A female infant with total monosomy 21 identified by Q banding is described. The main clinical features were hypertonia, prominent occiput, hypertelorism, antimongoloid slant of the eyes, broad nose, "antimongoloid", character of dermatoglyphics. Both parents are phenotypically as well as karyotypically normal.

The insecticides demeton, dimetoat, dichlorovos, endosulfan, trichlorofon, carbaryl, lindane, methoxychlor, propoxur and malathion were examined for their ability to induce chromosomal aberrations in the bone marrow cells of the Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) treated in vivo. Mutagenicity of commercial preparations was examined at four doses: LD50; 1/2, 1/5 and 1/10 LD50. The positive control was an IP injection of cyclophosphamide to hamsters at a dose of 40 mg/kg body wt. Demeton, dichlorovos and endosulfan gave positive results. Malathion, dimethoate and the mixture of methoxychlor and propoxur were weakly clastogenic; at some doses these compounds induced statistically significant increases in the number of aberrations. Trichlorfon and the mixture of carbaryl and lindane were negative in this test.

Topical application of calcitriol or its analogs is a new approach for treating psoriasis, but may be limited by systemic calcitropic effects. Calcipotriol (MC 903) is a novel calcitriol analog with low calcitropic potency after systemic application. To compare the topical potency of calcitriol and calcipotriol we applied the two drugs on the right flanks of hairless rats for 10 days. In concentrations of 0.001-0.01 g/100 ml (ethanol) the two drugs are equally effective in inducing changes in the horny layer of the skin (increase in the amount of horny material that is able to be desquamated). This can be interpreted as a stimulation of terminal keratinocyte differentiation. However, only calcitriol caused a significant rise in the serum calcium concentration. In conclusion, calcitriol and calcipotriol seem to be equally effective after topical application on the skin of hairless rats, but calcipotriol has a much lower systemic calcium liability.

ExtractThe intermediates of the glycolytic pathway were investigated in erythrocytes of children with Down's syndrome and the results achieved were compared with those obtained from healthy children of the same age. In the acid-soluble fraction obtained from the erythrocytes, the levels of the intermediates of the glycolytic pathway were determined. The adenine and guanine nucleotides, coenzymes, and inorganic phosphate (Pi) and some other intermediates were examined. The adenine nucleotides: adenosine 5'-monophosphatc (AMP), adenosine o'-diphosphate (ADP), adenosine o'-triphosphate (ATP) and the guanine nucleotide: guanosine fZ-triphosphate (GTP) were determined. The nicotinamide adenine dinueleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide adenine dinueleotide phosphate (NADP), two glycolytic pathway coenzymes, were examined. Hexose diphosphate (HDP) and 2 ,3-diphosphoglyceric acid (2,3-DPG) were tested.Three groups were distinguished after the determination of the karyotype in the children examined: group I, seven children with Down's syndrome and trisomy G (karyotype 47,XX,G + or 47,XY,G +); group II, two children (siblings) with Down's syndrome and G/G translocation (karyotype 46,XX,G -,t(GqGq) +mat or 46,XY, G -,t(GqGq) +mat); and group III, healthy children with a normal karyotype, corresponding to the sex. The results of the biochemical investigations in all of the three groups were compared.Taking the values obtained for the healthy children as standard, a considerable decrease in the levels of ATP and 2 ,3-DPG and an increase in the levels of AMP, GTP, NAD, NADP, Pi, and HDP were noticed in the group of children with Down's syndrome and trisomy G. The ADP concentration was the same as in the control group. The values of some intermediates obtained for the group of mongols with unbalanced translocation G/G were approximately the same as the values obtained for the group of mongols with trisomy G. The 2 ,3-DPG level was just as low as in the mongol group with trisomy G.The results of the calculations, developed by means of the Student test, are statistically significant. Speculation