Risk of high-altitude travel in a patient with Eisenmenger's syndrome.

We used ear oximetry in combination with maneuvers of hypoxic breathing, exercise, and hyperoxic breathing to assess the cardiopulmonary function of a patient with Eisenmenger's syndrome. The results showed that mild alveolar hypoxia decreased O2 SAT moderately, that exercise alone decreased O2 SAT markedly, and that oxygenation was improved with increased inspired oxygen fraction.

Effects of pharmacologic hyperglucagonemia on plasma amino acid concentrations in normal and diabetic man.

Four normal and five insulin dependent diabetic men received a 2 h pharmacologic glucagon infusion (50 ng/kg/min) resulting in plasma glucagon levels (4400 pg/ml) similar to those seen in glucagonoma patients. In normal subjects in whom plasma insulin concentrations rose significantly (239 uU/ml) and the blood level of 15 of the 18 amino acids measured fell significantly. In contrast, in the diabetic men who secreted no insulin in response to glucagon (no rise in C-peptide levels), only 10 of 18 amino acid levels fell significantly.

Effects of insulin at two dose levels on gluconeogenesis from alanine in fasting man.

We have determined the effect of insulin infused at 1 and 5 mU/kg/min on gluconeogenesis from alanine in 48-hr fasted men. The conversion of alanine to glucose was measured by the arterial-hepatic venous catheterization technique combined with the infusion of 14C-alanine. During insulin infusion, euglycemia was maintained by variable glucose infusion.