[Somatostatin plasma level in patients with liver cirrhosis]. / A somatostatin plazma-szintje májcirrhosisos betegekben.

The significance of changes in plasma somatostatin level at patients with vascularly decompensated liver cirrhosis was investigated. The plasma level of somatostatin, glucagon, gastrin and blood glucose concentration were determined under basal condition and after testmeal in patients with vasculary decompensated cirrhosis, in cirrhotic-patients without ascites formation and in control subjects. The basaline levels and the postprandial increases of plasma somatostatin concentrations were significantly lower in cirrhotic patients with ascites, compared to the other two groups. The glucagon concentrations--both the basaline and the postprandial--were significantly higher in the cirrhotic patients-groups, compared to the controls. The gastrin and blood glucose levels were not different in the three groups. The decrease in plasma somatostatin concentration present in cirrhosis associated with ascites represents a secondary phenomena, and suggest that endogen somatostatin plays a role in maintaining body fluid homeostasis.

[Effect of pyospermia on fertility. Studies by selective leukocyte staining, elastase determination and routine sperm parameters]. / A pyospermia hatása a fertilitásra. Vizsgálatok szelektív fehérvérsejt festéssel, elasztáz meghatározással és hagyományos ondóparaméterekkel.

The effect of cellular immune response on male fertility was investigated. 92 patients--attending the out patient practice of our Andrological department and 15 patients undergoing vasectomy for sterilisation purpose--were included in this study. For measuring the cellular immune response granulocyte concentration and PMN-elastase level were investigated in ejaculate, former according to WHO manual, and PMN-elastase concentration by ELISA technic. Elastase is a very sensitive non organ specific marker of inflammation. Pathological granulocyte concentration was present in 10.8%, slightly elevated level in 4.3% of cases, totally in 15.1%. Pathological elastase level was found in 17.4%, slightly elevated in 16.3%, totally in 33.7% of cases. High level of correlation was present between the two parameters of inflammation r = 0.695. The incidence of the two parameters in fertile and subfertile patients groups was not significant. Conventional spermaparameters (cell concentration/ml, motility %, intensive motility %, morphology %) were significantly different in the leucospermic and non leucospermic patient groups, except cell concentration. (P = 0.06, P = 0.04, P = 0.03, P = 0.001). The incidence of high elastase level was very similar P = 0.07, P = 0.005, P = 0.03, P = 0.005. As conclusion of our investigation we conclude that cellular response could have a negative influence on male fertility as "side-effect" of the cytotoxic influences of immune defense.

Protective role of O antigen in Salmonella typhi-murium infection.

Mice were actively immunized with preparations produced from different Salmonella strains. They were challenged with 2 LD50 of a virulent S. typhi-murium strain and examined for viable cell counts in the liver 4, 7 and 11 days postinfection. Whole cell vaccines, ribosomal extracts and endotoxin preparations of the O antigen-deficient variant of S. typhi-murium strain LT2-MI failed to protect the mice or did so in a much lower degree than preparations of the corresponding O antigen-bearing variant. Preparations from other salmonellae exerted a protective action only if the strain had an O-antigen identical with that of S. typhi-murium. The results pointed to a considerable protective role of the O antigen.

Reliability of the rabbit pyrogen test and of the limulus test in predicting the pyrogenicity of vaccines in man.

Commercial vaccines including bacterial as well as live and inactivated viral vaccines were examined in the rabbit pyrogen test and in the limulus test. The laboratory results were compared with the reactivity in humans. A fairly good correlation was found between the temperature rise in rabbits and the frequency of febrile reaction in the vaccinees. Two rabies vaccines and a tick-borne encephalitis virus vaccine, each pyrogenic both in rabbit and in man. were negative in the limulus test. The pyrogenicity of these vaccines is attributed to the vaccine virus itself.