Nutritional management of plasma lipid disorders.

Prevention of vascular disease and acute pancreatitis is the goal of hyperlipidemia treatment. The risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) increases with increasing plasma cholesterol levels because low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the major carrier of cholesterol in the plasma, is atherogenic. High-density lipoprotein (HDL), especially the HDL2 subfraction, protects against CHD.

Stabilization of ascorbic acid in human plasma, and its liquid-chromatographic measurement.

We describe two independent HPLC procedures for the rapid, accurate analysis for ascorbic acid in human plasma. No sample extraction or phase separation is required. We also describe a procedure for preparing a human plasma reference material for use in clinical laboratory analysis for ascorbic acid.

Effect of improved glycemic control on the response of plasma triglycerides to ingestion of a saturated fat load in normotriglyceridemic and hypertriglyceridemic diabetic subjects.

This study tests the hypothesis that improved glycemic control decreases the postprandial plasma triglyceride (TG) response to ingestion of a saturated fat load. Fifteen normotriglyceridemic subjects with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM, group I) and six hypertriglyceridemic subjects with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM, group II) were studied. Each subject was studied before and after 12 days of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII).

Improved glycemic control lowers plasma apoprotein E and triglyceride levels following ingestion of a fat load in insulin-dependent diabetic subjects.

To assess the effect of glycemic control on triglyceride (TG) and apoprotein E (apo E) metabolism, plasma levels of TG and apo E were studied in nine nonobese subjects with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) following acute ingestion of polyunsaturated fat. Each subject was studied twice: before and after ten days of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII). Each subject ingested identical meals on both study days.

Structure of a hydroxyl radical induced cross-link of thymine and tyrosine.

DNA-protein cross-links are formed when living cells or isolated chromatin is exposed to ionizing radiation. Little is known about the actual cross-linked products of DNA and proteins. In this work, a novel hydroxyl radical induced cross-link of thymine and tyrosine has been isolated along with a tyrosine dimer by high-performance liquid chromatography of aqueous mixtures of tyrosine and thymine that had been exposed to hydroxyl radicals generated by ionizing radiation.

Intracardiac extension of intravenous leiomyomatosis.

A 42-year-old woman was found to have intravenous leiomyomatosis of the uterus with extension into the inferior vena cava and right atrium. Intravenous leiomyomatosis is a rare neoplastic disease characterized by invasion of venous channels by a benign smooth muscle tumor arising either from the wall of a vessel or from a uterine myoma. Intracardiac extension is often initially misdiagnosed as a right atrial myxoma and may cause death by mechanical obstruction.

The social image of smokeless tobacco use in three different types of teenagers.

The current study used an unobtrusive methodology to describe the social image associated with smokeless tobacco use and with cigarette smoking in three "types" of teenage models--an athlete, a cowboy, and an average teenager. As in previous research, the social image associated with smokeless tobacco use was more positive than that associated with cigarette smoking, suggesting that adopting smokeless tobacco use may have perceived social image benefits for adolescent males. The image conveyed by smokeless tobacco use was similar across the three different types of adolescent.

Variable expressivity in fundus albipunctatus.

A healthy, 14-year-old girl presented with nyctalopia, good vision, and multiple, irregular, yellowish lesions of the fundus. Dark adaptometry showed prolonged cone and rod branches, elevated thresholds, and the cone-rod transition occurring after 50 minutes in darkness. Her scotopic electroretinogram (ERG) b-wave attained normal amplitudes after 45 minutes of dark adaptation.

Stabilization of ascorbic acid and its measurement by liquid chromatography in nonfat dry milk.

The determination of ascorbic acid by liquid chromatography (LC) was improved by performing the analysis in the presence of solvents that had been purged with argon to reduce the concentration of oxygen. This methodological modification eliminated the oxidation of ascorbic acid during the chromatographic procedure and reduced the minimum detection level to 1 microgram. Solutions of ascorbic acid have been successfully stabilized for 67 days by addition of dithiothreitol to a deaerated solution of water-acetonitrile (25 + 75 v/v), sealed under argon in amber vials and stored at -20 degrees C.

Augmentation of pulmonary blood flow by a right atrial balloon pump after the Fontan operation.

The Fontan principle of right ventricular exclusion is frequently applied to complex congenital lesions. Results are adversely affected by increases in pulmonary vascular resistance and/or ventricular end-diastolic pressure. Survival depends on means to increase pulmonary blood flow.

Aniridia, congenital glaucoma, and hydrocephalus in a male infant with ring chromosome 6.

A premature infant with unilateral aniridia and congenital ectropion uveae, contralateral Rieger anomaly, bilateral congenital glaucoma, and hydrocephalus was found to have ring chromosome 6. The findings are consistent with multiple manifestations of a neural crest-derived maldevelopment of the anterior segment and central nervous system. Comparison with the 14 previously reported cases of ring chromosome 6 illustrates the phenotypic variability of this syndrome.

Evidence that cholesteryl ester hydrolase and triglyceride lipase are different enzymes in rat liver.

Studies on intracellular cholesteryl ester hydrolase (CEH) and triglyceride lipase (TGL) from rat adipose tissue and adrenal cortex have suggested that a single protein is responsible for both activities. To determine whether one hepatic protein catalyzes both reactions, we studied several properties of CEH and TGL in rat liver. During liver perfusion with heparin, perfusate peaks of TGL and CEH did not consistently coincide, and TGL activity was considerably higher and less heat-stable than that of CEH.

Effect of large-dose progesterone on plasma levels of lipids, lipoproteins and apolipoproteins in males.

Eleven men with sexual deviation syndrome were hospitalized for treatment with medroxyprogesterone acetate (Depo-provera). Plasma total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, apo A-I and LDL apo B were measured before and during Depo-provera treatment. Ten normolipidemic and one mildly hypertriglyceridemic patient with 117 +/- 17% ideal body weight were maintained on a regular hospital diet before and during the study.

Long-term effects of guar gum on blood lipids.

While guar gum has been shown to lower total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in diabetic patients over the short-term, the long-term effects are less well studied and may be unpredictable. Granola bars with and without 6.6 g guar gum were developed and fed to 16 adult volunteers with Type II diabetes mellitus who had been randomized in a double-blind fashion into guar and placebo groups of equal size.

Microprocessor-based weight shift monitors for paraplegic patients.

The prevention of pressure sores for patients with spinal cord injuries includes pressure relief through the patient shifting position and, thus, weight. We have designed a microprocessor-based device to mount on the seat of a conventional wheelchair. This device has applications in hospital rehabilitation programs for improving patient care and in research to study the cause and prevention of pressure sores.

Immobilized E. coli alkaline phosphatase. Its properties, stability, and utility in studying the dephosphorylation of proteins.

We have immobilized E. coli alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.

Effect of dietary treatment on the plasma levels of lipids, lipoprotein cholesterol and LDL B protein in children with type II hyperlipoproteinemia.

These data confirm the effectiveness of therapeutic diets in children with type II hyperlipoproteinemia in conventional terms. However, the decrease in LDL cholesterol was not accompanied by a significant decrease in LDL B (suggesting only a small change in the number of LDL particles in plasma), and a fall in HDL cholesterol occurred, with no significant improvement in the LDL to HDL cholesterol ratio. These findings indicate that further research is needed to develop diets with more optimal effects.

[Effect of rhythmic and tonic stimulation on the neuronal activity of the olfactory bulb in the newt Triturus cristatus].

Studies have been made of the dependence of neuronal reactions in the olfactory bulb of the newt on the pattern of presentation of a test solution (glutamine 10(-5) M) into the nasal cavity. Responses to stimulation at a frequency 6/min (which corresponds to the minimal rhythm of normal buccal movements) varied in the intensity and sign. The peak of excitation was usually observed after the 2nd or the 3rd stimuli.

Retinal and optic nerve findings in Goldenhar-Gorlin syndrome.

Involvement of the posterior segment of the eye in Goldenhar-Gorlin syndrome is more common than is generally appreciated. We examined seven patients with this syndrome. Abnormalities included diminished visual acuity, tilted optic disc, optic nerve hypoplasia, tortuous retinal vessels, macular hypoplasia and heterotopia, microphthalmia and anophthalmia.

Radiation induced failures of complementary metal oxide semiconductor containing pacemakers: a potentially lethal complication.

New multi-programmable pacemakers frequently employ complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS). This circuitry appears more sensitive to the effects of ionizing radiation when compared to the semiconductor circuits used in older pacemakers. A case of radiation induced runaway pacemaker in a CMOS device is described.

Amino acid analysis of angiotensin I by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The chemical shifts of the isoleucine and histidine protons of angiotensin I were assigned and the chemical shifts of the protons of the other amino acids in the peptide were confirmed at a field strength of 400 MHz. These chemical shift assignments were used to determine the amino acid composition of angiotensin I. These data were then compared to the amino acid composition which was determined by chromatographic analysis of the peptide hydrolysate.