Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Puukka

Publications and source records attributed to M Puukka.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

The effect of caffeine on placental and fetal blood flow in human pregnancy.

The effects of maternal ingestion of two cups of coffee were investigated in 20 pregnancies during the last trimester. Maternal serum caffeine and epinephrine concentrations after 30 minutes were significantly elevated as compared with the fasting values (p less than 0.01). The intervillous placental blood flow decreased almost significantly (p less than 0.05). The fetal umbilical vein blood flow was unchanged. In patients with hypertensive pregnancy in the series there was reduced intervillous blood flow initially, and these values did not change after the maternal caffeine intake. The decrease of placental blood supply and increased maternal serum epinephrine levels associated with maternal coffee ingestion may be potential perinatologic risks, and more investigation about caffeine effects in human pregnancy is needed.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1983

Exclusion of exogenous 5-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine from DNA in human leukemic cells. A study with [2(-14)C]- and [methyl-14C]5-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine.

Modification of DNA-cytosine by a 5-methyl group is thought to be an important mechanism which regulates the expression of eukaryotic genes. This modification takes place after semiconservative replication. There is very little evidence, if any, that 5MeCyt could be naturally incorporated into mammalian DNA in semiconservative replication. We have clarified the possibility of incorporating 5MedCyd pharmacologically into human leukemic cells in vitro. To this end, we developed a novel small-scale synthesis method for 14C-labeled 5MedCyd starting from commercially available [14C]dThd derivatives. Particular attention was focused upon possible incorporation of radioactive 5MedCyd derivatives into the acid-soluble cellular fraction as well as into nucleic acids and protein in human cells. The results showed that [2(-14)C]- and [methyl-14C]5MedCyd were incorporated into human leukemic cells to a similar extent. The radioactivity originating from these compounds was incorporated mainly into the acid-soluble pool and nucleic acids. The exact nature of the intracellular radioactive molecules in RNA is not known, but the radioactive label in DNA hydrolyzate co-chromatographed exclusively with thymine. Hence, 5MedCyd is deaminated to thymidine before incorporating into DNA. This deamination had taken place already (partially) in the culture medium. Human leukemic cells do effectively protect their DNA from incorporation of exogenous 5MedCyd.

5-Methylcytosine↗
PubMed1983

Erythrocyte insulin binding in normal infants, children and adults.

To establish normal insulin binding criteria, we studied the binding of insulin to erythrocytes from normal subjects of different ages. Insulin binding to cord erythrocytes and to erythrocytes from infants aged 2-7 days was significantly higher at tracer and physiological insulin concentrations than was binding to cells from children aged 1-15 years and adults. In infants aged 1-12 months the maximum insulin binding to erythrocytes was significantly higher than that to erythrocytes from children, and in addition, it correlated negatively with age. An increase in receptor concentration was found in cord erythrocytes whereas an increased receptor affinity for insulin was found in erythrocytes from infants. Insulin binding characteristics in erythrocytes from prepubertal and pubertal children were basically similar to those in women. Erythrocytes from men bound significantly higher amounts of insulin than did those from women. This difference was associated with changes in receptor affinity for insulin. There was no correlation between the insulin binding characteristics and the circulating concentration of insulin or C-peptide. The increased erythrocyte insulin binding at birth persisted over the neonatal period. There was an overall negative correlation between the maximum insulin binding and age in the subjects studied, but the major decrease in erythrocytes insulin binding occurred during the first year of life past the neonatal period. These observations stress the importance of using age-matched controls in studies on erythrocyte insulin binding in disease states.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Basal insulin secretion and erythrocyte insulin binding in preterm and term newborn infants.

To study the ontogeny of the insulin secretion and the erythrocyte insulin receptor we measured plasma immunoreactive insulin and C-peptide concentrations and the binding of [125I]-insulin to the erythrocytes in cord blood from 16 preterm and 16 term infants. 20 normal-weight adults were also studied. The C-peptide concentrations and the molar ratio of C-peptide to insulin were lower in the newborn infants than in the adults. The immunoreactive insulin correlated positively with birth weight in the term infants. The insulin binding to erythrocytes from the newborn infants was increased when compared to the adults. Erythrocytes from the preterm infants bound more insulin than the cells from the term infants. There was a strong negative correlation between insulin binding and gestational age. In the term infants, plasma C-peptide correlated negatively with the insulin binding. The increased binding to erythrocytes from the term infants was due to an increase in the receptor concentration. The high insulin binding in the preterm infants was a result of both an increased receptor concentration and affinity. These data suggest that the basal insulin secretion is similar in preterm and term infants and that the clearance of insulin is decreased in newborn infants. The increased insulin binding in newborn infants may be a mechanism by which the growth stimulatory effect of insulin in fetal life is mediated.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Propionic acidaemia. First case in the Finnish population.

Propionic acidaemia is a defect of propionyl-CoA-carboxylase activity characterized by urinary excretion of propionic acid, its metabolites and hyperglycinaemia. The clinical picture of this autosomally, recessively inherited disorder, which has been reported in the literature in 63 patients varies from overwhelming metabolic crisis in the neonate to an almost asymptomatic disease responding to protein restriction and biotin supplementation. The first Finnish patient with propionic acidaemia had a severe type of disease with neonatal onset simulating nonketotic hyperglycinaemia. In spite of protein restriction and biotin supplementation this infant developed progressive psychomotor retardation and died of intercurrent infection at the age of 8.5 months. The definite, correct diagnosis was not reached until a severe infection occurred, during which the pathognomonic organic aciduria manifested. This delay in the diagnosis illustrates the importance of performing the analysis of urinary excretion of organic acids during stress situations, such as infections, since the metabolic block may be undetectable under normal conditions.

Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors↗
PubMed1982

Erythrocyte adenosine deaminase, purine nucleoside phosphorylase and phosphoribosyltransferase activity in patients with Down's syndrome.

The erythrocyte adenosine deaminase, nucleoside phosphorylase, hypoxanthineguanine phosphoribosyltransferase and adenine phosphoribosyltransferase activities and plasma urate concentrations were measured in 20 cases of Down's syndrome and in 20 age- and sex-matched control subjects. The mean erythrocyte adenosine deaminase and adenine phosphoribosyltransferase activities and plasma urate concentrations were significantly higher in Down's syndrome subjects than in controls (p less than 0.001, p less than 0.01 and p less than 0.001, respectively). In all subjects studied there was a positive correlation between the erythrocyte adenosine deaminase activity and plasma urate concentration (r = 0.488, p less than 0.005). The concentrations of the erythrocyte adenine nucleotides, AMP, ADP and ATP, did not differ in Down's syndrome (n = 10) from those of control subjects (n = 10). The results suggest that the increase of plasma urate concentrations is a consequence of the increase in adenosine deaminase activity in Down's syndrome patients.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMed1982

Argininosuccinic aciduria in a Finnish woman presenting with psychosis and mental retardation.

Argininosuccinic aciduria (ASA-uria) is a rare inborn error of the urea cycle, in which there is massive excretion of argininosuccinic acid (ASA) in the urine together with elevated concentrations of ASA in the plasma and the CSF. The characteristic symptoms are either those of overwhelming metabolic disease in the newborn period, or variable psychomotor retardation. The present patient, the first Finnish one to be reported, was a 49-year-old woman. She was hospitalized at the age of 26 with a diagnosis schizophrenia and mental retardation. Her clinical symptoms consisted of ataxia, disturbance of coordination, clumsiness, intention treMor and a positive Romberg's sign. The laboratory findings were consistent with the mild, late-onset type of ASA-uria.

Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors↗
PubMed1981

Elevated erythrocyte adenosine deaminase activity in Down's syndrome.

Erythrocyte ADA activity was measured in 29 cases of Down's syndrome and in 29 age- and sex-matched controls subjects. The mean activity (+/- S.D.) of ADA in Down's syndrome was 1883 +/- 463 mU/g Hb (37 degrees C) and 1361 +/- 294 mU/g Hb in the controls. The difference was statistically significant (p less than 0.001). The purine metabolism of Down's syndrome patients is discussed.

Adenosine Deaminase↗
PubMed1980

A rapid and simple gas-liquid chromatographic determination of valproic acid (alpha-propyl-valeric acid) in serum.

A simple and rapid gas-liquid chromatographic method for the determination of valproic acid in serum is described. Valproic acid is extracted from acidified serum into chloroform and analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography using an FFAP column. The sensitivity of the method is 5 mumol/l and the within-run and day-to-day precisions (CV) are 4.5% or better. Analytical recovery is estimated to exceed 98% and no interference from other drugs or constituents of serum has been observed. The method was used to study the half-life of valproic acid in five healthy persons receiving a single oral dose of the drug, and the technique is well adapted to the routine monitoring of epileptic patients. In routine analysis, the determination of 50 serum samples may be performed by one technician during a normal working day.

Epilepsy↗
PubMed1979

Effect of dexamethasone on prolactin secretion in late pregnancy.

It is established that PRL secretion is regulated by estrogens. Glucocorticoids, on the other hand, suppress estrogen secretion during pregnancy and may also inhibit PRL by direct hypothalamopituitary action. In this study PRL and estradiol were determined with specific radioimmunoassays in 14 women during gestational weeks 28 to 34 prior to, during, and following short-term intramuscular dexamethasone administration (12, 8, and 4 mg on three consecutive days) used for prophylaxis of RDS in preterm infants. There were no significant alterations in PRL serum concentrations; estradiol showed a significant drop (P less than 0.001) during all 3 days of treatment, returning to the pretreatment level on posttreatment day 1. The PRL and TSH responses to 200 micrograms of intravenous TRH on day 2 or 3 of dexamethasone treatment in six women during late pregnancy were not inhibited. Short-term dexamethasone treatment with pharmacologic doses does not suppress the physiologic secretion and release of PRL or the release induced by TRH during late pregnancy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Prolactin response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone in normal and complicated late pregnancies.

Maternal serum prolactin level (PRL) was determined with radioimmunoassay in normal and complicated late pregnancy. The mean basal PRL levels were not statistically different among normal (179.3 ng/ml), preeclamptic (169.7 ng/ml), hypertensive (171.4 ng/ml), twin (194.8 ng/ml), or diabetic pregnancies (134.4 ng/ml), although 3 of 17 diabetic women had abnormally low PRL levels. The PRL response to 200 micrograms of intravenously administered thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) was investigated and found similar in normal, preeclamptic, hypertensive, and twin pregnancies. There was no response to TRH in 2 of 3 diabetics with a low basal PRL level. One of these diabetic patients experienced an unexplained intrauterine death 4 weeks later; the others delivered term infants, 1 of whom died of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). These preliminary results suggest that low basal PRL levels and unresponsiveness to TRH may be related to a poor fetal or neonatal prognosis in diabetic pregnancies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Neurologic activity of infants following anesthesia for cesarean section.

Elective cesarean section was performed in a consecutive series of 30 patients with full-term pregnancies who were not in labor. Epidural (lidocaine, 1.5 per cent, with epinephrine, 1:200,000) and general anesthesia (thiopental, nitrous oxide-oxygen, succinylcholine infusion) was used alternately. Neonatal acid-base values and Apgar scores showed no significant difference between the two anesthetic groups, and most infants were vigorous at birth. The neurologic recoveries of the infants showed no significant difference between the two groups. In the group receiving epidural anesthesia, there was a significant correlation between maternal hypotension and weak rooting and sucking reflexes of the infants during the first two days. All infants of high-risk obstetric patients in the series, independent of anesthetic technique used, had abnormal neurologic activity, as evidenced by either depression of muscle tone and the reflexes or all the tested variables. Neurologic assessment as followed in this series is a sensitive indicator of the effects of fetal stress factors acting during cesarean section.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Enzymatic determination of triglycerides with a system Olli 3000 analyser.

We describe a totally enzymatic method for determining serum triglycerides adapted for a System Olli 3000 analyser. In this procedure triglycerides are determined by measuring free glycerol enzymatically after hydrolysis of a sample with lipase and esterase. The method utilizes two standards for calibration, includes a blank correction and requires 20 microliter of serum. Forty serum samples can be analysed in about 30 min. The procedure is linear up to a concentration of 8 mmol/l of triglycerides. The precision and sensitivity of the method are good. A comparison of this method with another enzymatic method gave the correlation coefficient 0.988 and the regression line y = 1.02x + 0.02 (n = 95).

Autoanalysis↗
PubMed1978

Effect of oral thyrotropin releasing hormone on serum prolactin, thyrotropin and total thyroxine levels in postpartum women.

A study was designed to investigate the effects of oral administration of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) on prolactin levels and on thyroid function during the early puerperium. Eight lactating mothers took a single dose of oral TRH (40 mg) while eight other volunteers had a placebo treatment. Serial serum samples taken before and after treatment were assayed for prolactin, thyrotropin (TSH) and total thyroxine (T4) by using specific radioimmunoassays. There was approximately twofold increase in prolactin level at 30--210 min, about sevenfold increase in the TSH level at 210 min, and a marked increasing trend in the T4 level during the study period only in the treatment group. Six mothers treated with TRH and two treated with placebo regarded milk secretion more abundant in post-test than pre-test feeding. However, before TRH could be extensively tested on mothers with deficient lactation a thorough study of the effects of oral TRH on thyroid function in the puerperium is mandatory.

Female↗
PubMed1977

Serum FSH, LH and prolactin in normal males and patients with prostatic diseases.

Serum FSH, LH and prolactin were measured in fifty-eight normal males between 30 and 80 years of age. At the same time similar estimations were performed on samples taken from 232 patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and twenty-six patients with prostatic carcinoma. The three groups were compared with respect to age, and it was observed that significant rises related to age occurred in the serum levels of FSH, LH and prolactin in normal men after the sixth decade. The patient groups did not differ significantly from each other, or from the normal age-matched population in respect to prolactin and FSH levels. Serum LH in both the carcinoma and BPH patient groups, however, differed significantly from the controls, and remained at the level associated with younger normal males. It is suggested that testosterone metabolites from the prostate exert a negative feedback on pituitary LH secretion.

Adult↗