Growth Hormone Treatment in Short Children -Short-Term and Long-Term Effects on Growth

Short children with normal GH responses to arginine-insulin provocation testing and various amounts of spontaneously secreted GH over 24 hours participated in an ongoing study with GH, 0.1 IU/kg/day. A total of 40 prepubertal children have been treated for 1 year. Their mean height velocity increased from 4.6 to 7.5 cm/year. The children with the slowest pretreatment height velocity showed the best increment. An inverse relationship was found between the endogenous GH secretion and the increment in growth; 80% of the children had an endogenous GH secretion of less than 300 milliunits/litre/24 hours, estimated as area under the curve above the calculated baseline. They all showed an increment in height above 2 cm. The remaining 20% all had an endogenous GH secretion of more than 300 milliunits/litre/24 hours, estimated as area under the curve above the calculated baseline, Twenty-four of the children were prepubertal for the following 4 years, and their GH therapy continued. Their Deight velocity changed from 4.2 cm/year before therapy to 8.1,6.7,6.0 and 4.9 cm/year for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th years on treatment. Many of them have passed their expected final height, but have still not stopped growing. Those children who were in early puberty when GH treatment started went into a rapid growth spurt and have now stopped growing. They have all reached but not improved their expected final height. In 15 of the children GH treatment was stopped after 1-3 years. Their mean height velocity for the first post-treatment year was 5.1 cm/year; thus, for the group as a whole no'catch down'was observed. Of the 15 children, only 4 decreased in height velocity despite increasing age. Further studies on the long-term results of GH treatment in larger groups of short children are needed to verify the findings in this study.     

Beta-endorphin cells in the arcuate nucleus: projections to the supraoptic nucleus and changes in expression during pregnancy and parturition

Supraoptic nucleus oxytocin neurone activity and secretion are inhibited in late pregnancy and parturition by endogenous opioids. Here, we investigated alterations in the projections and gene expression of beta-endorphin/pro-opiomelanocortin neurones in the arcuate nucleus in the pregnant rat. All regions of the arcuate nucleus were found to contain cells immunoreactive for beta-endorphin fluorescent microbeads retrogradely transported from the supraoptic nucleus, and double-labelled neurones (beta-endorphin plus microbeads), showing that beta-endorphin neurones throughout the arcuate nucleus project to the supraoptic nucleus. There was an increase in the number of beta-endorphin-immunoreactive cells in the arcuate nucleus and an increase in the density of beta-endorphin fibres within the supraoptic nucleus and peri-supraoptic region in late pregnancy and parturition, suggesting enhanced expression of beta-endorphin and increased beta-endorphin innervation of the supraoptic nucleus. Pro-opiomelanocortin mRNA expression in the arcuate nucleus increased in late compared to early pregnancy: the number of positive neurones significantly increased in the caudal region. Fos expression (an indicator of neuronal activation) in the arcuate nucleus was colocalized in beta-endorphin neurones in both proestrus and parturient rats, but the number of positive cells did not increase during parturition, suggesting lack of activation of beta-endorphin neurones at birth. Thus, beta-endorphin cells in the arcuate nucleus project to the supraoptic nucleus and increased innervation during pregnancy may explain the enhanced endogenous opioid inhibition of oxytocin neurones.     

Ethnicity as a possible endogenous factor in irritant contact dermatitis: comparing the irritant response among Caucasians,blacks, and Asians

Irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) is a common dermatological diagnosis in which endogenous and exogenous factors have been implicated. This review explores ethnicity as a possible endogenous factor. While there is a clinical consensus that blacks are less reactive and Asians are more reactive than Caucasians, the data supporting this hypothesis rarely reaches statistical significance. The studies reviewed do not provide sufficient evidence to determine that race is a predisposing factor to the degree of irritation in ICD. We conclude that race could be a factor in ICD, which has practical consequences regarding topical product testing requirements, an ever-expanding global market, occupational risk assessment, and the clinical thinking about ICD. Pitfalls in defining differences are discussed.     

2型糖尿病患者血清esRAGE水平及相关因素研究

目的 研究2型糖尿病(T2DM)患者血清内源性分泌型糖基化终产物受体(esRAGE)水平及其与相关因素的关系.方法 用酶联免疫法测定60例T2DM患者(其中30例并发颈动脉粥样硬化)和28名正常对照者血清esRAGE浓度,并检测其他临床指标.结果 T2DM并发颈动脉粥样硬化组血清esRAGE浓度较无颈动脉粥样硬化组及正常对照组显著降低,差异有高度统计学意义(P<0.01);T2DM无颈动脉粥样硬化组较正常对照组亦显著降低,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05).Pearson相关分析显示,esRAGE与年龄及代谢综合征的组成因素包括糖化血红蛋白、总胆固醇、低密度脂蛋白、收缩压、体质量指数成负相关(P<0.01).多元线性逐步回归分析显示,年龄、总胆固醇、糖化血红蛋白、体质量指数与esRAGE成独立负相关(P<0.05).结论 esRAGE可能是糖尿病动脉粥样硬化及代谢综合征的潜在保护因素.     

熄风通络胶囊治疗缺血性中风急性期的临床研究

痰瘀是中风病发病的基础，气血逆乱是发病的关键，风夹痰瘀痹阻脉络是中风病急性期的基本病理，熄风通络法是中风病的根本治法。本文通过对熄风通络胶囊治疗缺血性中风急性期的临床研究，观察急性缺血性中风病人60例，并与维脑路通片相对比，结果发现，治疗组在改善症状、促进肢体功能恢复、降血脂、改善血流变、降低纤维蛋白原方面明显优于对照组（P〈0．05）。     

Pain control by immune-derived opioids

1. The nervous and immune systems communicate with each other by use of cytokines and neuropeptides. 2. Interactions between immune cell-derived opioid peptides and opioid receptors located in peripheral inflamed tissue lead to endogenous analgesia. 3. In addition to their immunological functions, immunocytes are involved in intrinsic pain inhibition. This provides new insights into pain associated with a compromised immune system, as in AIDS or in cancer. 4. The activation of opioid production and release from immune cells may be a novel approach to the development of peripherally acting analgesics. Because such drugs would be targeted towards events in peripheral injured tissue, these analgesics should lack unwanted central side effects typically associated with opioids.     

Rat diaphragm neuromuscular junction in experimental hypoparathyroidism

Laboratory of Experimental Pathomorphology and Laboratory of General Pathology of the Nervous System, Research Institute of General Pathology and Pathological Physiology, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Moscow (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR G. N. Kryzhanovskii.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 105, No. 6, pp. 757–759, June, 1988.     

Possibility of using guinea pigs for studying the carcinogenic activity of some endogenous substances

The tryptophan metabolites 3-indolylacrylic acid and 2-aminoacetophenone, whose carcinogenic activity has been demonstrated by experiments on inbred mice, were injected into noninbred guinea pigs. Both substances induced tumors in the animals of the exprimental groups earlier than in the control and the tumors differed significantly in their morphology from those in animals of the control groups, evidence that both compounds have a carcinogenic effect. The results indicate that guinea pigs can be used to study the carcinogenic activity of weak carcinogens of the endogenous class.Experimental Animals Division, Oncologic Scientific Center, Academy of medical Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR L. M. Shabad.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 84, No. 8, pp. 200–202, August, 1977.     

Induction of tyrosine aminotransferase by carcinogenic metabolites of tryptophan and tyrosine

The effect of endogenous carcinogenic substances (3-hydroxyanthranilic and parahydroxyphenyllactic acids) and their noncarcinogenic analogs (anthranilic and phenyllactic acids) on tyrosine aminotransferase activity was compared in rat liver. The carcinogenic metabolites were found to have the property of sharply inducing activity of the enzyme. This phenomenon and existing data on the role of the increase in tyrosine aminotransferase and tryptophan oxygenase activity in tyrosine and tryptophan catabolism in the direction of the possible formation of carcinogenic metabolites suggest that there is a chain reaction of accumulation of endogenous carcinogens in the body.Oncological Scientific Center, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR L. M. Shabad.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksporimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 82, No. 9, pp. 1064–1066, September, 1976     

The cortisol response to desipramine in endogenous depressives and normal controls: preliminary findings

Plasma cortisol levels were monitored for 2 hours after an intramuscular injection of 75 mg desipramine in 13 endogenous depressives and 20 normal controls. Endogenous depressives had a significantly reduced cortisol response in comparison to normal controls, not explained by sex, age, or baseline cortisol differences between groups. A lack of a cortisol rise of 1.5 micrograms/dl above baseline by 45 minutes discriminated best, with 7 of 13 depressives (55%) being identified in contrast to only 1 of 20 normals (5%). The results suggest that this may be a useful biological test with acceptable sensitivity (55%) and excellent specificity (95%). Furthermore, these data suggest that norepinephrine may be stimulatory to cortisol in man.