Late onset parkinsonian syndrome in Hallervorden-Spatz disease

Two siblings, from consanguineous parents, developed in their twenties a Parkinsonian syndrome. In the elder, the disease evolved for 13 years and the necropsic study was diagnostic of Hallervorden-Spatz disease. The younger sibling is severely affected after 12 years of the disorder. Several CT and one MR studies done in this patient during the last 4 years have been normal. Ultrastructural studies of the bone marrow histiocytes and blood lymphocytes disclosed peculiar inclusions. Bromocriptine in low doses proved to be a beneficial therapy for this patient.

Thromboelastographic assays of the clotting process in situations of obesity and caloric restriction

A study on blood clotting has been carried out in a number of obese individuals and compared to a group of non-obese persons, in order to assess if the former can be considered to be in "high risk" regarding the onset of a thromboembolic process. The technique of thromboelastography was chosen. The results point out that in obese people a series of alterations take place, both in the time of clot formation, which is enlarged, as in the organization of its nets, which appear strongly structured, favoured by the hyperfibrinogenemia and thrombocytosis detected in these subjects. Likewise, the effect of a hypocaloric diet on clotting in obese persons has been evaluated and compared with the former groups. Clotting in treated obese individuals is modified in the same way as in the untreated group when compared to the non-obese population; nevertheless, when both groups of obese people are compared, no significant difference is observed in the different parameters studied, even though constants determined in citrated whole blood are closer to normality in the subjects undergoing caloric restriction.

Purine nucleotides stimulate while carbamoyl phosphate protects inactivation of ornithine transcarbamoylase by disrupted lysosomes

Ornithine transcarbamoylase (OTC) is inactivated by liver lysosomes. Carbamoyl phosphate prevents the inactivation of OTC by lysosomes, while ATP, ADP, GTP, GDP 1,N6-ethenoadenosine 5'-triphosphate and particularly epsilon-ATP stimulate it. Both stimulation and protection occur at concentrations within the physiological range of ATP and carbamoyl phosphate. Inactivation of OTC is followed by extensive proteolysis. Since the inactivation is prevented by leupeptin, antipain and L-(tosylamido-2-phenyl)ethylchloromethyl ketone, the proteolytic susceptibility of OTC to lysosomes could be due to thiol endopeptidase(s). 1,N6-Ethenoadenosine 5'-triphosphate also markedly increases OTC susceptibility to trypsin and elastase. ATP analogs had no stimulatory effect on OTC inactivation by lysosomes; none of the inhibitors of ATPases tested inhibited the ATP effect. The ATP stimulation does not require Mg2+. These findings indicate a new role for ATP, GTP and related nucleotides in protein breakdown. The ATP, ADP, GTP, GDP stimulation, together with the carbamoyl protection of OTC, agree well with the molecular plasticity hypothesis model.