Lactate and Pyruvate Levels in the Testicular Vein of Subfertile Males with Varicocele as a Test for the Theory of Underlying Hypoxia

Lactat- und Pyruvat-Werte in der Vena testicularis von subfertilen Männern als Test für die Theorie der vorhandenen Hypoxie
Um die These von der testikulären Hypoxie bei subfertilen Männern mit Varikocele zu überprüfen wurden die Blutwerte von Lactat und Pyruvat aus der Vena testicularis mit denen einer Kontrollgruppe verglichen. Statistisch ergab sich ein niedrigerer Mittelwert für Lactat und Pyruvat bei den Varikocele-Patienten. Daraus wird die Schlußfolgerung gezogen, daß bei Varikocele keine Akkumulation von Milchsäure erfolgt und daß damit eine Hypoxie ausgeschlossen werden kann. Als die Mittelwerte der Konzentrationen für Lactat und Pyruvat in der Vena testicularis miteinander korreliert wurden, deutete sich an, daß bei Vorhandensein einer Varikocele eine gestörte Glykolyse besteht, die dem Stadium der Pyruvatbildung vorhergeht.     

Laser therapy of childhood haemangiomas

A total of 37 haemangiomas were treated in 28 patients by means of the flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser (FPDL). Twenty-nine haemangiomas were classified as superficial, and eight as mixed type. With FPDL treatment, excellent or good results were obtained in nearly 60% of superficial haemangiomas and 40% of mixed haemangiomas. In three of four patients with mixed type haemangiomas good results were obtained by means of Nd: YAG laser irradiation. In two patients, small superficial haemangiomas were removed by argon laser coagulation or CO² laser vaporization, respectively. These results indicate that many children benefit from laser therapy of haemangiomas. Side-effects were rare. The FPDL is the treatment modality of choice for superficial haemangiomas. and the Nd: YAG laser for thicker lesions. Based on our results and the results reported in the literature, early laser therapy of childhood haemangiomas can be recommended.     

IMPROVED PROCEDURE OF PURIFICATION OF INORGANIC PYROPHOSPHATASE FROM BACILLUS STEAROTHERMOPHILUS

An improved method for isolation of inorganic pyrophosphatase (EC 3.6.1.1.) from Bacillus stearothermophilus is described. The enzyme was purified to more than 90% after two chromatographic steps. A molecular weight of 140 000 daltons was estimated by density gradient centrifugation. The isoelectric point was found to be 4.0.     

Pharmacokinetic study of minipooled solvent/detergent‐filtered cryoprecipitate factor VIII

Summary. Eighteen cryoprecipitate minipools, each made of 30 units of low volume, concentrated cryoprecipitate, have been treated by solvent‐detergent and filtration (S/D‐F) in a single‐use CE‐marked bag system. The S/D‐F cryoprecipitate contained a mean of 10.5 IU mL⁻¹ factor VIII (FVIII), 17 mg mL⁻¹ clottable fibrinogen, and >10 IU mL⁻¹ von Willebrand factor ristocetin co‐factor, and anti‐A and anti‐B isoagglutinins were undetectable. The products have been infused in 11 severe (FVIII <1%) haemophilia A patients (mean age: 17.4 years; mean weight: 57.6 kg) at a dose close to 40 IU kg⁻¹. Patients were hospitalized for at least 36 h to determine FVIII recovery, half‐life and clearance. They were also closely monitored for possible adverse events. None of the infused patients demonstrated reactions or adverse events even though they did not receive anti‐allergic drugs or corticosteroids prior to infusion. The mean recovery of FVIII 10 min postinfusion was 69.7%. Mean FVIII half‐life was 14.2 h and clearance was 2.6 mL h⁻¹ kg⁻¹. All patients had a bleeding‐free interval of 8–10 days postS/D‐F cryoprecipitate infusion. The data show that S/D‐F cryoprecipitate FVIII presents a normal pharmacokinetics profile, and support that it could be safely used for the control of acute and chronic bleeding episodes in haemophilia A patients.     

Three-Dimensional Echocardiographic Assessment of Aortic Dissection

In the present study, we report our experience of using three-dimensional reconstruction of transesophageal two-dimensional echocardiographic images in the assessment of aortic dissection (22 patients), aortic rupture (1 patient), aortic aneurysm without dissection (2 patients), and aortic tumor (1 patient).     

Spectrophotometric and Spectrofluorimetric Determination of Fluorouracil in the Presence of its Degradation Products

Three reliable spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric procedures are described for the determination of fluorouracil in bulk powder and ampoules in the presence of its degradation products. One spectrophotometric procedure, based on measurement at 555 nm of the violet-coloured complex formed by fluorouracil with cobalt(II), has a detection limit of 0.03 mg mL^?1. Two sensitive spectrofluorimetric procedures are also proposed. One is based on measurement of the intrinsic fluorescence of the liberated fluorouracil at 375 nm, after precipitation as its cobalt(II) complex, decomposition of the precipitate with sulphuric acid and excitation at 295 nm. The second depends on excitation of the fluorouracil-cobalt(II) complex at 395 nm and measuring its fluorescence at 483 nm. The limits of detection of the two spectrofluorimetric procedures are 0.5 and 2 μg mL^?1, respectively. The three procedures have been used successfully for the determination of fluorouracil ampoules. The validity of the methods has been assessed by applying the standard addition technique.