Simultaneous recording of the gastro-entero-pancreatic hormonal peptide response to food in man

The serum or plasma concentrations of gastrin, gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP), gut glucagon-like-immunoreactivity (gut GLI), secretin, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), insulin, glucagon, and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) were recorded simultaneously following the ingestion of a normal, mixed meal in seven healthy, normal weight men. The concentrations of PP and gastrin increased within 10 min. Subsequently GIP, insulin, glucagon, and gut GLI increased in the order mentioned. The mean concentrations of secretin and VIP were not affected by the meal, although transient decreases in secretin concentrations could be detected in all subjects. The concentrations of the other hormones remained elevated for 4 hr or more. Perhaps the period of observation following food stimulation of gastroentero-pancreatic hormones should be extended.     

Shortening of paced QRS duration after electrocardiographic optimization of left ventricular pacing vector in patients treated with Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

Background

Choice of left ventricular pacing vector (LVPV) affects the QRS-duration (QRSd) in patients with Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT). It is not known whether testing all LVPVs reduces QRSd compared to device-based “standard-programming”.

Significance of H1 and H2 receptors in the human nose: rationale for topical use of combined antihistamine preparations

The aim of this experiment was to study the importance of histamine H1 and H2 receptors in the human nose. We therefore provoked 25 healthy human subjects with histamine after local pretreatment with the H1 receptor antagonist, chlorpheniramine maleate, the H2 receptor antagonist, ranitidine hydrochloride, and a combination of these two antihistamines. The histamine-induced increase in nasal airway resistance was 52% inhibited by combined use of the two antihistamine sprays (p less than 0.05), 22% by chlorpheniramine alone (p less than 0.05), and 29% by ranitidine. The two sprays together were significantly better than the H1 antagonists alone (p less than 0.05). These results suggest an equal importance of H1 and H2 receptors in nasal blood vessels, and an additive effect of H1 and H2 antihistamines. Although chlorpheniramine effectively blocked tickling and the reflex-mediated symptoms, sneezing and hypersecretion, ranitidine had no effect, which suggests an H1 and not an H2 effect on sensory nerve endings in the airway epithelium.     

Abdominal fat distribution measured by ultrasound and aerobic fitness in young Danish men born with low and normal birth weight

Abdominal subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue thickness was examined by ultrasound in 17 men with low birth weight (LBW) and 26 with normal BW control individuals to determine if abdominal obesity in LBW individuals is due to increased visceral or subcutaneous fat mass/thickness, or both. Men born with LBW had an increased waist-to-hip ratio (P = 0.04), greater abdominal fat thickness (P = 0.05) and increased visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) thickness compared with controls, however the latter not statistically significant (P = 0.08, P = 0.10). A significant difference between birth weight groups in both SAT (P = 0.04) and VAT (P = 0.03) was found after adjustment for weight, whereas no significant difference in either SAT (P = 0.93) or VAT (P = 0.30) was found after adjustment for BMI. Increased waist-to-hip ratio in LBW individuals is due to increased total abdominal fat including both subcutaneous and visceral fat.     

Eight hundred and seventy-five cases of bacterial meningitis. Part I of a three-part series: clinical data, prognosis, and the role of specialised hospital departments

Between 1966 and 1976, 875 patients with bacterial meningitis were treated at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet. Among 495 patients admitted directly to the department, fatality rates were 0.4 per cent for meningococcal infections (including septicaemia), 3.7 per cent for haemophilus meningitis and 8.7 per cent for pneumococcal meningitis. The total fatality rate for directly admitted patients was 3.8 per cent, and 4.0 per cent had sequelae on discharge. Patients transferred from other hospitals often had complications, and their fatality rate (20.1 per cent) was markedly higher than that for directly admitted patients, but not significantly higher than that for patients treated elsewhere in Denmark (17.6 per cent). The low fatality at a specialised unit may reflect an open and swift admission procedure and the preparedness of staff familiar with the management of meningitis. During the first five years after discharge, the relative death risk was increased among meningitis patients but later declined to that found in the general population.     

131I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy of neuroblastomas

Sixteen neuroblastoma patients have been studied by 131I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy. Three patients were possibly cured, and their scintigraphy results were normal. Thirteen patients had tumors and metastases demonstrated by 131I-MIBG, two of these patients had a normal vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) excretion level. One patient has been treated by 131I-MIBG, but died. 131I-MIBG was concentrated in other cells too, eg, in erythrocytes and platelets.