Differential effect of surgical injury and thermal burn on zinc metabolism in man.

Serum, erythrocyte and urinary zinc were serially measured during the early ten days following major surgery or thermal burns in 18 and 8 patients, respectively. Serum zinc gradually decreased and erythrocyte and urinary zinc increased during the first three postoperative or post-burn days. Thereafter, both serum and erythrocyte zinc gradually returned to preoperative levels in the patients subjected to surgery, while serum zinc continued to fall progressively despite a rapid restoration of erythrocyte zinc to control values, in the burned patients.

Smoking and hepatitis B-negative primary hepatocellular carcinoma.

Smoking histories were obtained from 79 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC) (of whom 40 were negative and 39 positive for serum hepatitis B surface antigen), 39 patients with liver cancer not primary in the liver (LCNP), and 204 hospitalized controls. All subjects were Caucasians of Greek nationality and residence. No significant difference in smoking habits was found between controls and either PHC patients positive for serum hepatitis B surface antigen or LCNP patients.

Serum immunoglobulins in a rural and an urban population of Greece with special reference to immunoglobulin A.

The serum concentration of immunoglobulins G, A, and M was studied in 390 inhabitants of a rural community and in 204 residents of an urban area of Greece. It was found that serum IgA levels were significantly higher in the rural area where intestinal infections were more prevalent. No significant difference in serum IgG was found between the two groups.

Urinary prostaglandins in kidney disease.

Substances having the chromatographic behaviour and the bioassay properties of prostaglandins (PGE and PGF) were detected in the urine of 30 patients with kidney disease and 15 healthy subjects. The mean urinary PGE and PGF values in 15 patients with chronic glomerular disease or nephrosclerosis were significantly lower than those of 15 patients with chronic pyelonephritis and other forms of chronic interstitial nephritis, polycystic kidney disease, obstructive nephropathy or diuretic phase of acute renal failure, and of the mean PGE and PGF values found in the healthy subjects. It was suggested that in contrast to disease affecting primarily the renal medulla, chronic glomerular disease and nephrosclerosis are accompanied by a decrease of renal prostaglandin synthesis and/or release.

Effect of inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis on the natriuresis induced by saline infusion in man.

1. The effect of oral administration of an inhibitor of prostaglandin synthetase, indomethacin, on the natriuresis induced by the infusion of sodium chloride (saline) was studied in 11 healthy volunteers. 2.

Cell-mediated immunity in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Cell-mediated immunity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was assessed by skin testing with six common antigens and by streptokinase-streptodornase (SK–SD) induced leucocyte migration inhibition in twenty-four SLE patients, who were age- and sex-matched with twenty-four healthy subjects or patients with diseases not known to be associated with immunological abnormalities. 25% of SLE patients were anergic, and the migration of their leucocytes was not inhibited in the presence of SK–SD. Depressed cell-mediated immune responses were significantly related to disease activity.

Intestinal transit in rural and urban population of Greece.

Intestinal transit times and daily stool weights were measured in 14 residents of Athens and 22 residents of a small village of Greece. Subjects in rural Greece have significantly shorter transit times (38.4 vs 56.

Alpha-chain disease with localized plasmacytoma of the intestine. Immunoperoxidase study.

An ileocaecal tumour in a patient with alpha-chain disease in remission was studied immunohistochemically by a quantitive immunoperoxidase method. The tumour which was histologically shown to be a plasmacytoma consisted of 68% alpha cells and 15% lambda cells; no kappa cells were found. Away from the tumour the pattern of immunoglobulin-producing cells was normal.

Changes of fractional renal clearance of magnesium after spironolactone administration in normal subjects.

Spironolactone, 200 mg/24 hours, was administered for 4 days to 18 clinically healthy subjects and 10 hospitalised patients with normal renal function. Changes of fractional renal clearance of magnesium before and after spironolactone administration were studied in the first group. Corresponding changes of the ratio of renal clearance of potassium to renal clearance of magnesium were studied in the second group.

Alpha-chain disease with clinical, immunological, and histological recovery.

Clinical, immunological, and histological recovery in a patient with alpha-chain disease is described. The patient, a 27-year-old Greek man, presented with severe steatorrhoea, abdominal pain, oedema, and hypogammaglobulinaemia. Treatment with tetracycline produced only temporary remission.

Disturbance of cell-mediated immunity in patients with carcinoma of colon and rectum.

The cellular immune mechanisms of patients with adenocarcinoma of colon or rectum were evaluated by studying the lymphocyte response to PHA stimulation. Our results indicate that the serum of cancer patients causes a decreased blastic transformation and H(3) thymidine uptake of the lymphocytes of patients as well as of normal controls. A defect of the lymphocytes unrelated to serum factors was also present in some cancer patients.