Hypotonic oral rehydration solution in acute diarrhoea: a controlled clinical trial

In a controlled trial, a hypotonic oral rehydration solution (ORS) (Na⁺67, K⁺20, CP66, citrate 7, glucose 89mmol/1 osmolality 249 mosmol/kg) was compared with a standard WHO-ORS (Na⁺90, K⁺20, Cl^-80, citrate 10, glucose lllmmol/1, osmolality 311 mosmol/kg) in 60 children aged 5-24 months with acute watery diarrhoea. In the hypotonic ORS group, stool frequency, proportion of children who vomited, ORS requirements and purging rate over 24-48 h were reduced by 33% ( p = 0.01), 30% ( p = 0.02), 21% ( p = 0.067) and 21% ( p = 0.03), respectively. The proportion of children who vomited and the purging rate over 48 h were reduced by 23% ( p = 0.03) and 10% ( p = 0.097), respectively. Serum electrolytes after 48 h were comparable. The beneficial effect of hypotonic ORS was most marked in, and largely contributed by, the subgroup negative for rotavirus.     

Metabolic control and diet in Finnish diabetic adolescents

The effects of dietary, clinical and demographic factors on metabolic control in 105 diabetic adolescents were studied. All patients had diabetes for longer than two years and a daily insulin dose greater than 0.5 IU/kg body weight. Low body mass index, high social class, high number of daily eating occasions, high day-to-day variation in energy intake, high number of urine tests and a long interval between insulin injection and eating were associated with good metabolic control. Many of these determinants reflect also the general compliance with the diabetic regimen. The results stress the importance of good coordination between insulin injections and eating habits.     

A follow-up study of the diet of Finnish diabetic adolescents

Changes with age and time in energy-adjusted food consumption and nutrient intake of 74 diabetic subjects initially aged 12-17 years were studied. Food consumption was measured by the 48-h recall method. During the three-year follow-up (from 1985 to 1988), the proportion of carbohydrate of total energy intake decreased from 49% to 47%, that of fat increased from 33% to 36% and that of protein decreased slightly. The densities of fibre and several vitamins decreased in the diet of the diabetic adolescents. These unfavourable changes in the diet of diabetic adolescents took place with increasing age and duration of diabetes, while virtually no changes with time were detected.     

Catheter-ablative techniques for the treatment of atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is the most commonly encountered arrythmia in clinical practice and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Pharmacologic therapy, although useful for rate control, has proven much less effective in the long term maintenance of sinus rhythm. The utility of implantable atrial defibrillators or pacing to prevent atrial fibrillation remains largely untested. This article describes four catheter-based therapies for atrial fibrillation: His ablation, atrioventricular nodal modification, the Maze procedure, and the ablation of pulmonary vein foci which initiate the arrhythmia. Whereas the first two procedures are largely palliative and recommended for patients with symptomatic, drug-refractory atrial fibrillation, the latter two offer the potential for a curative intervention.     

A potential danger of bedclothes covering the face

Investigations of infants dying unexpectedly have reported up to 28% being found completely under bedding. No detailed physiological studies looking at the possibilities of asphyxia in this situation are available. The aim was to determine the potential for asphyxia under different types and thicknesses of bedding. A mechanical model of a 3-month-old infant's respiratory system was used. Bedding was positioned over the head in a supine position, and inspired carbon dioxide recorded. With a fixed respiratory rate and tidal volume, carbon dioxide accumulation increased with increasing layers of blankets. Up to 8.3% inspired carbon dioxide was recorded with more than four layers of blankets. A cotton sheet between the face and blankets reduced the accumulation by half. An infant found dead under bedding may have been exposed to an asphyxial stress. Suffocation from rebreathing trapped, expired gases can be a cause of death in this situation.     

Suppression of testosterone and estradiol-17beta-induced dysplasia in the dorsolateral prostate of Noble rats by bromocriptine

We, and others, have previously described the histological changes that occur in the prostate gland of intact Noble (NBL) rats following prolonged hormonal treatment. Dysplasia, a pre-neoplastic lesion, develops specifically in the dorsolateral prostates (DLPs) of NBL rats treated for 16 weeks with a combined regimen of testosterone (T) and estradiol-17beta (E2) (T + E2-treated rats). Concurrent with DLP dysplasia induction, the dual hormone regimen also elicits hyperprolactinemia, in addition to an elevation of nuclear type II estrogen binding sites (type II EBS), no alteration in estrogen receptors (ER), and marked epithelial cell proliferation in the dysplastic foci. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the dual hormone action is mediated via E2-induced hyperprolactinemia. Bromocriptine (Br), at a dose of 4 mg/kg body wt per day, was used to suppress pituitary prolactin (PRL) release. Serum PRL levels were lowered from values of 341 +/- 50 ng/ml in T + E2-treated rats to 32 +/- 10 ng/ml in Br co-treated animals. The latter values were comparable to those in untreated control rats. In addition, Br co-treatment effectively inhibited the evolution of dysplasia (six out of eight rats) and the often associated inflammation (five out of eight rats) in most animals. In contrast, Br co-treatment did not suppress the T + E2- induced type II EBS elevation nor alter ER levels in the DLPs of these rats, when compared with T + E2-treated rats. These data extend the many previous studies that have detailed marked influences of PRL on rat prostatic functions. However, the current study is the first to implicate PRL in prostatic dysplasia induction in vivo.      

Measurement of benzene oxide in the blood of rats following administration of benzene

Although it is generally assumed that metabolism of benzene proceeds through an initial step involving oxidation to benzene oxide (BO) by CYP450 in the liver, the production of BO has never been unambiguously confirmed in animals dosed with benzene. Furthermore, prevailing hypotheses of the mechanism by which benzene causes cancer have ignored the possibility that BO might play a direct role, despite the fact that BO is electrophilic, binds covalently to cell macromolecules and is presumably genotoxic. A likely reason for this lack of attention to the role of BO in the carcinogenesis of benzene is the presumption that this epoxide is too reactive to escape the hepatocyte after it is formed. We employed gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to measure BO in the blood of F344 rats, both in vitro and up to 24 h following oral administration of benzene. Surprisingly, BO was relatively stable in rat blood at 37 degrees C (estimated half-life = 7.9 min) and, after administering a single dosage of 400 mg benzene/kg body wt, a blood concentration of 90 nM BO (8.5 ng/ml) was measured for approximately 9 h. Using a published PBPK model we estimate that approximately 4.3% of the metabolized dose of benzene was released as BO from the liver into blood. This confirms that BO is, indeed, formed from metabolism of benzene and is sufficiently stable to be distributed throughout the body at levels which are likely to be greater than those of the other electrophilic benzene metabolites.