Circumcaval ureter.

We report a case of circumcaval ureter diagnosed preoperatively by 'fish-hook' appearance on intravenous pyelogram. At surgery, patient was treated by 'Anderson Hones' pyeloplasty leaving the retrocaval segment in-situ.

Umbilical transillumination: an accurate means to diagnose minimal ascites associated with umbilical hernias.

A new bedside clinical test for the diagnosis of minimal ascites associated with reducible umbilical hernia is described. This test is based on transillumination of the hernial sac in the knee-elbow position. The test is easy to perform and has no equivocal results.

Glycolytic, hexose monophosphate shunt and bactericidal activities of leukocytes in ascorbic acid deficient guinea pigs.

It is well known that glycolytic and hexose monophosphate shunt activities of leukocytes increase during phagocytosis. The relevance of these metabolic changes to particle uptake and particle destruction is also well established. In the present study, these metabolic activities were studied to assess the phagocytic function of leukocytes isolated from ascorbic acid deficient guinea pigs.

Phagocytosis and leukocyte enzymes in ascorbic acid deficient guinea pigs.

Enzymes related to bactericidal activities of leukocytes were studied in ascorbic acid deficient guinea pig leukocytes. The activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase were not affected either under resting or phagocytizing conditions in ascorbic acid deficiency. Granule bound NADPH-oxidase activity of resting leukocytes also was not altered in ascorbic acid deficiency.

Effect of mega doses of vitamin C on bactericidal ativity of leukocytes.

Effect of ingesting mega doses of ascorbic acid was studied on the leukocyte function in five normal human subjects. During the first 15 days the subjects received daily supplements of 200 mg of ascorbic acid, and during the next 2 weeks they were given 2 g of vitamin C per day. Supplementation of 200 mg as well as 2 g of ascorbic acid stimulated hexose monophosphate shunt activity of resting leukocytes indicating an increase in resting metabolism.

Hydrogen peroxide production by leukocytes in protein-calorie malnutrition.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production during phagocytosis was studied in polymorphonuclear leukocytes obtained from children suffering from severe protein-calorie malnutrition. Formation of H2O2 was significantly reduced both in the resting condition and during phagocytosis. Improvement in this function of leukocytes was observed following nutritional rehabilitation.

The effect of ACTH administration on the phagocytic and bactericidal activities of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

Metabolic and bactericial activities of leukocytes obtained from 5 normal volunteers receiving 1 mg of synthetic B1-24 ACTH intra-muscularly daily for 7 days, were studied. Bactericidal activity and phagocytosis induced hexosemonophosphate shunt activity of leukocytes were found to be depressed following ACTH administration. However, glycolytic activity, which provides the necessary energy for particle uptake by leukocytes, was not altered.