The effect of adrenalectomy on exercise response of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and exercise tolerance in primary aldosteronism.

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is associated with objectively measured lower physical fitness and blunted response of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system to exercise. The purpose of this pilot study was to objectively measure exercise response of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and cardiopulmonary fitness changes after laparoscopic adrenalectomy (ADE) in patients with unilateral PA. We examined a total of 14 patients with confirmed PA before and after ADE, by means of spiroergometry and hormonal evaluation. As expected, after adrenalectomy basal aldosterone (Aldo) levels before exercise decreased significantly, with a concomitant increase in plasma renin (PR). The increase in Aldo (285.9+/-171.3 to 434.1+/-278.2 ng/l; p=0.02) and blunted increase in PR (7.1+/-0.4 to 8.9+/-10.4 pg/ml; NS) post-exercise before ADE became significant after ADE Aldo post-ADE (46.8+/-18.8 to 106.5+/-68.1 ng/l; p<0.0001) and PR post-ADE (20.1+/-14.5 to 33.9+/-30.7 pg/ml; p=0.014). After adrenalectomy, the patients had a non-significant increase in peak workload and VO(2peak). We found normalization of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system response to exercise with little changes in cardiopulmonary fitness six months after ADE.

Parental heights and maternal education as predictors of length/height of children at birth, age 3 and 19 years, independently on diet: the ELSPAC study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Little is currently known about the relationship between the parental diet during pregnancy and the growth of the child from early childhood until early adulthood. This study was designed to examine whether the dietary patterns of the parents during a pregnancy and of the respective child at 3 years are associated with the length/height-for-age z-score of child at birth, 3 years of age and at 19 years of age. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Dietary patterns of pregnant women and their partners, and offspring at 3 years that were enroled in the 1990-1991 period in the Czech part of the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood. Multivariable linear regression models were used to estimate the relationship between the dietary patterns of parents (835 child-mother-father trios) during pregnancy and the length/height-for-age z-score of their offspring at birth, 3 years and 19 years. RESULTS: The maternal health-conscious food pattern was found to predict lower child height at 3 years, but not at birth nor at 19 years of age. An increase in the health-conscious pattern score of the maternal diet was associated with significantly lower height-for-age z-score at 3 years; however, the observed effect lost its significance after the adjustment for diet of the child at 3 years. CONCLUSIONS: After full adjustment, the only significant predictors of the height-for-age z-score of the child at 3 years were the heights of both parents and maternal education. More research into the association of maternal diet in pregnancy and height of child is necessary.

Lower physical fitness in patients with primary aldosteronism is linked to the severity of hypertension and kalemia.

Hypokalemia as a typical feature of primary aldosteronism (PA) is associated with muscle weakness and could contribute to lower cardiopulmonary fitness. The aim of this study was to describe cardiopulmonary fitness and exercise blood pressure and their determinants during a symptom-limited exercise stress test in patients with PA. We performed a cross-sectional study of patients with confirmed PA who were included before adrenal vein sampling on whom a symptom-limited exercise stress test with expired gas analysis was performed. Patients were switched to the treatment with doxazosin and verapamil at least two weeks before the study. In 27 patients (17 male) the VO(2peak) was 25.4+/-6.0 ml/kg/min which corresponds to 80.8+/-18.9 % of Czech national norm. Linear regression analysis shows that VO(2peak) depends on doxazosin dose (DX) (p=0.001) and kalemia (p=0.02): VO(2peak) = 4.2 - 1.0 * DX + 7.6 * Kalemia. Patients with higher doxazosin doses had a longer history of hypertension and had used more antihypertensives before examination, thus indicating that VO(2peak) also depends on the severity of hypertension. In patients with PA, lower cardiopulmonary fitness depends inversely on the severity of hypertension and on lower plasma potassium level.

Application of solid-phase extraction for determination of phenolic compounds in barrique wines.

A fast, selective and sensitive chromatographic method has been developed for determination of gallic, protocatechuic, p-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic, caffeic, syringic, p-coumaric, benzoic, ferulic, sinapic, cinnamic, and ellagic acids and p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillin, syringaldehyde, 2-furfural, 5-methylfurfural, and 5-methoxyfurfural. The compounds from untreated wine samples were pre-concentrated and cleaned using solid-phase extraction on RP-105 polymeric sorbent. The cartridge was conditioned with methanol and water. Co-extracted ballast substances were rinsed from the sorbent with 0.1 mol L(-1) hydrochloric acid-methanol, 1:4 (v/ v). Retained phenolic compounds were selectively eluted with diethyl ether. A linear mobile phase gradient containing 0.3% acetic acid and methanol was used for final baseline chromatographic separation on a Hypersil BDS C18 column. Limits of detection (LOD=3 s(bl)) in the range 5.2 to 181.2 microg L(-1), resolution (R) better than 1.7, and repeatability of 2.7-5.1% (RSD for real samples) were achieved. The method was applied for quantification of individual phenolic compounds in barrique wines.

Rapid ion-exchange separation of human brain gangliosides.

An extract of human brain gangliosides was separated on a Spheron 1000-DEAE spherous fine-grain macroporous glycolmethacrylate anion-exchanger. Linear gradient elution using ammonium acetate in methanol resulted in the complete separation of mono, di-, tri-, tetra- and pentasialogangliosides in 35 min at the load of 2.4 mg/ml of ion-exchanger. The ganglioside fractions thus obtained were characterized by thin-layer chromatography on silica gel. In conclusion, the scope of rapid separation of gangliosides is discussed, based on a combination of column chromatographic methods.

Ion-exchange derivatives of Spheron. V. Sulphate and sulpho derivatives.

Using various reactions, strongly acidic derivatives of Spheron of the sulphate and sulpho types were prepared with nominal capacities between 0.37 and 2.0 mequiv./g. They were characterized by their capacities for small ions, by their static and dynamic capacities for proteins, by elemental analysis, by their working volumes and specific internal surface areas. The differences between the nominal capacities calculated theoretically from the sulphur contents and the measured values are discussed, as are the relationships between the nominal capacities for small ions and the static and dynamic capacities for proteins. The chromatographic properties of the cation exchangers are illustrated by the separation of an artificial mixture of proteins (serum albumin, chymotrypsinogen and lysozyme) at various pH values, and of a natural mixture of egg-white proteins. The separation of active enzymes is also reported. Sulphobutyl-Spheron was tested also as a catalyst for the esterification of alcohols.

Separation of oligonucleotides on ion-exchange derivatives of Spheron.

Diphenylamine-formic acid hydrolyzate of Bacillus subtilis DNA (a mixture of pyrimidine oligodeoxyribonucleotides) was chromatographed using an ionic strength gradient on seven ion exchangers: five DEAE-Spherons 300 of various capacities, two types of BD-Spheron 300 and DEAE-Sephadex A-25. The suitability of ion-exchange derivatives of Spheron for the chromatography of oligonucleotides is discussed. The separation of mono- to undeca-deoxyribonucleotides was achieved.

Rapid separation of proteins and their higher-molecular fragments by means of Spheron ion-exchanges.

Ion-exchange derivatives are described. of a hydrophilic rigid macroporous glycolmethacrylate gel called Spheron, suitable for rapid high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of proteins and their fragments. Their flow parameters are compared with those of ion exchange derivatives of cellulose and polydextran. The conditions for work with them are described (regeneration, cycling, equilibration, column packing) as well as the construction of a simple apparatus for medium-pressure ion exchange chromatography of proteins. The efficiency of these ion exchangers for the separation of proteins is illustrated with examples of chromatography of an artificial mixture of serum albumin, chymotrypsinogen and lysozyme. Chromatography of cyanogen bromide fragments of serum albumin and the A and B chains of oxidized insulin showed that the method can be applied in chromatography on higher molecular protein fragments. A review of all proteins, including technical enzymes, which have already been chromatographed on Spheron ion exchangers is also given. The prospects of Spheron ion exchangers for HPLC of proteins and their fragments are briefly discussed.

Graphical refinement of the amino acid molar ratio and of the molecular weights of peptides and proteins on the basis of amino acid analyses.

Corrected analysis results are handled graphically to find the most probable molar composition of polypeptides and proteins and to refine the molecular weights, even if only approximate molecular weights are available. The principle and properties of the graphical representation of idealized analyses are discussed first. Examples are given of the solution for a polypeptide consisting of 25 amino acids and for its not quite precise analysis and for a concrete protein - extracellular alkaline protease from Aspergillus flavus. The general character of the method is discussed.

Chromatography of biopolymers and their fragments on ion-exchange derivatives of the hydrophilic macroporous synthetic gel spheron.

New ion-exchange materials have been developed from the synthetic glycol methacrylate gel Spheron: carboxymethyl-Spheron (weakly acidic); phosphonyl-Spheron (medium acidic); sulphonyl-Spheron (strongly acidic); diethylaminoethyl-Spheron (Type 1, weakly basic; Type 2, medium to strongly basic). Information is presented on the chromatographic characteristics of these new, macroporous, hydrophilic and rigid ion-exchangers as determined by experiments on the separation of mixtures of proteins, peptides, amino acids, nucleic acids, oligonucleotides, and nucleotides. The possibility is discussed of the use of ion-exchangers of this type in high-performance liquid chromatography of biopolymers.