[Testicular atrophy of mice induced by ethylene glycol mono alkyl ethers (author's transl)]

Toxicities of ethylene glycol (EG) and 6 ethylene glycol mono alkyl ethers administered orally were studied. Mice were given various doses (62.5, 125, 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000 mg/kg body weight) of the compounds daily for 5 days/week, for 5 weeks. High doses of ethylene glycol mono methyl ether (EGM), ethylene glycol mono methyl ether acetate (EGMA), ethylene glycol mono ethyl ether (EGE) and ethylene glycol mono ethyl acetate (EGEA) produced marked testicular atrophy and leucopenia. Dose-responce relation was found in these effects. EGM was more effective than EGE, while ethylene glycol mono butyl ether and ethylene glycol mono phenyl ether had but slight effect and EG had no detectable action on testis and leucocytes. Toxic doses being expressed as mg/kg body weight, esterification seemed to weaken the atrophic action of EGM and EGE, but when expressed as mol/kg, significant difference was found neither between EGM and EGMA nor between EGE and EGEA. The mechanism of testicular atrophy induced by low ethylene glycol mono alkyl ethers is likely to be an inhibitory action on cell division.

A gonadotrophin-responsive virilizing adrenal tumour identified as a mixed ganglioneuroma and adreno-cortical adenoma

A 38-year-old gravida 2, para 1 woman, who had suffered from virilization and amenorrhoea for 8 years was examined. She had peripheral serum testosterone (T) levels of 3.9–8.7 ng/ml (normal level: 0.32 ± 0.09 ng/ml) with normal serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA), aldosterone and cortisol (F) and normal urinary 17-ketosteroids (17-KS).

Dexamethasone (DXM 2 mg/day for 5 days) suppressed the serum F level adequately, but reduced the high T levels only slightly. The administration of commercial hCG 6000 IU for 3 days increased both the serum T levels (5.68 to 9.83 ng/ml) and the serum DHA levels (4.9 to 9.8 ng/ml, normal range 4–6 ng/ml), but synthetic ACTH-Z (Cortrosyn-Z®, 1 mg, Organon) did not affect the serum T level. The basal serum LH level was abnormally low, and constant infusion of synthetic LH-RH (200 μg/5 h) resulted in good responses of serum LH and FSH and increase in the serum T level from 5.2 to 9.1 ng/ml.

Computerized tomography, ultrasonography and pneumo-retroperitoneumroentgenography showed the presence of a large tumour in the right adrenal. The tumour was a circumscribed irregularly lobulate mass, measuring 16×8×8 cm and weighing 500 g. Histologically, it was identified as a ganglioneuroma containing numerous scattered groups of large polyhydral cells similar to adrenocortical cells, forming islets in some places. After removal of the tumour from the right adrenal, the high serum T level decreased to the normal female level in 24 h.

Sandwich enzymoimmunoassay of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)

A sandwich enzymoimmunoassay (EIA) procedure was developed for the detection of HBsAg using Fab' of anti-HBsAg conjugated with beta-D-galactosidase from Escherichia coli with anti-HBsAg-coated silicone rubber discs as a solid phase. EIA could detect 1 ng/ml of HBsAg. It was as sensitive as radioimmunoassay (RIA, AusRia II) and about 30-fold more sensitive than reversed passive hemagglutination assay RPHA, ReverseCell). EIA and RIA could detect more HBsAg-positive sera than RPHA.

The effect of glycine on serum luteinizing hormone in adult female rats

The response of serum luteinizing hormone to glycine has been studied during the estrous cycle in adult female rats. I.p. administration of 200 mg of glycine significantly elevated serum luteinizing hormone levels at all stages of the estrous cycle.

Axial transverse tomography of the cervical spine narrowed by ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament

Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament in the cervical region is generally regarded as a rare disease, though a Japanese series of 185 cases has been reported. The main symptoms arise from a myelopathy, the degree of which varies from moderate to severe, due to stenosis of the spinal canal. In order to clarify the relationship between the severity of symptoms and the cross-sectional area of ossification, axial transverse tomography of the cervical spine has been carried out on twenty-six patients at intervals of 5 millimetres over the full extent of the ossification. In this way the cross-sectional areas of the ossified tissue and of the spinal canal were calculated. The former varied from a minimum of 0.8 to a maximum of 1.8 square centimetres. In cases of severe myelopathy the ossification was mainly at the fourth and fifth cervical levels and the stenosis ration exceeded 30 per cent.

Pathological study on experimental Heinz body anemia: intracellular changes of phagocytized red cells in macrophages of the spleen and liver

Heinz body anemia was experimentally produced in mice by phenylhydrazine injection and the mechanism of hemolysis was investigated. Both in acute and chronic experiments, the "culling" function of the spleen was more important in removing the red cells containing Heinz bodies than the "pitting" function. In addition to extravascular hemolysis, intravascular hemolysis in the spleen, liver and in the peripheral circulation was evident as manifested by the presence of ghost cells and hemosiderin deposition in the kidney. In the absence of the spleen, the liver can replace the function of the spleen to a certain extent and selective removal of Heinz bodies by the Kupffer cell was occasionally demonstrated. Deposition of yellowish-brown pigments was noted in the cordal macrophages and the Kupffer cells, but the precise nature of these pigments is unknown.

An ultrastructural study of the red pulp of the spleen and the liver in unstable hemoglobin hemolytic anemia

Electron microscopic observations on the process of red cell destruction in the spleen and liver of a patient with congenital Heinz body hemolytic anemia, associated with a new variant of unstable hemoglobin, are reported. Two major mechanisms of destruction of Heinz body-containing red cells were noted. One was phagocytosis of these cells in toto by cordal macrophages. The other mechanism though less significant quantitatively, was intravascular hemolysis of injured red cells in the splenic microvasculature. In the liver, phagocytosis of damaged red cells by Kupffer cells was rate and there was no evidence of intravascular hemolysis in this organ. These morphological findings, together with almost complete recovery from hemolysis following splenectomy, indicated that Heinz body-containing red cells were removed from the circulation predominantly by the spleen. In contrast to experimental Heinz body anemia in animals, Heinz bodies were present even in the nucleated cells.

Extraction of erythrocyte membrane proteins by sulfhydryl inhibitors

Human red cell membrane proteins were extracted by incubation of the ghost with hypotonic phosphate buffer (pH 7.4), N-ethylmaleimide and p-hydroxy-mercuribenzoate. In paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), hereditary spherocytosis (HS) and hereditary elliptocytosis, the amount of proteins extracted by these procedures was significantly less than the amount extractable from the ghost of normal and aplastic anemia red cells. Polypeptide patterns of red cell membranes in these hematological disorders were essentially similar to those of normal ghosts. Analysis of the supernatant by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that this reduction was mainly due to the reduced amount of peripheral proteins extracted. The extraction of peripheral proteins by sulfhydryl reagents was accompanied by shape changes resulting in the formation of membrane vesicles, suggesting an important role of peripheral proteins in the maintenance of ghost shape. It is also suggested that qualitative abnormalities of peripheral proteins such as altered reactivity to sulfhydryl reagents and/or strong binding to the membrane are present in PNH, HS and hereditary elliptocytosis red cells.