was examined for methyl alcohol. The spinal fluid was found to contain methyl alcohol, and the patient's condition was improved after the first spinal tap. Duursma and Huizinga concluded that treatment must be aimed at removal of the toxin from the spinal

1. The effect of temperature and pH was studied on the kinetics of inhibition of horse serum and human serum cholinesterase by four organophosphorus compounds and five carbamates. 2. For all compounds, and at each pH and temperature, the inhibition followed the kinetics of a bimolecular reaction with the inhibitor in excess, and with a negligible concentration of the Michaelis complex. 3. The second-order rate constants (ka) for inhibition of human serum cholinesterase by one organophosphate and one carbamate increased from 5° to 40°C with an apparent activation energy of 46kJ/mol (11kcal/mol). 4. The ka constant for inhibition of horse serum cholinesterase increased with temperature from 5° to 30°C, and then decreased from 30° to 40°C. The theoretical interpretation of such an unusual effect of temperature is derived. 5. The increase of ka with pH (human serum cholinesterase) followed the dissociation curve for a single group on the enzyme (pK7.5). 6. Rate constants for decarbamoylation (k+3) were determined, and the time-course of inhibition was calculated from the ka and k+3 constants.

Economic conditions or other weighty reasons may put couples in a position in which they need to limit their offspring. Conversely, it is also true that there are a great number of women who desire children and who wish to know the most opportune time for a fertile intercourse. Since most women look to their family physician for guidance in this matter, we feel that an intimate acquaintance with this subject is desirable. Our practical experience in the field of natural conception control enables us to present data and corroborative proof showing that the Ogino-Knaus theory as represented is correct and practical for all normal, healthy and regularly menstruating women.There were several difficulties in the path that prevented scientists from solving this problem during the last few centuries. Nature, so to speak, threw them off their track in their search for the solution by suggesting a similarity between menstruation

Two cases of acquired idiopathic hypogammaglobulinemia associated with splenomegaly and hemolytic anemia due to hypersplenism have been reported. Splenomegaly and hypersplenism appears to be the result of reticulum cell hyperplasia caused by the lack of gamma globulin and resultant repeated infections. Both the cases had splenectomy with marked hematologic improvement. A review of the literature indicates that this syndrome is relatively common, in comparison to the incidence of total number of acquired hypogammaglobulinemia that has been reported in the literature so far. It also seems very important to recognize it because of the obvious therapeutic implications. Serum gamma globulin level should be determined in cases with unexplained hepatosplenomegaly, hypersplenism and hemolytic anemia.

THERE has recently been a great need in medical microbiology for more rapid and objective methods of differentiating pathogenic micro-organisms. Earlier work1,2indicated that sub-species differences among diverse taxa could be detected by means of gas–liquid chromatography of their whole cell pyrolysis products. The present study confirms these results and shows that the distribution of pyrolytic products is a constant factor and is directly related to the chemical structure of the micro-organism.

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