The erythropoietin response to the anemia of thermal injury

Erythropoietin excretion was persistently increased following major thermal injury in 4 of 5 patients. A good correlation was found between erythropoietin excretion and red cell mass but not between erythropoietin excretion and hematocrit. In spite of the increased erythropoietin, erythropoiesis in these thermally injured patients was inadequate to compensate for erythrocyte deficits as judged by bone marrow morphology, reticulocyte counts, and transfusion requirements.     

Some determinants of self-monitoring effects

Studied self-monitoring of eyeblink responses in 80 undergraduate volunteers to test hypotheses that (a) the direction of reactive effects is a function of the perceived value of the target behavior; (b) neither the behavior's value nor self-monitoring alone is sufficient to produce significant effects but that both are necessary; (c) self-monitoring is more reactive than monitoring by the E; (d) multiple reports of monitoring are more reactive than a single report of monitoring; and (e) self-monitoring effects are more reactive than a single report of merely attending to a particular behavior. Results provide general support for the 1st 2 hypotheses and suggestive support for the 3rd. Results pertaining to the 4th and 5th hypotheses took an unexpected twist and suggest the need for further study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis

On the basis of own observations of courses the author adopts a definite attitude to the early symptomatology of the rheumatoid arthritis. During the first weeks of the rheumatoid arthritis the following symptoms are found: articular syndromes, more frequently in form of obstinate polyarthralgias, mono-oligoarthritis, accompanied by morning rigidity and accelerated BSR as well as impairment of the general condition. In the majority of the patients only the tentative diagnosis rheumatoid arthritis may be made. After a one to three months' course of the disease the diagnosis becomes more probable. It is above all based on constancy and symmetry, characteristic localisation of the articular process, morning rigidity, radiologically paraarticular loosening of the structure and morphological symptoms of an acute and subacute synovialitis. 6 to 12 months after the beginning of the disease a clinical picture forms which allows to make the diagnosis of a certain or classical rheumatoid arthritis in accordance with the criteria of the ARA. The occurrence of a high activity of multiple affection of the joints (permanent symmetrical polyarthritis including the small joints of the hands and feet), distinctive morning rigidity, high fever and much accelerated BSR, beginning with the first weeks of the disease, speaks for the possibility of the development of an arthrovisceral form of the course of rheumatoid arthritis.     

Effect of charcoal-broiled beef on phenacetin metabolism in man

When charcoal-broiled beef was fed to human volunteers, who were then given phenacetin orally, the concentration of phenacetin in the plasma was lowered, but its half-life in the plasma was not changed. The data suggest that feeding charcoal-broiled beef enhances the metabolism of orally administered phenacetin in the intestine or during its first pass through the liver, or both.     

Calculation of coronary blood flow from myocardial clearance of systemically administered 133Xe

Clearance curves for arterial and coronary-venous blood were determined after systemic left-ventricle or pulmonary-artery infections of 133Xe, paired with selective left-coronary-artery injections of 133Xe in 20 dogs with closed chest. Coronary blood flows calculated from systemic and coronary-artery injections were comparable only when a correction was made for arteriol recirculation of 133Xe following the systemic injection (r = 0.962) for left ventricle and 0.932 for pulmonary artery, paired with coronary artery). Experiments in four other dogs, verified that clearance of 133Xe from the pulmonary circulation was only about 60%. The myocardium/blood 133Xe partition coefficient, determined in vivo in ten dogs, agreed within 10% with that previously determined in vitro.     

Studies on the antitesticular action of DL-6-(N-2-pipecolinomethyl)-5-hydroxy-indane (PMHI) in the rat

Both prepubertal and adult rats were treated with a single oral dose of either 60 mg or 120 mg of dl-6-(N-pipecolinomethyl)-5-hydroxy indane maleate (PMHI) per kg of body weight. Their testicular weights were drastically reduced compared with those of the controls. A follow-up, beginning on the third day post-treatment and continuing for a period of 50 days, showed that the body weight growth of PMHI-treated rats was not retarded. The hormonal profile indicated that, except for FSH which showed a transitory elevation in PMHI-treated immature rats, the serum levels of LH, estrogen, and testosterone were indistinguishable from those of the controls. Testicular histology revealed that the spermatogenic process in PMHI-treated rats recovered at a dose-related rate. EM sections of testes of adult rats indicated that cytoplasmic vacuolation appeared in the Sertoli cells 5 h post-treatment. The consequent cascade of arrested spermiogenesis included abnormal acrosomal condensation of spermatids and sloughing of polynucleated spermatids. Some spermatocytes also seemed to be affected, but spermatogonia and Leydig cells remained intact. These results indicate the PMHI acts primarily on Sertoli cells and causes arrest in the spermiogenetic stage of the spermatids. At a higher and toxic dose of PMHI, however, the earlier germinal elements might also be affected, due to the extensive damage to the supporting Sertoli cells.     

Choledochal cyst: a review of 19 cases

Nineteen cases of choledochal cyst are reviewed. Two distinct groups of patients were identified. Patients under one year of age, initially diagnosed as having biliary atresia, had a higher mortality rate, a higher incidence of severe cirrhosis with portal hypertension, and associated atresia or stenosis in the biliary tree. The second group, presenting between 3 and 20 years of age with more classic symptoms, had mild cirrhosis without portal hypertension and had associated choledocholithiasis and pancreatitis. It is suggested that the younger patients had a congenital form of cystic bile duct dilatation and that the older patients had an acquired form, perhaps related to a common channel with reflux of pancreatic juice into the common bile duct. Postoperative follow-up supports the current view that choledochocyst-jejunostomy with choleystectomy has a lower rate of long-term complications than does choledochocyst-duodenostomy.     

Influence of lung volume and electrode position on electromyography of the diaphragm

In cats anesthetized with Nembutal, electromyograms of the diaphragm (Edi) were recorded from an anchored esophageal electrode, a pair of silver hooks inserted in the paratendinous region, and a pair of silver hooks and a pair of clips of small surface inserted in the costal region of the diaphragm facing the rib cage at FRC but covered with lung tissue at FRC + 80 ml. When single supramaximal electrical stimuli were applied to an isolated phrenic nerve, changes in lung volume from RV to near TLC had a negligible effect on muscle potentials from esophageal or paratendinous hooks, but increased the amplitude of potentials recorded from peripheral hooks and clips. In addition, it was found that small displacements of the esophageal electrode caused substantial changes in the amplitude of the recorded muscle potentials. The integration of the Edi spontaneously generated during occluded inspirations, recorded from paratendinous hooks and the esophageal electrode was linearly related to transdiaphragmatic pressure up to 50 cmH2O at all lung volumes. Above that level, esophageal electrode recordings showed a curvilinear Edi/Pdi relationship, while hook recordings showed a rectilinear relationship.     

Fibrous myopathy. A rheumatic complication of drug abuse

A progressive fibrous myopathy may result from chronic intramuscular drug abuse. This complication may mimic other rheumatic disorders and early recognition may prevent disability. The patient described here presented with fixed flexion and extension contracture of hips and knees, respectively, after abusing meperidine and other agents for 3 years. Soft tissues of thighs and buttocks were "wood hard," EMG showed absence of action potentials in affected muscles, and biopsy revealed extensive replacement of muscle with dense, acellular fibrous tissue. Possible mechanisms are discussed.