New standards for the assessment of sella turcica volume in children

New standards for the assessment of sella turcica volume were derived from studies in normal children. Use of these standards facilitates the diagnostic evaluation of children with short stature, since many patients with idiopathic hypopituitarism have abnormally small sella turcica volumes. The sellar volume should be estimated early in the evaluation of the short child and, if found to be small, should serve as a stimulus for prompt, thorough evaluation of pituitary function.     

Phospholipid composition of Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex tritaeniorhynchus cells in logarithmic and stationary growth phases

Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex tritaeniorhynchus cells were grown in spinner culture and harvested in logarithmic and stationary phases of growth. The phospholipids were extracted from the cells, and the fatty acid profiles of the phospholipid classes were determined and compared. The major components were phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, constituting greater than or equal to 80% of the phospholipid. The fatty acid profiles of lysophosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol, and cardiolipin showed changes with aging of the Culex cells and between the species. In the lysophosphatidylcholine fraction, there was an increase in saturation of the fatty acids of the C. quinquefasciatus cells, and chain lengthening occurred in both species from the logarithmic to stationary phases of growth. In the phosphatidylinositiol fraction, both Culex species showed a decrease in monoenes and an increase in polyenes, while only the C. tritaeniorhynchus cells showed an increase in fatty acid chain length with aging. The C. quinquefasciatus cells had an increase in polyenes with aging in the cardiolipin fraction. Differences in the percentage composition of the fatty acids were shown in all the phospholipid fractions between the Culex species in the logarithmic phase of growth and all except the phosphatidylinositiol and cardiolipin fractions in the stationary phase.     

COMPARISON OF SALAMI SAUSAGE PRODUCED WITH AND WITHOUT ADDITION OF SODIUM NITRITE AND SODIUM NITRATE

A pilot plant production of salami dry sausage with and without the addition of nitrite was carried out. The microbiological, rheological and organoleptic properties of the products were investigated during the fermentation process and after storing the products at 20 °C for 3 months. Results of the microbiological investigation indicate that the fermentation and ripening of the sausage would take a normal course without the addition of nitrite, glucono-delta-lactone (GDL) or starter culture. In a triangle test performed at the end of the ripening period, the taste panel was unable to distinguish between products with and without nitrite. After 3 months storage a significant difference was found between products with and without the addition of nitrite, and the nitrite-cured products were given the best score. In series in which GDL or starter culture was added, no significant differences in organoleptic quality were found even after storage for 3 months.     

Cellular pharmacodynamics and plasma pharmacokinetics of parenterally infused hydroxyurea during a phase I clinical trial in chronic myelogenous leukemia

PURPOSE: To determine the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD), toxicities, and antileukemic activity of hydroxyurea (HU) administered intravenously to patients with advanced-phase chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Further objectives were to analyze pharmacodynamic effect on deoxynucleotides (dNTPs) and to seek relationships between the decrease in dNTP pools and inhibition of DNA synthesis in CML blasts. PATIENTS AND METHODS: HU (8, 12, 18, 27, and 40 g/m2) was administered intravenously by a 24-hour continuous infusion to 19 adults with CML in blastic or accelerated phase. Plasma levels of HU were analyzed in all patients. To determine the role of HU in inhibiting ribonucleotide reductase, dNTP pools in the leukemia cells were quantitated. Correlations were sought with these parameters and DNA synthesis inhibition measured ex vivo by [3H]thymidine incorporation. RESULTS: The MTD of HU given as a 24-hour infusion was 27 g/m2. The dose-limiting toxicity was mucositis. There was a significant but transient myelosuppression, with nadir counts generally seen 3 to 4 days after the dose. The steady-state concentration of HU in plasma was achieved by 6 hours, and was proportional to the dose. There was a median 57% decrease in the deoxyadenosine triphosphate (dATP) pool in circulating blasts. In contrast, deoxyguanosine triphosphate (dGTP) and pyrimidine dNTPs were not significantly affected. The extent of DNA synthesis inhibition was related to the residual concentrations of intracellular dATP. CONCLUSION: A 24-hour infusion of HU results in significant but transient myelosuppression in advanced-phase CML. The specific decrease of intracellular dATP correlated with the inhibition of DNA synthesis in CML blasts. This pharmacodynamic action of HU provides a rationale for combination with other chemotherapeutic agents, the effects of which could be augmented by the decline in dATP pools.     

Cardiac troponin I in patients receiving renal replacement therapy

Current markers of myocardial injury lack specificity in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In particular, a false positive creatine kinase-MB (CKMB) elevation occurs in 5-10% of patients with ESRD. The aim of this study was to ascertain the relationship between CKMB and cardiac troponin I (cTnI), a new, highly sensitive and specific marker for myocardial injury, in the authors' dialysis population and compare their specificities. Blood samples were obtained from 112 dialysis patients (35 in peritoneal dialysis; 77 in hemodialysis). Patients were asymptomatic for cardiac ischemia and skeletal muscle injury. Mean +/- SD CKMB mass was 3.16 +/- 2.26 microg/L (range, 0.34-13.62), and cTnI was 0.025 +/- 0.061 ng/ml (range, 0.001-0.496). CKMB and cTnI levels did not correlate (r2 = 0.002; p = 0.61). CKMB mass concentration was significantly higher in men and in diabetics. No patient had a cTnI level greater than 1.5 microg/L, and eight asymptomatic patients had a CKMB mass greater than 6.7 microg/L. These data suggest a specificity of 100% for cTnI vs 94.6% for CKMB at these cutoff values. It is suggested that cTnI replace CKMB as a marker of myocardial injury in patients with ESRD.