Administration of DSTs by the method described had no practical influence on patient or graft survival for up to 2 years. However, donor-specific hyporesponsiveness was more common in transfused patients (18 vs. 3%). Longer follow-up will be needed to determine whether DST will be associated with long-term benefit.

A relational model of the influence of childhood relationships on adult marital quality is proposed and tested in a family medical centre and a psychiatric outpatient population by a questionnaire of separation experiences, the Parental Bonding Instrument and the Locke-Wallace Short Marital Adjustment Test. This paper presents results from a psychiatric outpatient population that correspond with previously reported results on the family medical centre patients. The paper also presents data from both populations on the association of childhood separation experiences with adult marital quality. The presence or absence of self-reported childhood separation experiences was not associated with variations of marital quality in either population. The variation in other aspects of separation experiences similarly was not associated with marital quality. The association between representations of childhood experience and adult marital quality, found in a previous study of the family medical centre patients, was not found in the psychiatric outpatient population. The possible reasons for these findings are discussed.

The operative discovery of acute pancreatitis associated with gross hyperlipidaemia but a normal or high elevated serum amylase concentration has been described. We report a case of acute pancreatitis in which serial dilutions of serum resulted in a 338% rise in the serum amylase concentrations. The importance of appreciating this effect of hyperlipidaemia on the serum level measurements in patients with acute pancreatitis is re-emphasised.