Studies with the copper sulfate specific gravity method of blood analsis: II. comparison with a standard method and a micro method of hemoglobin determination

1. Hemoglobin values obtained on 60 blood samples with the CuSO(4) specific gravity method showed no significant difference from parallel determinations using Ponders a of Wongs standard method2. Evelyns micro method of hemoglobin determination gave significantly higher results than those obtained by the CuSO(4) specific gravity method and the modified Wongs method3. The nomogram devised by Van Slyke et al. is applicable to the Filipino subjects in this study. (Conclusions)

Studies with the copper sulfate specific gravity method of blood analysis: I. hemoglobin, hematocrit and plasma protein values of normal Filipino students

1. Hemoglobin, hematocrit and plasma protein values calculated from the specific gravities of plasma and whole blood determined by the copper sulfate method in 85 normal male and 30 normal female Filipino students are reported2. The mean hemoglobin is 15.78 +/- 0.97 Gm./100 ml. for males; 13.83 +/- 0.70 Gm./100 ml. for females. The mean hematocrit value is 46.63 +/- 2.84 volume % (cells) for males and 40.97 +/- 2.24 volume % (cells) for females. The mean plasma protein concentration is 7.44 +/- 0.40 Gm./100 ml. for males and 7.41 +/- 0.31 Gm./100 ml. for females, with a mean of 7.435 +/- 0.38 Gm./100 ml. for all subjects3. The values obtained in this study are compared with values previously reported for normal Filipino adults and with values given by foreign authors for normal adults of other races4. The fact that our hemoglobin and plasma protein values are higher than any reported by previous workers on Filipino adult subjects indicates the need at present for a re-evaluation of our physiologic standards. (Summary)

Studies with the copper sulfate specific gravity method of blood analysis: III. comparison of hematocrit values with Wintrobes method and a micro method of determination

1. The results of hematocrit values of 44 healthy Filipino adults determined by the copper sulfate specific gravity method, Wintrobes method, and the micro method of Natelson et al. were presented2. The hematocrit values obtained by the copper sulfate specific gravity method showed no statistically significant difference from those obtained by Wintrobes method. The nomogram by Van Slyke et al. has been proved valid for the healthy Filipino adults in this study3. The hematocrit values obtained by the micro method of Natelson et al. were significantly higher than those obtained by Wintrobes and the copper sulfate specific gravity method. (Conclusions)

The role of the aminoacetone on lactic acidemia of iron-deficiency anemia

In the anemic iron-deficient rat, methylglyoxal level is decreased and the activity of glyoxalase increased in the liver and diaphragm muscle. The marked increase in activity of glyoxalase is reflected by the more than 600% increase in D(-) lactate concentration in the serum since up to date this lactate isomer is known to be produced only by this enzyme. The increase in serum L (+) lactate (18% to 24%) indicates that glycolysis is also increased. That glycine and aminoacetone are metabolic precursors of lactic acid is strongly supported by the resultant marked lactic acidemia that followed the intraperitoneal injection of these compounds. The earlier and more intense effect of aminoacetone on blood lactic acid levels whem compared to that of glycine is compatible with the concept that aminoacetone is the more immediate precursor. These data are in accord with the following sequence of reactions found in the aminoacetone pathway: The factor which most likely triggers the increase in the activity of the pathway is the aberrant metabolism of glycine which is manifested as hyperglycinemia. Obviously, in the anemic iron-deficient rat, the disappearance of D (-) lactate is the rate-limiting reaction in the above sequence. The mechanism of the hperglycinemia and the fate of D(-) lactate and the possible presence of a block in its metabolism need further study In anemic lactating mothers, serum glycine and both D(-) and L(+) lactic acid levels were increased. These suggest a functioning aminoacetone pathway in the anemic human. However, the glycolytic pathway appeared relatively more active and this may be due to the fact that the degree of anemia in the women was comparatively less than the experimentally produced anemia in the rats Methylglyoxal synthetase could not be demonstrated in the liver, heart and diaphragm muscle of the normal rat. (Summary and conclusions)

A micromethod for serum total cholesterol

A procedure for total serum cholesterol determination, which is a modification of the procedure of Abell, et al. is presented. The modified procedure has the advantage over the original method in that smaller amounts of serum sample are used for analyses, the time required for determination is made shorter, and a more commonly available photoelectric colorimeter is used for the determination. in 49 human sera analyzed by both methods, the modified procedure gave values comparable with those obtained by the original method. (Summary)