Trends in suicide and unemployment in Scotland, 1976-86.

To establish whether a correlation exists between unemployment and suicide the trends in the rates of both among men in Scotland during 1976-86 were studied. Both rates showed rapid increases in the late 1970s and then much slower increases after 1982. In contrast, among women, although the rate of unemployment followed a similar pattern, there was a gradual fall in the rate of suicide. The trends in regional unemployment for men during 1971-81 were compared with the suicide rates for the period before the increase (1974-7) and the period after the rapid increase (1983-6). No association was observed between trends in suicide and unemployment when analysed by health board areas or aggregates of local government districts. These data do not support the hypothesis that the rise in unemployment is a direct cause of the rise in suicide rates among men.     

Effects of self poisoning with maprotiline.

Self poisoning with maprotiline was studied in 41 patients (43 episodes) consecutively admitted to an intensive care unit. Thirty five patients had taken more than one drug or alcohol. Fifteen patients were in coma grade III or IV; 17 patients were still not conscious after 24 hours in the intensive care unit. Among six patients given ventilation the mean duration of ventilation in the five who recovered was 36 hours. Three patients had a cardiorespiratory arrest, and one patient died. Twenty eight patients had a QRS interval of 100 ms or more, and 15 patients had seizures. In six patients seizures were precipitated by physostigmine. Cardiotoxicity after overdosage of maprotiline is equal to if not greater than that found after overdosage of conventional tricyclic antidepressants. Overdosage of maprotiline is more often associated with seizures than overdosage with tricyclic antidepressants. Physostigmine further increases the risk of seizures and should not be used in cases of overdosage of maprotiline.     

Bat rabies in South Carolina, 1970-90.

This retrospective study examines the geographic and temporal distribution of bat species submitted for rabies testing in South Carolina (USA) from 1970 to 1990. Histories of human or animal exposures to rabid and nonrabid bats submitted during this time period were compared. Two hundred and thirty-one bats were found to be rabid from the 2,657 bats submitted over this 20 yr period. The two species most frequently submitted for testing were Lasiurus borealis with 785 specimens (30% of the total) and Nycticeius humeralis with 607 specimens (22% of the total). Lasiurus borealis also had the highest prevalence of rabies (18%) while N. humeralis had the lowest prevalence (3%). Fifty-one percent (1,259) of the bats received for testing were submitted from June through August. The majority (54%) of rabid bats were received from August through October.