Effects of marathon running on cardiac markers and endothelin-1 in EIH athletes.

The aim of the present study was to determine the changes in cardiac makers and endothelin-1 (ET-1) in marathoners with exercise induced hypertension compared to normotensive controls before and after running a marathon. Among a total of 70 volunteers, 10 marathoners with systolic blood pressure (SBP) greater than 210 mmHg during a treadmill exercise stress test were selected as an exercise-induced hypertension group (EIH) and 10 marathoners with normal SBP were selected as a control group (CON). Blood was collected from all volunteers 2 h before and immediately after a marathon: creatinine kinase (CK), CK-MB, cardiac tropoin-I (cTnI), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and endothelin-1(ET-1). Cardiac markers, CK, CK-MB, and CK-MB/CK ratio significantly increased in both EIH and CON; significance was not observed between the groups. Significant increases were not observed in high sensitive-C reactive protein (hs-CRP) after the race nor between the groups. Significant increases in cTnI and NT-proBNP were observed after the race in both groups. In addition, EIH showed greater increase than CON after the race. In conclusion, increased vascular tone in EIH during a marathon increased blood pressure and myocardial burden which in turn increased myocardial cell membrane permeability to further increase myocardial tension to the point of cTnI release.

5-HT2A receptor gene promoter polymorphism -1438A/G and bipolar disorder.

Genetic factors, such as the genes involved in the serotonin pathway, probably play an important role in the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder, and serotonin type 2A (5-HT2A) receptor gene promoter polymorphism -1438A/G has been reported. This study investigated the association between -1438A/G polymorphism of 5-HT2A receptor gene promoter and bipolar disorder in a Korean population. Using the polymerase chain reaction, -1438A/G polymorphism typed in 142 patients with bipolar disorder and in 148 normal control subjects. Differences in genotype distributions and allele frequencies of -1438A/G between patients with bipolar disorder and normal control subjects were tested for significance using the chi-squared test. There were significant differences in genotype distributions [chi2 = 9.697, degrees of freedom (df) = 2, P = 0.008] and allele frequencies (chi2 = 7.284, df = 1, P = 0.007) of -1438A/G between patients with bipolar disorder and normal control subjects. Although further studies are necessary, these results in a Korean population suggest that -1438A/G polymorphism of 5-HT2A receptor gene promoter may be causally related to the development of bipolar disorder.

Introduction of human immunodeficiency virus 2 infection into South Korea.

Although human immunodeficiency viruses 1 and 2 (HIV-1 and HIV-2) share mode of transmission, their epidemiologic characteristics differ and international spread of HIV-2 has been limited. To investigate the extent of HIV-2 infection in South Korea and to clarify the characteristic of HIV-2 isolates, we describe epidemiological, serological and genetic analyses of five HIV-2 isolates from South Korea. Five of 964 HIV antibody-positive serum specimens showed positive reactivity by HIV1/2 enzyme immunoassay (EIA), HIV-2 Western blot analysis, HIV-2 particle agglutination (PA) test and line immunoassay (LIA) but negative or indeterminate one by HIV-1 PA test and HIV-1 Western blot analysis. To confirm HIV-2 infection by genetic analysis, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed on five HIV-2 seropositive samples. PCR products from gag (197 bp) and env gene regions (137 bp) were obtained with three of the five samples with HIV-2 specific gag primers and with all the five samples with env primers. To obtain larger sequences for a more comprehensive phylogenetic analysis, we performed PCR for a 1191 bp env region of HIV-2 but only two such products were obtained. For the phylogenetic analysis, three 197 bp gag and two 1191 bp env PCR products were cloned and sequenced. Based on the gag and env sequences alignments, three isolates (KR4063, KR7051 and KR8091) were clustered phylogenetically within HIV-2 subtype A. In conclusion, HIV-2 virus is present in South Korea and was detected in five subjects. Furthermore, the prevalence of HIV-2 infection should be monitored continuously in South Korea to assess the spread of this virus and to assist in the diagnosis of HIV infection.

Phylogenetic analysis of the nef gene reveals a distinctive monophyletic clade in Korean HIV-1 cases.

To study the genetic variation of the HIV-1 strains prevalent in South Korea, we analyzed the nef sequences derived from 46 HIV-1-positive individuals living in various geographic regions in Korea. Phylogenetic analysis revealed four subtypes of HIV-1: A (3 patients), B (41 patients), D (1 patient), and a type that could not be clearly classified to any known subtype (1 patient). Thirty-five of the 41 Korean subtype B isolates formed a distinct monophyletic clade that is not related to any of the international sequences from the Los Alamos Database or GenBank as of June 1997. Indeed, the presence of unique conserved sequences was identified among the Korean isolates in this Korean subtype B group. The variations in the nucleotide sequences of a majority (32 of 35) subtype B samples within the Korean clade were 1.9% to 8.8%, and amino acid sequences varied from 3.9% to 15.5%. These results suggest that HIV-1 strains currently present in South Korea might have originated from a few sources or might be developing through a certain selective pressure. This is the first report on the molecular nature of the HIV-1 infection present in South Korea.

PIP: This study examines the genetic variation of the HIV-1 strains prevalent in South Korea. It analyzes the nef sequences derived from 46 HIV-1 positive individuals living in various geographic regions of Korea. Phylogenetic analysis revealed four subtypes of HIV-1: A (3 patients), B (41 patients), D (1 patient), and a type that could not be clearly classified as any known subtype (1 patient). About 35 of the 41 Korean subtype B isolates formed a distinct monophyletic clade that is not related to any of the international sequences from the Los Alamos Database or GenBank as of June 1997. Indeed, the presence of unique conserved sequences was identified among the Korean isolates in this Korean subtype B group. The variations in the nucleotide sequences of a majority (32 of 35) of the subtype B isolates within the Korean clade were 3.9% to 15.5%. These results suggest that HIV-1 strains present in South Korea might have originated from a few sources or might be developing through a certain selective pressure.

Study of the metabolism of phenothiazines: determination of N-demethylated phenothiazines in urine.

When phenothiazine drugs (chlorpromazine, promazine, promethazine, propiomazine, propionylpromazine, trifluoperazine and trimeprazine) were reacted with m-chloroperbenzoic acid, N-demethylated phenothiazines were obtained in moderate yield. The mass spectra of the N-demethylated phenothiazines showed either m/z 44 and 72 or m/z 58 as characteristic ions depending on their side chain. The N-demethylated propiomazine was identified as a metabolite of propiomazine from the urine of a rat which was given propiomazine orally.

Metabolism and pharmacokinetic studies of propionylpromazine in horses.

The propionylpromazine concentrations in plasma after intramuscular administration to horses were determined using gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection. After hydrolysis by beta-glucuronidase/arylsulphatase, the parent drug and three metabolites were detected in urine. The metabolites were identified as 2-(1-hydroxypropyl)promazine, 2-(1-propenyl)promazine and 7-hydroxypropionylpromazine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. No N-demethylated or sulphoxidated metabolites of propionylpromazine were observed in the horse urine.