[Mental health and psychiatry: role and issues of the Geneva mental health associations' network]. / Santé mentale et psychiatrie: rôle et enjeux du réseau genevois d'associations en santé psychique.

The psychosocial Geneva-based associations provide ongoing support to people suffering from mental disorders and their families. This network gives psychological care and works towards social inclusion. This approach is an alternative as well as a complement to medical care. The services offered by the associations are varied: mutual self-help, providing a place to live and a space dedicated to specific activities, family support, counselling, therapy, etc. They have two central issues: improving quality of life and promoting the rights of patients. Collaboratively, they are in constant dialogue with the psychiatric institutions in the canton, leading to joint activities and furthering the thinking on patient health and rehabilitation.

The detection of antibodies to recombinant interferon alfa-2a in human serum.

Three different procedures have been used for detecting antibodies to Roferon-A (recombinant human interferon alfa-2a, rHuIFN alpha-2a) in the serum of patients who received this interferon as part of ongoing clinical trials: an antiviral neutralization bioassay (ANB), the standard method recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), and the more recently developed radioimmunoassay (RIA) and enzymeimmunoassay (EIA). Although the three tests are based on different principles, the correlation among them was excellent. The assays show differences in sensitivities with the ANB being the least sensitive of the three. The EIA equals the RIA in sensitivity, reproducibility, accuracy and labor and provides the advantage of safety and convenience in the use of non-radioactive materials. Therefore, the EIA has been selected as the most suitable assay for initial screening of the sera of patients receiving Roferon-A for the presence of antibodies to this interferon. EIA positive sera are then tested in the ANB to determine whether or not neutralizing activities are present.

Valsalva maculopathy due to a retinal arterial macroaneurysm.

The term Valsalva retinopathy refers to hemorrhage in and around the macula in response to a sudden rise in intrathoracic or intra-abdominal pressure. The increased intravenous pressure is felt to be transmitted to the retinal circulation with resulting retinal capillary rupture. Fluorescein angiography is generally normal following resolution of the hemorrhage. We have followed the evolution of an arterial macroaneurysm that presented initially as a case of Valsalva maculopathy.