Glutathione peroxidase activity in whole blood of patients with sickle cell anaemia.

Whole blood glutathione peroxidase was found significantly increased relative to controls in a group of 21 black patients with sickle cell anaemia. One control group consisted of 15 normal black subjects. A second control group, consisting of 21 black patients with various abnormal haemoglobins including alpha-thalassaemia, also showed a tendency to enhanced glutathione peroxidase activity, confirming previous reports that elevated glutathione peroxidase levels are secondary to a variety of haemolytic conditions, rather than typical of sickle cell anaemia.

Protein binding of valproic acid in the presence of elevated free fatty acids in patient and normal human serum.

Two recent reports indicate that free fatty acids (FFA) can decrease the binding of valproic acid (VPA) to plasma proteins. Since FFA can increase in several physiological and clinical situations, it becomes necessary to define the relationship between elevated FFA and VPA free fraction. This study was conducted in two phases.

Outpatient excision and primary closure of pilonidal cysts and sinuses.

A procedure for outpatient excision and closure of pilonidal cysts and sinuses under local anesthesia is described. The operation is designed to reduce hospital expenses and loss of work time. It utilizes the low tissue friction properties of polypropylene sutures to effect full dead space obliteration and a home care regimen to minimize the incisional tension produced by sitting.

Deadtime measurements in scintillation cameras under scatter conditions simulating quantitative nuclear cardiography.

Deadtime performance of scintillation cameras is sensitive to such factors as scatter fraction and analyzer window width. Data from manufacturers and previous investigators do not predict counting-rate losses under clinical conditions. Scintillation cameras used with Tc-99m for quantitative nuclear cardiology should be evaluated for deadtime performance by the two-source method using a scatter phantom designed to simulate the spectrum from Tc-99m in the heart.

Isolation of labeled triiodothyronine from serum using affinity chromatography: application to the extimation of the peripheral T4 to T3 conversion in rats.

A method for the isolation of small quantities of labeled 3,5,3' -triiodothyronine (T3) from serum or thyroid extracts is described. Conjugates of rabbit anti-T3 antibody to Sepharose 4B are incubated with 0.5 to 1 ml of human or rat serum at pH 8.

Quantitative aspects of the metabolic response to pancreatic islet transplantation in rats with severe ketotic diabetes.

Injection of 100-140 mg/Kg of streptozotocin produced severe, ketotic diabetes in 12 pairs of adult rats. Transplantation of intact islets of Langerhans from syngeneic adult donors into a muscle pocket or a pouch created from pancreatic tissue of one animal from each pair eliminated ketonemia in the immediate postoperative period, while ketonemia persisted in the sham-operated controls. Mean survival of transplanted animals was 145 days, versus 70 days for controls.