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Biomedical subjects

B Zumoff

Publications and source records attributed to B Zumoff.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Differential binding of dexamethasone to ammonium sulfate precipitates of human adipose tissue cytosols.

Saturation analysis of the binding of [3H]dexamethasone [( 3H]DEX) to ammonium sulfate precipitates (ASPs) confirmed the presence of a limited-capacity, high-affinity binder in human adipose tissue cytosols. Various non-radioactive steroids competed with [3H]DEX for binding to the ASPs in the following sequence: dexamethasone (DEX) approximately equal to triamcinolone acetonide (TA) greater than progesterone (P) much greater than estradiol (E2). The steroid specificity of the binder precipitated by AS was consistent with the specificities reported for glucocorticoid receptors in a number of systems. In order to investigate possible regional differences, glucocorticoid binding to ASPs derived from adipose tissues removed from two different sites in the same subject was quantitated. ASPs of human omental adipose tissue bound significantly more [3H]DEX than did similar preparations of subcutaneous adipose tissue from the abdominal wall (116 +/- 32 vs. 50 +/- 22 fmol/mg protein; mean +/- SD; p less than 0.02). The findings are consistent with reports from other laboratories suggesting that intra-abdominal fat is more responsive to glucocorticoids than is subcutaneous adipose tissue.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1986

Cushing's disease in a young woman with anorexia nervosa: pathophysiological implications.

This report describes a 17-year old student who was found to have Cushing's syndrome two years after she had developed anorexia nervosa (AN). The Cushing's syndrome was treated with bilateral resection of enlarged, hyperplastic, non-tumorous adrenal glands. The diagnosis was further confirmed four years later when, two to three years after new symptoms had appeared, an ACTH secreting pituitary adenoma (that is, Cushing's disease) was found on surgery. The possible mechanism for the development of Cushing's disease in a patient with prior anorexia nervosa, a sequence of events reported once previously, is discussed. It is suggested that increased hypothalamic-pituitary corticotroph stimulation in association with the anorexia nervosa, a now well-established endocrine phenomenon, activated an occult, inactive pituitary basophil adenoma in this patient, eventually resulting in autonomous pituitary overproduction of ACTH by the tumor.

Adenoma, Basophil↗
PubMed1985

Cortisol secretion in endogenous depression. I. Basal plasma levels.

Plasma levels of cortisol were sampled for 24 hours in 32 endogenously depressed (ED) patients and 72 normal controls who also underwent the dexamethasone suppression test. The ED patients had significantly higher mean 24-hour plasma levels of cortisol (means 24h PC). However, means 24h PC values of subjects in both groups were normally distributed, with a marked overlap between the two. Only seven ED patients had means 24h PC values higher than 2 SDs from the normal mean (greater than 10 micrograms/dL). An abnormal dexamethasone suppression test result was only partially related to basal cortisol levels. The mean plasma level of cortisol between 1 and 4 PM was found to be highly correlated with the means 24h PC value in ED patients, as has been previously reported in normal subjects and patients with various other diseases (in which it also powerfully discriminated between hypersecretors and normosecretors). This finding supports the use of mean cortisol levels between 1 and 4 PM as a reliable and convenient indication of cortisol secretion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Cortisol secretion in endogenous depression. II. Time-related functions.

Plasma levels of cortisol were sampled for 24 hours in 32 endogenously depressed (ED) patients and 72 controls to examine mean 24-hour plasma levels of cortisol, intervention in the feedback mechanism of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system (the dexamethasone suppression test), the circadian rhythm of cortisol secretion and its magnitude, and the ultradian rhythm of cortisol secretion. The main difference in the pattern of cortisol secretion in ED patients, as compared with controls, was in the ultradian rhythm. No acrophase or nadir advance of cortisol secretion in endogenous depression was found when age was controlled, but there was an earlier timing of first secretory episode of cortisol (during night). Only some ED patients have abnormalities in each of the functions studied, and they only partially overlap each other. The results suggest that abnormal cortisol secretion in depression should not be viewed as a monolithic malfunction characteristic of endogenous depression.

Circadian Rhythm↗
PubMed1985

L-tryptophan does not increase weight loss in carbohydrate-craving obese subjects.

Eight subjects, aged 26 to 50 years, who had long histories of carbohydrate (CHO) craving and were more than 45 kg above desirable body weight participated in a randomized, double-blind, crossover pilot study on the effects of L-tryptophan on weight loss and mood state. One g of tryptophan with 10 g of CHO was administered three times a day, 30 min before meals, as an adjunct to a weight-loss protocol that included nutritional consultation teaching low fat, high fiber diets ranging from 1200-1600 kcals/day, behavior modification, and supportive therapy. During the pretreatment period, body weight and plasma tryptophan levels were measured and the Beck Depression Inventory, SCL 90 rating, and Profile-of-Mood State (POMS) were used to assess mood. During the treatment periods, subjects kept daily records of food intake and the timing of medication. All patients were seen at least biweekly. After six weeks on medication, baseline measurements were repeated and the crossover between tryptophan and placebo was implemented. After an additional six weeks on placebo or tryptophan, the same measurements were repeated. For the eight patients who completed the three-month protocol, the mean weight loss for six weeks on placebo was 1.14 kg and for six weeks on tryptophan was 2.3 kg. Mean Beck scores were 8.8 during the control period, 8.3 on placebo, and 10.9 on tryptophan. Mean SCL 90 ratings were 69.2 during the control, 54.6 on placebo, and 64.2 on tryptophan. Mean scores for total mood disturbance on the POMS were 48 during the control period, 43 on placebo, and 52 on tryptophan.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Effect of age and sex on cortisol secretion in depressives and normals.

The mean 24-hour plasma level of cortisol with plasma sampling every 20-30 minutes was determined in 32 normal women aged 12-73, 40 normal men aged 10-55, 21 depressed women aged 20-61, and 11 depressed men aged 22-66. The mean levels of cortisol were higher in the group of depressives compared with the controls. Cortisol levels showed a significant linear correlation with age in normal women but not in normal men. Both depressed women and men had a significant linear increase of cortisol levels with age. The finding that age substantially contributes to increased levels of cortisol calls for cautious interpretation of any data concerning that hormone when the variable of age is not adequately controlled. Furthermore, aging and depression may have some underlying mechanisms whose elucidation may contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiology of vulnerability to affective disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Is there a relationship between eating disorder and affective disorder? New evidence from sleep recordings.

There is evidence that patients with anorexia nervosa (particularly those who also have bulimia) and patients with affective disorder share many features. The authors present sleep polygraph data from 20 young women with anorexia nervosa (17 also bulimic) and 10 age-matched normal women. Their urinary free cortisol levels were determined, and the subjects with eating disorders were also rated for depression. The findings suggest the existence of a subgroup of patients who show sleep abnormalities, in addition to clinical and possibly endocrine abnormalities, that indicate concurrent affective disorder. The authors present several models that could account for this relationship.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Elevated 24-hour mean plasma concentration of FSH in men with cirrhosis of the liver.

Twenty-four-hour mean plasma concentrations of estradiol, estrone, testosterone, LH and FSH were measured in 6 men with typical alcoholic liver cirrhosis and in 17 age-matched controls. Plasma estradiol levels were markedly elevated in the cirrhotic patients, as has been reported before. Plasma levels of estrone, testosterone and LH did not differ significantly from normal. The most striking finding was marked elevation of the plasma FSH level: the mean value in the cirrhotic group was 19.5 mIU/ml (95% confidence limits, 13-29), more than twice the mean control value, 9.7 mIU/ml (95% confidence limits, 7.0-13) (p less than 0.0005). This consistent elevation of FSH in cirrhotic men may be due to a deficient testicular secretion of inhibin as a result of alcohol toxicity to the testes.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Do fat cell morphometrics predict weight loss maintenance?

A comprehensive psychosocial approach was used to treat 44 otherwise healthy obese patients, 49-332 percent above desirable weight, whose fat cell morphometrics arbitrarily placed them into three groups: seven with predominant fat-cell hypertrophy, 18 with predominant hyperplasia, and 19 with mixed hypertrophy and hyperplasia. Continuous psychological support was provided to all patients, and life-style was altered by nutrition education and behavior modification. Psychiatric referral was made when indicated. Four of the 45 patients, who were refractory to treatment, were referred for surgery. Successful treatment was defined as maintenance of a weight loss of 18 kg or more for one year. Two of the seven hypertrophic, seven of the 18 hyperplastic, and 11 of the 19 mixed hypertrophic-hyperplastic patients had successful results without surgery. Overall success rate was 45 percent, and did not differ significantly according to fat cell morphometrics. Although greater weight losses were maintained in correlation with the extent of hyperplasia P less than 0.005, the percentage weight change from intake weights was similar. In summary, a program of continuous psychological support, nutrition education, and behavior modification resulted in a substantially higher rate of successful one-year maintenance of weight loss than is generally reported for the treatment of markedly obese patients. Further long-term follow-up is in progress. In contradiction to predictions based on adipose cell morphometrics, those patients with simple hypertrophy of their fat cells were not more successful in maintaining a weight change. Although maintenance varied from 18.2 kg to 52 kg for those successfully treated, a weight loss of approximately 20 percent of the intake was sustained.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1983

A chronobiologic abnormality in luteinizing hormone secretion in teenage girls with the polycystic-ovary syndrome.

We investigated possible abnormalities of central-nervous-system regulation of luteinizing hormone secretion in the polycystic-ovary syndrome by determining the plasma concentrations of luteinizing hormone over a 24-hour period in five teenage girls with the syndrome; profiles of prolactin and cortisol were also obtained. Four of the five patients had strikingly abnormal plasma luteinizing hormone profiles: whereas normal pubertal girls have a daily surge in secretion of luteinizing hormone that is coterminous with their nocturnal sleep period, our patients had surges that were grossly desynchronized from their sleep period, occurring seven to eight hours later in the daytime than normal. The chronobiologic disturbance involved only luteinizing hormone; the profiles of cortisol and prolactin were normal. This finding points to the central nervous system as the probable locus of the initiating pathophysiology of polycystic-ovary syndrome.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Relationship between body weight and the incidence of positive axillary nodes at mastectomy for breast cancer.

The question, whether obesity is associated with an increased incidence of positive axillary nodes at mastectomy for breast cancer, was studied in two quite different hospital populations; one from a large urban teaching hospital (Montefiore) and one from a medium-sized Air Force medical center (Malcolm Grow). In the Montefiore population, the answer was "yes"; 67% of the node-positive patients, but only 31% of the node-negative patients were obese (20% or more above ideal weight) (p less than 0.05). In the Malcolm Grow population, the answer was "no"; 20% of the node-positive and 20% of the node-negative patients were obese. The different answers, we believe, are due to the biological differences between the populations; the Montefiore population was shorter (by an average of 1.7 inches), heavier (by an average of 20 lbs), and more obese. The incidence of obesity was about three times as high in the Montefiore population (52% versus 20%; p less than 0.02) and it contained a statistically distinct subpopulation of obese patients, while the few obese patients in the Malcolm Grow population constituted merely the upper tail of a unimodal log-normal distribution of weight in that population. We propose that it is possible to demonstrate a relationship of obesity to node-positivity in the Montefiore population but not in the Malcolm Grow population because obesity was highly prevalent in the former and almost nonexistent in the latter. It seems self-evident that it is not possible to demonstrate an effect of obesity in a population if that population manifests no significant obesity, statistically speaking, but disregarding this principle, we believe, may account for the controversy in the literature about whether obesity is a risk factor in breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Influence of thyroid function on the in vivo cortisol in equilibrium cortisone equilibrium in man.

To evaluate the effect of thyroid function on the in vivo cortisol in equilibrium cortisone (F in equilibrium E) equilibrium, double-labeled cortisol tracer techniques were used to measure separately the rates of the F leads to E and E leads to F reactions in 4 euthyroid, 2 hypothyroid, and 2 hyperthyroid subjects. The rate of the F leads to E reaction was calculated from the appearance rate of 3H in body water after the i.v. injection of [11 alpha-3H]-cortisol; the rate of the E leads to F reaction was calculated from the difference in the plasma turn-over rates of [11 alpha-3H]-cortisol, and [4-14C]-cortisol after simultaneous i.v. injection of both tracers; the F in equilibrium E set-point was calculated by dividing the F leads to E rate by the E leads to F rate. In euthyroid subjects the F leads to E reaction rate averaged 1.6%/min, the E leads to F reaction rate averaged 1.0%/min, and the F in equilibrium E set-point averaged 1.6. In hyperthyroid subjects the two reaction rates were supranormal: the F leads to E rate averaged greater than or equal to 3.9%/min and the E leads to F rate averaged 1.54%/min; since the increase in the F leads to E rate was proportionally greater, the F in equilibrium E set-point (average greater than or equal to 2.6) was displaced towards cortisone. In hypothyroid subjects both reaction rates were equally slowed, to an average of 1.0%/min (F leads to E) and 0.68%/min (E leads to F); the F in equilibrium E set-point averaged 1.65, the same as in euthyroid subjects. Displacement of the F in equilibrium E equilibrium towards cortisone in hyperthyroid subjects appears to account for their elevated urinary THE/THF ratios, but the normal F in equilibrium E set-point in hypothyroid subjects makes it necessary to invoke a different mechanism for their depressed THE/THF ratio; it is suggested that increased conversion of THE to cortoic acids may be the responsible factor.

Adult↗