Glucagon test for insulinoma: a chemical study in 25 cases

The capillary blood glucose response to lmg of intramuscular glucagon was determined in 13 patients with insulinoma and in 33 normal controls; the insulinoma patients showed a normal initial rise, but this was followed by an abnormally large fall, reaching hypoglycaemic levels between 90 and 180 minutes in every case. In 14 insulinoma patients the response of venous blood glucose and also plasma insulin to lmg of intravenous glucagon was compared with 10 normal controls; there was an abnormally large rise of plasma insulin in 10 of the 14 patients, and in the majority the venous blood glucose was below normal throughout the test. In these 14 patients the plasma insulin response was also determined after oral and intravenous glucose, after oral leucine, and after intravenous tolbutamide, and the value of these tests in the recognition and differential diagnosis of insulinoma was compared with that of the intravenous glucagon test.     

The use of allograft bone in revision of total hip arthroplasty

Fifty-two frozen bone allografts have been used on 44 patients undergoing revision hip arthroplasties. The average follow-up time on these patients has been 17 months, with a range of six to 72 months. Both proximal femoral allografts and the allografts for the reconstruction of acetabular deficiencies have been used. To date, most patients experience marked pain relief and improvement in function. Though the results attained to date are short-term, the use of allografts in the revision hip arthroplasties represents a natural progression of the tumor work. However, while the early results are encouraging, it remains to be seen how the proximal femur allografts and the large acetabular allografts will behave over a long period of time.     

The long-term effects of vagotomy and drainage, parietal cell vagotomy and H2 receptor antagonists on duodenal ulcers and gastric function and structure

This paper presents a comparative retrospective analysis of the effects of vagotomy and drainage, parietal cell vagotomy (PVC) and maintenance H2 receptor antagonist (H2RA) therapy on ulcer recurrence rates, clinical status, gastric acid secretion, serum gastrin responses and gastric structure in the elective treatment of duodenal ulcer. The results indicate that the operations offered greater protection against recurrent ulceration, and that H2RA therapy provides some protection against recurrence while the patient is on continued treatment but does not alter the natural history of the disease when treatment is stopped. The evidence to date suggests that neither PCV nor H2RA therapy has altered the conventional indications for surgical treatment in duodenal ulceration.     

Radioimmunoassay of bleomycin in plasma and urine.

Antibodies to bleomycin were raised by immunization of sheep and rabbits with bleomycin-albumin conjugates. The combination of a high-titre, high-avidity sheep antiserum and iodinated bleomycin produced a radioimmunoassay sensitive to 8 ng of bleomycin per ml of plasma or urine. Untreated specimens (100 microliter) of plasma or urine could be added directly to the assay tubes. The antiseerum was specific for bleomycin and showed no cross-reaction with other anticancer agents used in combination chemotherapy. Over a concentration range of 20-100 ng/ml, recovery of bleomycin from plasma was 110% and from urine, 93%. Repeated assay of plasma samples showed a decrease in bleomycin levels unless the samples were kept at 4 degrees C or below.Assay of bleomycin levels in plasma and urine from patients under treatment with bleomycin showed similarities with results reported using a microbiological assay. The radioimmunoassay offers a more reliable, rapid and sensitive method for the measurement of bleomycin.