Acid-base balance parameters and a value of anion gap of arterial and venous blood in Malopolski horses.

UNLABELLED: The comparative study of the acid-base balance (ABB) parameters has been performed on 20 clinically healthy mature Malopolski horses. An arterial blood sample from the facial artery and a sample of venous blood from the external cervical vein were colected from each animal. In the samples tested, the blood pH, pCO2, tCO2, HCO3-, concentration of Na+, K+, Cl-, and a value of the anion gap were determined. The difference among pCO2, tCO2, and HCO3- in both samples tested was statistically significant, whereas the pH of the arterial blood and the pH of the venous blood did not differ significantly. The anion gap in both types of blood did not differ significantly. CONCLUSIONS: 1) ABB parameters such as pCO2, HCO3-, and tCO2 determined in the arterial and venous blood of the Malopolski horses differ from each other significantly. 2) In spite of the lack of the differences between pH of the arterial and venous blood, the ABB parameters in horses should be determined in the arterial blood, because the comparative study performed proves that the analysis of the ABB parameters determined for the venous blood of a healthy horse may lead to a wrong diagnosis of the compensated respiratory acidosis. 3) The mean value of anion gap in horses aged 8-12 years amounts to 20.9 mmol/l for the arterial blood and 19.93 for the venous blood; the difference between the two values is not statistically significant.

Effect of maternal dexamethasone and alpha-ketoglutarate administration on skeletal development during the last three weeks of prenatal life in pigs.

BACKGROUND: The effect of dexamethasone (Dex) on postnatal bone formation processes is known to decrease the synthesis of collagen and bone matrix, but the effect of alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) is to induce positive effects on growth and skeletal development during postnatal life. However, the effects of Dex and AKG treatment on the prenatal processes of skeletal development have not been investigated so far. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Dex and AKG administered separately or simultaneously to sows during the last three weeks of pregnancy on the skeletal development in fetuses. METHODS: Immediately after birth blood samples were collected from non-suckling piglets for alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin determinations, and the humeri were isolated. Bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) of humeri and the geometric and mechanical properties were evaluated. RESULTS: Dex and AKG administered separately to pregnant sows during the last 24 days of prenatal life decreased BMD, BMC, and geometric and mechanical parameters of humeri in the newborns. Simultaneous administration of Dex and AKG significantly increased the analyzed properties of humeri. CONCLUSION: The bone mineral density and mechanical and geometric properties of humeri indicate an inverse effect of maternal separate or simultaneous administration of AKG and Dex to sows on bone development during the last 24 days of prenatal life.

[Rebound regression after additional hormonal treatment with ethinyl oestradiol of metastasising carcinoma of the breast in females: frequency and clinical significance (author's transl)]. / Rebound-Phänomen nach additiver endokriner Therapie des metastasierenden Mammakarzinoms der Frau mit Athinylöstradiol. Häufigkeit und klinische Bedeutung.

Rebound regression occurred in 13 of 42 females (30.9% with metastasising carcinoma of the breast in the postmenopausal period in whom additional hormonal treatment with ethinyl oestradiol had brought about a remission. Duration of the rebound response ranged from 3 to 44 months (average 11.2 months; mean 8 months). There was a significantly longer duration of remission (18.7 months compared with 12.0 months; P = 0.01) in patients with than those without a rebound response. There was also a significant correlation between the duration of the preceding remission under additional hormonal treatment and the duration of the subsequent rebound response (P less than 0.01). On the other hand, there was a negative but not significant correlation between the free interval duration which preceded the metastasisation and the duration of the rebound regression.

PIP: 111 women at least 5 years into the post-menopausal period underwent additive ethinyl estradiol treatment for metastasizing breast cancer. In 37.8% of the cases a complete or partial remission was achieved. A rebound-positive effect of 3-44 months, average 11.2 months, was observed in 30.9% of the remission patients, a rebound-negative effect in 69.1%. Remission lasted significantly longer (P=.01) among patients who experienced a rebound effect. A highly significant correlation was found between the length of the remission under treatment and the length of the resultant rebound effect (P .01). There was also a negative correlation between the length of the free interval and the length of the rebound effect.

[Plasma ACTH and Nelson tumors in bilaterally adrenalectomized Cushing patients].

Bilaterally adrenalectomized patients (18) because of Cushing's syndrome were studied. 16 of these 18 persons exhibited fairly high plasma ACTH levels. Distinctly elevated plasma ACTH levels were observed in 6 of them. 5 patients of this group showed an enlarged sella and deep pigmentation of the skin. 4 of the latter group had a mucoid cell adenoma which was removed selectively. After the surgery the ACTH values were found to be within normal range without any significant endocrine dysfunction of the pituitary. A long-term ACTH survey revealed that the ACTH levels remained within the ranges of bilaterally adrenalectomized Cushing patients without concomitant enlargement of the sella or pigmentation.

Comparative trial of nafoxidine and ethinyloestradiol in advanced breast cancer: an E.O.R.T.C. study.

A randomized clinical trial of nafoxidine, a non-steroidal oestrogen antagonist, and ethinyloestradiol in postmenopausal patients with advanced breast cancer produced objective remissions in 31% of 49 women receiving nafoxidine and in 14% of 49 receiving ethinyloestradiol. The differences in remission rates was almost significant (0.05 less than P less than 0.10). Life-threatening complications were more frequent with ethinyloestradiol than with nafoxidine but the latter produced specific toxic reactions on skin and hair that may limit its practical usefulness. Synthetic oestrogen antagonists may occupy a privileged place in the treatment of breast cancer, and other representatives of this new class of compounds should be accurately assessed in randomized clinical trials.

Controlled clinical trial of L-dopa and nafoxidine in advanced breast cancer: an E.O.R.T.C. study.

L-Dopa lowers plasma prolactin levels, and there have been reports that patients with advanced breast cancer have been successfully treated with L-dopa. To test the potential value of L-dopa in this disease a randomized clinical trial of L-dopa and nafoxidine (as the reference compound) was conducted in postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer. Objective remissions were obtained in sever out of 36 patients (19%) treated with nafoxidine but in none out of 40 patients treated with L-dopa. L-Dopa in the dose schedule used seems to be ineffective in advanced breast cancer.

Steroid hormone receptors in human breast cancer and clinical correlations.

Human breast cancer was studied by in vitro techniques on tissue slices and extracts for a specific binding of estradiol and dihydrotestosterone. Estradiol receptors were found in 50 percent of patients in the premenopausal group and in 47 percent of patients in the postmenopausal group. The incidence of receptors in patients with metastatic disease was 32.5 percent. In 18 of 35 patients who were positive for receptor sites a remission was observed after a variety of endocrine treatment regimens. In contrast only 3 patients out of 43 with a negative binding pattern responded to treatment with nafoxidine for a very short time. The best correlation was found in the ovariectomized group. Between the responders and the nonresonders there is no difference in the quantitative receptor content. The same is valid in view of the duration of the remission.