The effect of glucagon on free plasma amino acids in cirrhotics and healthy controls

The effect on free plasma amino acids before and after infusion of 1 mg glucagon was studied at rest after an overnight fast in seven patients with compensated liver cirrhosis and in seven healthy controls. Total aminoacidaemia in cirrhotic patients is significantly higher than in controls. Elevated basal levels in cirrhotics are found particularly in tyrosine, citrulline, tryptophane, threonine, phenylalanine, and methionine whereas ornithine and serine levels are decreased. Save for the redox couple cystine-cysteine which increases, glucagon elicits an decrease in most amino acids that is proportionate to their initial level. Total aminoacidaemia decreases in controls and cirrhotics by 14.6 and 9.1 per cent respectively. Serum ammonia level rises significantly in both groups, urea increases only in controls, uricaemia remains virtually unchanged.

[Importance of inheritance in cardiomyopathies (author's transl)]

Inheritance plays an important role in the cardiomyopathies (i.e. dysfunction of the cardiac muscle of unknown origin). This especially has become obvious for the entity asymmetric septal hypertrophy of autosomal dominant inheritance (ASH), a cardiomyopaty with and without obstruction. But this is not the only type of cardiomyopathy of dominant transmittance as was shown by the demonstration of a kindred, in which echocardiographically no hypertrophy of the septum could be found. For it was not possible to find a uniformity for all the affected members of the kindred, for example a congestive course of the disease. Therefore it is suggested to name the disease without any prejudice "cardiomyopathy without asymmetric septal hypertrophy of dominant inheritance" to distinguish it from the "cardiomyopathy with asymetric septal hypertrophy of dominant inheritance". There also may occur a cardiomyopathy of autosomal recessive inheritance. This form could represent a large part of the "sporadic" cardiomyopathies and should challenge to search intensively for enzyme defects as a cause of the disease.

[Importance of the inheritance in non-ejection-click and click-murmur-syndrome (author's transl)]

In a recent examination of the kindreds of 60 patients with a systolic non-ejection-click or click-murmur-syndrome we were able to demonstrate that the findings in 36 kindreds are inherited, although in most of the families not all the members could be seen. This means about 60%, a quote that might be even higher if all the members of a kindred could have been examined. Our observation suggests an autosomal dominant inheritance. This makes it worth while to look for the genetic defect causing this finding.

Changes in blood tryptophan level during sleep deprivation

Prolonged sleep deprivation elicits a significant elevation of the plasma level of free tryptophan which appears to be involved in increased excretion of 5-HIAA during this state through enhanced 5-HT synthesis.

Some adrenergic beta-blocking agents affecting lipolysis in human adipose tissue in vitro

Antagonistic actions of beta-blocking drugs on isoproterenol-induced lipolysis were studied in human omental adipose tissue. Competitive interaciton characterized by the following pA2 values was found: propranolol 8.7; trimepranol 8.7; practolol 7.1; H 35/25 6.0. The plot of pA2 values of these drugs for human versus rat adipose tissue is linear with slope 2.0 indicating a higher differentiation of beta-antagonist actions in human than in rat adipose tissue.

Changes of free amino acids in plasma of healthy subjects induced by physical exercise

In eight healthy men a 20-min load of 1.5 W/kg body weight on a bicycle ergometer led to a significant increase of alanine and decline of leucine. Exhausting exercise caused in the same subjects a highly significant increase of alanine and decline of isoleucine, threonine, ornithine, leucine, serine, glycine, and asparasine and glutamine. The methionine and citrulline level declines also significantly. The total amino acids practically did not change. Physical exercise led furthermore to a marked increase of serum ammonia and uric acid. Urea nitrogen changed only little and on average had rather a declining tendency. The rise of alanine suggests the existence of a glucose-alanine cycle, the drop of ornithine and citrulline is most probably associated with the inhibition of ureogenesis in the liver. The reduction of leucine and isoleucine is probably the result of the entry of these amino acids into muscle and their deamination.

Some adrenomimetic drugs affecting lipolysis in human adipose tissue in vitro

In human adipose tissue in vitro, dose-response curves were followed for different adrenomimetics releasing free fatty acids and glycerol into an albumin-containing medium. Phenylephrine, salbutamol and t-butyl-norsynephrine produced lipolytic actions whose maximum did not exceed 20% of the maximal isoproterenol lipolysis. Phentolamine (1 x 10(-5) M) did not potentiate the effect of any of these drugs. When using salbutamol or t-butyl-norsynephrine for antagonizing isoproterenol actions, typical antagonism was found. The parallel shift of the isoproterenol curves showed pA2 values 5.8 for salbutamol and 5.7 for t-butyl-norsynephrine. Comparison of human and rat adipose tissue reactivity shows identical affinities of the drugs studied in both tissues, but related to isoproterenol, diminished intrinsic activities of salbutamol and t-butyl-norsynephrine in human adipose tissue.

[Significance of radiologic examinations for the determination of the extent of malignant testicular tumors]

Interpreting 61 cases with malignant tumors of the testicle, the authors comment techniques of diagnostic radiology as well as their reliability. The fundamental importance of a lymphographic examination of both inferior extremities for judgement on the state of aortic lymph nodes is accentuated. In case of need, the examination has to be supplemented by intravenous urography and, more rarely, by cavography. In accordance with the author's observations, the mediastinal lymph nodes may function as a source of lymphogenic pulmonary metastastes; a careful radiological examination of this region, therefore, is not to be neglected. The principles of radiotherapeutic treatment, for elective or curative purposes, based on the results of complex radiological examination, are discussed.

Transport ATPases of cardiac sarcolemma in 20,25-diazacholesterol induced myopathy

20,25-Diazacholesterol, known to induce myotonia in skeletal muscle, also affects cardiac muscle as can be concluded from the development of cardiomegaly. At the same time (Na+, K+) ATPase of cardiac sarcolemmal membranes of the 20,25-diazacholesterol treated rats showed an increased activity as compared with control animals (91 percent and 46 percent stimulation respectively). The Ca++ stimulated ATPase showed the same tendency (96 percent and 64 percent stimulation). In the plasma of the treated rats creatine phosphokinase activity was found to be elevated whereas the amount of protein-bound iodine was decreased, a finding that is common in myotonic dystrophy.

[Diastolic murmur caused by a phaeochromocytoma (author's transl)]

A protodiastolic murmur was noted in a 24-year-old man with phaeochromocytoma, the murmur disappearing three months after tumour resection. It was probably the result of pulmonary regurgitation, caused by reversible changes in the pulmonary vascular bed or pulmonary valve from the increased catecholamine production.

Desmosterol accumulation in rats with experimental myotonia

Desmosterol is found in various organs of rats that show signs of myotonia in their skeletal muscle as a result of treatment with 20.25-diazacholesterol. The amount of desmosterol depends on the time of treatment, and is different in different organs and different kinds of muscle. The increase in desmosterol is much lower and the rats do not show any signs of myotonia when fed a cholesterol rich diet in addition to treatment with 20.25-diazacholesterol. Treatment with triparanol also causes desmosterol accumulation but in these rats myotonia is rarely observed. Our results suggest that in the experimental animals myotonia becomes manifest when every second cholesterol molecule of the muscle cell membrane is replaced by desmosterol. This is easily achieved in animals fed with 20.25-diazacholesterol but rarely occurs with triparanol.