Metabolic and osmoregulatory function at low and high (3800 m) altitude.

Altitude evokes physiological adjustments that include not only respiratory and cardiovascular properties, but also metabolic function, renal and endocrine responses. The purpose of the present study was designed to expand our understanding of the physiological process involved with acclimatisation to high altitude in equids. The study examined temporal effects on metabolic and osmoregulatory function in horses (n = 6) at rest and postexercise at 3800 m. Animals were studied at 225 m (Pb = 743 mmHg) and during a 10 day stay at altitude (Pb = 487 mmHg). Rest samples were taken 90 min postprandial at 0830 h and immediately after the gallop phase of a standard exercise test. Changes in glucose, insulin, cortisol, thyroxine, sodium, potassium, chloride and total protein were assessed at both altitudes. Exercise stimulated increases in cortisol, thyroxine, potassium, and chloride; while the concentrations of glucose, insulin, sodium and total protein (regardless of altitude) decreased. Acute (Day 2) altitude exposure (following transport stress) produced significant increases in glucose, cortisol, thyroxine, chloride and protein at rest and exercise. All variables (except cortisol) appeared to stabilise by Day 4 of altitude exposure. Observations from these data (coupled with haematological and blood gases data) indicate that equids acutely acclimate within 2-3 days to this altitude.

Prolonged suppression of plasma LH levels in male rats after a single injection of an LH-RH agonist in poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) microcapsules.

The authors have examined the effects of a subcutaneous injection of the LH-RH agonist D-Trp6-LH-RH formulated in biodegradable poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) microcapsules on plasma levels of D-Trp6LH-RH, LH, and PRL in adult, gonadectomized male rats. Immunoreactive D-Trp6-LH-RH was detectable in the plasma of these animals at 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks after injection. LH concentrations were greatly reduced 1 week after administering the D-Trp6-LH-RH microcapsule, continued to decrease during the following week, and remained suppressed until the end of the study, 6 weeks after the injection. Plasma PRL levels appeared elevated 1 to 2 weeks after the injection and suppressed thereafter, but these effects were significant only in animals rendered hyperprolactinemic by transplantation of an isologous pituitary under the renal capsule. These results demonstrate that an LH-RH agonist formulated in biodegradable microcapsules and administered as a subcutaneous injection can exert marked biologic effects in rats for at least 6 weeks. These findings also suggest that prolonged exposure to an LH-RH agonist may first produce stimulation, followed by an inhibition of PRL release from both in situ and ectopic pituitaries.

Measurement of glycosylated hemoglobins using boronate affinity chromatography.

A boronate affinity column method for the measurement of glycosylated hemoglobins was evaluated. In the procedure the glycosylated hemoglobins were bound by immobilized boronic acid to separate them from nonglycosylated hemoglobins. Elution of bound glycosylated hemoglobins was carried out with sorbitol buffer, and the absorbance was read at 414 nm. The method was linear to a glycosylated hemoglobin concentration of at least 20 percent. The precision of the method ranged from 1.2 to 2.8 percent (C.V.) within-run, and 3.4 to 5.3 percent day-to-day. The reference interval was 4.8 to 6.4 percent. The method correlated with a cation exchange resin mini-column method (r = 0.94) and a colorimetric method (r = 0.93) but results from the boronate affinity method were higher in diabetic patients. The measured glycosylated hemoglobin was significantly correlated with estimated one-day-mean plasma glucose in diabetic patients (r = 0.54, n = 52, p less than 0.002). The affinity method provides an attractive alternative to earlier methods for measuring glycosylated hemoglobins.