Serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with abnormal coronary arteries.

Previous studies showing the inverse relationship between high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and coronary artery disease were based on myocardial infarction survivors and presumably normal subjects. To determine whether a similar relationship exists between patients with abnormal coronary arteries (ACA) and those with normal coronary arteries (NCA), the serum HDL-C and other lipoproteins of these patients and those of a group of presumably healthy control subjects (CTL) were determined. The ACA males had lower HDL-C and % HDL-C but higher TG, VLDL-TG, LDL-C/HDL-C and VLDL-C/HDL-C than the NCA and CTL males. They also had higher VLDL-C and % VLDL-C than the CTL males. Adjustment of HDL-C for serum TG eliminated the difference in HDL-C between the ACA and NCA groups but that between ACA and CTL groups remained. The ACA females had lower % HDL-C than the NCA and CTL females. They also had lower HDL-C but higher LDL-C/HDL-C and VLDL-C/HDL-C than the CTL females. The NCA and CTL groups did not differ in any of the lipid variables, although the NCA group values were intermediate to those of the ACA and CTL groups. Using various lipoprotein profiles, it was possible to classify the patients into the 3 groups.

A case of Lennert's lymphoma.

A 73-year-old man who presented with a tonsillar mass and generalised lymphadenopathy died two months after admission to hospital. The appearances in the surgical biopsy material resembled those of Lennert's lymphoma, while the necropsy findings were those of a diffuse lymphocytic lymphoma composed mainly of cells with small nuclei showing only slight irregularity. The implication of these findings in relation to the nature of Lennert's lymphoma are briefly discussed.

Urinary metabolites of some alicyclic nitrosamines.

We have studied the urinary metabolites of N-nitrosopiperidine, 3- and 4-hydroxy-N-nitrosopiperidine, N-nitroso-4-piperidone, N-nitrosohexamethyleneimine and N-nitroso-heptamethyleneimine. The N-nitrosopiperidines induce primarily oesophageal tumours in rats; N-nitrosohexamethyleneimine induces oesophageal and liver tumours and N-nitrosoheptamethyleneimine induces oesophageal and lung tumours. The products were identified by gas chromatographic comparison with standards, where possible, and by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The percentage of the dose excreted as metabolites in the urine increased with ring size. Hydroxy and ketone derivatives of all three of the N-nitrosoalicyclic amines were found. Pimelic acid was the major metabolite (congruent to 25%) of N-nitrosoheptamethyleneimine; adipic acid was identified as a metabolite of N-nitrosohexamethyleneimine, but not glutaric acid was found from N-nitrosopiperidine.

Spermatogenesis in an infertile XYY man.

Testicular histology and meiosis has been studied in an XYY male patient identified at an infertility clinic. This man was found to have an XYY set chromosome complement in 15% of spermatogonial metaphases. There was no evidence of 2 Y chromosomes at diakinesis but there appeared to be a slight excess of sperm with a fluorescent Y body.

A cytogenetic survey of men being investigated for subfertility.

A study of 336 men attending a subfertility clinic but otherwise unselected, and a further 12 men studied as a part of the investigation of the female partner, revealed 10 with major chromosome anomaly and 3 with unambiguous chromosomal variants. In addition to those with sex chromosome aneuploidy, an extra, small marker chromosome and D/D Robertsonian translocations, anomalies which have been reported in other studies, there were 7 men with rearrangements, including a paracentric inversion of chromosome 7 and an X/21 reciprocal translocation. These would have been difficult or impossible to identify without good banded preparations, suggesting that such rearrangement may be more frequent in association with subfertility than was appreciated.