[ABEP chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphomas]

Nineteen patients with refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were treated with a combination of N4-behenoyl-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (150-200 mg/m2), aclacinomycin (15 mg/m2), etoposide (70 mg/m2 i.v. or 100 mg/m2 p.o) and prednisolone (20 mg/m2) (ABEP regimen). Patients who achieved complete remission (CR) received 10 courses of consolidation therapy with ACOP-E chemotherapy (adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisolone and etoposide). Seven patients achieved CR and three partial remission. Twelve patients with fresh non-Hodgkin's lymphoma stage IV were treated with ABEP regimen. CR was obtained in eight patients (66.7%). The median duration of CR was 11+ alpha months. Hematological toxicity was a dose-limiting factor but this was manageable.

Dog and rat pancreatic phospholipases A2: complete amino acid sequences deduced from complementary DNAs

We performed molecular cloning of the cDNAs that encode dog and rat pancreatic phospholipases A2 to predict the primary structures of these enzymes. The deduced amino acid sequences exhibited a highly conservative feature which is common to a group of pancreatic phospholipases A2 from various animal species. Furthermore, the structures of the signal sequences of dog and rat pancreatic phospholipases A2 were predicted, although the assignment of the positions cleaved post-translationally is only tentative at the present time.

Therapeutic effect of a new antibacterial substance ofloxacin (DL8280) on pulmonary tuberculosis

A new antibacterial substance, ofloxacin (DL8280), was used in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. The agent was given to 19 patients with chronic cavitary lung tuberculosis as single doses of 300 mg daily for 6 to 8 months. A decrease in the amount of tubercle bacilli in the sputum was observed in almost all patients, and negative conversion occurred in 5. Resistance of tubercle bacilli to the agent appeared in patients who did not show negative conversion. No side effects were observed during the administration period. The agent was considered useful in lung tuberculosis therapy.

[Effect of local sustained stress on general oxygen consumption in belt conveyer workers]

The modern mechanization and rationalization of production procedures have recently reduced the intensity of work in most factories. However, it has been pointed out that monotonous inactive work and/or co-operative work can in some sense impose stronger mental and physical stresses which may induce ill health in workers. In this study, assuming the assembly and adjustment of videotape-recorders on a belt conveyor to be representative of monotonous inactive and co-operative work, changes in oxygen consumption, heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, critical flicker fusion and subjective symptoms of fatigue throughout a workday have been followed for six female workers engaged in this type of work. The main results obtained were as follows: The average oxygen consumption of six workers was 230 ml/min, almost unchanged during the work. The belt conveyor work indicated the metabolic rate of 0.3 in terms of relative metabolic rate. The net daily energy expenditure due to the work was only about 100 kcal. The average heart rate during assembly and adjustment were respectively, about 1.4 and 1.2 times the average heart rate at rest. The blood pressure and the rate of oxygen removal increased slightly as the work progressed in assembly work, but did not increase at all in adjustment work. The critical flicker fusion and body temperature showed little change during the work.

Preferred tempo, work intensity, and mechanical efficiency

Two experiments were carried out to determine the relationship between preferred tempo, work intensity, and mechanical efficiency. During Exp. 1, five inexperienced subjects worked at 0 Newtons 10 min. each day for seven days. Results demonstrated that (1) preferred tempo remained very consistent from Minute 1 to Minute 10, (2) this tempo was statistically reliable from day to day, and (3) variability of preferred tempo decreased from the first day to the seventh day in four out of five subjects. During Exp. 2, four subjects from Exp. 1 cycled at workloads of 0.0, 4.9, 14.7, and 24.5 Newtons for 10 min. each on three different occasions. Oxygen uptake, heart rate, ventilation, and respiratory frequency all increased as a function of increased workload and as a function of time within, workload for 14.7 and 24.5 Newtons. 2 of the 4 subjects maintained a constant tempo within any workload but decreased their over-all rates as a function of increased resistance. There was no direct relationship between preferred tempo and mechanical efficiency. It was concluded that timing characteristics of the task may be changed to fit an increase in workload. However, once initiated, the tempo does not change even when metabolic demands are altered.

Animal model of depression. III. Mechanism of action of tetrabenazine

A study was undertaken to gain an understanding of the biochemical mechanism whereby tetrabenazine (TBZ) produces a sedative effect on the locomotor activity of rats. Rats injected with L-5-hydroxytryptophan (L-5-HTP, 30 mg/kg), the immediate precursor of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), showed the characteristic bison appearance, pitosis, and catalepsy normally observed after injecting TBZ (30 mg/kg). The treatment of rats with low doses of L-5-HTP (9 mg/kg) plus TBZ (2 mg/kg) significantly decreased locomotor activity, whereas low doses of either one of these drugs given alone had no significant effect on locomotor activity. The level of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) was elevated in the brain of rats sacrificed 3 hr after treatment with low doses of either L-5-HTP or TBZ alone. Treatment of rats with p-chlorophenylalanine to inhibit the synthesis of 5-HT had an inhibitory effect on the duration of sedation following an injection of TBZ (30 mg/kg). The results of the biochemical and pharmacological studies as reflected by changes in locomotor activity were interpreted to indicate that the sedative action of TBZ was due to an excess of functional 5-HT.

Microdetermination of methylmalonic acid and other short chain dicarboxylic acids by gas chromatography: use in prenatal diagnosis of methylmalonic acidemia and in studies of isovaleric acidemia

We have developed a sensitive gas-chromatographic method for the determination of methylmalonic acid and other short chain dircarboxylic acids in biological samples. The method is based on the isolation of the short chain dicarboxylic acid fraction by Dowex 3 X 4 column chromatography followed by gas-chromatography analysis of these acids as methyl esters. 2-n-Pentyl-malonic acid is used as an internal standard. With this method, methylmalonic, succinic and methylsuccinic acids were consistently detected and accurately measured in urine and serum from normal subjects; the identity of these acids being verified by mass spectroscopy. The method's sensitivity permitted its used in the prenatal diagnosis of methylmalonic acidemia by measuring methylmalonic acid in urine and amniotic fluid from three pregnant heterozygous women at risk. One affected (vitamin B-12 responsive type) and two unaffected fetuses were correctly diagnosed prenatally as judged by postnatal investigations. The amount of methylmalonic acid in urine and amniotic fluid was distinctly increased (2 to 14 times normal) in the former and consistently normal in the latter two cases during the third trimester of pregnancy. Effect of prenatal therapy with large doses of vitamin B-12 was closely followed in the first case using analyses of multiple maternal urine specimens. Urinary methylsuccinic acid excretion was studied in two cases with isovaleric acidemia. It was normal in a sample from a patient in remission but was increased seven fold over control during an episode of ketoacidosis.

Prenatal therapy of a patient with vitamin-B12-responsive methylmalonic acidemia

Methylmalonic acidemia due to deficient synthesis of 5'-deoxyadenosylcobalamin was discovered in a mid-term fetus by culture of amniotic-fluid cells. Elevated concentrations of methylmalonic acid were also found in amniotic fluid and maternal urine. Treatment during the last nine weeks of gestation with large doses of vitamin B12 given to the mother reversed the increasing maternal excretion of methylmalonic acid, which was 23 mug per milligram of creatinine at 31 weeks' gestation. Just before delivery, the mother was excreting 5 mug, two to three times normal. At birth the methylmalonic acid content of the baby's urine (67 mug per milligram of creatinine) and serum (2.0 mug per milliliter) was only moderately elevated, and serum vitamin B12 concentration was very high. Acid levels rose in serum and urine in response to oral protein loading, but subsided after vitamin B12 administration. The infant is developing normally on a restricted protein diet alone at present. Prenatal therapy of methylmalonic acidemia is possible with large amount of vitamin B12 administered to the mother.