The result of the opiate (notably heroin) epidemic in Malaysia has been one of an excessive overload on existing medical and social services. The immediate problem of detoxification and rehabilitation is likely to continue for a while before planned and purpose-built and staffed centres take over to bring the problem, hopefully, to manageable proportions.
The management of schizophrenias has undergone a revolution with the advent of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and a whole range of psycho-pharmaceuticals this century. Along with these, the newer trends towards more humane, and psycho-oriented patient-care have resulted in the management of patients in srnall general hospital units hardly different from a surgical or medical ward. The different areas of treatment of the schizophrenic cannot all be accomplished in a general practice clinic but a surprising number of these patients are successfully managed as out-patients. This paper aims to outline the modern methods used in the management of the schizophrenias and their suitability in general practice.
SO2-fumigation experiments were conducted with plants of pea (Pisum sativum) and corn (Zea mays) recognized to be, respectively, sensitive and tolerant to the gas. Accumulation of inorganic sulfur in the tissues revealed that the pea takes up considerably greater amounts of SO2 than corn. Porometer measurements and transpiration coefficients show that this greater SO2 uptake is partly related to the lower leaf diffusion resistance of peas. Additional internal sinks for SO2 uptake are discussed in order to give a complete explanation of the differential SO2 uptake of the two species.
Methyl esters from the triglyceride fraction of the neutral lipids of natural rubber latex were found by gas liquid chromatography to contain about 90% of a furanoid acid. Spectroscopic analysis identified the acid as 10,13-epoxy-11-methyloctadeca-10,12-dienoic acid.
Sera from 243 donors belonging to the four main ethnic groups in West Malaysia (Orang Asli, Malays, Chinese and Indians) were tested, using the indirect fluorescent antibody technique for the prevalence of antibodies to Sarcocystis. Almost 20% reacted positively at dilutions of 1:64 or higher and eight among the Orang Asli and Malays gave the highest titres of 1:256. Prevalence was highest in the Orang Asli and lowest in Chinese. 22 sera also reacted positively to Toxoplasma, whether due to polyparasitism or cross-reaction is, as yet, unknown.
MeSH terms: Antibodies/analysis; Humans; Malaysia; Sarcocystis/immunology*; Toxoplasma/immunology; Continental Population Groups
In a study of Malaysians of different racial groups, 1,510 sera (908 from Malays, 371 from Chinese and 231 from Indians) were identified for their protease inhibitor (Pi) types. The gene frequencies for the alleles PiM, PiS and PiX in Malays were, respectively, 0.979, 0.015, and 0.007. In Chinese, the frequencies were 0.981, 0.019 and 0.000, and in Indians they were 0.976, 0.24, and 0.000. It is interesting that the usually rare PiX type is found in appreciable frequency in the Malays. Two different types with unusual behavior and obscure origin were also found.
1. Electrophoretic variations of 9 erythrocyte proteins, coded by a separate gene locus each, were analysed in and among the 5 Malayan species of Rattus belonging to the subgenus Lenothrix. 2. The average proportion of loci heterozygous per individual for the taxa analysed is 0.037. 3. The results obtained confirm the specific status of the 5 taxa studied. With respect to the relative affinities among the species studied, the present results could resolve the discrepancies between conclusions based on morphological evidence and those based on cytological evidence. 4. The 5 species of Rattus studied may be assigned to 4 groups and comparative data suggest that these groups are relatively distantly related to one another.
There has been a rapid increase in the past five years in the numbers of hospitalized drug dependents. While the studied population was clearly unrepresentative of the country-wide drug using population, it illustrates how the problem is neither limited to one particular stratum of society, nor to the few "traditional" drugs. Indeed, an increasingly youthful group of individuals drawn from all backgrounds is not only becoming dependent upon opiates, but is also using a range of other drugs, all of which are available on the market at relatively low cost. The market prices of drugs have an effect on the pattern of drug use; and many individuals move directly from tobacco to heroin smoking. Drug abuse continues to be a considerable public and governmental concern, and enforcement and treatment programmes are rapidly expanding in attempts to resolve this problem.
MeSH terms: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Child; Education; Female; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Motivation; Occupations; Sex Factors; Substance-Related Disorders/history; Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology*; Substance-Related Disorders/rehabilitation; History, 20th Century
A new metronidazole derivative, Tiberal (Ro-07-0207, Roche Laboratories), was evaluated in 22 children with Giardia lamblia infection. Seven patients received an oral dose of 1 g twice daily for one day; the remaining 15 patients received a single dose of 50 mg/kg. Parasitological cure was noted in all 22 patients. Significant side effects were observed only in those children who received the drug at the higher dosage regime. The present study also confirms the findings of other authors that a mucosal imprint method is more reliable than examination of stools, duodenal juice or jejunal biopsy material for the detection of G. lamblia infection.