Two-hour urinary phenolsulphonphthalein excretion test - a simple test of glomerular function in renal failure

Urinary phenolsulphonphthalein excretion and endogenous creatinine clearance tests were performed in 17 Nigerian patients with established renal failure (serum creatinine 2mg). Fourteen subjects with normal renal function served as controls. Higher and statistically significant amount of the dye was excreted by the control subjects at 15; 30; 60 and 120 minutes post injection. There is a good correlation between the two tests in the patients but not explicable so in the controls. The simplicity of this method and its predictability of glomerular filtration rate without the need for a 24 hour urine collection recommends it for use in the routine management of renal patients in Nigeria

Reference values for serum folate, erythrocyte folate and serum cobalamin in Nigerian adolescents.

Concentrations of serum folate, red cell folate and serum cobalamin were studied among 240 normal healthy Nigerian adolescents aged 12-17 years. Serum folate level was generally low with a mean of 2.8 nmol/l while red cell folate level was not low with a mean of 369 nmol/l. Mean serum cobalamin was 615 pmol/l. A negative significant correlation was observed between serum folate and red cell folate among the adolescents (r = 0.24). Another significant correlation was observed among the 14 year olds between red cell folate and serum cobalamin (r = 0.404). The folate parameters were significantly lower in the adolescents with HbAS genotype with mean serum folate of 2.2 nmol/l and red cell folate of 326 nmol/l but these differences were more marked among the girls. All the girls in the study had significantly higher serum cobalamin than the boys (p less than 0.001) but the advantage of this is not clear. These results suggest that serum cobalamin may be under some hormonal influences and the high values indicate that cobalamin may be involved in other metabolic functions from the puberty period.

Endocrine function and haemoglobinopathies: biochemical assessment of thyroid function in children with sickle-cell disease.

Thyroid function was assessed in ninety children with homozygous sickle-cell disease (haemoglobin genotype SS) in forty-five children with heterozygous sickle-cell trait (AS) and in 162 control children with haemoglobin genotype AA. Serum levels of thyroxine, the in vitro triiodothyronine resin uptake and the calculated index of 'free thyroxine' were not significantly different in the three groups. The distribution of individual thyrotropin (TSH) values showed that only 11% of the HbSS subjects had values below the 95% confidence limits for the HbAA controls. However, the mean level of TSH was significantly lower in the HbSS than the other two groups of children.

Plasma cortisol responses to cortrosyn treatment in asthmatic children.

Treatment trial over a period of 3 months was conducted with intermittent intramuscular injections of Cortrosyn depot in fourteen children with severe and frequent asthmatic attacks. The basal plasma cortisol levels were generally high, but higher than normal in four (29%) of the patients. At a period of 24 h after the initial Cortrosyn injection was administered, plasma cortisol increases ranging between 4-52 micrograms/100 ml above the basal levels were recorded. At a period of 1 week after the end of daily injections for 1 week, increases of plasma cortisol ranging between 3-71 micrograms/100 ml above the basal levels were observed and presumed to be a reflection of an associated adrenal hypertrophy resulting from repetitive daily Cortrosyn injections. The highest increases at this stage were observed in the youngest patients with the severest asthmatic attacks, but not in their older counterparts. At the end of the trial treatment, clinical improvement was associated with lowered plasma cortisol levels compared with the elevated basal values.

Serum aspartate and alanine aminotransferase activities in protein energy malnutrition.

The activities of serum aspartate and alanine aminotransferases were measured in protein energy malnutrition (PEM). These enzyme activities were both increased in PEM and fell as recovery was established. There was a marked reduction in the serum albumin level, and an inverse relationship was observed between the serum albumin levels and the enzyme activities. The relationship is discussed in the light of the hepatocellular damage of PEM. The assay of these enzyme activities along with estimation of serum albumin in PEM will prove very useful in the diagnosis of the liver damage that may occur in PEM before clinical manifestations are established.

The usefulness of radioisotopic dilution assay in a population with high serum vitamin B12 concentration.

This report describes the results of a vitamin B12 study among ninety normal healthy school children using commercial radioisotopic dilution assay kits. Values obtained in this study are higher than those obtained in previous study by the microbiological assay using L. leichmannii as the test organism. These high values render the commercial kit unsuitable in its present form in the diagnostic process of liver and related diseases where serum vitamin B12 are significantly elevated. Some dilution of the serum will be essential if the commercial kits are to prove useful among populations with normal high vitamin B12 concentrations.

Blood phenylalanine levels in mentally retarded African children: a study of 138 patients from Ibadan, Nigeria.

Blood phenylalanine levels were determined by the Guthrie microbiological inhibition technique in 138 mentally retarded, and in 88 randomly selected normal (control) Nigerian children. All the control subjects and 137 of the 138 mentally retarded children had negative Guthrie tests (6 mg/100 ml or less). In a majority of the children, the blood phenylalanine levels were 2 mg/100 ml or less. One mentally retarded child had moderately elevated blood phenylalanine level which was however much lower than the levels associated with classical phenylketonuria. The findings in the present study is in agreement with previously reported rarity of phenylketonuria in American negroes. An extensive survey of tropical Africa for phenylketonuria is, however, still desirable because regional and ethnic differences in the incidence of the disease may exist.

Relationship of serum copper and zinc to human hypertension in Nigerians.

Serum copper and zinc levels were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy in 48 hypertensive Nigerians and in 37 normotensive controls. Serum copper and total cholesterol levels were significantly increased in the hypertensive patients, but their serum zinc levels did not differ from those of the controls.

Responses to intravenous tolbutamide by Nigerians--a preliminary study.

Sixteen normal adult Nigerians (10 males and 6 females) were randomly selected for an intravenous tolbutamide test. The mean fall of blood sugar at 30 minutes corresponded closely to values observed in the Caucasians; however, there was a delay in the return of blood sugar to fasting level even at 240 minutes following tolbutamide administration. In spite of the low individual blood sugar levels attained during the study, no associated symptoms were observed. The possible contributory role of the counter-regulatory mechanisms in explaining the differences in the response to tolbutamide between the Nigerian and the Caucasian is discussed.