Fibre, lente carbohydrates and diabetes mellitus - abstract

In vitro studies have shown that there are differences in rates at which different starch foods are digested. In general, the rate of release of the products of starch digestion relates well to the glycaemic responses to the same foods tested in normal and diabetic volunteers. The foods that are more slowly digested result in a flatter blood glucose response than those which are rapidly absorbed. These slow-release carbohydrate forms might be termed "lente carbohydrates". Many carbohydrate foods which have been staples in traditional diets posses slow-release carbohydrate properties manifested in relatively flat glycaemic responses on feeding. This paper points out the 'lente carbohydrate' properties of cassava (manihot esculeta) and recommends that it be used in modifying the diet of the diabetic (AU)

Geriatrics in practice

In this article the author examines the specialty of geriatrics, the lack of trained staff in this field and in general the 'problem of the aged' arising directly from the arithmetic of demography. The rate of occupancy of hospital beds by the elderly in Barbados and the attitude of medical and support staff to this group of people are also examined. Diseases of the elderly and their use of drugs are also discussed

Supporting evidence for the use of cassava (manihot esculeta) products instead of wheat flour products in the diet of the diabetic

The extent of blood glucose increases produced by products of cassava and wheat flour were compared in experiments performed in cats and rats. In normal anaesthetized cats, a meal of 500 mg grated cassava preparation produced a mean maximum blood glucose increase which is 200 percent less than the mean maximum blood glucose increase produced by a meal of 500 mg wheat flour preparation. In diabetic rats, a 20 gm homogenous mixture, consisting of 50 percent cassava bammmy and 50 percent rat chow that was eaten within a 24-hour period, produced a mean blood glucose increase which is 221 percent less than the blood glucose increase produced by a 20gm homogenous mixture, consisting of 50 percent wheat flour bread and 50 percent rat chow and eaten over a similar period of time. The lower glycaemic reponses of the cassava preparations therefore represent significant advantages over wheat flour preparations, for its (cassava preparation) inclusion in the diet of the diabetic (AU)

Seasonal incidence of diabetes mellitus in the tropics

In a study on the date of diagnosis of 471 non-insulin dependent diabetics in Trinidad, it was found that there was an increase in the incidence of the disease during the months of June to November, a period regarded as the rainy season in the island. It is postulated that the increase in incidence of the disease may be due to an increase in infections and the sedentary life led during the rainy season. (AU)

The clinical effectiveness of dihydroergocristine - reserpine clopamide combination in the treatment of hypertension - abstract

A clinical trial was undertaken to compare the effectiveness of the combination of dihydroergocristine, reserpine and a thiazide diurectic, with that of another combinatioin without the ergot derivative in the treatment of 25 hypertensive patients. An analysis of the results showed that the addition of dihydroergocristine to rauwolfia alkaloids and a thiazide diurectic produces an effective combination for the lowering of the blood pressure in hypertensive patients. The only side effect observed was postural hypotension. It is postulated that underlying pharmacological action of the combination is due to an "adrenaline reversal" effect on the blood pressure (AU)

Seasonal incidence of diabetes mellitus in South Trinidad - abstract

Recently evidence has been presented that there is a seasonal incidence of diabetes mellitus in the United Kingdom. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a seasonal incidence in the diagnosis of new cases of diabetes mellitus also occurs in the tropics, where the seasons can be divided into dry and wet. The methods consisted of examining the medical records of diabetics diagnosed each month in the out-patient department of Texaco Trinidad, Inc., Medical Centre for the period 1959-1969. The patients were divided into two racial groups - East Indians and Negroes. For statistical analysis the percentage rate of new cases was used. An analysis of the data derived from the medical records suggested that there is a seasonal incidence in the diagnosis of new diabetics. The prevalence of diabetes among the East Indian was higher than among the Negroes. In both racial groups the incidence of diabetes increased from the month of June. It reached its highest peak in the East Indian group in October and then fell sharply to February. In the Negro, there were two peaks; one in the month of September and the other in January. The low peaks in the incidence in the Negro were May and December. There was a correlation between the increase incidence in the diagnosis of new diabetics per month and the average monthly rainfall in South Trinidad over the ten year period. Diseases with seasonal incidences are uasually infective in nature. In South Trinidad there is an increase in the incidence of streptococcal infections during the wet season from June to December. It is concluded that the seasonal incidence in the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus may be precipitated by infection, either viral or bacterial. The peak in the month of January among the Negroes may be due to the dietary indiscretion of the Yuletide season (AU)

Effectiveness of propranolol in essential hypertension in the tropics - abstract

The paradoxical ability of the beta adrenergic blocking drug, propranolol, ('Inderal'), to cause a fall in blood pressure was studied for three months in 18 patients with essential hypertension. They were divided into groups of mild, moderate and severe hypertension on the basis of the blood pressure readings, retinal, and cardiac changes. There was a statistically significant fall in the level of the blood pressure in the mild and moderate cases, whereas there was either a rise or no change in the blood pressure of the severe cases. E. C. G.s, haemoglobin, white cell counts, blood, urea and serum transaminases showed no significant changes throughout the study. The results are discussed in the light of the present knowledge of the physiodynamics of the blood pressure in essential hypertension (AU)

The effects of hypoglycin-A on thyroid activity (abstract only)

The effects of hypoglycin-A (L-a-amino-á-methylene cyclopropane propprionic acid) the active principle of the fruit blighia sapida, ("ackee"), on the thyroid function of the rat have been studied. At the end of twenty-four hours hypoglycin-A (5-40 mg/kg. body weight) depressed the level of the protein bound iodine (PBI) in the plasma. With doses of hypoglycin-A in the range of 5-10 mg/kg body weight, there is some increase in the urinary excretion of radioactive iodine (131I), while larger doses (20-40 mg/kg) definitely decreased the urinary excretion of 131I. It is assumed the at hypoglycin-A acts on the thyroid function like sodium salycylate in causing an acute decrease in the level of the PBI, and like thiouracil, by causing a decrease deiodination by the liver and the thyroid gland. In a time course study, the effect of hypoglycin-A, 10 mg/kg on injected 131I, there appear to be two active metabolic components of hypoglycin-A, which cause depression of the uptake 131I by the thyroid, kidney and liver, one having an effect within one hour, the other acting four hours after administration. The effect of hypoglycin-A on thyroid function appears not to be specific, but a part of its general antimetabolic action (AU)

In vitro effects of catachol amines on the vas deferens of guinea pigs

Adrenaline and Noradrenaline both caused a contraction of the vas deferens. However, adrenaline was a more potent stimulant than noradrenaline. Isoprenaline by itself had no effect on the vas deferens, but it modified the stimulatory effect of subsequent administered adrenaline and noradrenaline. In small doses isoprenaline lessened and in large doses it potentiated the stimulating effect of the other two amines, the degree of inhibition by isoprenaline being greater on noradrenaline than on adrenaline. It was suggested that isoprenaline acted by inhibiting alpha adrenergic receptors in small concentrations, stimulating them in large concentrations and not by stimulating Beta receptors as is presently believed (AU)