[Investigation of the mucociliary clearance by means of 99mTc-labelled sulfur colloid (author's transl)]

The mucociliary system of the lung was studied in eight normal subjects and ten patients with chronic bronchitis, using sulfur colloids, labelled with 99mTechnetium. By recording the radioactive impulses over the lung with a scintillation camera and analysing the data with a computer, we were able to exclude extrapulmonary artefacts and to select central areas of the tracheobronchial tree. Time activity curves obtained over the central airways were interpreted by means of a model. In bronchitics the disappearance rate of the radioactive particles was found to depend upon the pattern of deposition and the degress of airway obstruction. Because of the good reproducibility in one and the same subject, the effect of drugs, influencing the mucociliary system, can be tested. We used a newly developed vagolytic substance which did not influence the mucociliary system and which reduced little the airway resistance in patients with chronic bronchitis at the administered dose.

[Influence of acute preload changes on the mean velocity of circumferential fiber shortening of the left ventricle]

The cineangiographically determined mean velocity of circumferential fiber shortening (-vcf) has been used as a measure of basal cardiac contractility in man. In order to test the effect of acute changes in preload on -vcf, dextran was administered i.v. in steps of plus 2 percent, plus 4 percent and plus 6 percent of body weight to 8 closed-chest anesthetized dogs after minimizing cardiac reflex adjustments by 0.5 mg/kg propranolol i.v. and by cutting the vagi. -vcf, end-diastolic and end-systolic volume were estimated from left ventricular (LV) monoplane cinefilms in the right anterior oblique projection. At plus 2 percent and plus 4 percent of dextran -vcf remained unchanged as compared to control, i.e. after autonomic blockade. At plus 6 percent -vcf decreased significantly. LV max dP/dt increased significantly up to the step of plus 4 percent and decreased then slightly despite a further significant increase of LV end-diastolic pressure. In additional 6 dogs the largest volume load (plus 6 percent) was applied as the first step after control. Under these conditions there was no significant change in -vcf. In conclusion, -vcf appears to be essentially independent of changes in preload. Its usefulness as a measure of contractility is however limited by the negative inotropic effect of repeated injections of contrast dye.

[The effect of aneurysm resection on left ventricular function]

The effect of successful aortocoronary artery bypass surgery on left ventricular (LV) function was studied by angiography in 13 patients with coronary-artery disease and resection of a ventricular aneurysm. The following were calculated from single-plane right anterior oblique LV cine-angiograms: LV end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), ejection fraction (EF), percentage shortening of the medial perpendicular short axis (deltaM), mean velocity shortening of the circumferential fibres (VCF). The changes in the five hemi-axes of the anterior LV wall, and five of the inferior wall were averaged to give a value for relative anterior wall motion (SMV) and inferior wall motion (SMH). Changes in apical motion (SMS) were calculated from the percentage changes in the base-to-apex axis. The following mean values (x plus or minus s) were obtained four months before and 11 months after aneurysmectomy: EDVI (ml/m2) 154 plus or minus 27 (126 plus or minus 23), ESVI (ml/m2) 107 plus or minus 28 (56 plus or minus 15), SVI (ML/M2) 46.5 plus or minus 12.7 (69.9 plus or minus 23.1), EF (%) 32.6 plus or minus 8.0 (54.6 plus or minus 12.0), SMV (%) 6.1 plus or minus 10.0 (25.0 plus or minus 13.4), SMH (%) 25.9 plus or minus 13.1 (31.2 plus or minus 11.1), SMS (%) 5.1 PLus or minus 3.4 (13.1 plus or minus 4.2). These results indicated significant improvement in ventricular pumping action and wall motion after aneurysm resection and aortacoronary bypass surgery in patients with coronary-artery disease and severe cardiac failure.

A New Preparative Method for Isolation of Human C3 with Affinity Chromatography

A new preparative method for isolation of highly purified human C3 was developed by using a reversed application of affinity chromatography. Antisera against contaminations usually present in crude C3 preparations were produced. These antibodies were irreversibly coupled to Sepharose 4B and as a whole used in column form. When crude C3 preparations were applied to these columns the impurities were bound and thus eliminated. The resulting C3 preparations were pure when tested in concentrations of 5 mg/ml against anti-human serum and when tested by immunizing rabbits. C3 appeared to be homogeneous in the analytical ultracentrifuge, in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and according to N-terminal amino acid analysis. The recovery from 400 ml normal human serum was about 65 mg.