Relationship between total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and the effects of physical exercise, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking and body mass index

Despite the fact that high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) is a part of total cholesterol (TC), the serum level of this portion has been reported to have no or only a weak relationship to the TC level. The present study assessed the relationship between HDLC and TC considering alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and body mass index (BMI) in 366 male workers classified into three groups by the habitual physical exercise. The results showed the different effects of alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and BMI on the level of HDLC among these three groups, and alcohol consumption lowered the LDLC level only in the exercise group. The closest relationship between HDLC and TC was seen in the exercise group, even after taking other factors into account. The result suggests that the HDLC level must be evaluated relative to the level of TC. As an indicator of serum lipid patterns the validity of the ratio of HDLC to TC (HDLC/TC) was discussed.     

Retinal vasculitis as a complication of rheumatoid arthritis

Two middle-aged women developed retinal vasculitis in the moderately active phase of classical rheumatoid arthritis. Fluorescein angiography disclosed diffuse leakage from the retinal capillaries and cystoid macular edema, which subsided in response to oral steroid. They did not show any clinical signs of vasculitis in other parts of the body. Retinal vasculitis should be included in the list of complications observed in rheumatoid arthritis.     

Pharmacokinetics of cefpiramide (SM-1652) in humans.

The pharmacokinetics of cefpiramide (SM-1652) were studied after the intravenous administration of single or multiple doses to 21 healthy volunteers. The cefpiramide concentration in plasma at time zero after a bolus intravenous injection of 500 or 1,000 mg was 152 or 303 micrograms/ml, respectively. The maximum cefpiramide level in plasma at the end of a 1-h infusion of 1,000 or 2,000 mg was 166 or 317 micrograms/ml, respectively. The mean plasma half-life of cefpiramide in 15 subjects who received a single dose of 500 or 1,000 mg was 4.44 h. There was no evidence of drug accumulation in plasma when 500 or 1,000 mg of cefpiramide was administered 11 times at 12-h intervals. Urinary excretion of cefpiramide over a 24-h period was ca. 22.5%, regardless of the intravenous administration technique and the dosage. Fecal recoveries of cefpiramide varied from 0 to 36.9% in different subjects.     

Acute effect of bromodichloromethane on lipid metabolism in rat liver microsomes

Acute effects of CHBrCl2 on microsomal lipid metabolism were studied in the liver of male Wistar rats administered a single oral dose (215 mg/kg). 3 h after administration, the modulation of phospholipid metabolism and the accumulation of triacylglycerol (TG) were noted in the microsomal membranes. A marked decrease in the synthetic rate of phospatidylcholine (PC) could be explained by a fall in the microsomal activity of CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase. A decrease in glycerophosphate acyltransferase activity and an enhancement in phosphatidate phosphatase activity seemed to offset each other, and consequently no significant change was observed in the synthetic rate of microsomal TG. These alterations in microsomal lipid metabolism can be regarded as one of the manifestations of hepatotoxicity of CHBrCl2.     

The median preoptic area in cardiovascular reflex activity

Two examples are used to illustrate the flexibility within the central servocontrol system that regulates blood volume and blood pressure. The variations are seen in the modification of components directed both towards short-term and long-term control. The preferential circuit used in the servocontrol system can and does change. The interaction of baromechanisms with cerebellar-fastigial activation selectively engages sympathetic output to the kidney resulting in an enhanced release of renin that is disproportional to the rise in renal vascular resistance. The cerebellar component adds a feature to the reduction in vascular conductance that when fully developed increases vascular volume. The permissive role of sites in the anteroventral hypothalamus suggests a neural loop that, when absent, not only allows the sympathetic activity to run unabated but fails to prevent a tachycardia state or to develop a bradycardia in response to a rise in arterial pressure. The latter may be a transient feature not persisting for more than a day. However, when compared to the normal responses of the paired sham controls, such a change is taken as an example of dynamic shift in preferential pathways.     

Effects of tea constituents on cell cycle progression of human leukemia U937 cells

Tea and tea constituents are known to induce apoptosis in a variety of cancerous cells, suggesting their beneficial effects as chemopreventive agents. Previous studies have shown that low molecular weight constituent catechins and high molecular weight fractions of tea have the apoptosis-inducing activity, but that their action mechanisms may be different. Since cell cycle arrest is known to be one of the underlying mechanisms of apoptosis, we examined the effects of these tea constituents on cell cycle progression of human leukemia U937 cells. The results showed that the high molecular weight fractions of green tea and black tea caused G2/M arrest associated with up-regulation of p21/Waf1, but that epigallocatechin gallate, a major component of green tea catechins, gave little effects of cell cycle progression and p21/Waf1 expression. Thus, the present results suggest the difference in the apoptosis-induction mechanism between the two types of tea constituents.