The frequency of an abnormal response to the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was examined in 38 geriatric patients hospitalized for medical illnesses and affected by depressive disorders diagnosed according to the DSM III, and in 18 medical patients (used as controls) hospitalized in the same ward. Only 11% of the controls and 11% of those affected by dysthymic disorder had an abnormal DST vs 73% of the patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The sensitivity of the DST for MDD, in this particular setting, was found to be about 73% and the specificity 89%. The importance of this clinical adjunct in diagnosing the severe depressive disorders is discussed.

The passage of sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) and trimethoprim (TMP) into the human bile was examined in 10 female patients, who were carriers of a T drain introduced 2–12 days before on the occasion of cholecystectomy. Four of the subjects received a single oral dose of 800 mg SMZ + 160 mg TMP in the form of 2 tablets of Bactrim Roche, three ingested 3 and the remaining three 10 such doses at 12-hour intervals. The concentrations of the drugs in samples of plasma and bile collected at corresponding graded times after medication were then determined. The pharmacokinetic characteristics of the resulting plasma levels lie with few deviations in the normal ranges observed in healthy adults. The content of active SMZ and TMP in the bile is of an order providing very favourable conditions for a curative effect of the combination in cases of biliary infections caused by bacteria sensitive to the two drugs.

The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was performed on 13 patients with multi-infarct dementia (MID), 5 patients with primary degenerative dementia (PDD) and 18 elderly controls. Abnormal lack of suppression was found in 7 demented patients (3 with PDD, 1 mild and 2 severe, and 4 with MID, 1 mild and 3 severe), and in 2 of the controls. Only one demented patient was depressed. The value of DST in the differential diagnosis of dementia from the major depressive disorders is discussed.