Accuracy of an anthropometric estimate of the muscle and bone area in a transversal cross-section of the arm

To standardize the maximal static force (Fo) of the arm flexors, the accuracy of an anthropometric method for estimating the mid-arm cross-sectional muscle and bone area (MBA) was investigated. This was done by comparing the anthropometrically determined area (MBA.A) with the area measured by means of computerized tomography (MBA.S). In the same way, the accuracy of Heymsfield's equations (Heymsfield et al., 1982) for predicting MBA (MBA.H) from anthropometric measures was tested. MBA.A was significantly larger than MBA.S, the relative difference increasing with the thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer. This difference was attributed to a 27% underestimation of the fat layer thickness as measured with the skinfold caliper. Women being fatter than men, this caused the standardized maximal static force (Fo/MBA) to be lower in women than in men. MBA.H was 12% smaller than MBA.S. This may have been due to a difference in the way of measuring the arm circumference between the present authors and Heymsfield et al.     

Renal selective N-acetyl-L-gamma-glutamyl prodrugs: studies on the selectivity of some model prodrugs.

1. In this study, a number of structurally different N-acetyl-L-gamma-glutamyl prodrugs were investigated with respect to selective uptake by the kidney in male Wistar rats. 2. All prodrugs were tested in vitro in rat kidney slices and kidney homogenate to study their uptake and conversion. It was found that the prodrugs of para-nitroaniline (agPNA), aminophenyl acetic acid (agAFA), sulphamethoxazole (agSM), sulphadimethoxine (agSDM), propranolol (agPP) and metoprolol (agMP) were accumulated by a probenecid-sensitive carrier. The prodrug of 4'-aminoantipyrine (agAAP) was not accumulated by a probenecid- or buthionine sulphoximine-sensitive carrier. Unlike all other prodrugs, agAAP and agMP were not, or only a very limited extent converted to the parent compound in vitro. 3. agPNA, agAFA and agPP were also investigated in vivo. The tissue distribution of the prodrugs and the parent drugs was established, as was their urinary excretion and pharmacokinetic behaviour. agPNA and agAFA showed selective uptake by the kidney, in contrast to agPP which accumulated in the liver. The distribution of the parent compounds following prodrug administration was as follows: agPNA was found in kidney and plasma: agAFA in kidney only; agPP in liver only. 4. The factors which determine the selectivity of N-acetyl-L-gamma-glutamyl prodrugs are discussed. The main factors are: the transport into the kidney, the conversion rate, the residence time of the prodrug in the kidney and the presence or absence of competition for uptake and conversation by other tissues, e.g. the liver.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

β-Endorphin and adrenocortical function in obesity

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that the hyperendorphinaemia in obesity originates from outside the pituitary. DESIGN: Intravenous administration of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) after overnight suppression with 2 mg of dexamethasone in normal-weight controls and in obese subjects before and after weight reduction. PATIENTS: Eleven obese females, age (mean +/- SEM) 30 +/- 2.1 years, body mass index (BMI) 41.2 +/- 1.9 kg/m2. Eight normal-weight females served as controls, age 26 +/- 2.1 years, BMI 21.4 +/- 0.5 kg/m2. Five obese subjects were also studied after weight loss of 18.4 +/- 1.0% of original weight. MEASUREMENTS: Plasma beta-endorphin, ACTH and cortisol. Cortisol production rate in 24-hour urine. Basal (without dexamethasone suppression) plasma beta-endorphin levels. RESULTS: Basal (without dexamethasone suppression) beta-endorphin levels were 7.7 +/- 0.8 pmol/l in the obese and 3.8 +/- 0.5 pmol/l in the control subjects (P less than 0.005). The degree of suppression of beta-endorphin after dexamethasone was similar in the obese (23.2 +/- 3.7%) and in the control subjects (28.2 +/- 0.12%). Administration of CRH following dexamethasone suppression resulted in a small but significant increase of plasma beta-endorphin in both obese (from 1.55 +/- 0.12 to 2.32 +/- 0.28 pmol/l) and control subjects (from 0.98 +/- 0.24 to 1.69 +/- 0.33 pmol/l). The groups did not differ regarding this response, nor regarding the release of ACTH and cortisol after CRH. Cortisol production rate was higher (P less than 0.001) in the obese (68.7 +/- 3.3 mumol/24 h) than in the controls (40.0 +/- 3.0 mumol/24 h). No correlation between cortisol production rate and basal beta-endorphin levels was found. Weight loss appeared to have no influence on cortisol production rate, basal beta-endorphin levels, or on the responses to dexamethasone or CRH. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma beta-endorphin in obese subjects can be affected by manipulations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis; the hypothesis that the hyperendorphinaemia of obesity originates from outside the pituitary cannot be confirmed.     

Perforated colorectal neoplasms: correlation of clinical, contrast enema, and CT examinations

Results of clinical, contrast enema (CE), and computed tomographic (CT) examinations in 39 patients with perforated colorectal neoplasms were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty patients were toxemic at initial presentation, but in only four patients was the diagnosis of perforated colorectal neoplasm initially suspected clinically. CE study was performed in 22 patients and enabled the diagnosis of perforated neoplasm in 11 cases, neoplasm alone in eight, and neither neoplasm nor perforation in three. CT was performed in 38 patients and enabled the diagnosis of perforated neoplasm in 36; pericolic phlegmon but no mass lesion was evident in two. In 16 patients, CT also demonstrated metastatic disease. Because of its reliability in establishing the diagnosis and staging the extent of the inflammatory and neoplastic disease, CT is indicated in cases of suspected or proved perforated colorectal neoplasm and in cases in which CE study findings are indeterminate or suggestive of perforated neoplasm.     

氯仿重结晶棉酚的质量研究

报道了氯仿重结晶的棉酚的化学性质,样品在不同温度下干燥恒重后,经熔点、薄层层析、紫外光谱、红外光谱、X-射线衍射、热重量分析、元素(C,H,Cl)分析及棉酚合量测定等一系列的分析,确证了在60℃以下棉酚与氯仿成溶剂化物(solvate)。随着干燥温度的升高或在室温长时间的贮存,此现象逐渐消失,100℃真空干燥恒重后成为纯棉酚。     

Pulmonary autograft failure after aortic root replacement in a patient with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

We report a 12-year-old girl suffering from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis with severe aortic valve incompetence who died 5 months after an initially successful Ross procedure. Pulmonary autograft failure was a result of recurrence of aggressive valvulitis.     

Estrogens in plasma and fatty tissue from breast cancer patients and women undergoing surgery for non-oncological reasons.

Breast cancer tissue is able to maintain the tissue estradiol level in spite of the massive decrease in plasma estradiol associated with menopause, whereas fatty tissue from breasts with malignancies more closely reflects the changes in plasma. In the present study estrone and estradiol levels in fatty tissues from different origins were compared to evaluate the capacity of distant fatty tissues to act as estrogen reservoirs. Abdominal fat was obtained from 25 premenopausal and 20 postmenopausal women who underwent surgery for non-oncological reasons. Estrone and estradiol levels in these tissues were compared to those in breast fatty tissue from breast cancer patients. Plasma estrogen levels were not different in the two groups. In both groups, median plasma estradiol levels dropped sharply with menopause (from 363 to 40 pmol/l in breast cancer patients; from 280 to 45 pmol/l in the non-oncological patients; p less than 0.002), whereas a significant decrease in plasma estrone was observed only in the breast cancer patients (from 238 to 140 pmol/l; p less than 0.02). In premenopausal women, median estrone and estradiol levels in breast fatty tissue (1135 and 375 fmol/g, respectively) and abdominal tissue (1390 and 470 fmol/g, respectively) were not different. In postmenopausal women, however, significantly higher estrone levels (663 vs. 508 fmol/g; p less than 0.01) and estradiol levels (245 vs. 187 fmol/g; p less than 0.02) were found in abdominal fatty tissue. In view of the absolute estrogen levels in breast and abdominal fatty tissue and in plasma, we conclude, however, that it is unlikely that remote fat contributes substantially to the maintenance of estrogen levels in breast cancer tissue.