PubMed · 5196640
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1969-04-01. HASL fallout program data. HASL-204.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5196640/
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Specific behavioral consequences of seasonal affective disorder have not been closely examined. Length of daylight is evaluated in relation to medication errors in a medical center located in the far north. Factors such as numbers of patient admissions, discharges, and deaths were controlled with data collected in Anchorage, Alaska, over 5 consecutive years, 1985-89. These data revealed that 58% of all medication errors occurred during the first quarter of the year. Medication errors were 1.95 times more likely in December than September. The best statistical prediction was for errors associated with levels of darkness 2 months earlier. There may be not only an impairment of work performance among hospital nursing staff that reaches a peak in late winter but, more importantly, medication errors appear to follow a pattern that is closely associated with the annual cycle of daylight and darkness.
Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is an autosomal recessive disorder resulting from the inability to metabolize sulphatide, an important component of myelin. Although there is significant clinical variability between patients, most have the late-infantile form. It is one of the most common lysosomal disorders involving mental deterioration and is found throughout the world. The great majority of the cases have a deficiency of arylsulphatase A activity. Accurate diagnosis of MLD is complicated by the presence of so-called pseudodeficiency alleles and the need to receive specimens for biochemical testing within 24-48 h of collection. We report the identification of the mutation (a g-to-a transition in the first nucleotide of intron 4) in the arylsulphatase A gene causing late-infantile MLD among the Eskimo population of southern Alaska. As all patients and family members from living and deceased patients had the same mutation, a mutation-based test was developed to identify patients and carriers that can be done on dried blood spots sent via regular mail service. A possible genetic link between this population and the Navajo Indians of the southwestern United States is proposed.
A description is presented of the medical beliefs of the totemic people on the Northwest American coast. The principles of Shamanic therapy are analysed. The consequences for therapeutic views by medical schools are discussed.