The incidence of congenital abnormalities of the kidney and urogenital system in Lebanon.

In an attempt to define the incidence of congenital abnormalities of the kidney and urogenital system in Lebanon, 37,500 consecutive hospital records of newborn infant delivered at the American University of Beirut Medical Center from 1975 to 1985 were reviewed. The study revealed 6.32 abnormalities per 1000 newborns. These figures are lower than those reported in the literature, because of the very small number of autopsies performed in this country. A prospective, cooperative study by major nurseries in the country, performing fetal ultrasonography on every at-risk pregnancy, and the performance of more autopsies are needed to come out with more accurate figures on the incidence of these abnormalities in Lebanon. Early detection of congenital abnormalities of the kidney and urinary tract is of vital importance to institute early treatment to decrease the occurrence of end-stage renal disease.

Transport of prostaglandins through normal and diabetic rat hepatocytes.

Transport of alprostadil (prostaglandin E1) and dinoprost (prostaglandin F2 alpha) was studied in enzymatically dispersed normal and streptozocin-treated rat hepatocytes prepared by collagenase perfusion. Cell suspensions incubated at 37 degrees were sampled at time intervals for a period of 5 min and the supernatant analyzed for prostaglandins after centrifugation. The data analysis employed a theory and a model for solute transfer at the cell membrane-water interphase. Biophysical parameters such as the effective partition and the apparent permeability constants were used to define the transport mechanism. The apparent permeability coefficient of alprostadil and dinoprost transfer through normal hepatocytes was calculated to be 5 X 10(-3) and 3 X 10(-3) cm/sec with a mean partition coefficient of 1345 and 764 for both solutes, respectively. The permeability coefficient of alprostadil and dinoprost transfer through diabetic hepatocytes were 3 X 10(-3) and 2 X 10(-3) cm/sec with partition coefficient of 572 and 206, respectively. The results showed differences in prostaglandin transport between normal and diabetic hepatocytes, resulting from morphological and lipid alteration in the cytoplasmic membrane.