Effectiveness of prosthetic mandibular advancement for obstructive sleep apnea:Analysis by sleep position

Abstract Fifteen patients with obstructive sleep apnea were treated using prosthetic mandibular advancement (PMA). Each patient was evaluated in the supine and lateral decubitus positions with and without PMA. After PMA treatment, the mean intraesophageal pressure (Peso) in the supine position improved from -42.6 to -27.3 cmH₂O and the mean apnea + hypopnea index (AHI) decreased from 48.8/h to 23.7/h. The mean Peso in the lateral decubitus position improved from -27.9 to -18.6 cmH₂O and the mean AHI decreased from 9.6/h to 6.6/h. With PMA, respiratory disturbance during sleep further improved by changing the body position from the supine to lateral decubitus position.     

Analogs of phalloidin

The analogs [D-Abu²-Lys⁷]-phalloin (1) and [D-Ala²-Leu⁷]-phalloin (2) are obtained by cyclization of the monocyclic thioether peptides 5 and 7 with DCCI and diphenylphosphoro-azidate respectively. For the synthesis of 5 and 7 an intramolecular Savige-Fontana reaction of the linear heptapeptide tert.-butylesters 4 and 6 is applied. On treatment in dilute solution with TFA the classically synthesized peptides 4 and 6 lose their N-terminal Boc groups thus giving rise to the reaction of the Hpi residues with the released cysteine SH-groups. The lysine analog 1 binds to F-actin with an association constant of 1.3 times 10^-6M whereas analog 2 exhibits practically no affinity. By reaction of 1 with tetramethyl-rhodaminyl-isothiocyanate a fluorescent derivative, rhoda-minyl-lysine-phallotoxin (RLP), is obtained as a novel fluorescent probe for the visualization of F-actin in cell preparations.     

Brief Report: In Vitro Effect of Erythropoietin on the Spleen of the Polycythemic Mouse. I

1. Spleen explants of transfustion-induced polycythemic mice were incubated in vitro with and without erythropoietin.

2. After 24 hours incubation with the erythropoietin, immature large erythroblasts appeared, whereas the mature small erythroblasts were first observedafter 48 hours incubation.

3. Marked radioiron incorporation into the heme was observed after 48hours incubation with erythropoietin.

4. The control incubations without erythropoietin did not show these findings.

5. These data strongly suggest that erythropoietin induced the differentiation of erythroblasts from stem cells in vitro.

Submitted on July 19, 1965 Accepted on November 24, 1965     

Tamoxifen Therapy for Premenopausal and Postmenopausal Japanese Females with Advanced Breast Cancer

The antiestrogenic agent tamoxifen was orally administered to74 Japanese patients with advanced breast cancer, with the followingresults: (1) Administration of tamoxifen resulted in a totalresponse rate of 43.4% (Marked response 23.0%, Moderate response20.3%), equivalent to 31.1% (Complete response + Partial response)by the criteria of the International Union against Cancer. (2)With regard to metastatic lesions, the response rate was 44.4%for soft tissue, 28.0% for skeletal, and 44.4% for pulmonaryand pleural metastases. (3) Tamoxifen induces very slight sideeffects compared to the commonly used androgens, and it hasno androgenic action. (4) Tamoxifen was shown to be effectivenot only in postmenopausal patients but also in pre menopausalpatients. (5) The appropriate dose of tamoxifen for Japanesepatients with advanced breast cancer is considered to be 20mg/day. (6) When patients with recurrent cancer were treated,many who responded to previous endocrine therapy or treatmentwith other anticancer drugs also responded well to tamoxifentherapy.