Identification of human urinary stains by the quotient uric acid/urea nitrogen.

Uric acid (UA) and urea nitrogen (UN) were determined in urinary stains and the UA/UN x 20 values were calculated. The values in human urinary stains were 1.11-4.21, while those in other mammals except some of chimpanzees, were under 0.7, and those in fecal stains of birds were over 80. Most of the stains of other human body fluids or plant juices tested contained neither UA nor UN, and some contained one, but never the other. Ascorbic acid (AS) of up to 100 mg/dl in urine did not interfere with UA determination when dried human urinary stains were analyzed. It was also found that the contents of UA were very low at the peripheral parts of urinary stains. The present results indicate that the quotient UA/UN is useful for identification of human urinary stains in forensic practice provided that the peripheral part of the stain is not used.

[Psoriasis. Sodium, potassium, chloride--analysis in sweat, saliva and urine--selective ultraviolet phototherapy]. / Psoriasis. Natrium, Kalium, Chloride--Analysen im Schweiss, Speichel und Urin--Selektive Ultraviolett Phototherapie (SUP).

It has been recognised that the sweat (extracellular area) excreted from those affected with psoriasis contains twice the amount of sodium and four times the amount of potassium in comparison to those not affected with psoriasis. According to Saalmann, after HUV therapy (SUP) there is a significant reduction of the saliva sodium content (intercellular area) not only with psoriasis patients, but with all other patients receiving radiation therapy as well. This result has never before been described in the literature. Therefore, on the one hand, completely new aspects of psoriasis and therapy can be recognized, and on the other hand, of the effects of SUP.

The case of the black-speckled dolls: an occupational hazard of unusual sulphur metabolism.

A patient who made reproduction antique china dolls complained that wherever she touched the dolls' heads when painting them, black speckles appeared after the subsequent firing. Investigation by means of mass spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence showed that the clay was rich in iron, that the patient's sweat contained volatile sulphides whenever she ate garlic, and that the speckles consisted of iron and sulphur. The patient was shown to be a poor sulphoxidiser and was therefore unlikely to be able to excrete sulphur-containing breakdown products of garlic in her urine. The speckling phenomenon, which is not uncommon in 19th-century china dolls, is an example of an occupational hazard where the risk is to the product rather than the patient.

Iron losses in sweat.

The losses of iron in whole body cell-free sweat were determined in eleven healthy men. A new experimental design was used with a very careful cleaning procedure of the skin and repeated consecutive sampling periods of sweat in a sauna. The purpose was to achieve a steady state of sweat iron losses with minimal influence from iron originating from desquamated cells and iron contaminating the skin. A steady state was reached in the third sauna period (second sweat sampling period). Iron loss was directly related to the volume of sweat lost and amounted to 22.5 micrograms iron/l sweat. The findings indicate that iron is a physiological constituent of sweat and derived not only from contamination. Present results imply that variations in the amount of sweat lost will have only a marginal effect on the variation in total body iron losses.

Effects of oral zinc supplementation on serum, hair and sweat zinc levels in 7 subjects.

Preliminary evidence is presented on the basis of pre- and post- zinc supplementation zinc studies of seven patients, that suggests that sweat zinc measurements may be a useful adjunct in the clinical assessment of zinc status and may be a more sensitive index than either serum or hair zinc levels.

Nutrition and sports performance.

During the past 20 years there have been great developments in the scientific understanding of the role of nutrition in health and physical performance. Epidemiological and physiological studies have provided evidence that certain forms of dietary behaviour may be linked with an increased risk of developing disorders such as high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and some cancers. This has resulted in dietary recommendations that are intended to reduce the incidence of these disorders in the community. The science of nutrition in relation to sports performance has progressed from empirical studies investigating the effects of dietary manipulations, such as restriction and supplementation, to the direct investigation of the physiological basis of the specific nutritional demands of hard physical exercise. This review is based on the premise that it is "what comes out' rather than "what goes in', which provides the clues to ideal nutrition for athletic performance. Various aspects of the physical demands of athletic exercise are viewed as stresses that induce specific biochemical, and hence nutritional, strains in the athlete. Training is the predominant demand in the athletic lifestyle. This is characterised by acute bouts of high power output. During one hour of hard training an athlete may expend 30% of his or her total 24-hour energy output. These high power outputs have important implications for energy substrate and water requirements. Carbohydrate, specifically muscle glycogen, is an obligatory fuel for the high power outputs demanded by athletic sports. Muscle glycogen is a limiting factor in hard exercise because it is held in limited amounts, utilised rapidly by intense exercise, and fatigue occurs when it is depleted to low levels in the active muscles. Liver glycogen may also be exhausted by hard exercise and low blood glucose contributes to fatigue. High sweat rates are demanded during severe exercise and large water deficits commensurate with energy expenditure are incurred during extended periods of hard training and competition. Salt, potassium, and magnesium are lost in nutritionally significant amounts in the sweat, but vitamins and trace elements are not. Adaptive mechanisms protect athletes against electrolyte depletion. Iron loss in sweat may contribute to the iron deficiency seen in some endurance runners. Protein is degraded and amino acids are oxidised during physical exercise. Protein is also retained during muscle building training. Recent investigations indicate that the minimal protein requirements of athletes may be substantially higher than those for sedentary persons.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Sweating and its disorders.

Eccrine sweat is produced by millions of miniscule glands buried in the skin. Eccrine sweating from the general body surface is an extremely important function in human thermoregulation; disturbances either in the control of sweating activity or in the glands themselves can result in problems ranging from minor social embarrassment to fatal hyperpyrexia. A general review of the function and control of normal sweating precedes an overview of sweating abnormalities.

Sweat composition in exercise and in heat.

Sweat samples were collected from the forearms of eight male volunteers using light gauze pads applied for 20-min periods. Preliminary trials indicated that this technique yielded realistic figures for both sweat volume and sweat composition. Tests were conducted under three conditions: a) outdoor exercise, cool environment; b) indoor exercise, normal room temperatures; and c) sauna exposure. In all environments, proximal forearm samples indicated a larger sweat secretion than distal forearm or hand samples. [Mg2+] decreased as sweat flow increased, but after allowance for interindividual differences of sweat volume, [Na+], [K+], [Ca2+], and [Cl-] were independent of sweat flow rates. The differential effect of sweat flow suggests active regulation rather than contamination. Interindividual differences of sweat composition could not be explained in terms of differences in personal fitness. Sauna bathing yielded sweat with a higher [Mg2+] and [Ca2+] content than did exercise; however, [Na+], [K+], and [Cl-] were similar for the three experimental conditions. Again, the data are best explained in terms of an active regulation of sweat composition. Total ionic losses do not seem sufficient to deplete body mineral reserves unless many days of training are undertaken in a hot climate.

Negative effects of oral fatty acid supplementation on sweat chloride in cystic fibrosis.

Essential fatty acid supplementation with oral safflower oil (1 gm/kg/day) to 11 cystic fibrosis patients (aged 6 months to 14 years) for one year produced no significant change in sweat chloride concentration (mEq/liter) or sweat rate (gm/min/m2), Addition of vitamin E (10 mg/kg/day) to the safflower oil had no effect on sweat chloride concentration or rate compared to placebo. No clinical improvement could be detected compared to a control group. These results do not support previous reports of the effects of fatty acid supplementation on sweat electrolyte concentrations in cystic fibrosis.

Effect of water and electrolyte replacement during exercise in the heat on biochemical indices of stress and performance.

Eight healthy young men exercised on alternate days in a warm, humid environment (32 degrees C, 65% RH) at 50% VO2 max for 2 h while receiving a water supplement (WS), glucose-electrolyte solution (ES), or no fluid supplement (NS). The average weight loss after 2 h of exercise and NS was 2.44 kg with a resultant plasma volume decrease of 17%. This acute period of exercise with no fluid replacement elicited significant increments in serum levels of cortisol, dopamine-B-hydroxylase and uric acid. Alternatively, exercise in the heat for the same duration with water or electrolyte supplement failed to effect significant alterations in any of these physical or biochemical factors compared to preexercise levels. Heart rates under the influence of heat stress and exercise with NS averaged 18% higher at each time period studied compared with WS or ES.

[Isovaleric acidemia. Study and treatment in 3 brothers]. / Acidémie isovalérique. Etude et traitement chez trois freres

The cases of 3 sibs presenting with isovaleric acidemia are reported. The first infant died when he was 9 day-old. The two others appear to have benefited from a controlled leucine diet which was introduced from the first days on of life. The clinical symptomatology, highly typical of the disease, is described. Diagnosis was not assessed on amino-acids chromatography but on the chromatography of volatile fatty acids. The mode of treatment is described: peritoneal dialysis, with the object of rounding a crucial cape, and overall controlled leucine diet, but supplemented by essential amino-acids.

["Drinking the waters" as a therapeutic exercise in the ionic range]. / Trinkkuren als Ubungstherapie im Bereich der lonen

While "drinking the waters" (198 spa patients), longitudinal section inograms were made - Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, P and pH in serum, urine, saliva and perspiration were determined simultaneously and also the acid-base balance conditions in the blood by Astrup's method--and investigated from the point of view of the electrolyte metabolism. Carbonic acid absorbed from the intestine exerts a powerful action, triggering compensatory processes against acidification and leading to an increase in calcium and/or magnesium in the serum. Further, various changes in the ion concentrations, according to the mineral water, can sometimes be traced to an increase in the anion column and sometimes to hormonal effects (suprarenal cortex and medulla). They persist for several weeks after the course of treatment.