Effects of aspartame on diabetic rats and diabetic patients

The effects of aspartame (L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester) on plasma glucose and insulin levels were investigated in diabetic rats and patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The oral administration of 0.45 mg aspartame per 100g body weight, which is equivalent to 150 mg of glucose in sweetness, to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats had no effect on the plasma glucose or insulin levels. Also, 225 mg oral aspartame loading, which is equivalent to 75 g of glucose in sweetness, to patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus did not increase plasma glucose or insulin levels, although 75 g of oral glucose loading increased plasma glucose and insulin levels in diabetic patients as expected. Aspartame ingestion for three days at a dose of 24-48 mg per day and the intake of snacks flavored with 240 mg of aspartame also did not increase fasting plasma glucose levels. These results suggest that acute administration of aspartame has no influence on plasma glucose or insulin levels in diabetic rats and patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

[Two-dimensional echo-cardiographic study on left atrial thrombi in patients with a mitral prosthetic valve]

Two-dimensional echocardiographic study was performed to detect left atrial thrombi in 33 patients with a prosthetic mitral valve. The subjects were 9 males and 24 females and their ages ranged from 21 to 61 years (average 43.2 years). Their prosthetic valves consisted of 18 Hancock, three Carpentier-Edwards, four Björk-Shiley, four Starr-Edwards and four St. Jude Medical valves. Two-dimensional echocardiograms were obtained using a Toshiba SSH-11A echograph with an electronic phased-array scanner. The left parasternal, apical, subcostal and right parasternal windows were used to detect left atrial thrombi. In five of the 33 patients, a left atrial thrombus was demonstrated as a mass echo attached to the posterior wall of the left atrium. The clinical and echographic features of five patients with a left atrial thrombus (Group A) were compared to those of 28 patients without it (Group B). The average age at the time of operation was 44.6 +/- 9.7 years in Group A and 43.0 +/- 9.5 years in Group B, showing no difference between the two groups. In 10 of the 33 patients, a left atrial thrombus was confirmed by the initial operation. In only one of these 10 patients, a left atrial thrombus was demonstrated by post-operative two-dimensional echocardiographic examination. The presence or absence of a left atrial thrombus in the pre-operative stage did not clearly relate to the occurrence of a left atrial thrombus in the post-operative stage. The cardio-thoracic ratio was significantly greater (p less than 0.01) in Group A (74.4 +/- 6.3%) than in Group B (58.1 +/- 8.1%). Left atrial dimension by M-mode echocardiograms was significantly greater (p less than 0.05) in Group A (70.6 +/- 11.3 mm) than in Group B (51.6 +/- 7.7 mm). The length of the pseudo-septalized left ventricular posterior wall was longer (p less than 0.05) in Group A (34.0 +/- 11.5 mm) than in Group B (12.8 +/- 9.4 mm). The angle between the perpendicular to the mitral annulus and the upper part of the interventricular septum was significantly greater (p less than 0.01) in Group A (58.6 +/- 18.0 degrees) than in Group B (18.8 +/- 9.6 degrees). The characteristics observed in Group A were thought to be caused mainly by the giant left atrium. Therefore it is concluded that there is a close relationship between left atrial thrombi and the giant left atrium in patients with a mitral prosthetic valve.

Cyclic premenstrual unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia. Report of two cases

Two young women developed unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia that fluctuated with the menstrual cycle. They were otherwise healthy, and there was no evidence of hematologic or chronic liver disease. Serum unconjugated bilirubin rose concomitant with the rise of basal temperature during the premenstrual period, and it declined immediately after the end of menses. Administration of progesterone during the postmenstrual period elevated unconjugated bilirubin. A close relation of hyperbilirubinemia to female hormones was suggested. The condition may be called "constitutional unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia with a menstrual cycle.