Longer mean life span and life expectancy of diabetics and increased factors that favor onset of type II diabetes have determined greater prevalence of diabetes in the elderly population. According to HANES II, it is 17% in the elderly in U.S.A. We carried out an epidemiological study on the over 65 year olds in Militello V.C. and examined 910 elderly subjects (72.05% of the total elderly population). All were tested for peripheral fasting blood glucose, body weight and height and filled out a questionnaire with general and diabetological questions. The values recommended by the NDDG were used to diagnose diabetes. One hundred and sixty-one diabetics (25 newly diagnosed) were observed (17.69%). Onset had occurred before age 65 (aged diabetics) in 72 cases and after 65 in 89 (senile diabetics). Mean blood glucose was 152.91 +/- 55.56 mg/dl. Our results indicated that sulfonylureas and/or biguanides are first choice treatment. By grouping the diabetics on the basis of age at onset and duration of disease, a fall in the number of cases treated with diet alone and hypoglycemic drugs and an increase in patients on insulin were seen in aged diabetics as the disease evolves. On the contrary, there was a rise in the number of senile diabetics on hypoglycemic drugs.

Age Factors↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of the clotting defect in a factor XII-deficient kindred.

A family with factor XII severe congenital deficiency is described. Factor XII activity and factor XII antigen were both undetectable in the propositus plasma; levels of FXII:C and FXII:Ag were intermediate in heterozygotes. Plasma prekallikrein activity was low in the propositus, whereas normal levels of antigen could be found, suggesting a defect of kallikrein activation due to factor XII deficiency.

Blood Coagulation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A computer program for mathematical treatment of data in radioimmunoassay.

A mathematical analysis of counting data obtained in hormone plasmatic radioimmunoassay is presented. A log-normal Galton distribution of the dose-effect type is assumed for the fitting of the experimental data. The special adopted procedure makes it possible to reproduce the total range of the sigmoid curve and not only the rectilinear part of it. Experimental data with iterations and the proper weights of the iterated counting rates are automatically taken into account and the statistical errors of the standard curve and of the sample's dose evaluated from it are given by the code. A large number of analyses have been performed in order to test the affidability of the method and to explain the validity of the chemical-physical parameters of the calculated distribution. Some selected results are presented and a full description of the mathematical formalism is given.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Studies on the feedback activity of 5alpha-reduced metabolites of testosterone.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Androstanes↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Synergistic effect of testosterone and of a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist on androgen receptor content in the ventral prostate of castrated rats.

The aim of the present experiment was that of studying the effect of an LHRH agonist analog on the prostatic content of cytosol and nuclear salt-extractable and salt-resistant androgen receptors (AR). Castrated rats were treated for six days with the LHRH agonist WY 40972 (A), with testosterone enanthate (T) or with A plus T. Intact adult male rats and castrated rats treated with the vehicle served as controls. The animals were sacrificed 18 h after the last subcutaneous injection. The ventral prostates were quickly removed and submitted to subcellular fractionation for the determination of cytosol and nuclear AR content. In addition, the weights of the prostates and of the seminal vesicles were recorded, and serum levels of LH and FSH were evaluated by radioimmunoassay. The dissociation constants (Kd) of cytosol and nuclear AR, on the order of 1 x 10(-9) M, were not affected by the various treatments. Conversely, the combined treatment with T and A induced a significant increase of nuclear AR in the prostatic tissue, when compared to the levels found in castrated rats treated with T alone and in intact rats. The treatment with T was able to restore the reproductive organs to their normal weights. The treatment with A inhibited the hypersecretion of gonadotropins induced by castration. The results show that, under the conditions of the present experiment, A exhibits a synergistic effect with T on nuclear AR content in the rat ventral prostate. The results also suggest that A acts directly on this androgen-dependent structure.

Animals↗