The oral glucose tolerance test: a comparison of the time points on the basis of limit values, normal dispersion, and reproducibility.

Time points in the glucose tolerance test (GTT) are compared on the basis of limit values, dispersion within a reference population, and reproducibility. We suggest using the distance between a limit value and the median reference value as a measure of the magnitude of abnormality. The distance between 140 mg/100 ml and the median fasting plasma glucose value is chosen as a standard distance and limits for other points in the GTT are calculated to equal this standard distance of abnormality.

The central nervous system in a case of neurolathyrism.

We examined the central nervous system of a 67-year-old man who showed symptoms of lathyrism after being imprisoned at age 35 and fed on a diet of chick peas, Lathyrus sativus. The most obvious changes were loss of axons and myelin in the pyramidal tract in the lumbar spinal cord. These alterations correlated with spastic paraparesis.