An Introduction to Spiral Steroids.

In addition to classical steroids, which have cholesterol as a precursor, there are steroids with 7-dehydrocholesterol as a precursor. This review describes the identification of these steroids, their biosynthesis, and some aspects of their function. There are three classes of these compounds, distinguished by the number of their carbon atoms, 23, 24, and 25.

Spiral steroids as potential markers for pre-eclampsia: A pilot study.

Pre-eclampsia is a condition that complicates 3-6% of pregnancies. At present, there is no FDA approved diagnostic method to evaluate risk or progression. We would like to report our observation of elevated levels of the spiral steroid phosphoester precursor in patients with pre-eclampsia.

Ionotropin is the mammalian digoxin-like material (DLM). It is a phosphocholine ester of a steroid with 23 carbon atoms.

We describe a novel steroid, which we have named "Ionotropin". Its unique features are: [1] it has 23 carbon atoms and [2] it is a phosphocholine ester. There are no other known mammalian steroids with either structural feature.

Growth hormone isoforms in a girl with gigantism.

Several previous investigations have suggested that there may be different growth hormone isoforms in patients with acromegaly. We used three different site-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to investigate growth hormone (GH) isoforms in serum from an 8 year-old girl with a GH and prolactin secreting adenoma. The pattern of GH-immunoreactivity was dependent on the circumstances of collection.

Evaluation of differential effects of carbohydrate and fat intake on weight gain, serum IGF-1 and erythrocyte Na+K+ATPase activity in suboptimal nutrition in rats.

Objective: Suboptimal nutrition leads to growth delay, frequently without over clinical or biochemical signs. We hypothesize that changes in serum IFG-1 and erythrocyte sodium-potassium ATPase activity (ENKA) may be indices of suboptimal nutrition.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were pair-fed for 4 weeks with balanced diets of different carbohydrate (CHO) to fat (FAT) ratios (3:1, 2:1, and 1:1) and three levels of energy intake (ad-libitum, 80%, and 60%), corrected for actual body weight).

Carbohydrate absorption from one serving of fruit juice in young children: age and carbohydrate composition effects.

Objectives: To test the hypotheses that: the efficiency of carbohydrate absorption in childhood increases with age, and decreased carbohydrate absorption occurs more frequently with juices containing more fructose than glucose and/or sorbitol than with juices which contain equal amounts of fructose and glucose and are sorbitol-free.

Methods: One hundred and four healthy children were recruited from the Ambulatory Center at Maimonides Children's Center. They were assigned to one of three age groups: approximately 1, 3 and 5 years of age.

Testing cord blood human chorionic gonadotropin as a surrogate marker for early identification of human immunodeficiency virus-1 infection in children.

We measured human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in cord sera of 22 infants born to women infected with the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1). hCG was also determined in cord sera from 173 infants born at a suburban hospital to HIV-1-seronegative women. The findings indicate that 16 (9%) of 173 HIV-1-seronegative samples had hCG levels greater than 90 IU/L (values were distributed as a Poisson curve).

Carbohydrate absorption from fruit juice in young children.

Objective: To compare carbohydrate absorption following ingestion of apple juice and white grape juice in 28 healthy children.

Design: Randomized, double-blind crossover study.

Setting: Outpatient pediatric clinic at Maimonides Medical Center.

Disturbances in growth hormone secretion and action in adolescents with anorexia nervosa.

Women in whom anorexia nervosa develops during adolescence have failure of linear growth associated with low levels of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-1). To investigate the pathophysiology of growth retardation in adolescents with anorexia nervosa, we measured basal growth hormone (GH), growth hormone-binding protein (GHBP), IGF-1, and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in three groups of patients: (1) 28 recently hospitalized female adolescents with anorexia nervosa, (2) 23 of the same patients after partial weight restoration, and (3) 28 healthy control subjects matched for age, sex, and pubertal stage. Fasting GH levels in group 1 did not differ significantly from those in group 3.

Thyroid function in children with perinatally acquired antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus.

We measured T4, T3, TSH, and TBG in 53 children (both asymptomatic and symptomatic) with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibodies, and 17 controls. Although most had normal T3 and T4 levels, two children with acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS), who were very ill when studied, had low T3 values. TBG and TSH levels were higher in children with AIDS than in other HIV-infected children or controls (P < 0.

Circulating growth hormone isoforms in girls with Turner's syndrome.

To evaluate the presence of different GH isoforms in serum of girls with Turner's syndrome, we measured the serum GH content using RIAs with three different site-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). We compared the results to those obtained with authentic GH and GH isoforms. Compared to pituitary GH (mol wt, 22K daltons) as the standard for all three MAbs, serum from girls with Turner's syndrome did not displace tracer [125I]GH equally with all three MAbs.

L-arginine decreases the infiltration of the kidney by macrophages in obstructive nephropathy and puromycin-induced nephrosis.

We examined the effect of 1% L-arginine in the drinking water on the infiltration of the kidney by macrophages in rats with puromycin aminonucleoside-induced nephrosis (PAN) and in rats with bilateral ureteral obstruction (BUO) of 24 hours duration. Rats given L-arginine in the drinking water for three days before BUO or PAN was initiated had a greater glomerular filtration rate after release of BUO or induction of PAN than similar rats not given L-arginine (P < 0.0001).

Gonadotropin-associated psychosis in perimenstrual behavior disorder.

Sexually provocative and violent behavior have been reported as a result of excess androgens. We now report a temporal relationship between increased gonadotropin levels and behavioral changes in two adolescent girls who presented with a history of aggressive and bizarre sexual behavior coincident with the onset of menarche. We evaluated the possibility of a cyclical hormonal cause with daily measurements of gonadotropins, androgens and estradiol levels and correlated the results with periodic reports on the girls' behavior.

Correlation between puberty and the development of autoimmunity to spermatozoa in men with cystic fibrosis.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that puberty is a necessary factor in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity to sperm in men with cystic fibrosis (CF), we studied prepubertal and postpubertal males with CF versus an age-matched group of males with type 1 diabetes as controls.

Design: Sera from CF and diabetic males treated at University Hospital, State University of New York, Stony Brook, were tested by indirect immunobead binding for antisperm antibodies and by radioimmunoassay for testosterone (T), luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone. The finding of autoantibodies to spermatozoa was correlated with chronological age, as well as with clinical and hormonal pubertal status.

Sustained improvement in growth velocity and recovery from suboptimal growth hormone (GH) secretion after treatment with human pituitary GH-releasing hormone-(1-44)-NH2.

The sustained effect of human pancreatic GH-releasing hormone [hpGHRH-(1-44)-NH2] on growth rate and GH secretory patterns was studied in 14 patients (10 males and 4 females; aged 10-16 yr; all Tanner stage I or II). Nine children had inadequate spontaneous GH secretion (ISGHS), while 5 had classic GH deficiency. Seven of 9 patients with ISGHS and 1 of 5 patients with GH deficiency were given 2 sc injections/day of 5 micrograms/kg GHRH for 2-3 months; the others received 5 pulses of GHRH (5 micrograms/kg BW.

Therapeutic adherence to oral medication regimens by adolescents with cancer. I. Laboratory assessment.

Outpatient adherence to oral medication regimens was evaluated in 50 adolescents and young adults with cancer: 21 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia or Hodgkin disease who were to take prednisone as a component of their chemotherapy regimen, and 29 patients with Hodgkin disease whose chemotherapy had been discontinued and who were to take penicillin for postsplenectomy prophylaxis. Of the 21 adolescent patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia or Hodgkin disease who were to take prednisone as outpatients, 11 patients were found to be nonadherent to treatment (52%). Among the 29 adolescents for whom penicillin was prescribed for postsplenectomy prophylaxis, nonadherence was detected in 14 patients (48%).

The role of adrenocorticotropin testing in evaluating girls with premature adrenarche and hirsutism/oligomenorrhea.

To identify biochemical predictors for future development of hirsutism and/or oligomenorrhea (H/O) in girls with premature adrenarche (PA), we performed dexamethasone-suppressed ACTH stimulation tests in girls with PA (n = 46), young women (n = 44) with H/O, and adult women (n = 31). Cortisol, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone, and 17-hydroxyprogesterone were measured. Seven girls with PA (15%) and seven with H/O (16%) had evidence of nonclassical adrenal steroid biosynthetic defects [nonclassical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (NCAH)].

Subdiaphragmatic vagotomy in rats induces systemic hypertension and sodium retention.

We examined the acute effects of bilateral subdiaphragmatic vagotomy (BSV) on blood pressure and renal function in female Sprague-Dawley rats. Mean arterial pressure was greater (p < 0.0001) in rats with BSV than in sham-operated rats (SOR).

Hypocalcemia and hypercalcitoninemia in critically ill children.

To study Ca metabolism in critically ill children, we measured ionized Ca (Ca2+), parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcitonin, 25 hydroxycholecalciferol (25[OH] D3), 1-25 dihydroxycholecalciferol (1-25[OH]2D3, and gastrin levels in critically ill children and in healthy controls. Patients were considered hypocalcemic if Ca2+ was less than 1.1 mmol/L.

Blunted growth hormone responses to clonidine in adolescent girls with early anorexia nervosa. Evidence for an early hypothalamic defect.

We studied growth hormone (GH) levels in 14 adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN), 12-20 years of age. All had amenorrhea and the duration of symptoms ranged from 2-24 months. There was no difference in unstimulated GH between the girls with AN and endocrinologically normal girls.

Digoxinlike materials in human breast cyst fluids.

Digoxinlike materials (DLMs) are compounds found in animals that (1) cross-react with digoxin antibodies in specific radioimmunoassay procedures and (2) bind to Na+, K(+)-ATPase and inhibit its activity. DLMs may play a part in the regulation of electrolyte composition. We have determined DLM concentrations in breast cyst fluids and found that these fluids were a rich source of DLMs.

Characterization of digoxin-like materials in human cord serum.

Human cord serum contains substantial amounts of materials that cross-react in radioimmunoassays for digoxin. The average content of digoxin-like immunoreactivity in mixed cord serum is 0.3 +/- 0.

Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels are not suppressible by glucocorticoids before adrenarche.

We measured dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) levels in children before and after high dose prednisone therapy. In older children (postadrenarchal), there was a 70% decrease in DHEA-S levels after 1 week. However, even after a month of therapy, DHEA-S was detectable in serum.