The use of a diazonium salt for the determination of glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase in serum

Serum aspartate transaminase changes following open-heart surgery with ischaemic arrest (with and without coronary artery perfusion)

Patients with aortic disease irrespective of whether they had coronary perfusion or not showed a significant difference in the level of postoperative SGOT levels compared with other groups. Aortics with coronary perfusion did not show a correlation between SGOT levels and total perfusion time while the other groups did. The levels were not of prognostic significance.

Pericarditis after acute myocardial infarction

Fifty-two (6.8%) of 779 patients admitted to a coronary monitoring unit with acute myocardial infarction developed a pericardial friction rub. A diagnosis of postmyocardial infarction syndrome was made in three of these.The course of the 52 patients with pericarditis was compared with that of a consecutive series of 100 patients without pericarditis. As a group those with pericarditis manifested a longer period of pyrexia, a greater rise in serum enzymes, and a higher incidence of major arrhythmias and of radiological pulmonary oedema. The Peel prognostic index, however, did not differ significantly in the two groups. The hospital mortality of the pericarditis group was not significantly different from that of the 727 non-pericarditis patients. No specially adverse features were found in a follow-up of the pericarditis group.Though the presence of a pericardial rub in the first few days after a myocardial infarction may be a sign of extensive myocardial damage and is associated with a relatively high incidence of ventricular fibrillation, it does not appear to influence the hospital mortality of patients treated in a monitoring unit.

Hypoglycaemia and malignancy differences of closely related sublines of a rat tumour

A possible basis for the differences in malignancy between three closely related sublines of the WBP1 ascites tumour of the rat has been studied by examining the biochemical changes in rat sera during tumour growth in vivo. Death appeared to be due to hypoglycaemia and the ability to induce this condition correlated with the differences in malignancy between the sublines; WBP1 (X) and WBP1 (V), the more malignant sublines, inducing hypoglycaemia earlier and more rapidly than the least malignant subline WBP1 (A). Possible mechanisms whereby the tumour produces these effects are discussed.

Pathogenesis of experimental bovine mycotic placentitis produced by Aspergillus fumigatus

Eleven heifers were inoculated intravenously with a suspension of 1 × 108 conidia of Aspergillus fumigatus at 169 or 170 days after artificial insemination. These principals were killed at 4, 7, or 14 days after inoculation or thereafter when abortion occurred. Four other heifers served as controls. Mycotic placentitis was not found at 4 days after inoculation. In principals killed at 7 and 14 days, 24% of placentomes had lesions of mycotic placentitis. Heifers that aborted had necrotizing lesions in approximately 90% of placentomes as well as extensive involvement of the interplacentomal area. A theory for the spread of the mycosis in the placenta is presented.

Genetic polymorphisms of human mitochondrial glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase

In a survey of 860 unselected human placental extracts, three variants of mitochondrial glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase were found, all of which were common enough to be considered polymorphisms. Family studies showed that this enzyme is under the control of nuclear rather than mitochondrial DNA.

Effect of groundnut meal containing aflatoxin on Cynomolgus monkeys

1. Both male and female Cynomolgus (Macaca irus) monkeys survived for 3 years without apparent ill health when fed on diets containing groundnut meal to provide up to 0·36 μg aflatoxin B1per g diet and thus supplying a mean daily consumption of up to 2 μg aflatoxin B1per kg body-weight. No histological changes attributable to aflatoxicosis were discovered in any of the organs from the monkeys receiving these quantities of aflatoxin.

2. Few monkeys survived for more than a month or two when given a diet containing 1·8 μg aflatoxin B1per g, which provided about 50 μg aflatoxin B1per kg body-weight per day.

3. No depression in growth rate nor effect on health was noted in those monkeys which survived on diets containing 1·8 μg aflatoxin B1, nor in any of the other monkeys.

4. Histological changes were observed in the livers of all monkeys receiving the diet containing 1·8 μg aflatoxin B1per g for more than a month or two, but no abnormalities related to aflatoxicosis could be detected in any of the other organs, except for minor changes in the kidneys of two monkeys.

5. No tumours were seen in any of the monkeys, even in those surviving for 3 years on diets providing 1·8 μg aflatoxin B1/g. Thus, no conclusions can be drawn from this work as to the carcinogenicity of aflatoxin in monkeys (still less in man), because the animals were young and little is known of the duration of exposure required to demonstrate carcinogenicity in this species.

Temporary use of ex-vivo heterologous liver for hepatic insufficiency: metabolic effects and sensitivity to perfused protein in dogs

Images

Hepatic damage following profound hypothermia and extracorporeal circulation in man

Images