Effect of fibrinogen fragments D and E on the adhesive properties of human granulocytes to venous endothelial cells.

In hyperfibrinolytic conditions, e.g. in disseminated intravascular coagulation or the adult respiratory distress syndrome, high levels of fibrinogen degradation products (FDPs) D and E are found in human plasma. This study investigates the influence of these fragments on cell attachment of human granulocytes in vitro. While leaving unaffected the adhesion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) on gelatine-coated glass, both FDP fragments at 50 micrograms/ml inhibited granulocyte attachment to glass as well as to HUVEC monolayers. At the same concentration, the fragments diminished the superoxide release of stimulated granulocytes. These results suggest a modulatory role of pathologically elevated FDPs on the granulocyte function cascade.

Smooth pursuit eye movements in schizophrenics--what constitutes quantitative assessment?

Although a voluminous literature exists on the eye movements of schizophrenic and affective disorder patients, many of the assessments made of smooth pursuit have been qualitative in nature. Most of them have not differentiated between abnormal functioning of the smooth pursuit system and intrusion of inappropriate saccades during a smooth tracking task. Specific identification of the pursuit or saccadic defect is necessary if the origins of the abnormalities are to be understood and related to psychopathology. Analytical techniques, such as the ln(S/N) ratio, although numerical in nature, are still unable to discriminate among pursuit and saccadic defects, as shown by our analysis of simulated tracking. Thus, to understand the effects of psychiatric disorders on the ocular motor system, specific defects must be identified and quantified.