Atenolol in the treatment of angina pectoris.

Nineteen men, aged 41-64 years, with stable angina pectoris have completed a random double-blind study of atenolol, 50 mg b.i.d., atenolol, 100 mg b.i.d., and placebo. Fifteen patients had subjective improvement on atenolol, two were unchanged and two felt worse (because of asthenia/leg fatigue). No significant placebo effect was found. On both atenolol dosages there were highly significant reductions in heart rate at rest and during exercise and in BP. Only the maximal heart rate decreased significantly more on 100 mg atenolol than on 50 mg (p less than 0.01). Fourteen patients had the same or a better physical performance on the 50 mg b.i.d. regimen than on the 100 mg b.i.d. regimen, although this difference was not significant. Sixteen patients had higher bicycle exercise performance on atenolol than on placebo. Disregarding the three non-responders, a mean increase of 44% in bicycle performance was found. No serious side-effects were seen. Most individuals reported an increased feeling of well-being on atenolol.

The visibly fluorescent phospholipids of serum lipoproteins.

The blusih-white fluorescence exhibited by lipoproteins from human serum has been investigated. It appears that high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) all exhibit this fluorescence with excitation maximum at about 360 nm and fluorescence maximum at about 450 nm. The fluorescence resides in the phospholipid fraction of the lipoproteins and is not located in the fatty acids, since the water-soluble deacylated phospholipid fraction exhibited the same fluorescence. Upon electrophoresis of this fraction at pH 6.5 the fluorescent material carried a negative charge and moved a distance similar to glycerophosphoserine and glycerophosphoinositol, which both carry one negative charge. This negatively charged fluorescent product is ninhydrine negative, and gives a positive reaction for phosphate esters and 1,2-glycols. The detailed structure of the fluorescent product is not yet known. It is suggested that reactive aldehydes are involved in its formation from the aminophosphatides. Its possible relationship to tissue peroxidation is discussed.