Ipomeanol 4-glucuronide, a major urinary metabolite of 4-ipomeanol in the rat

Urinary excretion and metabolism of 4-ipomeanol was studied in rats injected ip with the radiolabeled compound. There was a rapid elimination of radioactivity in the urine, amounting to 47% of the administrated dose within 4hr. One major metabolite was isolated and purified by HPLC. Analysis by analytical HPLC, beta-glucuronidase hydrolysis, and mass spectrometry identified this material as ipo-meanol 4-glucuronide. The large amount of this metabolite excreted suggests that 4-glucuronidation is an important detoxication reaction in vivo for 4-ipomeanol in rats.

Surgically correctable hypertension of renal origin in childhood

Since 1960, 22 children were treated for surgically correctable hypertension or renal origin. The series included two children with tumors, two with hydronephrosis from ureteropelvic junction obstruction, nine in whom one kidney was atrophic, and nine with renal artery narrowing from fibromuscular dysplasia (with bilateral involvement in two). Hypertension was cured in the cases with tumors and ureteropelvic junction obstruction. It was also cured in four of the nine patients with an atrophic kidney and in five of the nine with a narrow renal artery. In those not cured hypertension was more easily controlled by medication. One patient died from brain hypoxia during surgery. About 10 percent of the children investigated for hypertension at the Massachusetts General Hospital proved to have a surgically correctable cause of renal origin.

Lipophilic 5'-(alkyl phosphate) esters of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine and its N4-acyl and 2,2'-anhydro-3'-O-acyl derivatives as potential prodrugs

Lipophilic 5'-(alkyl phosphate) esters of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) and several N4-acyl and 3'-O-acyl-2,2'-anhydro derivatives of ara-C were synthesized as potential prodrugs of ara-C 5'-monophosphate (ara-CMP). Alkylphosphorylation of ara-C, N4-palmitoyl-ara-C, and N4-stearoyl-ara-C was achieved in a single continuous operation by allowing the nucleoside to react with POCl3 in trimethyl or triethyl phosphate and adding the appropriate anhydrous alcohol directly to the intermediate phosphorodichloridate without isolation. Similar reaction of cytidine yielded cytidine 5'-(alkyl phosphate) esters, which on treatment with myristoyl or palmitoyl chloride in the presence of boron trifluoride gave 3'-O-acyl-2,2'-anhydro-ara-C 5'-(alkyl phosphate) esters. Ara-C 5'-(n-butyl phosphate) (1b), N4-palmitoyl-ara-C 5'-(n-butyl phosphate) (1h), and 2,2'-anhydro-3'-O-palmitoyl-ara-C 5'-(n-butyl phosphate) (2h) were tested against L1210/ara-C leukemia in mice in the hope that this kinase-deficient tumor would respond to treatment with these "prephosphorylated" derivatives, but no activity was observed. Of the simple 5'-(alkyl phosphate) esters tested in culture against l1210 leukemic cells, only ara-C 5'-(glyceryl phosphate) (1g) showed toxicity comparable to ara-CMP (ID50 = 0.35 and 0.65 microM, respectively), suggesting that beta-hydroxyalkyl phosphate esters may be worthwhile to examine further as prodrugs of ara-CMP.

Preliminary crystallographic studies of a sweet protein, monellin

Monellin belongs to a new class of proteins that have intensely sweet taste. We report here the results of crystallization of this protein and crystallographic parameters of the monellin crystals; space group is P21; the cell parameters are 39.1 X 71.5 X 86.9 A with beta = 107.6 degrees; and there are 4 monellin molecules/asymmetric unit.

Repair of mild hypospadias

A one stage repair is presented for mild hypospadias with or without chordee, entailing a local flap of shaft skin rotated forward to the tip of the glans and tubularized. The two halves of the glans penis are brought together to enclose the neourethra. This procedure results in a normal appearing penis. In 50 cases complications were limited to two meatal stenoses. There were no fistulas. This procedure is not used in cases with greater than minimal deformity.

Sensory conduction study of distal radial nerve

The technique of recording superficial radial sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) from the thumb was compared with that of recording from the 1st web space. The spread of stimulus to the median nerve in the forearm when stimulating the radial sensory nerve with relatively high intensity was also investigated. Recording the radial SNAP from the 1st web space produces a larger amplitude response with a sharper takeoff point compared with that of recording from the thumb. Furthermore, with the former technique, the radial SNAP is uncontaminated by a component arising in the median distribution which makes interpretation of its configuration more reliable.

Synthesis and antitumor activity of an acyclonucleoside derivative of 5-fluorouracil

The pyrimidine acyclonucleoside 5-fluoro-1-[(2-hydroxyethoxy)methyl]uracil (3) was synthesized as part of a program aimed at the development of new 5-fluorouracil derivatives with fewer side effects and a broader margin of safety. Condensation of 5-fluoro-2,4-bis[(trimethylsilyl)oxy]pyrimidine with 2-acetoxyethyl acetoxymethyl ether (6) in the presence of SnCl4 afforded the acetate ester 7, which on deprotection with NaOMe gave 3 in 50-60% overall yield. The 5-bromo and 5-iodo analogues 10 and 11, respectively, were obtained similarly. Reaction of 5-fluoro-4-(methylthio)-2-[(trimethylsilyl)oxy]pyrimidine with 2-acetoxyethyl acetoxymethyl ether and SnCl4, followed by ammonolysis, yielded 5-fluoro-1-[(2-hydroxyethoxy)methyl]cytosine (12). Deamination of 12 with nitrous acid produced 3, thereby confirming that alkylation of 5-fluoro-2,4-bis[(trimethylsilyl)oxy]pyrimidine had occurred at N1. The ID50 of 3 against L1210 mouse leukemia cells in culture was 1.7 x 10(-5) M, as compared with 1 x 10(-6) M for FU. The 5-fluorocytosine analogue 12 was inactive at up to 1 x 10(-4) M, and the other halogenated derivatives 10 and 11 had no effect even at 1 x 10(-3) M. When 3 was given ip in water to P388 leukemic mice at 400 mg/kg (b.i.d. x 4) or 240 mg/kg (q.d. 1-9), a 75% increase in survival was observed relative to untreated controls, and there was no evidence of any host toxicity.

Methotrexate serum and saliva concentrations in patients

Serum and mixed saliva concentrations were determined in two patients upon i.v. injection of methotrexate. The concentration-time profiles were followed up for 100 h after dosing. Whereas no correlation was found between serum and saliva concentrations for the first 15 h, which corresponds with the distribution phase of methotrexate, a correlation was found for the terminal phase with a serum-saliva ratio of 3.8. The volume of distribution for the central compartment was approximately equal to the serum volume. The apparent volume of distribution was close to the total body fluid volume.

Absence of correlation between base-pair sequence and RNA conformation

A survey of all available double-stranded RNA crystal structures shows that there is a considerable range of variation in local conformation of a given base-pair doublet, but that there is no significant correlation between base-pair sequence and RNA local conformation.

Choledochal cyst: survey by the surgical section of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Choledochal cyst is a rare surgical condition that requires prompt surgical treatment to prevent biliary cirrhosis and portal hypertension. The results in this series indicate that the preferred surgical management is: (A) cyst excision and anastomosis of the common bile duct to a Roux-en-Y jejunal loop or (B) direct anastomosis of the "cyst" to a Roux-en-Y jejunal loop. A higher long-term complication rate was seen in patients after direct anastomosis of the duodenum to the adjacent "cyst." Choledochal cyst with biliary atresia probably represents an operable form of extrahepatic bile duct atresia. Of 22 patients with biliary atresia, 11 are living and well without liver disease. The importance of early surgical attention cannot be over emphasized.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of an inactive mutant aspartate transcarbamoylase from Escherichia coli

A mutant aspartate transcarbamoylase, ATCase231, has been crystallized at neutral pH. The mutant enzyme has a single substitution of aspartic acid in place of glycine within the catalytic chain and shows not only the loss of enzyme activity but also marked changes in the chemical reactivity of several amino acid residues and weakening of interaction between regulatory and catalytic subunits. Despite these differences, the mutant enzyme crystals have the same space group and cell parameters as the wild type crystals grown at pH 5.9.

Effect of warfarin on survival in small cell carcinoma of the lung. Veterans Administration Study No. 75

In a controlled, randomized study, survival of patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung (SCCL) was prolonged on addition of warfarin sodium to combination chemotherapy plus radiation therapy. Median survival for 25 control patients was 24 weeks and for 25 warfarin-treated patients was 50 weeks. This difference could not be accounted for by differences between groups in performance status, extent of disease, age, or sex. The survival advantage associated with warfarin administration was observed both for patients with extensive disease and for those who failed to achieve complete or partial remission. The warfarin-treated group also demonstrated a significantly increased time to first evidence of disease progression. These results suggest that warfarin may be useful in the treatment of SCCL and also support the hypothesis that the blood coagulation mechanism may be involved in the growth and spread of cancer in man.

Progestin permeation through polymer membrane V: Progesterone release from monolithic hydrogel devices

Progesterone release from monolithic devices prepared from various copolymers of poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) and poly(methoxyethoxyethyl methacrylate) or poly(methoxyethyl methacrylate) was examined. In general, plots of the fraction of drug released versus (time)1/2 were linear during the early stages of drug release. This behavior is similar to that found for drugs released from hydrophobic polymers such as polydimethyl siloxane. However, for some release curves using the hydrogels, a breakpoint appeared during the early stages of drug release. These breakpoints were due to the effects of water absorption by these polymers. From analyses of permeability coefficients, it was demonstrated that release rates also were dependent on the initial drug load and the equilibrium water content of the polymer. These conclusions were verified from cross-membrane diffusion studies on films depleted of their initial drug load. In conjunction with this work, the aqueous solubility of progesterone was determined by several methods; an average value of 38 micrograms/ml at 23 degrees was obtained.

A protein fraction (NHG) from serum of normal humans which is cytotoxic for HeLa cells in culture

A fraction of the alpha-globulins (NHG) from normal human serum was cytotoxic for mouse L-cells in culture and Meth A tumors in mice. NHG inhibited the growth in vitro of human colon cancer (HT-29), melanoma (RPMI 7931) and a neuroblastoma cell line. Survival of HeLa S-3 cell colonies after 24 h exposure to 25, 50, 75 or 100 micrograms NHG/ml medium was 86%, 77%, 40% and 10%, respectively. Whole human serum or purified serum albumin had no anti-HeLa cell activity. These results confirm the presence of a protein in human serum with antitumor activity. An assay for NHG using HeLa S-3 tumor cells is described.

The inferior epigastric vein as an alternate site for central venous hyperalimentation

The inferior epigastric vein is a good access site when central venous nutrition cannot be delivered through the usual routes. The babies can remain mobile without angulating the catheter and, by tunneling above the diaper line, contamination can be avoided.

Selective killing of glucose and oxygen-deprived HeLa cells by hyperthermia

We previously have reported that glucose deprivation specifically enhance cell killing by hyperthermia in the absence of oxygen. The present studies were carried out to evaluate the interplay of glucose and oxygen on cell killing by hyperthermia (37 to 42 degrees) for up to 4 hr under varying concentrations of glucose (0 to 1 mg/ml) and oxygen (0 to 21%). pH 7.4 was maintained in all trials. In the absence of oxygen, enhanced cell killing at 40 and 42 degrees was seen with glucose concentrations below 0.1 and 0.25 mg/ml of media, respectively. In the absence of glucose, enhanced killing was seen when oxygen concentrations were below 1 and 2% at 40 and 42 degrees, respectively. The radiosensitivity of the cells was influenced only by the oxygen concentration during irradiation and not by glucose. These results indicate that oxygen and glucose are important modifying factors of cell lethality by hyperthermia.

Conformationally restricted phenothiazine neuroleptics. 1. 3-(Dimethylamino)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroazepino[3,2,1-kl]phenothiazine

A rigid analogue of promazine, 3-(dimethylamino)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroazepino[3,2,1-kl]phenothiazine (1), was prepared by reductive amination of the corresponding ketone 4. An X-ray crystallographic study revealed that the seven-membered ring of the hydrochloride salt of 1 exists as a half-chair-like form with the dimethylammonium group in an equatorial-like conformation. Compound 1 was approximately one-half as active as promazine as an inhibitor of [3H]spiperone binding in rat corpus striatal homogenates. In homogenates obtained from calf caudate tissue, however, 1 was only about one-twentieth as active as promazine as an inhibitor of [3H] spiperone binding. As a stimulator of homovanilic acid (HVA) synthesis in rat corpus striatum in vivo, it was about one-tenth as active as promazine.

Gastroesophageal reflux and hiatus hernia in children: experience with 70 cases

Seventy cases of gastroesophageal reflux with or without hiatus hernia were operated upon since 1959. The technique described herein was used in the majority of cases with satisfactory results.