Serum glycoprotein hormone alpha subunit levels in patients with cancer

The serum glycoprotein hormone alpha subunit concentration was measured in 957 nonpregnant patients with benign disorders and 683 patients with unselected malignancies. Postmenopausal women had significantly higher alpha levels than premenopausal women or men. When the patients were subdivided according to age, sex or disease sites, significant population differences were found for women less than 50 years of age and patients with cancers of presumed neural crest origin. However, individual serum alpha levels in patients with benign disorders or malignancies demonstrated considerable overlap. No population differences in serum alpha concentrations were demonstrated between patients grouped according to stage of disease, suggesting that serum alpha were not directly related to tumor burden. Similarly, there was no statistical association between clinical improvement or deterioration and change in the serum alpha subunit concentration. These results indicate that measurement of the glycoprotein hormone alpha subunit concentration in the serum is not useful for screening patients for cancer or for monitoring the clinical course of patients with the vast majority of cancers.

Reaction of tetrahydrofolic acid with cyanate from urea solutions: formation of an inactive folate derivative

Liver extracts prepared in 6 M urea contain significantly less microbiologically assayable folates than extracts prepared in hot 1% ascorbate. The possibility that inactive folate derivatives are formed by reaction with the cyanate present in the urea solution was investigated. Doubly labeled 2-14C, 3',5',9(n)-3H tetrahydrofolic acid reacted under hydrogen with sodium cyanate gave a compound which, after acidification to remove excess cyanate, shows a single UV absorbing peak at 285 nm. The 14C/3H ratios of starting material and product were the same. Reaction of 14C urea with nonradioactive tetrahydrofolic acid yielded the 14C labeled derivative. The compound does not support Lactobacillus casei growth. It is postulated that folate inactivation in cyanate or thiocyanate treated patients and in uremic patients may have clinical significance.

Alteration of porcine skin acid mucopolysaccharides in zinc deficiency

Zinc deficiency is overtly manifested as a dermatitis in swine; therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to determine possible zinc-related alterations in the metabolism of the skin acid mucopolysaccharides (AMPs). Eighteen 4-week-old Yorkshire pigs were randomly allocated to one of three dietary treatments. Six animals were fed a semipurified, zinc-deficient, basal diet containing 20 ppm zinc. Six animals served as pair-fed controls and were fed the basal diet supplemented with 90 ppm zinc as zinc carbonate. The remaining six animals were fed the zinc-supplemented diet on and ad libitum schedule. All animals were killed after 36 days when overt deficiency symptoms were apparent in those animals fed 20 ppm zinc. Skin AMPs were isolated. Total hexosamine and galactosamine indicated no alteration in total AMPs. Fractionation of total AMPs into consitituent sulfated and nonsulfated components revealed a significant increase in hyaluronic acid. No statistical difference in sulfated AMPs was found in skin from deficient and pair-fed animals, which was in accord with an in vitro sulfur-35 uptake study.

Lymphangiography. Its practical value in surgically staged patients with Hodgkin's disease

Since the introduction of "staging laparotomy" (to determine the disease's stage) in assessing Hodgkin's disease, some observers have argued that lymphangiography could be safely omitted in the initial diagnostic evaluation. To test these opinions a series of 75 patients with Hodgkin's disease who had a staging laparotomy and histological correlation with lymphangiograms was reviewed. Of 16 examinations with positive results, one proved to be a false positive. Of the 14 examinations with equivocal results, one proved histologically positive. In the remaining 45 lymphangiograms, five were falsely negative. In all five of these patients abdominal lymph nodes were involved, but in areas that do not routinely opacify on lower extremity lymphangiography. The overall accuracy was 90 percent.Therapeutically, the lymphangiogram permits accurate planning for treatment by radiation therapy so that all known disease is treated and yet bone marrow is not excessively irradiated. Changes in lymph node architecture after therapy provide valuable information as to regression of the disease or signs of its early recurrence.

Influence of magnesium pemoline upon acquired DRL performance

5 rats, previously trained to a criterion on drl, were tested, in 3 replications, with injections of tragacanth on 2 days and of magnesium pemoline on 1 day. Magnesium pemoline significantly impaired drl performance, but there were no significant changes within each session not as a function of replications.

Effect of shock intensity on escape and avoidance learning in rats trained under bilateral spreading depression

Two experiments investigated the effect of shock intensity on escape learning in a straight alley (Exp. I) or avoidance learning in a one-way shuttle box (Exp. II) in operated control (OC) rats or rats under bilateral spreading depression (BSD). Results of Exp. I using 0.6-, 1.2-, and 2.4-ma. shock indicated no interaction of shock level with cortical treatment and that BSD Ss were inferior to OC Ss. A low level of shock resulted in poorer performance than intense shock. Results of Exp. II using 0.4- and 2.0-ma. shock indicated a shock by cortical treatment interaction. 0.4-ma. BSD Ss were inferior in latency to 2.0-ma. BSD Ss and 0.4-ma. OC Ss.

Effect of electroconvulsive shock on passive avoidance learning with high and low intensity footshock

A 2 × 2 factorial design was used to investigate the effects of electroconvulsive shock (ECS) and pseudo-ECS (PECS) on a passive avoidance response learned under 2 intensities of footshock (FS). There were no differential effects during acquisition, however, ECS and 0.3-ma. groups extinguished faster than PECS and 2.0-ma. groups.