Prostacyclin: a solution to some problems of extracorporeal circulation. Experiments in greyhounds.

In cardiopulmonary-bypass experiments in greyhounds the effects of adding prostacyclin, prostacyclin plus heparin, and heparin alone to the extracorporeal circulation were compared. With heparin alone platelet count and function were reduced, the pressure differential across the arterial filters rose, platelet deposits were found on the arterial filters, and plasma-fibrinogen levels fell. Plasma from these dogs was toxic to fetal-mouse hearts in culture.

An antiserum to 5,6-dihydro prostacyclin (PGI1) which also binds prostacyclin.

An antiserum was raised in rabbits using 5,6-dihydro prostacyclin, a stable analogue of prostacyclin, as the hapten, conjugated to bovine serum albumin. When added to platelet rich plasma the antiserum neutralised the inhibitory activity of prostacyclin, prostaglandin E1 and D2. The amount of antiserum required to neutralise completely a dose of prostacyclin giving 90-95% inhibition of ADP induced aggregation was 10-30 times less than that required for the other two prostaglandins.

Controlled trial of a new dosage form of carbenoxolone (Pyrogastrone) in the treatment of reflux esophagitis.

A new preparation combining carbenoxolone sodium with alginate antacid (Pyrogastrone), taken for 8 weeks, was compared with alginate antacid alone (Gaviscon-like) in a controlled double-blind study in 37 patients with endoscopically proved reflux esophagitis. Complete remission or persistence of only minimal symptoms was obtained in 89%, and esophageal ulcer healing was achieved in 100% of subjects taking Pyrogastrone, compared with only 50% (P less than 0.025) and 33% (P equal 0.

Controlled trial of a carbenoxolone/alginate antacid combination in reflux oesophagitis.

A double-blind controlled trial was carried out in 37 patients with oesophagitis, confirmed endoscopically and histologically, to compare the efficacy of treatment with a carbenoxolone/alginate antaacid combination with that of the alginate antacid compound used alone. The total daily dosage of carbenoxolone was 100 mg. During the 8-week-period of the trial patients were seen every 2 weeks and endoscoped at 4 and 8 weeks.

Ionophores stimulate prostaglandin and thromboxane biosynthesis.

The role of calcium in triggering prostaglandin and thromboxane synthesis was studied in several systems with ionophores of different ion specificities. Divalent cationophore A23187 stimulates prostaglandin and thromboxane production by washed human platelets in a concentration-dependent manner (0.3-9 muM).

Controlled trial of Duogastrone in duodenal ulcer.

A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of carbenoxolone, as 50 mg Duogastrone capsules, and in a dose of 200 mg daily for 12 weeks, was carried out in 40 ambulant subjects with endoscopically diganosed duodenal ulceration, of whom 34 were available for final analysis. Each patient was seen every two weeks and endoscoped at four, eight and 12 weeks. Serum carbenoxolone was measured at each visit.

Bladder dysfunction and neuropathy in diabetes.

Established urodynamic and electrophysiological techniques have been applied to assess the frequency and extent of autonomic and peripheral neuropathy in 60 subjects with diabetes mellitus; 38 were diabetics with suggestive symptoms and the others were representative newly diagnosed (11) or treated (11) diabetics. Objective evidence neuropathic bladder dysfunction was detected in 43 of them (71.7%).

Effects of divalent cation ionophore A23187 on potassium permeability of rat erythrocytes.

A23187 transports calcium rapidly into rat erythrocytes, apparently by an electroneutral exchange for intracellular magnesium and protons. When red cells are incubated in the absence of any added divalent cations, A23187 transports internal magnesium out of the cells, in exchange for extracellular protons. Magnesium uptake into erythrocytes is produced by A23187, providing the extracellular concentration of this cation exceeds intracellular levels, and the ionophore also transports strontium, but not barium, into red cells.

Luteinizing hormone secretion in patients presenting with post-oral contraceptive amenorrhoea: evidence for a hypothalamic feedback abnormality.

Twenty-four patients who presented with amenorrhoea after discontinuing oral contraceptives were studied. In fourteen patients underlying conditions were present which could account for the amenorrhoea. Two patients were pregnant, two had premature ovarian failure and four polycystic ovarian disease.

Contraction of isolated smooth muscle cells by inophore A23187.

Ionophore A23187 causes contraction of smooth muscle cells isolated from the stomach muscularis of Bufo marinus. The peak response is reached within 10 sec of inophore addition and then decays to a lesser, sustained contraction. The initial phase of contraction is maximal at A23187 concentrations greater than 5 X 10(-6) M and half maximal at 5 X 10(-7) M.

Serum pyridoxal, folate, and vitamin B12 levels in institutionalized epileptics.

Serum pyridoxal, folate, and vitamin B12 concentrations were measured in 68 institutionalized patients with severe epilepsy. Twenty-five patients had a reduced level of pyridoxal and thirty-three a reduced level of folate. There was no instance of a low serum vitamin B12 although in three patients the levels were found to be abnormally high.

Antibiotic inhibitors of mitochondrial ATP synthesis.

Fourteen antibiotics have been found to inhibit oxidative phosphorylation and uncoupler-stimulated adenosinetriphosphatase in mitochondria. Four different types of binding sites for these inhibitors have been found. The first (1) binds aurovertin to purified MF1 ATPase in the stoichiometric ratio of two aurovertin molecules per molecule of ATPase.

Uncoupling and specific inhibition of phosphoryl transfer reactions in mitochondria by antibiotic A20668.

A20668 A, B, and C are polypeptide antibiotics that inhibit phosphorylation of ADP, Mg2t-ATPase, and the ATP-driven transhydrogenase of rat liver submitochondrial particles, but not the purified F1 ATPase. In intact mitochondria, 120668 inhibits uncoupler-induced ATPase, State 3 respiration, and phosphorylation; the A and B forms are approximately equipotent with rutamycin, whereas A20668 C is less effective. Concentrations of A20668 slightly greater than required for complete inhibition of phosphoryl transfer stimulate rapid, uncoupled respiration by mitochondria under State 3 of 4 conditions.

X-autosome translocation with a 47,XXXY qs,t(9p-;Xq+) karyotype.

A male with a karyotype 47,XXXY qs,t(9p-;Xq+) was ascertained utilizing ASG-banding. The karyotype was repeated because the original diagnosis of Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY) was inconsistent with many of the stigmata present. It is suggested that many karyotypes completed prior to the advent of banding techniques will be repeated in an attempt to provide more accurate diagnosis, describe more aberrations, and possibly establish new syndromes.