Harmful effects may be inflicted upon cancer cells in vivo by a variety of means, for example, by the administration of bacterial endotoxins or alkylating agents, and by radiation treatment. These different procedures appear to act on tumours indirectly, and are also capable of inducing shock. The suggestion is made that the deleterious actions on cancer cells are mediated by the tissues of the host, and involve raising the levels of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) in the plasma. Fatty acids may restrict the availability of chemical energy within cancer cells in at least two ways, either by modulating the activity of the mitochondrial adenine nucleotide translocase through the agency of their coenzyme A derivatives (LCFACoAs), or by uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation through the activation of phospholipase A2. The effectiveness of fatty acids in the former respect is theoretically and qualitatively examined on the basis of the affinity constants for LCFACoAs of the translocase and of certain enzymes concerned with beta-oxidation. The development of a new form of cancer chemotherapy by selectively harnessing and stimulating the lipotropic response of the host to a tumour is discussed in terms of the administration of fatty acids which possess specific properties while as the same time raising plasma NEFA concentrations and maintaining them at an elevated level.

Coenzyme A↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The selective induction of cellular damage within neoplasia in situ; a putative role for sympathomimetic agents.

Cancerous cells can be selectively injured within a host by various means. The effects generally appear to be manifested indirectly, and are consistent with the concept that uptake from the plasma of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) by malignant tissue leads to an increase in uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation. Certain lipolytic agents are already known to cause selective damage to cancerous growths in situ. The employment of appropriate sympathomimetic agents to accentuate the nocturnal rise in plasma NEFA concentrations may permit the management and control of a variety of human neoplasia.

Fatty Acids, Nonesterified↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Justification of pulse oximeter costs for paramedic prehospital providers.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the potential cost savings of decreasing prehospital oxygen utilization by using pulse oximetry to identify those patients who do not require supplemental oxygen. METHODS: A prospective, controlled trial was performed comparing rates of oxygen utilization by paramedics with and without access to pulse oximetry. Consecutive patient encounters over a ten-week period were randomized by day of presentation. Pulse oximeters were made available on alternate days. On those days, patients whose oxygen saturations were less than 95% were treated with supplemental oxygen. RESULTS: The use of pulse oximeters incurred a saving of 0.14 "D"-size oxygen cylinders per call. For the authors' service, this translates to a potential saving of $2,324 (C)/vehicle/year. CONCLUSION: For regions with patient demographics similar to the authors', the initial cost of providing paramedics with pulse oximeters may be offset by savings in oxygen consumption. A formula is provided to allow individual ambulance services to calculate the potential savings for their service.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Site dependence of drug concentrations in postmortem blood--a case study.

A 25-year-old female died from a suicidal overdose of imipramine, acetaminophen, codeine, diphenhydramine, and ethanol. Blood samples from ten segregated arterial and venous sites, twenty-four tissue samples, cerebrospinal fluid, vitreous humor, and bile were analyzed. Imipramine and desipramine, which were highly concentrated in the liver and lungs, each showed marked site dependent differences in blood concentrations. The highest concentrations were in pulmonary venous blood and the lowest in peripheral venous blood. Imipramine concentrations in the ten blood samples differed by as much as 760% (range 2.1 to 16.0 mg/L). Blood desipramine concentrations ranged from 1.4 to 10.6 mg/L. In contrast, blood concentrations of acetaminophen differed by less than 20% (55 to 65 mg/L) and blood ethanol concentrations ranged from 151 to 175 mg/100 mL. Blood concentrations of diphenhydramine ranged from 0.34 to 2.07 mg/L and codeine from 0.33 to 0.89 mg/L. The data illustrates that a marked site dependent variability in postmortem blood concentrations exists for some drugs but not others.

Acetaminophen↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Forensic toxicology laboratory guidelines.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Chemistry Techniques, Analytical↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in Asian children.

A survey was conducted in 1984-85, within Leicester City boundaries, which contains 64,535 children below the age of 15 years (20,267 Asian and 44,268 White Caucasian) to ascertain the prevalence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) using a central register maintained for the changeover to U-100 insulin, diabetic health visitor index cards, hospital admissions of diabetic children, and individual registers maintained by us. Overall prevalence per thousand for children aged 0-15 years was 0.54 for Asian and 0.99 for White Caucasians; for ages 10-15 years they were 0.97 and 1.87, and for ages 0-9 years, 0.31 and 0.38, respectively. This was not statistically different at the 5% level. Ours is the first population based study of its kind in Asian children, and challenges the view that there is a large difference in the prevalence of IDDM between Asians and White Caucasians. A wider analysis of this observation incorporating a large population base is suggested.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Variations in dehydrogenase and neotetrazolium reductase (diaphorase) activities in various buffers studied quantitatively in frozen sections.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of dietary bran on serum lipids in patients with previous myocardial infarction, with gallstones, and in normal subjects.

Sixteen subjects received between 50 g to 121 g of wheat bran in their diet for between 6 to 26 weeks. Five were normal subjects, 5 had gallstones, and 6 young men had suffered a previous myocardial infarction. The serum cholesterol did not show any consistent change in the normal subjects, but there was a fall in cholesterol at 20 weeks in patients with gallstones; patients with previous myocardial infarction had a rise in cholesterol which returned to normal at 20 weeks. There was no significant change in the serum triglyceride.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical presentation and management of acute 2,4-D oral ingestion.

2,4-D, an extensively used herbicide, was intentionally ingested by a 61-year-old woman. An initial serum 2,4-D concentration of 392 mg/L was measured. The prominent clinical feature was marked central nervous system depression; primary laboratory abnormalities were extreme elevation of creatine kinase activity, and transitory elevation of AST and lactate dehydrogenase enzyme activities. Alkaline diuresis was initiated early and decreased the half-life of the drug from an initial 39.5 to 2.7h. It is concluded that alkaline diuresis to produce urine pH in the range of 7.5 to 8.5 should be considered in the management of an overdose patient with central nervous system depression and a history of 2,4-D ingestion.

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid↗