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Biomedical subjects

J Blumenfeld

Publications and source records attributed to J Blumenfeld.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Effect of high-performance liquid chromatography on plasma angiotensin II measurements in treated and untreated normotensive and hypertensive patients.

BACKGROUND: Angiotensin II (Ang II) levels are normally very low in human plasma, approximately 5 pg/ml. They are usually measured by radioimmunoassay after extraction and concentration. An additional high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) step is reportedly necessary for accurate measurement but it is laborious and time-consuming, severely limiting the number of samples that can be assayed. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the HPLC step was necessary for measuring Ang II in human plasma samples in our laboratory using our own Ang II antiserum. DESIGN: Human plasma Ang II levels, measured with and without the HPLC step, were compared in two different studies. Since the action of renin is the rate-limiting step in the production of Ang II in plasma, the relationships of plasma renin activity (PRA) to Ang II levels measured with and without HPLC were also evaluated. In the first study, 108 blood samples were collected from 29 hypertensive patients during placebo or treatment with the Ang II antagonist BMS-186295. In the second study blood samples were collected from 12 normal subjects before and during beta-adrenergic blockade. RESULTS: In samples collected during angiotensin II antagonism, which predictably increased plasma Ang II levels, a highly significant relationship between the Ang II measurements with and without HPLC was found (y = 0.99x + 1.7; r = 0.97, P < 0.001). The y intercept of 1.7 pg/ml suggested that the nonspecific immunoreactivity was close to 2 pg/ml in samples assayed without the HPLC step. During beta-adrenergic blockade, which predictably suppressed plasma renin levels, highly significantly linear relationships between HPLC and non-HPLC Ang II measurements (y = 1.3x + 1.6; r = 0.93. P < 0.001, n = 16) and between non HPLC Ang II and PRA (y = 1.9x + 1.7; r = 0.73, P < 0.001, n = 108) were again found. The relationship between PRA and HPLC Ang II was also highly significant (y = 1.4x + 0.04; r = 0.92, P < 0.001, n = 16), but the y intercept was significantly lower (P < 0.001), approaching zero, indicating the removal of nonspecific immunoreactivity during the HPLC step. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate once more that, when using polyclonal antibody 182, the accuracy of the Ang II measurement in human plasma is improved by the inclusion of a HPLC step, especially for samples with Ang II levels in the normal-to-low range. They also show that plasma Ang II and PRA increase or decrease proportionally during treatment with Ang II antagonists or beta-adrenergic blockade, respectively.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1993

Solution- and solid-state structures of N-desmethylnefopam hydrochloride, a metabolite of the analgesic drug.

The solid-state structure of (+/-)-N-desmethylnefopam hydrochloride (1), a metabolite of the analgesic drug, was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Compound 1 gave crystalline prisms belonging to the orthorhombic Pcab space group, and at ambient temperature (293 K), a = 9.939(2), b = 14.479(1), c = 20.148(3) A, V = 2899.5(8) A3, Z = 8, R(F) = 0.045, and Rw(F) = 0.025. The benzoxazocine ring of crystalline 1 is twisted into the boat-flattened (chair) [BfC] conformation, the phenyl ring resides in a relatively sterically unhindered exo-type ring position, whereas the O atom and NCH2Ar occupy sterically hindered positions between "boat" and "chair" regions. Dissolution of BfC crystalline 1 in CD2Cl2 solvent affords a dynamic conformational equilibrium (involving the putative twist-chair-flattened (chair) conformer) as shown by line broadening and weighted time-averaged vicinal coupling constants [-OCH2CH2N- segment] in the 1H NMR spectrum. The solution-state weighted time-averaged 50(1) degrees O-CH2-CH2-N dihedral angle, calculated by the R-ratio method, shows that the BfC conformation is the major contributor to time-averaged structure.

Analgesics↗
PubMed1993

Solid-state stereochemistry and activity of 3-methylnefopam diastereomers: manipulation of eight-membered ring conformations in analogues of the non-narcotic analgesic drug.

The solid-state structures of (+/-)-(1R,3S,5S)/(1S,3R,5R)- and (+)/(-)-(1R,3R,5R)/(1S,3S,5S)-3-methylnefopam hydrochloride, epimeric 3-methyl derivatives of the non-narcotic analgesic drug, were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. (+/-)-(1R,3S,5S)/(1S,3R,5S)-3-Methylnefopam hydrochloride gave crystals belonging to the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c, and at ambient temperature, a = 7.993(2), b = 34.376(4), c = 11.785(2) A, beta = 93.06 degrees, V = 3234(2) A3, Z = 8, R(F = 0.070, and Rw(F) = 0.053. (+)/(-)-(1R,3R,5R)/(1S,3S,5S)-3-Methylnefopam hydrochloride gave chiral crystals belonging to the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), and at 92 K, a = 9.261(2), b = 10.280(2), c = 16.668(4) A, V = 1587(1) A3, Z = 4, R(F) = 0.034, and Rw(F) = 0.035. The two molecules in the asymmetric unit of the (1R,3S,5S)/(1S,3R,5R)-racemic modification had twist-chair-(flattened chair) [TCfC] conformational geometries for the eight-membered ring. Both molecules are virtually identical as shown by a root mean squares fit of 0.077 A in the superimposition of all nonhydrogen atoms in both molecules. The (+)/(-)-(1R,3R,5R)/(1S,3S,5S)-epimers were found in the same boat-(flattened chair) [BfC] conformation previously noted for crystalline nefopam hydrochloride. The TCfC and BfC eight-membered ring conformations of the two 3-methylnefopam diastereomers differ in the -N+H(CH3)CH2CH-fragment chair or boat arrangement vis-a-vis the adjacent flattened region. In both 3-methyl diastereomers, the C(3)-methyl group was disposed in an equatorial orientation, the phenyl group resided in an exo-position, and the -OCH(Ph)-o-C6H4- fragment occupied the flattened region of the eight-membered ring.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Analgesics↗
PubMed1993

Hypertension and a tumor of the glomus jugulare region. Evidence for epinephrine biosynthesis.

Glomus jugulare tumors have been reported to secrete norepinephrine and cause severe hypertension with features similar to pheochromocytoma. In contrast, epinephrine secretion has not been observed in these neoplasms. This has been attributed to the absence of the norepinephrine-methylating enzyme, phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PNMT), required for epinephrine synthesis. We report a patient with severe hypertension caused by a glomus tumor that secreted norepinephrine and epinephrine. Following selective venous sampling, catecholamines were quantified by radioenzymatic assay. Marked elevations in norepinephrine and epinephrine release were localized to the glomus tumor. The enzymes involved in catecholamine biosynthesis, including PNMT and tyrosine hydroxylase, were identified immunocytochemically in the tumor. The glomus tumor had staining patterns identical to those observed within normal rat glomus cell. Hypertension resolved with resection of the functioning tumor. This is the first report of PNMT in a functioning paraganglioma of the glomus jugulare region. The factors that determine why functional activity is expressed only rarely by paraganglioma remain undefined.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Experimental acute hypothermia and intestinal cellular integrity.

Shaven and unshaven rats were exposed to a cold stress at 4 degrees C for 6 hr (SE and UE). Control animals remained at room temperature (SC and UC). Hypothermia was induced in group SE, with mean rectal temperature of 22.0 +/- 2.0 degrees C (+/- S.E.M.). All other groups were normothermic, had similar arterial pO2 and hepatic tryptophan oxygenase levels. Acute hypothermia induced a sloughing of cells from the villi into the lumen of the gut, as indicated by an increased DNA in luminal washings. However, there was an unimpaired 3H-thymidine incorporation into the DNA of the intestinal mucosal cells and those present in lumina washes. Intestinal disaccharidases and alkaline phosphatase were not altered. This suggests that more severe cellular alterations reported earlier in hypothermia may have been caused by associated factors other than a decreased body temperature.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗