Drinking behaviour in rats treated with isoprenaline, angiotensin II or angiotensin antagonists.

1. Isoprenaline hydrochloride injected subcutaneously in rats given a choice test of 1.8% NaCl and water, first induced saline intake which started immediately and was almost concluded in 15 min, followed by a copious water intake. When either saline or water were given in a separate test, saline intake surpassed the water intake in the first 15 min.2. The delay of 15, 30 or 60 min after injection of isoprenaline, 100 mug/kg, before drinking was allowed, significantly reduced saline intake but did not modify the amount of water subsequently drunk.3. Isoprenaline caused a sudden drop in arterial blood pressure, the extent and duration depending on the dose. The time of maximum drop 3-4 min after injection coincided with the time the rat drank salt.4. Isoprenaline-induced saline drinking was significantly reduced after bilateral nephrectomy but water intake was unaffected.5. The beta-adrenoceptor blocking agent, propranolol, inhibited isoprenaline-induced NaCl and water intake, while the alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist phenoxybenzamine abolished isoprenaline-induced NaCl intake and enhanced water intake.6. Saralasin acetate (P-113), a competitive inhibitor of angiotensin II, given into the third brain ventricle, prevented the isoprenaline-induced NaCl and water intake as well as angiotensin II-induced drinking. The angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor SQ-20881 reduced the isoprenaline-induced NaCl and water intake.7. In conclusion, hypotension might be a component of salt drinking evoked by isoprenaline although the dipsogenic action of beta-stimulation is mainly due to endogenous renin-angiotensin activation.


The relationship between end-plate size and transmitter release in normal and dystrophic muscles of the mouse.

1. The morphology of nerve terminals and sub-neural apparatuses was examined in the muscles of normal and dystrophic adult mice of the Bar Harbor 129 ReJ strain. Nerve terminals were larger in dystrophic muscles than in normal muscles and nerve terminal sprouting was evident in about 50% of the dystrophic muscles fibres. End-plate area was positively correlated with muscle fibre diameter in both normal and dystrophic muscles. 2. Polynueronal innervation was found  in only 1% of dystrophic muscle fibres impaled with micro-electrodes. 3. Miniature end-plate potential amplitude was positively correlated with muscle fibre input resistance in both normal and dystrophic muscles. There was however, a greater than normal variation in the amplitudes of m.e.p.p.s recorded from individual dystrophic muscle fibres. 4. Quantum contents of end-plate potentials were estimated in normal and dystrophic mouse nerve-muscle preparations partially blocked with D-tubocurarine. The quantum content of e.p.p.s seemed to be related to muscle fibre diameter, and in dystrophic muscles the characteristics of evoked release were indistinguishable from normal. 5. It was concluded that the nerve terminal sprouting and the expansion of end-plate area which were observed in dystrophic muscles are not a consequence of any form of denervation, but represent an attempt by the axon to expand the area of synaptic contact in hypertrophied muscle fibres.


The packeted release of transmitter from the sympathetic nerves of the guinea-pig vas deferens: an electrophysiological study.

1. Excitatory junction potentials (e.j.p.s) were recorded intracellularly in the guinea-pig vas deferens following stimulation of the hypogastric nerve. Differentiation of the rising phase of the e.j.p. showed them to be made up of transient peaks in the rate of depolarisation, the 'discrete events'. 2. In any one cell discrete events occurred at one or several latencies, intermittently, the frequency of occurrence varying between 1 in 1.8 to 1 in 45 stimuli. 3. Intermittence was not an artifact due to the use of submaximal stimulation nor the result of a ganglionic relay between the hypogastric and vas deferens nerve. 4. Discrete events occurring with a single latency had amplitudes that were multimodally distributed. In some cells the preferred values of amplitude were simple whole number multiples of the smallest preferred value. 5. The time course of discrete events varied from cell to cell and at different latencies. The discrete event had a time to peak of 5.3 +/- 1.9 msec, n = 220 (mean +/- S.D.) and a time to half decay of 8.3 +/- 3.6 msec, n = 220. 6. Discrete events in a cell could be matched for amplitude and time course by spontaneous excitatory junction potentials in the same cell and both probably represent the release of a single packet of transmitter. 7. The e.j.p. is made up of (1) discrete events which represent the release of transmitter from a single varicosity, (2) a non intermittent slow component which represents the electronic spread of activity from smooth muscle excited from distant release sites. 8. It is concluded that transmitter release from individual varicosities is packeted and the number of packets liberated per stimulus from a single varicosity is small, varying between zero and 10.


[Endolymphatic curietherapy by lymphography with labelled lipiodol in Hodgkin's disease. A report on 408 cases (author's transl)].

The results of 373 lymphography examinations with radioactive lipiodol, conducted in 408 patients with Hodgkin's disease for diagnostic and prophylactic therapeutic purposes, during investigations carried out from 1966 to 1973 are analyzed. Tolerance was always excellent, especially from the hematological point of view. The efficacy of the procedure can be assessed by the fact that there were only 6% of failures (21/373) in glandular regions irradiated in this way for prophylactic purposes. Relapses occur more frequently in the inguino-iliac and lumbo-aortic regions than in the pelvic chains which were perfectly protected. This technique also enables both pelvic irradiation and ovarian protection in young women without any risk of failure. The procedure is particularly indicated in the following cases: supradiaphragmatic stages I and II, whatever the sex, and stage III especially in women. In sub-diaphragmatic stages I and II, it allows, in favourable cases, the ovarian function in women to remain intact by limiting external irradiation to invaded regions only.


Granular cell myoblastoma of the vulva.

The granular cell myoblastoma (granular cell tumor) is a rare lesion of mesodermal origin that occurs in many areas of the body, including the vulva in seven percent of cases. The exact origin of this tumor is still being investigated. However, nerve cell origin is generally accepted. Lesions of the vulva occur in any age group and must be biopsied to rule out carcinoma, hidradenomas, sebaceous cysts, and papillomas. The recurrence rate of incompletely excised lesions is 25 percent. The microscopic picture of the lesion may simulate carcinoma as a result of reactive hyperplasia of the overlying epidermis. Discovery of a mass on the vulva in any patient which on biopsy reveals a granular cell myoblastoma should lead the examiner to excise the lesion completely and also to search for other lesions at various sites of the body.


Action of exogenously administered steroid hormones following perinatal exposure to polybrominated biphenyls.

Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) have produced a variety of effects including alterations in the endocrine system and in the activity of microsomal mixed-function oxidases (MFOs). Because steroid hormones are substrates for MFOs, effects of PBBs on the endocrine system may be a consequence of enhanced steroid hormone catabolism. Therefore, as a first step in evaluating the effect of PBBs on steroid hormone catabolism. Therefore, as a first step in evaluating the effect of PBBs on steroid hormone metabolism, it was of interest to determine effects of perinatal exposure to PBBs on the response to exogenously adminstered steroid hormones. Rats were exposed to 0, 10, or 100 ppm PBBs from d 8 of gestation until d 28 postpartum, when experiments were conducted. Responses to labeled steroid hormones were generally modified in a manner directly related to PBB dose and were correlated with changes in serum and target tissue retroactivity. Stimulated metabolism of steroid hormones may account, at least in part, for endocrine-related alterations produced by PBBs. Although the potential for decreased reproductive capacity following PBBs cannot yet be accurately predicted, these experiments suggest that fertility may be reduced following PBBs as a consequence of accelerated steroid hormone metabolism and/or excretion.


Biochemical alterations in livers of rats exposed to vinyl chloride.

Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to vinyl chloride to determine the earliest sequential biochemical changes occurring with liver injury before anglosarcoma development. Activity of glucose-6-phosphatase, a key gluconeogenic enzyme in the liver microsomal fraction, decreased 25% with respect to controls after 70 h of exposure. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity increased twofold after more than 100 h of exposure. Nonprotein sulfhydryl levels (glutathione and/or cysteine) showed a slight but progressive elevation, whereas glutathione reductase activity increased 50-60% during exposure to vinyl chloride.NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and mixed function oxidase were unchanged in the same microsomal fraction. There markers of liver mitochondrial, cytosol, and microsomal function. No significant histological changes were found on light microscopic examination during this exposure period. However, with electron microscopy, dilation of rough endoplasmic reticulum was seen in the animals exposed for more than 137 h. These enzymatic changes are considered to reflect early hepatocellular adaptation to vinyl chloride exposure with very mild or limited hepatocellular injury in its earliest stage.


Toxic effects of cadmium on the developing rat lung. I. Altered pulmonary surfactant and the induction of respiratory distress syndrome.

The effects of Cd on the growth of the fetal rat lung and the maturation of the pulmonary surfactant system were studied. Pregnant rats received sc injections of cadmium chloride on d 12-15 of gestation. Animals were sacrificed throughout late gestation. Fetal lungs were assayed for pulmonary surfactant lecithin and spingomyelin. Some animals were allowed to give birth and the neonates were observed for symptoms of respiratory distress. The treatment resulted in high fetal mortality and growth retardation. Lung-body weight ratios were reduced by 20-30% in treated fetuses. Pulmonary spingomyelin content was not affected by the Cd absolute quantity but not in lecithin-lung weight ratio on the last days of gestation. Parturition was delayed almost a full day by the Dd treatment, and birth weights were reduced. Of the treated neonates, 11% developed respiratory distress syndrome. All but one of these individuals died and had lungs with hyaline membranes. Prenatal exposure to Cd can (1) cause lung hypoplasia, (2) affect pulmonary surfactant, and (3) induce respiratory distress syndrome in term pups.


Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma.

A case of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma in a 14 year old boy is presented on account of the endocrinological investigation performed before, during, and after treatment with 15 mg/day diethylstilbestrol for more than one month. Previously, the tumor had recurred in spite of extensive surgery. Secondary sexual characteristics were normal and the development of puberty at the age of 12-13 years seemed not to have influenced tumor growth. In contrast to certain previous reports, normal functions were found regarding the pituitary, the gonads, the adrenal cortex, and the thyroid gland in our patient. The tumor continued to grow in spite of the diethylstilbestrol therapy.


Endoscopic findings in sleep apnea syndrome.

Sleep apnea syndrome is a constellation of symptoms resulting from recurrent episodes of apnea during sleep. Often the upper airway becomes obstructed during slumber in this disorder. Symptoms relate to sleep deprivation and include morning headaches, daytime somnolence, personality changes with deteriorating intellectual capacity, nocturnal enuresis, and sexual dysfunction. Diagnosis is assisted by polysomnographic recordings. Therapy is directed at the cause of obstruction when one can be found, weight loss in massively obese patients, tracheostomy in the symptomatic patient. Four patients with documented sleep apnea syndrome are discussed. One patient, a thin adolescent female underwent adenoidectomy without improvement. Two massively obese adult males required tracheostomy with marked amelioration of symptoms. One additional adult male was found to have sleep apnea due to severe, acquired micrognathia; he was significantly improved by tracheostomy. All three adult patients were found by endoscopic visualization to have marked pharyngeal soft tissue collapse with inspiration during apneic episodes. Possible causes of pharyngeal collapse are discussed.


Supplemental arginine increases thymic cellularity in normal and murine sarcoma virus-inoculated mice and increases the resistance to murine sarcoma virus tumor.

Arginine supplements were given to 6 week old CBA mice beginning 3 days prior to inoculation with a murine sarcoma virus, the Moloney Sarcoma Virus (MSV). Although the basal diet contained 1.8% arginine and was therefore not arginine-deficient, supplementation of the diet and the drinking water with 0.5% arginine HCl reduced tumor incidence, lengthened the latency period, decreased tumor size, and hastened tumor regression. Arginine also increased thymic weight and cellularity in normal and in MSV-inoculated mice. The antitumor action of arginine may be related to its effect on the thymus.


Age-related changes in the immune system of mice of eight medium and long-lived strains and hybrids. II. Short- and long-term effects of natural infection with parainfluenza type 1 virus (Sendai).

Studies on the effects of natural infection with parainfluenza type 1 virus (Sendai) on the immune system of 8 strains and hybrids of aging mice revealed that (a) 55 of 63 indices tested were abnormal as late as 8 months after the disappearance of clinical systoms, (b) thymus weight and cell indices and lymph node T cell activity still exhibited a statistically significant negative correlation with age following infection, and (c) immunologically immature young and immunodeficient old mice suffered more severe sequelae following viral infection than did adult or middle-aged mice as determined by accelerated decline of thymus indices, mortality, IgM Coombs' titer, and in the case of old mice, anemia. These findings suggest that chronic viral infection can accelerate immunologic aging and that viral infection in utero can suppress or retard the development of the T cell component of the immune system. In support of our previous study, they also suggest that the thymus regulates immunologic aging and that genetic factors regulating immunologic aging are not easily influenced by environmental factors.


[Prenatal causes of sensorineural hearing loss in children (author's transl)].

Prenatal causes of sensorineural hearing loss in children may be genetic or nongenetic, the deafness occurs alone or with other abnormalities. In addition, there are prenatal causes of a sensorineural hearing loss which is of delayed onset postnatally. In this review only the better known causes are discussed in which the otorhinolaryngologist should establish a diagnosis early, particularly when the possibility exists of preventing or even treating the hearing loss.


[Viral infection and sudden perceptive deafness (serological examinations) (author's transl)].

Among the numerous and various known etiologies of sudden deafness viral infection is discussed. Therefore sera of 126 patients were examined for viral antibodies to Influenza, Parainfluenza, Mumps, Measles, RS-virus, Rubella, Herpesvirus and Adenovirus. They were compared to sera of healthy patients. Our results suggest no strong association between sudden deafness and viral infection.


[Cervical synovial sarcoma in children (author's transl)].

Cervical synovial sarcoma is a rather uncommon neoplasm in children. Until to date 10 such cases have been reported. We describe an additional patient in whom this lesion occurred as a primary neoplasm of the hypopharynx.


Lipid composition of SV40-induced transplantable hamster tumor.

The analysis of the lipid composition of the SV40-induced transplantable hamster tumor has shown that: (a) the total phospholipid content in the tumor is lower than that usually found in normal tissues and similar to that reported for other neoplasms; (b) except for a lower percentage of diphosphatidylglycerol, the phospholipid composition is comparable with that reported for normal tissues; (c) the fatty acid profiles of the various glycerophospholipid classes are characterized by high proportions of oleic acid; and (d) phosphatidylethanolamine contains proportions of alkenyl side chains which are consistent with the amounts of plasmalogenic phospholipids found in other neoplasms.


Ethanolamine kinase activity and compositions of diacylglycerols, phosphatidylcholines and phosphatidylethanolamines in livers of choline-deficient rats.

These experiments were performed to find the reasons for the increased concentrations of docosahexaenoyl phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) in livers of choline-deficient rats. We measured the activity of ethanolamine kinase, which catalyzes the first step in PE formation. We also measured the compositions of PE and phosphatidylcholines (PC) and concentrations and fatty acid compositions of diacylglycerols (DG), which are precursors of PE. Young male rats were fed for one week a low-methionine, choline-deficient diet, or the same diet supplemented with choline. Ethanolamine kinase activity was measured in liver cytosol (100,000 g supernatant). Fatty acids were measured in total liver diacylglycerols and in microsomal PE and PC. Ethanolamine kinase activities were equal in choline-deficient and choline-supplemented rats. Concentrations of DG were elevated 6-fold by choline deficiency. The percentage of docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3) in microsomal PE was nearly doubled by choline deficiency. Although the increased concentrations of PE in choline-deficient livers cannot be attributed to increased activity of ethanolamine kinase, the rate of PE formation probably was increased by increases in concentrations of its precursors, including DG. The disproportionate increase in 22:6n-3 PE probably was caused by a selective formation of PE from DG that contain 22:6n-3.


[Human trypanosomiasis focus of Vavoua (Ivory Coast). A clinical, parasitological and sero-immunological survey (author's transl)].

Vavoua human trypanosomiasis focus, located 60 km north of Daloa (Ivory Coast Republic) is facing a period of hyperactivity. A medical survey has been conducted in 9 villages of this focus: 7.424 persons have been examined and 128 new cases diagnosed in the field after clinical and parasitological examinations. Indirect Fluorescence Antibody Test applied to dried blood blots, in the laboratory, revealed 266 immunological suspects to be reexamined. 185 suspects were reexamined, 104 of whom were diagnosed after tyrpanosomes had been found in blood or/and in gland juice. The microhaematocrit centrifuge technique gave good results. Most of the 232 new cases were in the classical first period (unaltered CSF). Authors are insisting on the importance of survey prospections allowing an early diagnosis of sleeping sickness and on the interest of an immunodiagnostic test in addition to classical techniques to diagnose asymptomatical forms.


[Contribution of immunoglobulin assays to the diagnosis of human African trypanosomiasis in patients immunologically suspect (immunofluorescence and ELISA). A preliminary report (author's transl)].

Can the diagnosis of sleeping sickness in patients immunologically suspect, without seeing the parasite, be obtained by dosing IgG and IgM? The authors demonstrate that two groups of people with positive immunodiagnosis, one parasitologically confirmed and the other not confirmed, do not show significant difference when dosing immunoglobulins. These two groups respectively show a significant difference when compared with a parasitologically and immunologicaly negative group. The simultaneous increase in IgG and IgM might confirm the immunodiagnosis.


[Comparative value of ELISA technique and immunofluorescence for the detection in the foci of human African trypanosomiasis].

As the parasitological diagnosis method consisting in the detection of the parasite in people suffering from sleeping sickness did not prove entirely reliable, the authors have tested a new immunoenzymatic diagnosis method called ELISA. 41 sera from clinical suspects have been tested (parasite having been found in 16 of them). Positive and negative levels have been tested by comparison with indirect immunofluorescence. The following results, given in optical density, have been obtained: negative cases less than 36 less than or equal to uncertain cases less than or equal to 40 less than positive cases. When using these date, correlation with immunofluorescence proves to be excellent with a sensibility between 95 and 97,5 p. 100 and a specificity between 97,5 and 99 p. 100.


[Antimalaria fluorescent antibodies evolution in young children living in a stable malaria area (author's transl)].

The detection of malarial fluorescent antibodies have been performed in an Abidjan dispensary on 30 newborn babies with their mothers, 30 children 3 months old and 120 children from 6 to 24 months. This survey took place during the small rainy season and it demonstrates that: --synthesis of specific antibodies is significantly starting after the 3rd month; --the rise, after six months, of the malarial antibodies is parallel to the plasmodic index checked during the same period in the same area; --the rate of antibodies in 2 years old babies is almost the same that in adults; --living conditions in rural areas accelerate the synthesis of antibodies which, adversely, is slowed down by regular chemoprophylaxis; --Plasmodium berghei is a valuable antigen for mass survey; --Abidjan town is an hypoendemic zone of stable malaria in a mesoendemic area.


[Attempt to improve the pronostic score of tetanus (author's transl)].

A prognostic score based on 6 criteria has been proposed at the 4th International Conference on Tetanus (Dakar, April 1975). A computer study of 598 cases indicates that this score may be further improved by taking into account with more accuracy the frequency of peaks of paroxism and the special severity of the intra-gluteal infection.


Amplification of chloramphenicol resistance transposons carried by phage P1Cm in Escherichia coli.

We have characterized a number of P1Cm phages which contain the resistance genes to chloramphenicol and fusidic acid as IS1-flanked Cm transposons. Restriction cleavage and electron microscopic analysis showed that these Cm transposons were carried as monomers (M) or tandem dimers (D). Lysogens of P1Cm (D) are more resistant to chloramphenicol than those of its P1Cm (M) presumably as a result of an increased gene dosage. Amplification of the Cm transposons to tandem multimers was frequently observed in P1Cm (D) lysogens grown in the presence of high concentrations of chloramphenicol or fusidic acid and was also detected in P1Cm (M) lysogens. The degree of amplification varied in different clones which suggests that cells containing spontaneously amplified Cm transposons were selected by high doses of the antibiotics. The dimeric as well as the amplified Cm transposons carried in P1Cm lysogens grown in the absence of chloramphenicol displayed considerable stability. Mechanisms for the amplification of the IS1-flanked transposons are discussed.


Procedure of RNA extraction which does not extract DNA and proteins from nervous tissue cells.

Several schemes of acidic extraction of RNA taken from biochemical or cytochemical literature were compared by means of ultraviolet and visible cytospectrophotometry. Basing on the data obtained an extraction scheme has been recommended which consists in the treatment of nervous tissue sections with 16 per cent perchloric acid at 4 degrees C for 48 h. This extraction has been shown to extract completely cellular RNA without extracting DNA and proteins from the nervous tissue cells. Using this scheme, ultraviolet cytospectrophotometry of neurons and glial cells was performed twice, before and after the selective RNA extraction, which enabled a calculation of RNA concentration by the difference of the absorption values. In mice, after 3 h-swimming, and in cats, after 2-week daily injections of adrenaline, a number of quantitative and qualitative RNA changes were found out in nerve and glial cell of mouse spinal cord and cat sympathetic ganglion with the aid of the recommended scheme of RNA extraction.


[Phosphohydrolase activity of Pseudomonas maltophilia].

The activity of phosphohydrolase (acid, alkaline, pyrophosphatase) was studied in two strains of Pseudomonas maltophilia: VCM-B-591 and SSE-B-715. The activity of these enzyme systems in these strains was found to be much higher than in other Pseudomonas species, viz. Ps. aeruginosa VCM-B-889, Ps. fluorescens VCM-B-553, Ps. geniculata SSE-B-338, and in E. coli B. The phosphohydrolase activity of Ps. maltophilia varied depending on the growth phase of the culture. The highest activity of acid phosphatase was registered in the middle of the exponential phase for the strain VCM-B-591 and at the beginning of this phase for the strain SSE-B-715. The activity of alkaline phosphatase was maximal, for both of the strains VCM-B-591 and SSE-B-715, at the beginning of the logarithimic growth phase. The pyrophosphatase activity of the two strains had "two peaks" at the beginning and by the end of the logarithmic phase of growth. Incubation of Ps. maltophilia cells in media without orthophosphate did not result in an increase of their phosphohydrolase activity.


Nucleotide-metabolizing enzymes and lymphocyte differentiation.

Inherited deficiencies of adenosine deaminase and purine nucleoside phosphorylase have been found to be associated with certain immunodeficiency syndromes which are characterized by deficiencies of mature peripheral lymphocytes. The immunodeficiency states associated with these enzyme deficiencies are thought to arise from blocks in lymphocyte differentiation. Deficiencies of these enzymes have profound and apparently selective effects on lymphocyte differentiation. Their discovery has focused attention on previously unknown relationships between purine nucleotide metabolism and lymphocyte development and function. In this article three aspects of nucleotide-metabolizing enzymes and lymphocyte differentiation will be discussed: 1) the distribution of the enzymes among lymphocyte populations at differing stages of differentiation; 2) the possible biochemical mechanisms which give rise to the immunodeficiencies; 3) the stages of lymphocyte differentiation which are affected by the enzyme deficiencies.


Preparation of homogeneous crystals of myo-inositol 1-phosphate synthase from rat testicles--further data on the chemical and catalytic properties of the enzyme (studies on the biosynthesis cyclitols, XXXIX).

Pre-purified preparations of myoinositol-1-phosphate synthase (E.C. 5.5.1.4) from rat testes can be purified to homogeneity by first crystallizing the enzyme according to JAKOBY and then recrystallizing it at a pH value close to the isoelectric point while slowly increasing the temperature from 0 to 15 degrees C. This method gives a much yield of homogeneous enzyme than the previously used purification by affinity chromatography. It was further found that the pure enzyme contains close to 2 mol NAD+ per mol enzyme; it does not contain any metal. At substrate saturation the enzyme binds close to 1 mol substrate per mol enzyme, as determined by using radioactively labelled substrate and binding it to the enzyme by reduction with NaBH4. The reaction catalyzed by the enzyme is irreversible.


Biochemical characterization of the beta-adrenergic receptor of the frog erythrocyte.

The beta-adrenergic receptor which is coupled to adenylate cyclase in the frog erythrocyte plasma membrane provides a convenient model system for probing the molecular characteristics of an adenylate cyclase coupled hormone receptor. Direct radioligand binding studies with beta-adrenergic agonists and antagonists such as [3H]hydroxybenzylisoproterenol and [3H]dihydroalprenolol have shed new light on the biochemical properties of the receptor as well as on its mode of interaction with other components of the adenylate cyclase system. Agonist binding to the receptor induces a high affinity state of the receptor which can be selectively reverted to a low agonist affinity state by guanyl nucleotides. This agonist-induced high affinity state of the receptor appears to correspond to a receptor moiety which has larger apparent molecular weight and which is probably a complex of the beta-adrenergic receptor and nucleotide regulatory binding protein. Antagonists do not appear capable of inducing or stabilizing the formation of this high affinity receptor-nucleotide site complex. The beta-adrenergic receptors have been solubilized using the plant glycoside digitonin as the detergent and have been highly purified by biospecific affinity chromatography on an alprenolol-agarose affinity support. These highly purified receptor preparations retain all of the binding characteristics observed in the unpurified soluble receptor preparations. Remarkably, antibodies raised in rabbits against affinity chromatography purified preparations of the receptor, themselves bind beta-adrenergic ligands with typical beta-adrenergic specificity. Such antibodies which possess binding sites similar to those of physiological receptors provide useful model systems for further probing the molecular characteristics of beta-adrenergic binding sites.


Lack of detectable nuclease activity in highly purified preparations of murine fibroblast interferon.

The size distribution of radiolabeled mouse C-243 cell poly-A containing RNA, and SV40 DNA was analyzed electrophoretically before and after incubation with high concentrations of electrophoretically pure murine fibroblast interferon. Using this sensitive assay, no evidence for any nuclease activity directly associated with interferon could be found, under a wide variety of incubation conditions.


[The use of the erythrocyte adenylate kinase system in paternity suits].

Authors describe genetically determined polymorphisms, genetical feature and pattern of inheritance of the system of AK. Results and methods used in their studies first in the Hungarian population are reported. On the basis of examination of 1734 persons the incidence of the AK phenotypes was found as follows: AK 1 = 93,59%, AK 2 = 0,05%, and AK 2-1 6,34%. Values of gene frequency: AK1-0,9676, AK2-0,0322. According to the authors findings the maximal (theoretical) chance of the exclusion of paternity on the basis of AK system was 3,02%. In 844 cases of discussed paternity beside the investigation of the systems of A1A2BO, MN, Hp, Rh, Gm/a, x, b), InV(1), Gc, Ss, Kk, Fy(ab), VSP, PGM1, GPT and ADA the system of AK was also studied. In 191 cases (22,62%) the paternity could have been excluded. In 8 cases (0,94%) exclusion of the paternity have been based on the findings of the examination of AK system. In cases of discussed paternity authors recommend the examination of the AK system.


Acute pulmonary paracoccidioidomycosis in an immunosuppressed patient.

A case of an acute pulmonary paracoccidioidomycosis following the use of immunosuppressive therapy in a solid cancer patient is reported.


Histoenzymology of the lung. V. Histoenzymatic analysis of sixty lung tumors.

A series of sixty lung tumors operated during 1977 were histoenzymatically investigated (12 macrocellular carcionomas, 4 microcellular, 18 epidermoid, 18 cylindrocubic, 2 bronchiolo-alveolar cell carcinomas, 4 lung fibroblastic sarcomas, and 2 benign lung tumors: a haemangioma and a carcinoid tumor). There were tested 25 enzymes, hydrolases and oxidoreductases of different metabolic pathways. The histoenzymatic analysis of the neoplastic lung tissue compared with the normal adult human lung tissue pointed to a shifting of the metabolic balance, with the decrease of enzyme activities belonging to the Krebs tricarboxylic acid cycle and with the increase or maintenance of the level of enzymic activities belonging to the Embden-Meyerhoff-Parnas pathway and to the pentose shunt. The enzymes intervening in the protidic activity in all the malignant tumors of the lung. Some hydrolases were also more active lung tissue pointed out the existence of close relations between the normal epithelia and the cylindrocubic and bronchiolo-alveolar types, and of distant ones with the epidermoid and microcellular carcinomas which suffered more accentuated ecogenetic influences (stopping of differentiation/maturation, metaplasia) during the complex oncogenetic process.


Evidence for cyclic GMP-mediated relaxant effects of nitro-compounds in coronary smooth muscle.

The effects of the four nitro-compounds nitroglycerin, nitroprusside-Na, NaNO2 and B 744-99 were studied simultaneously on length and on cGMP-levels in isolated circular strips of bovine coronary arteries. 1. All 4 nitro-compounds concentration dependently relaxed the strips in close association with pronounced increases in cGMP-levels which preceded the mechanical responses. 2. The relaxant effects of all 4 nitro-compounds were significantly potentiated by the predominant inhibitor of cGMP-hydrolysis M & B 22,948, which also potentiated the increase in cGMP-levels of the two nitro-compounds in which it was studied (nitroglycerin and nitroprusside-Na). 3. Non-substituted cGMP and -- much stronger -- its 8 bromo-derivative also relaxed the strips and these effects were likewise potentiated by M & B 22,948. 4. When the log increase in cGMP produced by the 4 nitro-compounds were plotted against percent relaxation (probit scale) a linear and highly significant positive correlation was obtained. 5. The results provide evidence that the increases in cGMP caused by the 4 nitro-compounds studied are responsible for the smooth muscle relaxing actions of these drugs.


Possible subdivision of postsynaptic alpha-adrenoceptors mediating pressor responses in the pithed rat.

Additional evidence has been obtained indicating a possible subclassification of postsynaptic alpha-adrenoceptors into alpha 1 - and alpha 2 -subtypes. The pressor responses to the alpha-adrenoceptor agonists L-phenylephrine and guanfacine were quantified after i.v. administration to pithed rats. The alpha-sympatholytic drug yohimbine (1 mg/kg) displaced both dose-response curves to the right, but the effect was greatest for guanfacine. After prazosin (0.1 mg/kg) a 53-fold shift to the right was noticed for the dose-response characteristic of L-phenylephrine. Prazosin antagonized the effect of only the higher doses of guanfacine. The findings indicate that L-phenylephrine and prazosin preferentially interact with alpha 1 -adrenoceptors as agonist and antagonist, respectively. Yohimbine proved less selective than prazosin, but preferentially blocks postjunctional alpha 2 -adrenoceptors in the vascular wall. The results obtained with guanfacine may be interpreted to indicate that this drug acts on alpha 2 -adrenoceptors at lower doses and additionally stimulates alpha 1 -adrenoceptors at higher ones. Preliminary findings with corynanthine and rauwolscine support this interpretation.


Comparison of the cardiostimulatory effects of acetylcholine and nicotine on the working guinea-pig heart.

The isolated working guinea-pig heart was used to compare the cardiostimulatory effects of acetylcholine and nicotine observed in the presence of atropine. Both agonists increased aortic pressure, left ventricular pressure, left ventricular dP/dt, cardiac output, and ventricular cyclic AMP levels. These responses were qualitatively and quantitatively similar to the effects of exogenous norepinephrine. Hexamethonium treatment abolished the responses to acetylcholine and to nicotine. However, several differences in the responses of the two agonists were also observed with respect to: 1) the effect of propranolol pretreatment, 2) selective effects on coronary and aortic flow rates, 3) coefficients of correlation between ventricular cyclic AMP and changes in dP/dt, and 4) the "autoinhibition" effect. The results support the view that the cardiostimulatory effects of acetylcholine are due entirely to endogenous catecholamine release, but that the effects of nicotine may involve an additional action.


Virus-specific sequences in nuclear DNA from non-producer hamster Rous sarcoma.

Proviral DNA from non-producer Rous sarcoma in Syrian hamster contains practically all the nucleotide sequences presented in 125I-labeled RNA from Rous sarcoma virus, Carr-Zilber strain. Virus-specific sequences consist of moderately reiterated and unique DNA regions. The amount of Rous sarcoma virus-specific provirus equivalents in hamster Rous sarcoma DNA is equal to 5.2 +/- 0.01. Experiments on transfection show that proviral DNA studied possesses biological activity in respect to cell transformation and virus production. The infectivity of DNA from hamster tumor does not depend on the expression of group-specific (gs) antigen in the recipient cells.


Peripheral blood lymphocytes and EAC-rosette forming cells in B77 tumor bearing rats.

The percentage and absolute numbers of peripheral blood lymphocytes and EAC-rosette forming cells were evaluated in B77 tumor bearing rats. The peripheral blood lymphocytes were in high level even in rats bearing very small tumors; this result suggest the mobilization of lymphoyctes into peripheral blood in tumor bearing rats. The increase of EAC-rosette forming cells was accompanied with the growth of tumors.


Blocking factor in sera of MC1 and B77 tumor bearing rats detected by LAI assay.

A modified form of the leukocyte adherence inhibition assay (LAI assay) has been used to detect the blocking factor in serum of the Lewis (LW) inbred rats and the F1 hybrids of the inbred LW X AVN strains with transplantated syngeneic B77 and MC1 tumors. This study has indicated that the cell mediated antitumor immune response of rats immunized with living tumor cells and the blocking factor in serum of rats with progressively growing tumors may be demonstrated by the LAI assay with incubation time prolonged to 20 hr (LAI assay-IT20). In addition, the specificity of the blocking effect and the disappearance of blocking factor after surgical removal of tumors have also been demonstrated in this paper.


[Intraventricular hemorrhage with hepatic insufficiency--report of a case (author's transl)].

Authors report a case of intraventricular hemorrhage with hepatic insufficiency. A 36-year-old man was admitted following the sudden onset of coma. For 10 years before admission he had suffered general fatigue and jaundice, which were treated with medication as acute hepatitis. On the day of admission he began to suffer from a severe headache. Within one hour he was comatose and began to have vomiting, followed by seizures characterized by tonic movement of the right extremities. Lumbar puncture showed an initial pressure over 400 mmH2O, with grossly bloody spinal fluid. Numerous hemorrhages were noted in both optic fundi. Bilateral carotid angiography demonstrated slight enlargement of left lateral ventricle. Computerized tomography revealed that the lareral, third and fourth ventricles were dilated. There were discrete areas of increased absorption coefficient with values measuring between 30 to 35 in the Hounsfield scale in all ventricles. Two burr holes in both frontal areas were performed. About 50ml of blood clot at left ventricle and 30 ml of blood clot with liquor at right ventricle were removed. The patient died 7 days after operation. Autopsy revealed clotted blood in the whole ventricular system, mainly in right anterior horn of lateral ventricle, and a markedly cirrhotic liver with hepatoma. In our review of the literature, the relationship between intraventricular hemorrhage and bleeding tendency caused by hepatic insufficiency was discussed.


Ultrastructural observations on intercellular contacts of nigral dendrites.

Possible morphological correlates of dendritic release sites for dopamine have been investigated in the rat substantia nigra. Electronmicroscopic and freeze etching studies show that nigral dendrites fail to form dendrodendritic contacts but on the contrary are always separated by glial elements, which in turn are connected by multiple gap junctions. No dendro-axonic synapses are present but large specialized symmetrical junctions could provide a possible morphological specialization for a dopamine transfer from presynaptic dendrites to axon endings.


Cyclic GMP and cyclic AMP levels in median eminence, hypothalamus and pituitary gland of the rat after decapitation or microwave irradiation.

Cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP content of the median eminence (ME), medial basal hypothalamus (MBH), posterior pituitary (PP) and anterior pituitary (AP) of inact male rats was measured by radioimmunoassay following decapitation or exposure to microwave irradiation (MW). Levels of both nucleotides in MW irradiated animals were higher in all three nervous tissues studied than in the AP. Following decapitation cyclic AMP levels increased strikingly in the MBH and ME, slightly in the AP, but remained unchanged in the PP. Cyclic GMP levels increased more markedly in the ME than in the MBH, slightly in the PP and did not change in the AP. The distinct synthesizing capability of the cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP generating systems in the ME, a region rich in neurohormones known to control anterior pituitary function, raises the possibility that these nucleotides are involved in the process of neurohormone secretion by the ME.


Elimination of paradoxical sleep by lesions of the pontine gigantocellular tegmental field in the cat.

Bilateral lesions of the pontine gigantocellular tegmental field in the cat resulted in the complete elimination of paradoxical sleep during 3 weeks postoperative recording. The tonic muscular atonia, normally characteristic of this state, was absent. The phasic components, rapid eye movements and ponto-geniculooccipital (PGO) spikes, did not occur in association with an activated EEG, as they normally do in paradoxical sleep. In fact, PGO spikes were virtually absent immediately after the lesion and were only secondarily apparent as isolated phenomena during slow wave sleep to represent in total daily number 5% of normal the first week and 15% of normal the third week after the lesion. These results indicate that neurons whose perikarya and/or processes are located within the pontine gigantocellular tegmental field and which are not part of the noradrenaline locus coeruleus complex, are critical for paradoxical sleep.


5'-triphosphate recycles independently of acetylcholine in cholinergic synaptic vesicles.

The effect of hemicholinium-3 (HC-3) on vesicular contents in acetylcholine (ACh) and 5-triphosphate (ATP) and the vesicular incorporation of 14C-label derived from [14C]choline ,nd 3H-label derived from [3H]adenosine was investigated after low frequency stimulation (with a subsequent rest period) of the Torpedo electric organ. HC-3 (100 microM) caused an increased depletion of vesicular ACh and blocked the incorporation of 14C-label whereas contents in vesicular ATP and 3H-incorporation were identical with and without HC-3. HC-3 also blocked the recovery of electrical response of the tissue after stimulation but did not cause a change in vesicle numbers. The result suggest that synaptic vesicles continue to recycle ATP in the absence of recycling of ACh and that vesicular uptake and storage of the two components are not coupled to each other.


Pharmacology of (+)- and (-)-baclofen: GABA-dependant rotational behaviour and [3H]GABA receptor binding studies.

(+)- and (-)-baclofen were equiactive in inducing contralateral rotational behaviour following their unilateral injection into the zona reticulata of the rat substantia nigra, a proposed GABA-dependent rotational behaviour model, and in displacing the specific binding of [3H]GABA to frozen and thawed membrane preparations of rat brain. These non-stereospecific actions of baclofen at a population of cerebral GABA receptors contrast with stereospecific neuronal depressant effects probably mediated via presynaptic inhibition of the release of excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters. The present results indicate that baclofen may have two distinct mechanisms of action and this may account for the debate on the pharmacology of this compound.


Bromocriptine and lisuride stimulate the accumulation of cyclic AMP in intact slices but not in homogenates of rat neostriatum.

The effects of bromocriptine and lisuride on cyclic AMP concentrations in homogenates and in intact slices of rat neostriatum were investigated. Significant increases in cyclic AMP concentration were found after a 10-min exposure to bromocriptine and lisuride in striatal intact slices. On the contrary, as previously found, the two dopaminergic ergot derivatives did not stimulate dopamine-senstiive adenylate cyclase present in striatal homogenates. The stimulatory effects observed only in intact tissues were blocked by the specific dopamine receptor blocking agent fluphenazine. It is tempting to conclude that dopaminergic ergot derivatives have a site of action different from that stimulated by classic dopamine agonists in tissue homogenates.


Parallel investigations of the effects of adenosine on evoked potentials and cyclic AMP accumulation in hippocampus slices of the rat.

In slices of rat hippocampus, adenosine and its receptor agonist, 2-chloro-adenosine, were both found to (a) enhance the intracellular accumulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and (b) depress neuronal evoked responses to electrical stimulation. The differences in the dose/effect curves for the biochemical and electrophysiological changes cast doubt on a causal relationship between the two effects.


Comparative study of the neuronal populations containing beta-endorphin, corticotropin and dopamine in the arcuate nucleus of the rat hypothalamus.

Neurons simultaneously immunoreactive with anti-beta-endorphin and anti-(17-39) corticotropin (anti(17-39) ACTH) have been detected in the arcuate and ventromedial nuclei of the hypothalamus of colchicine-treated rats. These neurons are different from those fluorescent with the Falck and Hillarp technique. These results show that in the arcuate nucleus, immunoreactive ACTH and beta-endorphine are stored in the same neurons which are different from dopamine-containing neurons.


Inhibition of acetylcholine outflow from guinea-pig cerebral cortex following locus coeruleus stimulation.

Experiments were performed in unanaesthetized guinea-pigs in order to obtain direct evidence that the noradrenergic projections from locus coeruleus (L.C.) to cerebral cortex inhibit the acetylcholine (ACh) release. The animals were provided with left and right epidural cups, to collect outflowing ACh and with a stimulating electrode, positioned in the left L.C. The electrical stimulation of L.C. caused a significant reduction of ACh outflow from both parietal areas. This effect was abolished, reduced or prevented by phentolamine, phenoxybenzamine or reserpine plus alpha-mt pretreatment, hence showing to be alpha-mediated.


High-affinity binding of [3H]muscimol to subcellular particles of a neurone-enriched culture of embryonic rat brain.

High-affinity, Na+-independent binding of [3H]muscimol (KB approximately equal to 1.6 x 10(-8) M; Bmax approximately equal to 0.14 nmol/g pellet) occurred to a frozen-thawed particulate fraction of 74-h-old neurone-enriched cultures prepared from the cerebra of 12-13-day-old rat embryos. This finding provides evidence that GABA-receptors exist on cultured neurones which contain only a few synaptic connections.


Kainate neurotoxicity and glutamate inactivation.

Dihydrokainate, an inhibitor of high affinity L-glutamate as an excitant of cat spinal neurones in vivo. This action of dihydrokainate was selective in that the effects of excitants taken up actively in vitro by CNS tissue (L-aspartate, D- and L-glutamate and L-homocysteate) were enhanced whereas those of other substances not taken up (acetylcholine, D-homocysteate, kainate and N-methyl-D-aspartate) were not. Since kainate and dihydrokainate have similar potencies as inhibitors of L-glutamate uptake, interference with the inactivation of synaptically released L-glutamate may contribute to the neurotoxic effects of kainate.


Morphine presynaptically inhibits a ganglionic cholinergic synapse.

The effects of morphine on synaptic transmission through the inferior mesenteric ganglion (IMG) were studied using intracellular recording techniques. Morphine produced a reversible, dose-dependent reduction in the quantal content of the synaptic potentials with little or no effect on quantal size or the properties of the ganglion cells. This effect of morphine was antagonized by naloxone suggesting the presence of specific preganglionic opiate receptors.


Respiratory neurons of the pneumotaxic center during sleep and wakefulness.

Extracellular recordings were made from respiratory related units (RRUs) in the pneumotaxic center (PNC) of unanesthetized cats across states of consciousness: wakefulness, NREM and REM sleep. Contrary to expectations from results in acute preparations, well-modulated respiratory activity was detected in chronic animals with vagi intact. Pontine RRU activity decreased during sleep in 75% of the cells studied. The greatest reduction occurred during REM sleep.


Specificity of opioids towards the mu-, delta- and epsilon-opiate receptors.

The potency of a number of opioid agonists have been determined on three different bioassays, the isolated guinea-pig ileum (GPI), the mouse vas deferens (MVD) and the rat vas deferens (RVD). With the exception of beta-endorphin, compounds with opioid activity on the GPI and the MVD exhibited considerably less or no activity on the RVD; the opiate receptor in this latter tissue being thus characterized as beta-endorphin selective ('epsilon-receptor'). A system of classification of opioids according to their relative relative affinities for particular opiate receptor types is given.


Synaptic responses of reticulospinal neurons in the cat: spinal cord dorsal funiculi are an effective source.

Stimulation of spinal cord dorsal funiculi (DF), as compared with stimulation of ventrolateral fascicle (VLF) in which the spinoreticular pathways are located, activated a higher percentage of reticulospinal (RS) neurons (95% vs. 75%). Polysynaptic EPSPs evoked from DF at C2 segment had shorter latency (10.1 msec +/- vs. VLF C2-13.2 msec +/- 0.9-mean +/- S.E.M.). When the intensity of stimulation was close to threshold (1.5 T), EPSPs from DF had steeper slopes on the increasing phase and were of longer duration. Threshold for setting up of synaptic activity from DF at the majority of observed RS neurons was low; recording of antidromic responses in hindlimb nerves showed that fast-conducting myelinized afferents were activated. The functional connection between DF and RS systems may participate in prompt and generalized reflex reactions.


Intrahippocampal injections of ibotenic acid provide histological evidence for a neurotoxic mechanism different from kainic acid.

Stereotaxic injections of ibotenic acid (IBO) and kainic acid (KA) into either the dorsal hippocampus or the lateral cerebroventricle were performed in order to determine the relative potencies of the drugs and the vulnerability of different hippocampal cell types to their neurotoxic action, IBO was found to be approximately five times less potent than KA in causing degeneration of hippocampal neuronal cell bodies. Unlike KA (0.5 and 1.0 microgram), IBO (5.0 micrograms) caused few signs of intrahippocampal bleeding or necrosis of non-neuronal elements. Pyramidal cells of the CA3 and CA4 regions were the most sensitive and dentate granule cells the least sensitive to KA. In contrast, IBO cused degeneration of granule cells and CA3/CA4 pyramids to an equal extent.


Naloxone potentiation of 2-Br-alpha-ergocryptine (CB 154) effects on GH secretion in man.

The effect of the combined administration of either CB 154 (2.5 mg/osM) or L-DOPA (500 mg/osM) and naloxone have been studied in six normal male volunteers. Naloxone cause a clear-cut potentiation of CB 154 effects on human growth hormone (hGH) secretion and only a slight, statistically non-significant, potentiation of L-DOPA effects on hGH secretion. These results have been discussed in the light of morphofunctional findings showing possible interactions between dopamine (DA) systems and somatostatin-positive and enkephalin-positive nerve terminals.


Adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent in vitro phosphorylation of synaptosomal membrane proteins from rat corpus striatum following systemic administration of L-DOPA and bromocriptine.

In vitro phosphorylation of synaptosomal membrane preparation from rat striata was stimulated by addition of 5 microM cAMP, Administration of L-DOPA to rats treated previously with an L-amino acid decarboxylase inhibitor, or administration of bromocriptine resulted in a marked decrease in the in vitro phosphorylation presumably by increasing endogenous cAMP levels and thereby stimulating endogenous protein phosphorylation.


Diurnal changes in melatonin binding sites of hamster and rat brains. Correlations with neuroendocrine responsiveness to melatonin.

A diurnal variation in neuroendocrine sensitivity to melatonin is known to occur in hamsters and rats. The present experiments were carried out to examine the possibility that affinity and/or number of melatonin binding sites in brain could change accordingly at the two times when exogenous melatonin is known to be ineffective or effective to produce neuroendocrine changes, i.e., at 07 : 00 or 20 : 00 h (lights on from 07 : 00 to 21 : 00 h daily). The number of melatonin binding sites in hamster and rat brains was at 20 : 00 h 34--56% higher than at 07 : 00 h, without changing their affinity towards [3H]melatonin (hamster: Kd = 53 nM; rat: Kd = 73--77 nM). These alterations in melatonin receptor density may play a role in daily changes in sensitivity to the exogenous methoxyindole.


Opposite turning effects of dainic and ibotenic acid injected in the rat substantia nigra.

Unilateral intranigral administration of kainic and ibotenic acid, two putative stimulants of glutamatergic mechanisms, elicited turning behaviour starting from doses of 10 ng. While the turning produced by kainic acid was ipsilateral, that produced by ibotenic acid was contralateral to the injected side. Previous destruction of dopaminergic neurons on the side of the intranigral injection failed to reduce the turning behaviour. Peripheral treatment with picrotoxin did not reduce the turning in response to ibotenic acid. The results might suggest the existence of excitatory and inhibitory glutamate receptors which control nigral non-dopaminergic neurons mediating turning-behaviour.


Methods for rapid detection of human ocular viral infections.

Recent methods for detection of viruses in clinical specimens include immunofluorescence, immunoperoxidase, immune adherence hemagglutination, radioimmunoassay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and immunoelectron microscopy. Some are useful for the detection of traces of viral antigens but are more complicated and time-consuming than others. Simple techniques of immunofluorescence and negative stain electron microscopy are used for the rapid detection of viruses in human adenoviral, herpetic, rubella, molluscum contagiosum, and vaccinial infections.


Low-calcium/high-phosphorus rickets in rats. II. Osteoclast changes.

Weanling rats were given a low Ca (0.003%)/high P (0.64%) diet with and without vitamin D for periods up to 6 weeks. An ultrastructural examination of selected areas of the proximal tibial metaphysis was carried out to study osteoclasts and their relation to calcified and uncalcified bone tissue. Osteoclasts were seen with ruffled borders adjacent to unmineralized osteoid or with their processes penetrating small patches of calcified osteoid tissue. In both cases the calcified bone margin had a 'frayed edge', suggesting that osteoclasts are capable of chemical demineralization, as well as phagocytic action. In a few cases, osteoblasts were seen adjoining osteoid seams with underlying calcified bone exhibiting frayed edges indicative of demineralization. Osteoclastic intranuclear inclusion bodies similar to those found in experimental lead poisoning were observed. It was considered that the presence of a frayed, calcified bone margin at a considerable distance from the osteoclast supports the proposition that the initial action of this cell is to demineralize calcified bone.


Differential diagnosis of superficial ulcerations of the oral mucosa.

Superficial ulcerations of the oral mucosa often present a diagnostic challenge to the physician because of the similarity of one ulcer to another. A diagnosis is made by the analysis of multple factors, including the lesion's location, size, grouping, onset, patient's age, involvement of other systems of the body, and course of the disease. The histopathology of the lesion may be specific, especially in certain potentially fatal diseases. This paper presents the means for the differential diagnosis of a variety of superficial ulcers of the oral mucosa: varicella, herpangina, recurrent aphthous stomatitis, Behçet's disease, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, traumatic ulcer, verrucous carcinoma, primary herpetic gingivostomatitis, recurrent herpetic stomatitis, pemphigus vulgaris, and benign mucous membrane pemphigoid.


Granular cell tumors of the larynx.

Granular cell tumors of the larynx are uncommon lesions. Only 15 were identified at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, during the past 45 years. These tumors produce hoarseness usually and are identified as small keratotic, polypoid, or sessile nodules involving the glottic region (most often posterior glottis, arytenoid, or vocal process). These lesions can usually satisfactorily be treated by endoscopic excision. On histologic examination, pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia is frequently seen and may be misinterpreted as squamous cell carcinoma.


Linguistic organization and cognitive implications of REM and NREM sleep-related reports.

Verbal reports related to REM and NREM sleep were subjected to syntactic (taking Chomskian standard theory as model) and pragmatic analysis (pause distribution within and between kernel sentences). Both in REM and NREM-verbal reports descriptions of the mental experience during sleep were syntactically correct and indicated little difficulty in lexical choice and little emotion. Even though the strategy appears to be the same (sequential) in both cases, the retrieval of content appears to be more difficult after NREM than after REM sleep. Perhaps different degrees of content consolidation in memory occur during the two types of sleep.


Effect of selection for high egg production in chickens on shedding of lymphoid leukosis virus and gs antigen into eggs.

Lymphoid leukosis virus (LLV) and group specific (gs) viral antigen were detected less frequently in albumen of eggs from two strains of Single Comb White Leghorns that had been selected for high egg production than in corresponding random-bred control strains, which represented the original base population. In a third selected strain, for which no comparable control strain was available, the frequency with which LLV and gs antigen were detected was similar to the other two selected strains. The greatest contrast was between selected Strain 1 and control Strain 5 in which the percentage of eggs with LLV in albumen was 1.4 and 21.4, respectively, and the percentage with gs antigen was 1.2 and 19.9. These differences between control and selected strains of chickens were not related to genetic cellular resistance to virus infection, because inoculation of chorioallantoic membranes with Rous sarcoma virus of subgroups A and B revealed that the proportion of birds resistant to subgroups A and B viruses was not greater in the selected strains than in the control strains.


Effect of gamma irradiation, fractionation, and penicillin supplementation on the rachitogenic activity of rye for chicks.

Experiments were conducted to study the effect of gamma irradiation on the rye-vitamin D antagonism in broiler chicks. In an initial study, the irradiated grain was exposed to gamma rays for 6 hr (2 Mrad) and was fed to rachitic chicks for only 12 hr before a single oral dose of vitamin D3. In another trial, birds were fed during the entire experiment (12 days) on the different experimental diets, and the irradiated grain was exposed to gamma rays for 20 hr. Results indicate that the factor in rye that interferes with vitamin D utilization was largely inactivated by exposing this grain to gamma rays for 20 hr. Additional information is reported in this paper related to the alleviation by extraction or antibiotic supplementation on the rachitogenic properties of rye. These studies were conducted by feeding to rachitic chicks the test materials for only a short period of time (12 hr) before a vitamin D3 oral dose and measuring the bone mineralization 48 hr later. Results indicate that the rachitogenic factor in rye is not present in the ash portion of the grain, that it can be largely overcome by water extraction and penicillin supplementation, and that an organic solvent extraction has no effect. Cooked beans which depress growth and increase the growth response to antibiotics are not rachitogenic.


The relationship between Ca2+-mediated polyphosphoinositide phosphodiesterase activity, 1, 2-diacylglycerol accumulation, and microvesiculation in erythrocytes.

A variety of morphologic and metabolic changes occur in erythrocytes in which the intracellular level of Ca2+ is increased. These include echinocytosis followed by microvesiculation, K+ efflux, ATP degradation, and activation of polyphosphoinositide phosphodiesterase with the formation of 1,2-diacylglycerol and phosphatidate. The relationships between these changes are discussed and an attempt is made to assess their significance in both normal and aged cells.


Maternal responsiveness in the squirrel monkey following chronic administration of delta 9-THC.

Mother squirrel monkeys were orally administered gradually increasing doses of delta 9-THC (from 0.5 to 5.0 mg/kg) 5 days/wk from 2 wk to approximately 6 mo after birth. After having received a dose of 5.0 mg/kg for an average of 3.5 mo, drug-treated mothers were then compared with control mothers in terms of theri responsiveness both to their own and to unrelated infants. In contrast to the control mothers whose response pattern clearly showed differentiation of their own and other infants, the mothers that received delta 9-THC responded in much the same manner to the alien infant as they did to their own infant. The results show that the behavior of the THC-exposed mothers was not attributed simply to a general reduction in their responsiveness toward their offspring or to an overall reduction in their own state of arousal. Rather, the results suggest that chronic ingestion of delta 9-THC caused the mothers to be less disturbed by separation from their infants and/or produced degree of perceptual distortion that prevented them from responding selectively to the different infants.


Baclofen and cerebellar cyclic GMP levels in mice.

Baclofen (3.5--10.0 mg/kg) dose dependently decreased cerebellar cyclic GMP content in mice correlated to a reduction in locomotor activity. Pretreatment with baclofen antagonized the rise in cerebellar cyclic GMP content induced by isoniazid and picrotoxin, but did not affect the increase in cyclic GMP following administration of pentetrazole. Baclofen had little effect on the arecoline-induced changes in cerebellar cyclic GMP content. Therefore, our data support the concept of gamma-aminobutyric acid agonistic properties of baclofen at presynaptic sites.


1H-NMR effects in chloroquine-biopolymer binding interactions.

Chloroquine (CQ), an antimalarial and anti-inflammatory drug, is known to concentrate within lysosomes. 1H-NMR studies were conducted using the resonances of CQ itself during binding interactions with various polymers and proteins including lysosome fractions isolated from rodent livers by tritosome technique. Albumin, butyrylcholinesterase, and high molecular weight DNA interact with CQ, producing marked line-width changes that correlate with effective molecular weight. Triton WR-1339 and sucrose, probable contaminants of the lysosomal materials isolated, produced essentially no effect beyond a viscosity component. Lysosomal matrix and membrane fractions exhibited relatively weak interactions, membranes being the more tenacious toward CQ. Estimated binding constants are too small to permit explanation of CQ uptake in terms of protein affinity. The evidence is more consistent with a proton-pump trapping model proposed by de Duve et al.


Semiconduction as the mechanism of the cytochrome oxidase reaction. Low activation energy of semiconduction measured for cytochrome oxidase protein. Solid state theory of cytochrome oxidase predicts observed kinetic peculiarities.

Cytochrome oxidase protein has a measured activation energy of semiconduction much smaller than that of other proteins, falling within the range of the activation energy of the cytochrome oxidase reaction in solution. Many kinetic peculiarities of the cytochrome oxidase reaction difficult to explain by mass-action theories are easily accounted for if semiconduction is assumed to be the controlling mechanism.


[The effect of chloramphenicol on sleep in cat -- comparison with thiamphenicol, erythromycine, and oxytetracycline (author's transl)].

The effects of various antibiotics, which inhibit protein synthesis, has been studied on the sleep-waking cycle of cats. Chloramphenicol (CAP) selectively inhibits paradoxical sleep (SP). Thiamphenicol (TAP) and oxytetracycline however are ineffective; erythromycine induces only a small decrease of SP. When CAP is injected after TAP, the SP inhibition is longer than after CAP alone. Combining erythromycine and CAP produces the same effect as one or other of the antibiotic alone, depending only on the interval between administration of the two drugs. Slow wave sleep is decreased only with high doses of CAP and is unaffected by TAP, oxytetracycline or erythromycine. These results suggest that CAP may inhibit a peptide or protein synthesis involved in the mechanisms of SP.


DDC-induced amnesia and norepinephrine: a correlated behavioral-biochemical analysis.

Diethyldithiocarbamic acid (DDC), a dopamine-B-hydroxylase inhibitor, when injected into rats 30 min to 6 h before training of a passive avoidance task, impaired formation of long-term memory as indicated by performance on a retention test 24 h later. Performance of the task was at its minimum when injection occurred 2 to 4 h prior to training; recovery was evident in animals trained 5 or 6 h after drug treatment. Catecholamine assay of brains of temporally yoked animals showed that norepinephrine depletion followed a time course paralleling that of the amnesia. These findings support the hypothesis that the degree of memory storage, as reflected in performance following training in a passive avoidance task, can be directly correlated with the level of norepinephrine existing at the time of training.


Strain differences in amphetamine sensitivity in mice. II. Overcompensation of paradoxical sleep after deprivation in two C57 strains.

d-Methylamphetamine (1--4 mg/kg) induced wakefulness for 3--5 h followed by paradoxical sleep (PS) rebound in C57BR, C57BL/6, and BALB/c mice. Slow-wave sleep (SWS) and PS suppression time were proportional to the given dose and different among strains. It was also dependent on the time of injection. Later PS rebound was significant in C57 strains, and in certain cases greater than PS loss, whereas rebound was small in BALB/c mice and PS loss was not completely compensated.


Psychosocial risk factors in the developmental of infectious mononucleosis.

In a 4-year prospective seroepidemiological study of infectious mononucleosis (IM) of one class of some 1400 cadets at the West Point Military Academy, susceptibles and immunes were identified by the absence or presence of antibody to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the causative agent, and new infections by the appearance of antibody (seroconversion). On entry, about 1/3 lacked EBV antibody, of whom some 20% became infected (seroconverted); about 1/4 of seroconverters developed definite, clinical and recognized IM. Psychosocial factors that significantly increased the risk of clinical IM among seroconverters included: 1) having fathers who were "overachievers"; 2) having a high level of motivation; 3) doing relatively poorly academically. The combination of high motivation and poor academic performance interacted in predicting clinical IM. Additional data on presence of elevated titers among seroconverters with inapparent disease and on length of hospitalization among cases of clinical IM revealed that these two additional indices of infection or illness could also be predicted from the same set of psychosocial risk factors.


[Distribution, absorption and excretion of 198Au-colloid and Na251CrO4 in the chicken (author's transl)].

In order to clarify the suitability of 198Au-colloid and Na251CrO4 as a marker of transit of the gastrointestinal content of the chicken, the distribution, absorption and excretion of 198Au-colloid and Na251CrO4 in the chicken were examined. Orally administered 198Au-colloid was not absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract and excreted into feces. Intravenously injected 198Au-colloid was not excreted into the gastrointestinal tract through the gastrointestinal wall. On the other hand, orally administered Na251CrO4 was relatively well absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract and distributed over a whole body. Intravenously injected Na251CrO4 was excreted into the gastrointestinal tract through the gastrointestinal wall and bile ducts. It seemed that 198Au-colloid was not adhered to the gastrointestinal mucosa and consequently, the transport of 198Au-colloid in the gastrointestinal tract was not delayed. It is concluded that 198Au-colloid is highly suitable as a marker of gastrointestinal transit of the chicken but Na251CrO4 is unsuitable.


[Fibrous dysplasia of facial bones. 43 cases (author's transl)].

Clinical material of 43 patients treated for fibrous dysplasia of facial bones at the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Medical Academy in Cracov in the years 1956--1978 has been investigated. The author's own observations concerning diagnostics and treatment of these patients are presented. Diveristy of clinical forms and variability of the disease process dynamics likewise the difficulties in treatment resulting from unacquaintance with etiology of the disease are emphasized. The results of treatment obtained on the basis of control examination during two to fifteen-year periods of observation are described.


[Sleep organization by subjects in chronical post-traumatic inconscience (author's transl)].

Nine subjects who underwent a severe head traumatism with a brainstem dysfunction at the acute stage, were polygraphically recorded at the chronic stage under strict conditions of drug withdrawal and light-dark periods. Two groups of subjects were identified. The first one (5 subjects) showed normal NREM sleep and REM sleep morphologic patterns as well as a partly preserved architecture of sleep. The synchronisation of sleep with dark periods was lost in 4 out of 5 cases. In the second (4 subjects) NREM sleep morphologic patterns were lost and REM sleep was either uncertain or absent in 3 subjects. The synchronisation of sleep with dark periods was lost in 3 out of 4 cases. The morphologic alterations of sleep are connected with different types of encephalic lesions whereas the anomalies of the architecture of sleep and of its synchronisation with dark periods are referred to the numerous endogennous and exogenous stimuli undergone by these subjects. At the chronic stage of post-traumatic comas a 24-hour polygraphic recording supplies no definite information with regards to the prognosis.


Plasma HDL cholesterol and the in vitro esterification of cholesterol.

In vitro esterification of plasma cholesterol was measured in twelve healthy subjects, six of whom had high plasma concentrations of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, whereas the other six had low concentrations. Irrespective of the method used no difference between the groups with the respect to cholesterol esterification could be demonstrated. This may indicate that the beneficial effect of HDL on the development of atherosclerotic disease works thorugh other mechanisms than by facilitating the transport of cholesterol from peripheral tissues to the liver.


High density lipoproteins, insulin secretion and coronary risk factors in latent coronary insufficiency.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors were studied in presumably healthy men, examined for preclinical CHD. Coronary angiography was performed in most "latent CHD" subjects. High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and apoproteins did not differ significantly between men with latent CHD (some with angiographic changes) and men without evidence of CHD. HDL cholesterol was positively correlated with physical activity. Insulin secretion was, however, positively associated with physical inactivity, body weight and serum triglycerides. Men with the highest insulin secretion had the lowest glucose tolerance. The study confirms the covariance between HDL cholesterol, insulin secretion, serum triglycerides, body weight and physical activity, but does not support the theory that HDL is a major "negative risk factor" in middle-aged men with preclinical CHD.


Role of cyclic AMP in glucagon-induced stimulation of hepatic glucose output in man.

The interrelationship between glucagon action on splanchnic glucose output and cyclic AMP production was studied in healthy volunteers after hepatic venous catheterization. Glucagon was infused according to four different protocols to achieve arterial levels ranging from 300 to 9000 ng/l. Infusion of glucagon which resulted in arterial levels of the hormone of 4000-9000 ng/l was associated with a marked increase in net splanchnic cyclic AMP production and in the arterial levels of the cyclic nucleotide. The rise in cyclic AMP efflux from the splanchnic area was transient but an augmented splanchnic production was still evident after 30 min of glucagon infusion. Splanchnic glucose output rose 3-5 fold. Infusion of glucagon at lower rates, resulting in arterial levels of 300-900 ng/l, did not measureably stimulate the efflux of cyclic AMP from the splanchnic area. In spite of this, splanchnic glucose output rose 2-3 fold and the blood glucose level increased 20-50% during glucagon infusion at these lower rates. It is concluded that (1) factors other than cyclic AMP are rate limiting in the stimulation of hepatic glucose production, and (2) although cyclic AMP is an established 'second messenger' of glucagon action, other factors may also be of importance in mediating the physiological response of this hormone.


A ten-year material of insulinoma: diagnosis and surgical treatment.

A 10-year series of patients operated for insulinoma at Sahlgren's Hospital, Gothenburg, is presented. Twelve patients (three men, nine women) aged 26--70 years are included in the material. The patients had a history of recurrent hypoglycemic symptoms of 1 month to 20 years. Hyperinsulinism was established by determinations of blood glucose and plasma insulin in the fasting state. Selective angiography could show the tumor in 3 out of the 12 patients. A through pancreatic mobilization and palpation was performed during operation. Solitary pancreatic tumor was found in 10 patients, and 1 of them had also metastases in the liver. One patient had two tumors, one in the head and one in the tail of the pancreas. In one patient it was not possible to find any tumor at operation. Distal pancreatic resection and splenectomy were performed when the tumor was localized in the body or tail or when no tumor was found. Tumours in the head were excised locally. Microscopy showed insulinoma without malignancy in 10 patients, malignant tumor in insulae with metastases in the liver in 1 patient, and multiple adenomatosis of insulae in the patient without any palpable tumor. The 11 patients with benign disease were examined 1--10 years after the operation and had no signs of hyperinsulinism or of diabetes.


Clinical and morphological characteristics of colitis carcinoma and colorectal carcinoma in young people.

Two series of young patients (less than 40 years of age) with colorectal carcinoma (22 idiopathic carcinomas and 25 carcinomas complicating ulcerative proctocolitis), well matched for age and sex, were compared with regard to clinical features, tumour morphology and stage, and ultimate outcome after surgery. The cure rate in both series was low. Although a failure to diagnose colitis carcinoma accurately at an early stage might have contributed to the poor results, such a delay could hardly be responsible for the bad prognosis in patients with idiopathic carcinoma. The vast majority of the patients in both groups studied had highly malignant and/or mucoid adenocarcinoma, and surgery was palliative in about 40% of the patients in both series, owing to widespread dissemination. The general impression gained from this study of factors of histologic grade of malignancy, extent of spread, and survival rate was that colorectal carcinomas in the young, irrespective of being idiopathic or complicating ulcerative colitis, run a rapid course and have a gloomy prognosis. The outloook depends largely on the biologic characteristics of the tumours concerned. The results support previous statements that prophylactic surgery is justified in patients with long-standing ulcerative colitis with total involvement of the colon, particularly in the young. Regrettably, patients with idiopathic carcinoma will not have this chance.


Changes in the fecal flora of patients with Crohn's disease during treatment with metronidazole. A preliminary report.

Six patients with Crohn's disease and three healthy volunteers were treated with metronidazole. Before and during metronidazole treatment quantitative and qualitative studies of the aerobic and anaerobic fecal bacterial flora were performed, and the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for metronidazole of the isolated bacteria were determined. There was no significant change in the fecal flora of the volunteers during metronidazole treatment, but three patients who clinically responded well to treatment had drastically changed their anaerobic flora. Two patients did not respond to the metronidazole therapy. The total anaerobic count for one of them was unchanged, and the number of isolated anaerobic species was high during the treatment. The total anaerobic counts of the other non-responder decreased, but metronidazole-resistant (MIC greater than or equal to 40 microgram/ml) Gram-negative rods remained in the fecal samples. Furthermore, after 2 months his condition worsened, and he was given corticosteroids and parenteral nutrition. The result in one patient with a moderate response to therapy was intermediate. Our observations may explain why some patients benefit from metronidazole therapy and others do not.


A study of infections and illnesses in a day nursery based on inclusion-bearing cells in the urine and infectious agent in faeces, urine and nasal secretion.

During an epidemic-free period of nearly 2 years infections and illnesses were followed in a group of small children (2-3 1/2 years) in a day nursery. The incidence of illness was fairly low, 6.3 per child and year. The viral infections were followed by means of the inclusion reaction in the urine and isolation of virus, and the bacterial by culture of nasal secretion. In 60% of the cases the viral infection was accompanied by illness. In 57 cases of illness there were 27 (47%) with merely virus and/or inclusion reaction, 8 (14%) in which bacteria alone were discovered, and 22 (39%) with both. The viral infections were the decisive ones in about 80% of the illnesses. Enteric respiratory viruses of 10 types were detected. 16 (73%) of the 22 children had such an infection on at least one occasion, and spread within the group occurred on infection with echovirus 9, coxsackievirus B4 and reovirus. Enteric viruses accounted for 29% of the viral infections. Streptococci and Mycoplasma pneumoniae played no part in the bacterial infections, which were entirely dominated by pneumococci. Cytomegaloviruria was found in 13 (72%) of 18 children examined. No spread was detected within the group. Rotavirus was on no occasion found in faeces.


Comparison of pivmecillinam and cephradine in bacteriuria in pregnancy and in acute urinary tract infection.

48 non-pregnant domiciliary patients referred by general practitioners and 50 pregnant women were treated for bacteriuria with either 500 mg cephradine or 400 mg pivmecillinam every 6 h for 7 days. In the pregnant women, cure rates were over 90% after 2 weeks for both compounds, and after 6 weeks were 86% for cephradine and 78% for pivmecillinam. Cure rates in the non-pregnant were 83% for cephradine and 95% for pivmecillinam at 6 weeks. Seven patients (3 given cephradine, 4 given pivmecillinam) stopped treatment due to side-effects. Overall, side-effects (many of which were trivial) were more common in patients treated with cephradine (51%) than in those receiving pivmecillinam (33%). It is concluded that both drugs are highly effective in these two common types of urinary infection.


Fulminant hepatitis A.

During a small epidemic of infectious hepatitis, a fulminant infection with fatal outcome occurred in a 54-year-old woman. IgM antibody to hepatitis A virus was demonstrated in the serum and large amounts of hepatitis A virus were found in the liver. It is suggested that the pathogenesis may be different for fulminant hepatitis A and B infection.


Infectious mononucleosis and agranulocytosis.

Infectious mononucleosis is often complicated by haematological abnormalities but agranulocytosis is so rare that a causal relationship has been questioned. We here describe 2 sisters, 3 and 5 years old, who both developed agranulocytosis or profound granulocytopenia 4-5 weeks after the acute onset of mononucleosis. No contributory cause could be found and we conclude that a constitutional disposition may be responsible for this complication.


Hepatitis A antibodies in Finland.

Serum specimens from 191 Finnish adults were tested for antibodies to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV). The frequency of anti-HAV increased from 8% in the age group of 20-29 years to 92% in those older than 60 years. The level of 50% was reached between 40 and 50 years.


Kidney scintigraphy with 99mTc-DMSA and 131I-hippurate.

43 patients underwent an extended scintigraphic procedure with 99mTc-dimercaptosuccinylic acid in order to investigate its proper use for diagnosing morphological and functional kidney abnormalities. The group was comprised of patients without renal disease, and patients with diffuse parenchymal disease, obstructive uropathy, renal cysts and renal tumors. The study was followed by 131I-hippurate renography. We propose a simplified routine procedure with scintiphotos taken 10-15 min after injection for topographic information and 120 min after injection for renal morphology. This procedure allows excellent case finding of diffuse parenchymal disease of a special value in cases of radiological non-visualization. The technique is indicated, when iodine contrast media cannot be used for radiological examinations. DMSA studies, however, do not allow safe functional evaluation in all categories of patients. Neither can obstructive nephropathy be diagnosed unless the renal pelvis is dilated. Renal perfusion studies are contaminated by the perfusion of liver and spleen. Nevertheless, a tentative differentiation between cysts and tumours is possible, the former being hypoperfused the latter hyperperfused. When supplemented with gamma camera 131I-hippurate renography, the total scintigraphic procedure will also include split function determination and run-off evaluation.


[Treatment of hyperlipidemia type II with soybeans].

15 outpatients with type II hyperlipoproteinemia (7 with type IIa and 8 with type IIb) were treated with soybean. This diet induced a significant decrease of plasma cholesterol levels from 314 +/- 24 to 267 +/- 30 mg/100 ml. Triglycerides levels remained unchanged. LDL-cholesterol decreased significantly from 241 +/- 26 to 194 +/- 32 mg/100 ml, whereas HDL-cholesterol increased only slightly and not significantly from 38 +/- 7 to 40 +/- 8 mg/100 ml. In our efforts to reduce hyperlipidemia the very low cost of these vegetable proteins is a further advantage. The hypocholesterolemic mechanism of soybean diet is unknown.


[Diabetes and chronic pancreatitis. Report of twenty cases (author's transl)].

The association of chronic pancreatitis with diabetes is not very common. Men are the usual victims and ethylism the usual cause. The most common age of onset is between 40 and 50. Insulin treatment is much more frequent than for idiopathic diabetics. Diabetic heredity is probable. Calcifying pancreatitis is the most frequent form. Micro and macroangiopathic complications are found. A statistical comparative study with a matched series of idiopathic diabetics reveals no difference in the onset of vascular complications. The rate of triglycerides is statistically lower in pancreatitis (p less than 0.001). The other biological rates are the same (cholesterol, uricemy, alpha 2 macroglobulin). Diabetic stability is no more difficult to obtain than for idiopathic diabetics. In most cases the diet should be wide and alcohol must be prohibited.


[Polyarthritis in leprosy (author's transl)].

Inflammatory rhumatisms simulating rheumatoid arthritis belong to the manifestations of the reactions of leprosy. Pathology of these arthritis variate with the type of reaction. In the present observations, it must probably be the transition from a tuberculoid leprosy to a lepromatosis form in which the immunological state looks like the lupus one.


[Comparative results of 99mTc scintigraphy and computerized tomography after contrast injection in cerebral pathology (author's transl)].

140 patients have been investigated by means of computerized tomography (CT) after contrast injection and radionuclide scan (RN scan). For patients with stroke (56 cases), RN uptake was more frequent (80%) at the 15th day of evolution, enhancement of hypodense images at CT reaches 100% at the 21st day. For the others pathologies (hematoma, tumors), the main difference between both examinations, was the volume of the lesions detected. RN uptake and CT enhancement both show the same blood brain barrier disturbance.


[Three cases of hereditary xanthinuria: review of the literature (author's transl)].

Xanthinuria is a rare hereditary disorder characterized by a gross deficiency of the enzyme xanthine oxydase resulting in hypouricemia, hypouricosuria and increased serum and urinary oxypurines. Three patients with this disease are presented and the pertinent literature is reviewed. We have demonstrated in one subject the absence of xanthine oxydase activity in a renal fragment. Genetic studies were performed but we do not find any relation between this deficiency of enzyme xanthine oxydase and HLA, Pl, Gm groups.


[Monocional immunoglobulins associated with bacterial endocarditis. Two case reports (author's transl)].

An IgGK monoclonal gammopathy occured in two patients with streptococcus viridans bacterial endocarditis. The gammopathy has been unchanged, respectively for 32 and 21 months following its detection. The alternate physiopathologic hypothesis are argued.


[Withdrawal effects following interruption of antihypertensive drugs. II. Coronary rebound phenomenon with antihypertensive drugs used in coronary heart disease therapy (author's transl)].

Treatment of hypertension is still primarily relevant of drug therapy. Prolonged use of antihypertensive agents is undoubtedly efficient but may induce when discontinued occasionally or intentionally a true rebound phenomenon i.e. exacerbation or aggravation of the pretreatment morbid condition. Hypertensive rebound occurs almost exclusively after clonidine withdrawal, usually abrupt but sometimes gradual. It consists of an acute clinical syndrome together with well defined biological findings, related to reactional enhanced sympathetic activity and necessitating an emergency treatment. A different rebound phenomenon is observed on withdrawal of some antihypertensive drugs when used in the management of coronary heart disease, namely beta adrenergic receptors blockers and specially propranolol. An acute exacerbation of coronary symptoms with or without severe arrythmias and eventually sudden deaths have been reported. The mechanisms responsible of this event are described, mainly the modifications recently observed at the level of the adrenoreceptors themselves. These two rebound phenomena although rare should be considered seriously by the practitioner while prescribing antihypertensive or antiangorous drugs otherwise very efficient but alble to induce catastrophic symptoms when interrupted in certain circumstancy.


[Anatomo-clinical features of Castleman tumour. Report of a case with a membrano-proliferative glomerulonephritis (author's transl)].

A case of retro-peritoneal lymphoid angio-follicular hyperplasia or Castleman's pseudo-tumour with normochromic hormocytic anemia and membrano-proliferative glomerulonephritis is reported in a 53 year-old man. Since the first description by Castleman in 1954, 259 other cases have been published. The anatomo-clinical study of our observation and of 198 cases collected in the literature bears out 3 types of clinical forms, according to the location of the pseudo-tumour: mediastinal, superficial and abdominal. The first ones generally asymptomatic are the most frequent whereas the last ones, less common, are often associated with biological abnormalities. In spite of these differences such neoformations present the same morphologic features. They are round or ovoid and well delimited by a capsule. Under this capsule a lymphoid vascular tissue surrounds follicules with central capillaries or arterioles. When plasma cells infiltrate the stroma, perturbations such as anemia or hypoalbunemia appear. Besides a nephrotic syndrome has been discovered in our observation and in that of Humpherys. In all the cases the removal of the pseudo-tumour induces the retrogression of the biological abnormalities and of the nephrotic syndrome. Neither a recidive nor another location of the disease are noticed later on. This evolution is probably the fact of a benign hyperplatic process which grows after an antigenic stimulation.


[The giant ulcer of the stomach. Notes concerning 30 cases (author's transl)].

The giant stomach ulcer can be defined as a crater measuring more than 30 mm in diameter. This variety of stomach ulcer represents 10-15% of the whole range of gastric ulcers, but they are not quite different from the nosologic point of view. It appears effectively that no etiopathogenic clinical or evolving particular factors can distinguish this kind of ulcer from the niches of normal size. To be taken into consideration is the risk of transforming into cancer which is multiplied by 3 or 5 times when compared with normal stomach ulcers, whence the importance of the endoscopy with many biopsies. In spite of the endoscopy the percentage of error is 5%, this is the reason for which, when in doubt, the more or less extensive gastric resection of the total gastrectomy is required with even more necessity then in normal cases of ulcers.


[Urological problems in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (author's transl)].

Despite the many urological problems which are to be found in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, not much attention has been drawn upon this problem. We have done a complete urological evaluation of 25 patients suffering from this disease, and after reviewing the pathophysiology suggested a possible treatment.


[Polychimiotherapy and Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (author's transl)].

A 63-year-old man, with a Waldenström's disease discovered by cryoglobulinemia (ischemic lesions of fingers) was quickly aggravating (hyperviscosity syndrome) under treatment by chlorambucil in a dosage of 8 mg daily. We obtained a dramatic remission with combination of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, adriamycin and prednisone surrounding a total body irradiation. A new trial of polychimiotherapy (with lower dosage) for severe Waldenström's disease is actually on study.


[Treatment of behavioral and affective disorder in alcoholic and geriatric patients (author's transl)].

Tiapride, a new drug of the anisamides' family, offers not only a major effectiveness on physical disease in alcoholism, but also on behavioral or affective disorder such agitation, hostility, impulsivity in alcoholic or in geriatric patients; this particular effectiveness is presented through the study of a sample of 15 alcoholic and geriatric patients.


[Peripheral thrombophlebitis. "Paratuberculous syndrome" (author's transl)].

The authors relate the case of a young North-African man who presented during one month several peripheral thrombophlebitis before a ganglionary tuberculosis of the mediastinum appear. With specific antibiotherapy, the cutaneous lesions disappear and can be so considered as a paratuberculous syndroma.


[Pulmonary fibrosis during a case of dermatomyositis (author's transl)].

The authors describe the case of a pulmonary interstitial fibrosis, the discovery of which preceeded the skin and muscular manifestations of dermatomyositis which was confirmed by a muscular biopsy. The aetiopathogenesis of the pulmonary disorder is not well known, nevertheless an immunological mechanism demonstrated in the experimental myositis is suggested but has yet to be proved.


[A further case of IgD myeloma (author's transl)].

A 76-year-old woman was hospitalized for stabilization of her diabetic condition. The results of radiological, hematological, and biochemical investigations suggested the diagnosis of an IgD myeloma. A specific immune-serum was used to demonstrate the presence of monoclonal protein of the IgD lambda type. The course of the disease was very rapid and death occurred within 19 days from acute renal failure. The authors emphasize the various factors demonstrating the original nature of this observation and conclude by insisting on the necessity to use anti-heavy chains delta and epsilon during the diagnostic investigations for minoclonal gammapathies.


[Biochemical and experimental aspects of the lipid-lowering drugs pharmacology (author's transl)].

The analysis of the mode of action of lipid-lowering drugs requires a better understanding of the lipoprotein and cholesterol metabolism processes. The strides observed during the last years in this field are conditioning the development of pharmacologic and therapeutic researches. Moreover the use of new experimental models contributes to this progress by multiplying the study ways.


Cardiovascular nuclear medicine: an overview.

Some of the available cardiovascular nuclear medicine methods are incompletely validated, and others are incompletely developed. They are, however, of very great potential in diagnostic cardiology, and in patient management. A new era of clinical research and acute care monitoring has been opened by serial, noninvasive, hemodynamic measurements of right ventricular as well as left ventricular function. Stress testing has become more specific, and should, with future developments, become more specific, and should, with future developments, become more sensitive, using radionuclide procedures. Serious quality control and validation questions concerning thallium stress testing must be addressed. Intracoronary injection of radiogases has great potential, although minimal present application. Emission computerized tomography will be an important research tool. Compartmental analysis modeling of first pass tracer injections has much to offer, but is not yet validated. Present growth rate of these procedures is very rapid. Fully developed, cardiovascular nuclear medicine may become the largest component of clinical nuclear medicine practice.


[Post-partum galactorrhea with hyperprolactinaemia persistent during a clonidine treatment (author's transl)].

Persistence of a post-partum galactorrhea with an hyper-prolactinaemia leads to charge clonidin, an hypotensive-drug. When clonidine is stopped, galactorrhea and hyper-prolactinaemia case. Explanation of the role of the drug is uneasy.


[Laser applications in medicine and surgery (author's transl)].

After an analysis of the complex interweaving reactions of laser on biological materials, the laser applications in medicine and surgery are reviewed by the author. In ophthalmology its use is regular but not yet optimal. In otological applications the first results are good. In dermatology favorable results are obtained but the absence of special device had stopped his development. In surgery and endoscopy the best wave length must be chosen in reference to their hemostatic action and cutting, nevertheless in gastroscopy and bronchoscopy the laser seems to bring new therapeutic solutions. In odontology the pulsed lasers are dangerous for therapy but the holographic technique is a fertile research area. The author conclude to the necessary development of researches on the fundamental problems set by the biomedical applications of lasers.