Exercise-induced ovarian torsion in the cycle following gonadotrophin therapy: case report.

The incidence of ovarian torsion has been reported to be increased during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. In this report we describe exercise-induced ovarian torsion in an ovary with a persistent cyst, following a failed gonadotrophin-stimulated intra-uterine insemination cycle. This report suggests that the risk of ovarian torsion persists beyond the treatment cycle and that patients should be instructed to refrain from exercise or strenuous activity if regression to normal ovarian size has not been documented. Ovarian torsion should be high in the differential diagnosis in patients experiencing abdominal pain with a history of recent gonadotrophin stimulation.

Role of protein kinase C isoenzymes in fatty acid stimulation of insulin secretion.

Although hyperlipidemia is frequently associated with hyperinsulinemia. the stimulation of insulin secretion by fatty acids in the in vitro studies has remained a matter of constant debate, partly because of the uncertainty about a clearly defined mechanism to explain such a direct effect. In this study, we used a pharmacologic approach to test the hypothesis that protein kinase C (PKC) signal-transduction pathway is involved in fatty acid-stimulated insulin secretion. Isolated rat islets were perifused with either palmitate (C(16:0)) or linoleate (C(18:2)) in the absence or presence of selective inhibitors of PKC isoenzymes. Our results suggest a role for Ca2+-independent PKC isoenzymes in the signal transduction of fatty acid-stimulated insulin secretion. The data imply that either the nonconventional and/or atypical isoforms of PKC are involved in the stimulation of insulin release induced by fatty acids.

Reoxygenation injury affects isolated islet response to fatty acid stimulation.

Hyperlipidemia is frequently associated with hyperinsulinemia, but because the effects of fatty acids on insulin secretion in in vitro studies using isolated perifused islets have mostly been described with supraphysiological concentrations of fatty acids, it has remained uncertain whether elevated lipid levels contribute to hyperinsulinemia by their direct stimulation of insulin secretion. In the present study, we have identified reoxygenation injury in isolated islet function as a contributing factor in the failure of physiological concentrations of free fatty acids to stimulate insulin secretion in isolated perifused islets. Reoxygenation of isolated islets is associated with the production of reactive oxygen species, which impair islet function. We have found that pretreatment of freshly isolated islets with the antioxidant glutathione (GSH), as well as a 24-hour preculture of isolated islets under appropriate conditions, enhanced their sensitivity to fatty acid stimulation.

Glutathione-mediated preservation and enhancement of isolated perifused islet function.

It has been shown that myocardial tissue function may be better preserved if antioxidants are incorporated into the reoxygenation medium at the end of the ischemic period following isolation of the organ. Although isolated pancreatic islets are prone to ischemic-reperfusion injury, it is not clear if antioxidants have a role in the preservation of their function. The purpose of the present study, therefore, was to examine the effect of the addition of glutathione (GSH) to a physiologic incubation medium on pancreatic islet response to glucose stimulation. Islets isolated by microdissection were preperifused at the rate of 1 ml/min for 1 hr at 37 degrees C, with Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate (KRB) buffer containing 1% albumin, 5.5 mM (basal) glucose without (control) or with 10 mM glutamine or 10 mN GSH and maintained at pH 7.4 by continuous gassing with 95/5% O2/CO2. After preperifusion, basal effluent samples were taken on ice for 20 min. The perifusion was then continued for 20 min with the KRB containing 27.7 mM glucose alone, followed by another 20 min of basal glucose washout. Solutions were changed using a stopcock and all effluent perifusate samples obtained were stored frozen at -20 degrees C until radioimmunoassay for insulin. Total insulin output in the control group increased from a basal 11.45 +/- 3.18 to 29.23 +/- 7.08 ng/6 islets/20 min (P < 0.001, n = 5) when the glucose concentration was raised to 27.7 mM. During a 20-min washout, insulin secretion was still significantly raised and did not return to the prestimulation basal rate. In the glutamine-treated islets, insulin output increased from 7.23 +/- 0.94 to 16.83 +/- 2.25 ng/6 islets/20 min (P < 0.001, n = 5) with 27.7 mM glucose stimulation and the significantly raised washout basal rate of secretion did not return to the prestimulation level. GSH treatment not only caused an enhanced 27.7 mM glucose stimulation (8.46 +/- 1.99 to 38.72 +/- 11.51 ng/6 islets/20 min, P < 0.001, n = 6) of insulin output but also completely restored the basal rate of insulin secretion to the prestimulation level within the 20-min washout perifusion. In conclusion, these data show that incubation of isolated islets with GSH enhanced their secretory response to glucose stimulation and preserved their functional integrity.

Rate of information processing in patients with Wilson's disease.

This study investigated the rate of information processing, independent of motor speed, in neurologically affected Wilson's disease (WD) patients. Two scanning tasks based on the Sternberg item-recognition paradigm were administered to 17 neurologically symptomatic WD patients and 17 normal control (NC) subjects. Although WD subjects do have longer response latencies than NC subjects, their rate of information processing is the same as the rate of the NC subjects. The longer response latencies are attributable to their motor deficits. The clear impact of motor impairment on test performance underlines the necessity for specialized assessment measures that can accurately reflect the cognitive abilities of motor-impaired patients. These findings suggest that Wilson's disease is not characterized by slowed information processing.

[Use of a mechanical variant of the Pauli test and the influence of several subjective and situational testing conditions]. / Untersuchungen zum Einsatz einer apparativen Pauli-Test-Variante und zum Einfluss einiger subjektiver und situativer Testleistungsbedingungen.

Comparative examinations of the paper and pencil form and a mechanical variation (using a performance testing unit) of Pauli's performance test, in which a total of 100 students were included, showed differences in the specific requirements of the two variants and in the performance rating of the test subjects. Consequently, their mutual substitution appears unjustifiable. It was not possible for effects of a number of situational test conditions upon performance results to be demonstrated for this test sample. Hypothesized relationships between the Pauli test performance, on the one hand, and proficiency motivation, attainments, and variational motivation, on the other, could be verified in part of the cases only.