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Misalignment of the visual axes of the eyes observed in strabismus may result from sensory, motor, and/or central nervous system disorders. The functional properties of a technique designed to increase, through training, the monocular motor control of normal human subjects was evaluated, the ultimate goal being obviously to apply the technique to cases of minor strabismus. The subject is seated in front of a television screen. A diaphragm extending from the subject's head to the screen divides the picture into two visually separated half fields. A micro-computer was programmed to project two patterns on the screen, made up of vertical green and grey bars (spatial frequency, 3 deg.). Displacement of the two visually superposable half fields could be independently achieved. The subject's task was to fixate, with one eye, the corresponding half field maintained stationary and track, with the other eye, the motion of the second half field. Perfect fusion of the two half fields has to be preserved during movements of the mobile half field over 2 to 6 degrees at a frequency of 0.4 Hz. The results show that after a few training sessions, subjects developed a high gain monocular motor control. This observation suggests that the method may be used as therapy to correct minor strabismus with or without anomalous retinal correspondence, and offers the possibility to study static and dynamic characteristics of Panum's areas and particularly their modifications as a function of training of monocular motor control.

Expression of the p21 product of the ras gene family was investigated in a series of 142 infiltrating primary breast tumors by two specific ras p21 monoclonal antibodies with an immunocytochemical technique. The majority of tumors demonstrated a varying number of positive cells. A significant association between p21 expression and tumor histotype was found: among ductal carcinomas the comedo variety was always positive; conversely, lobular tumors were more frequently negative. Nodal status was recorded for all patients. A significant difference was found in nodal status with respect to p21 expression: tumors with more than 50% positive cells were more often N+. Estrogen receptor (ER) status was determined in 77 tumors. Tumors with higher levels of p21 contained a high percentage of estrogen receptor positive cells. The present results show that p21 expression in human breast cancer could be a marker of tumor aggressiveness and might thus improve the predictive power of known prognostic factors such as estrogen receptor and nodal status.

Urinary cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP-c) was measured morning and evening in 35 patients with alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). 65% of the patients revealed a higher night time than day time concentration of AMP-c in the urine, reflecting increased sympathetic adrenergic activity. The circadian rhythm was lost in 88.55% of the 35 patients. The pathogenic factors and mechanisms involved in AWS are discussed and the contribution of sympathetic adrenergic hyperactivity to the onset of the withdrawal syndrome with its concomitant depression of the cholinergic and GABAergic systems is emphasised. Finally it is suggested that insomnia and the loss of REM sleep may also contribute to the onset of the condition.