The short metyrapone test in chronic headache patients.

The short, overnight, metyrapone test with plasma ACTH and beta-endorphin (beta-EP) determination has been performed in patients with migraine, other forms of headache, and healthy volunteers. A rise in plasma ACTH and beta-EP after metyrapone occurred in all investigated subjects. The rate of increase varied greatly from one individual to the other, but no significant differences between the mean values of plasma ACTH and beta-EP in different groups of headache patients and volunteers were observed. Three months of nadolol therapy in migraine patients caused a significant increase in plasma ACTH and decrease in beta-EP concentrations. Findings support the view that migraine patients do not have a primary dysfunction of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis as demonstrated by methods currently in use.

The prognostic value of prostate-specific antigen and prostatic acid phosphatase in serum of patients with prostate cancer after orchidectomy.

Correlations between the serum levels of PAP and PSA before and 1, 3 and 6 months after orchidectomy in 27 prostatic cancer patients (advanced clinical stages C and D according to Whitemore scale) were studied. The PSA values correlated more distinctly than PAP with the general clinical condition. PSA is a reliable tumour marker when used at regular intervals, especially for monitoring therapeutic results. A high preoperative PSA level correlates with a high postoperative level and progression of the disease.

Acupuncture-induced changes in human plasma insulin level.

Changes of immunoreactive insulin, glucose, and electrolytes in serum were studied in two experimental sessions, each using ten healthy volunteers, who were subjected to two different kinds of acupuncture stimulation. Immediately after acupuncture, independent of the stimulation technique used, a significant short-term decrease in insulin concentration was observed. This effect provides indirect evidence that acupuncture induces alpha-adrenergic system activity and may suggest that this system is responsible in part for acupuncture-analgesia.

Plasma immunoreactive beta-endorphin and enkephalin concentration in healthy subjects before and after electroacupuncture.

The involvement of the endogenous analgesia systems in the mechanism of analgesia produced by electrical stimulation of the brain or resulting from certain stressful manipulations seems now well-established. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether acupuncture as a method of peripheral sensory stimulation activates, like central stimulation, the endogenous opiate system. Plasma concentrations of ACTH and the best known endogenous opiates: beta-endorphin, met- and leu-enkephalin, were determined before and after standard electroacupuncture stimulation in healthy volunteers. Acupuncture stimulation resulted in a significant (p less than 0.005) decrease of plasma beta-endorphin-like immuno-reactivity (B-EPLI), but plasma ACTH assayed did not change about 5 minutes after acupuncture. The authors conclude that the reaction of the beta-endorphin system to acupuncture (sensory peripheral) stimulation in humans did not involve pituitary hypersecretion, and suggest that the increase of beta-endorphin binding to the tissue receptor sites seems to be responsible for the peripheral (plasma) B-EPLI decrease after acupuncture.

[Plasma concentration of immunoreactive beta-endorphin in healthy persons during pinpoint stimulation of receptors (acupuncture)]. / Stezenie immunoreaktywnej beta-endorfiny w osoczu osób zdrowych poddanych punktowemu draznieniu receptorowemu (akupunkturze).

The participation of the endogenous opiate-like peptide system in the mechanism of the analgesic effect of the stimulation of the peripheral nervous system has been generally accepted but the published results of the investigations on this topic are controversial. The authors studied the plasma beta-endorphin-like activity in 10 healthy subjects before and after pinpoint receptor stimulation (prs). This immunoreactive activity showed fairly high differences in successive determinations but was not significantly different before and after prs. The authors believe that this is an argument against the hypothesis assuming release of pituitary endorphins into the circulating blood after acupuncture but cannot rule out the role of the cerebral beta-endorphin system in the mechanism of acupuncture analgesia.

[Beta-endorphin levels in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid in humans]. / Stezenie beta-endorfiny w krwi i pllynie mózgowordzeniowym u ludzi.

Beta-endorphin concentrations were determined in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood before and after lumbar tap in 19 patients with lumbosacral pains. No statistically significant difference was observed in this concentration before and after lumbar tap, although in individual cases a significant rise of beta-endorphin occurred. The mean beta-endorphin concentration in blood was about twice as high as in the cerebrospinal fluid. No correlation was noticed between the concentration of beta-endorphin in blood and in CSF.

[Plasma beta-endorphins under the effect of pain stimulus. Preliminary report]. / Zachowanie sie osoczowej beta-endorfiny u ludzi pod wplywem bodzca bólowego. Doniesienie wstepne.

Using a diagnostic kit N.E.N. (USA) the authors investigated beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity in the plasma of young, healthy subjects. It was found that the level of beta-endorphin determined in this way in 10 subjects ranged from 15 to 120 pgml-1 and showed relatively constant values in two determinations carried out at an interval of one hour. Psychological tests showed that subjects with low beta-endorphin level had a low neuroticism index and extra-version, while in the subjects with high beta-endorphin level the neuroticism index was high and introversion features were more prevalent. After application of a painful stimulus (ischaemic test) the level of beta-endorphin changed in most subjects increasing or decreasing. The comparison of the differences in the levels of beta-endorphin immediately before and after the test for pain tolerance suggests that the higher was this difference the lower was pain tolerance and conversely.

[Evaluation of the bioavailability of Polfa phenytoin tablets]. / Ocena dostepnosci biologicznej tabletek phenytoin "Polfa".

Bioavailability of Phenytoin "Polfa" tablets was studied in comparison with Epanutin "Parke-Davis" capsules. It was found that the relative degree of bioavailability of Phenytoin in relation to Epanutin as a standard is 70,7 +/- 6,3% (SD). The cause of worse bioavailability of Phenytoin "Polfa" are differences in pharmaceutical forms of both preparations. The necessity to increase an average dose of Phenytoin "Polfa" tablets is suggested to gain optimal concentration of diphenyl-hydantoin in serum, in therapeutic range.

[Serum angiotensin converting enzyme (SACE) in patients with atopic bronchial asthma]. / Surowicza aktywnosc enzymu konwertujacego angiotensyne (SACE) u chorych z atopowa astma oskrzelowa.

The aim of the study was to assess serum ACE (S-ACE) activity in atopic bronchial asthma. S-ACE activity values were determined in 50 subjects (11 blood donors, 39 asthmatics) using the radioenzymatic method with Ventrex Laboratories kits. The authors did not find any differences between asthmatics in clinical remission, not receiving therapy, patients receiving prednisone (mean daily dose 10.0 +/- 2.5 mg) and healthy blood donors. In subjects with exacerbations of bronchospasm (not receiving steroids) S-ACE activity was significantly higher.

[Free and total thyroid hormone levels after parenteral administration of iodine contrast media]. / Stezenie wolnych i calkowitych hormonów tarczycy po stosowaniu pozajelitowym jodowych preparatów cieniujacych.

An effect of the iodine contrast media used in bronchography and urography on both free and total thyroidal hormones was investigated. Hormones concentrations were assayed prior to and 7 and 30 days following an administration of the contrast. Iodine contrast media have no effect on T3, T4, free T3, and free T4 levels. Therefore, one may conclude that the administration of i.v. contrast media containing iodine does not significantly change the results of thyroid hormones assays does not affect an interpretation of the results.

[Three month treatment with budesonide in patients with corticoid dependent bronchial asthma--personal experience]. / Trzymiesieczne leczenie budezonidem chorych na steroidozalezna dychawice oskrzelowa--doswiadczenia wlasne.

The experiment aimed at evaluating a three-month therapy of asthmatic patients with budesonide inhalations. The study involved 32 patients with long-lasting bronchial asthma depended on steroids. Therapy with budesonide (Pulmicort Astra) in a mean daily dose 1.6 mg enabled withdrawal of depot steroids and inhalation treatment only. In patients receiving prednisone in a mean daily dose 5.0 +/- 4.8 mg, budesonide therapy enabled a reduction of the oral dose by 50 percent. A significant improvement in the psychophysical status of patients has been noted despite a lack of significant differences in the results of lung functioning tests. Adverse reactions such as relaxation, insufficiency of the vocal cords at phonation and hoarseness were seen in 20 percent of patients, and in one of them required cessation of the drug. An increase in the number of Candida albicans colonies in throat swabs (over 20 colonies per plate) was seen in 7 treated patients but clinical symptoms which required an additional treatment were noted only in 1 patient.