The effects of megadoses of ascorbic acid on PMN chemotaxis and experimental gingivitis.

A double-blind study was undertaken to determine the effects of megadose ascorbic acid supplementation on plasma ascorbate levels, polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) chemotaxis and clinical and biochemical determinations of inflammatory progression in individuals with a mean daily ascorbate intake level of approximately twice the recommended daily allowances. Results indicate that although the group receiving ascorbate supplementation demonstrated a significant increase in plasma levels of the vitamin as compared to a placebo group, no significant differences with respect to PMN chemotaxis or responses to experimental gingivitis were found between the groups.

Hypercalcaemia. The case of the missing adenoma.

A case of severe hypercalcaemia is described. The biochemical picture strongly suggested primary hyperparathyroidism, yet no adenoma could be found in the neck or upper mediastinum. The tumour was eventually demonstrated by computerized tomographic scan and was removed at surgery from the posterior mediastinum beneath the arch of the aorta.

The effects of nicotine upon memory and problem solving performance.

This study examined the effects of 4 mg nicotine and placebo upon problem solving performance in word and number tasks, and subsequent recall and recognition of the answers to these problems. The results demonstrated that the drug had no effect upon the subject's ability to generate the correct answers to the problems, but that immediate and delayed recall and recognition were significantly impaired. These data clearly do not support the view that nicotine, without exception, enhances information processing, and it was suggested that the effects of nicotine upon information retrieval may be specific to tasks which assess episodic memory in the absence of retrieval cues or a problem solving context.

Scopolamine and the control of attention in humans.

Recent work with humans and animals has suggested that the cholinergic system plays an important role in the active control of attention. This study was designed to investigate the effects of scopolamine upon subjects' ability to utilize knowledge of the spatial probability bias in a display in the detection of briefly-presented target letters. Results showed a significant interaction between drug condition (scopolamine 0.

Autonomic nervous system activity in Macaca fascicularis.

This study was performed to determine the contributions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems to cardiovascular control. Hexamethonium was administered to block the autonomic ganglia, propranolol to block beta adrenergic receptors of the sympathetic nervous system, and methylatropine to block the parasympathetic nervous system. The results of this study indicate high sympathetic tone and low parasympathetic tone in resting Macaca fascicularis.

Morbidity and mortality of operative intubation for malignant oesophageal obstruction.

In 33 patients who underwent operative intubation of carcinoma of the oesophagus or gastric cardia, there were nine postoperative deaths (mortality 27%). Only 15 patients (46%) had no further operative procedure or anaesthetics, but their mean survival was only 3.7 months.

Difficulties in the endoscopic diagnosis of gastric and oesophageal cancer.

A study was made of 116 patients with gastric or oesophageal cancer, in whom endoscopy was negative, or biopsy was negative or not performed. The most common problems were the presence of pyloric or oesophageal stricture (sometimes with excessive luminal content) and difficulty in obtaining diagnostic biopsy material in linitis plastica, early gastric cancer, lymphoma and sarcoma. Problems also occurred from failure to biopsy apparently benign conditions and from delay in a second endoscopy.

Development of a Biochemical Profile for Gingival Crevicular Fluid: Methodological Considerations and Evaluation of Collagen-Degrading and Ground Substance-Degrading Enzyme Activity during Experimental Gingivitis.

The potential application of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) analysis to periodontal diagnosis has been examined for more than 25 years. Unfortunately, the information available has not provided the clinician with a more sensitive means of diagnosing periodontal disease or an effective means of monitoring periodontal therapy. A careful review of the literature on GCF, however, suggests that discrepancies occur in the method of GCF collection, the use of GCF for analysis from pooled or isolated crevicular locations, the method of analyzing the samples and the way in which the data is reported.

Development of a biochemical profile for gingival crevicular fluid. Methodological considerations and evaluation of collagen-degrading and ground substance-degrading enzyme activity during experimental gingivitis.

The potential application of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) analysis to periodontal diagnosis has been examined for more than 25 years. Unfortunately, the information available has not provided the clinician with a more sensitive means of diagnosing periodontal disease or an effective means of monitoring periodontal therapy. A careful review of the literature on GCF, however, suggests that discrepancies occur in the method of GCF collection, the use of GCF for analysis from pooled or isolated crevicular locations, the method of analyzing the samples and the way in which the data is reported.

Phaeochromocytoma in Queensland--1970-83.

A statewide survey was conducted in Queensland to record all cases of phaeochromocytoma between the years of 1970 and 1983 inclusive. There were 46 cases giving an incidence of 1.55/million population per year.

Early gastric cancer.

Thirty patients with early gastric cancer were studied as part of a consecutive series of 308 gastric cancers, giving a proportion of 9.7%. Twenty-eight of the early gastric cancer patients were symptomatic, pain being the most common symptom.

Immediate effects of milrinone on metabolic and sympathetic responses to exercise in severe congestive heart failure.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled protocol was used to determine whether milrinone exerts an immediate effect on exercise performance in patients with severe congestive heart failure. In each of 14 patients with New York Heart Association class III or IV congestive heart failure, intravenous milrinone (mean 57 +/- 5 micrograms/kg) and placebo were randomly administered just before maximal progressive upright cycle ergometry. The duration of exercise was significantly longer with milrinone than with placebo treatment (placebo 11.

Lactate dehydrogenase, beta-glucuronidase and arylsulfatase activity in gingival crevicular fluid associated with experimental gingivitis in man.

Experimental gingivitis provides a useful model for studying the initiation of periodontal disease in man. This study evaluated over a 4-week period the Plaque Index (PLI), Gingival Bleeding Time Index (GBTI), and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) for resting and flow volume as well as the concentration and total activity of three enzymes in the GCF (lactate dehydrogenase--LDH, beta-glucuronidase--BG and arylsulfatase--AS) from the maxillary right quadrant of eight subjects with healthy gingiva. After rising sharply during the 1st week, the PLI continued to increase during the 2nd week but remained constant during the 3rd and 4th weeks.

The role of exercise in the primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease.

Although exact definitions of exercise requirements for primary and secondary prevention of coronary disease cannot be stated with certainty on the basis of currently available information, we can make some general conclusions. The characteristics associated with lowered risk from coronary disease in apparently normal populations are: 8 MET-hours of activity during leisure time or job: walking briskly during leisure time (1 hour = 1 MET-hour) walking at job (same as above) jogging during leisure time (30 minutes of activity = 1 MET-hour) walking to and from work (same as walking above) performing very heavy work in occupational pursuits (few jobs today have those energy requirements) regularly climbing 5 flights or more of stairs (10 steps per flight) regularly walking 5 city blocks per day (12 blocks per mile) regularly engaging in strenuous sports (basketball, running, mountaineering, skiing, swimming, or tennis) accumulating activities that use 2000 or more kcal per week Conclusions concerning the prevention of reinfarction in patients who are recovering from a first heart attack include: Exercise is helpful in hastening the recovery process after myocardial infarction and should be started early in the recovery period. Exercise helps to reduce mortality when used in conjunction with a multifactorial program.

Evaluation and modification of spectrophotometric procedures for analysis of lactate dehydrogenase, beta-glucuronidase and arylsulphatase in human gingival crevicular fluid collected with filter-paper strips.

Filter-paper strips were used to collect GCF, and the sample eluted into a larger volume of diluent. This procedure allows for detection of site-to-site variation in GCF volume, and provides a 300-400 microliter sample for analysis of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), beta-glucuronidase (BG) and arylsulphatase (AS) activities by a standard (serum) spectrophotometric assay modified for increased sensitivity. The results indicate that although the standard assay for LDH (based on oxidation of NADH) was adequate for detecting low activity in GCF samples, the modification doubled the sensitivity and allowed the use of less sample volume, thereby providing additional material for other assays.

The effectiveness of a low lipid diet and exercise in the management of coronary artery disease.

To evaluate the effects of a high complex carbohydrate, low lipid diet on the management of coronary artery disease, we reviewed data on 32 patients, who had participated in a diet and exercise program, and compared the results with 40 patients who had been managed only with exercise. After a follow-up period of 10 to 16 weeks the patients on the diet-exercise program showed significant reduction in body weight (-6 +/- 2 kg mean +/- standard deviation), serum cholesterol (-43 +/- 41 mg/dl), and triglycerides (-51 +/- 70 mg/dl), while patients who were managed only with exercise had no significant changes in weight or serum lipids. Both the diet-exercise and the exercise groups showed significant improvement in working capacity and reduction in resting systolic blood pressure.

Selective inhibition by NPT 15392 of lymphocyte cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase.

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases were measured in mouse spleen and thymus lymphocyte membranes and soluble fractions and in extracts of canine tracheal smooth muscle. The immunostimulant erythro-9(2-hydroxy,3-nonyl) hypoxanthine (NPT 15392) was found to be a potent and relatively selective inhibitor of mouse lymphocyte cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase, with IC50 values 15-180 times greater for cyclic AMP than cyclic GMP phosphodiesterases. The greatest inhibition by NPT 15392 was found using 10 microM substrate, and inhibition was greater in membrane than soluble forms of phosphodiesterase.

Hyperactivity, drugs and attention deficit.

Thirty-two hyperactive children who were under imipramine or methylphenidate medication took part in the experiment. The children were asked to learn a set of paired associate pictures containing a salient, central, figure and a secondary figure below. Free recall of all pictures was scored both immediately and seven days later.

Effect of beta blockade on plasma catecholamine levels during psychological and exercise stress.

The effect of a single oral dose of 50 mg of metoprolol on plasma catecholamine levels was examined in 11 healthy young men. Subjects were studied during baseline at rest, postural challenge, psychological stressors and graded maximal exercise testing. Metoprolol induced significant increases in plasma norepinephrine (NE) levels across most experimental conditions.

Enhanced blood pressure responses to loud noise in offspring of monkeys with high blood pressure.

Sixteen unanesthetized immature Macaca fascicularis monkeys, 18-43 months of age, were tested for mean arterial blood pressure (MBP) and heart rate (HR) responses to 30 minutes of continuous broadband noise (95 dB). Eight animals (OH group) were offspring of monkeys with high blood pressure (parents' MBP = 115.5 +/- 1.

Postexercise peril. Plasma catecholamines and exercise.

Postexercise cardiac morbidity is noted both in the exercise testing laboratory and in the field, but the physiology of this phenomenon has been unclear. Plasma catecholamine levels were studied in ten healthy men at each work load during exercise testing and during the recovery period after exercise. Both norepinephrine and epinephrine levels increased in response to exercise, although the response was much more noteworthy for norepinephrine.