Some biochemical aspects of ackee poisoning (abstract only)

Administration of Hypoglycin (the toxic principle of the ackee) to rats causes a decrease in the total carbohydrate stores of the body. Liver glycogen is reduced almost to zero and blood glucose falls. Muscle glycogen is not greatly affected. Evidence is presented to show that the decrease in liver glycogen is a result of interference in the synthesis of glycogen by the liver, and the decrease in blood glucose is a result of the depletion of the liver glycogen. Experiments with radioactive glycogen indicate that the ackee poisoned rats converts very little of its glucose into muscle glycogen or fat, and most is excreted as carbon dioxide. This is in contrast to an insulin treated rat which converts an appreciable proportion of its glucose into muscle glycogen and fat.(AU)

The effect of diet on the utilization of glucose by rat liver slices - abstract

The effect of previous diets on the utilization of radioactive glucose by rat liver was tested by (a) feeding rats for two days on one of four purified diets each of which contained adequate amounts of vitamins, minerals, and choline, (b) incubating liver slices obtained from the rats with radioactive glucose; isolating carbon dioxide, fatty acid and glycogen, and measuring these products. It was found that a diet of bread or a purified diet which provided a comparitively low protein intake and a high proportion of carbohydrate to fat, produced the following changes in the utilization of glucose by liver slices: four-fold greater conversion of the radio-active glucose to fatty acid, greater conversion of the glucose to carbon dioxide, and decreased conversion of the glucose to glycogen (AU)

Human liver constituents in diabetes (abstract only)

Determinations of various constituents of the liver have been carried out on biopsy material obtained from diabetic patients before and after the stabilisation of the diabetes. Stabilisation was effected in most cases by insulin, but in a few cases by carbutamide or by dietary means alone. Biopsies were carried out with the patients in the post-absorptive state. A moderate increase in the glycogen was usually found after treatment and this was reflected by a slight decrease in the percentage of liver nitrogen. The glucose-6-phosphatase showed regularly a marked reduction after treatment of the diabetes. The changes in aspartic-glutamic transaminase and alanine-glutamic transaminase were more variable but these enzymes are also reduced by treatment of the diabetes. No significant changes were found in the glutamic dehydrogenase or glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. There was no apparent correlation between any of the enzymes changes and the type of diabetes or its severity or the treatment employed to correct it. It is suggested that the glucose -6-phosphatase and the transaminases increase hepatic glucose production and that insulin or other therapeutic agents may decrease gluconeogenesis by decreasing the activities of these enzymes (AU)

Liver glutamic-aspartic transaminase activity in diabetes

Liver glutamic-aspartic transaminase activity was investigated in 19 diabetic patients before and after treatment of the diabetic state. In 15 patients who were passing no sugar in the urine at the time of the second biopsy the mean level of transaminase activity was 0.146+- 0.013 units, whereas before treatment the activity had been 0.213+- 0.011 units. This difference is highly significant statistically. There was no apparent relation between the initial level of transaminase activity or the change in activity and the type or duration of the diabetes or of the treatment given (Summary)

Liver glutamic-aspartic transaminase activity in human diabetes

Liver glutamic-aspartic transaminase activity has been investigated in 19 diabetic subjects before and after treatment of the diabetic state. In 15 patients who were passing no sugar in the urine at the time of the second biopsy the mean level of transaminase activity was 0.146 ñ 0.013 units whereas before treatment the activity had been 0.0213 ñ 0.011 units. This difference is highly significant statistically. There was no apparent relation between the initial level of transaminase activity or the change in activity and the type or duration of the diabetes or of the treatment given (AU)

Further clinical and investigative uses of liver biopsy: an analysis of five hundred and twenty-seven biopsies

Five hundred twenty-seven biopsies have been performed on 330 patients. The conditions studied included kwashiorkor, marasmus, veno-occlusive disease of the liver, vomiting sickness, diabetes mellitus, various neuropathies, nephrosis, sickle-cell anemia, and unexplained hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, jaundice, pyrexia, and anemia. A clinical outline has been given of veno-occlusive disease, kwashiorkor, marasmus, and the vomiting sickness of Jamaica. The tissue obtained at biopsy was examined histologically in all cases. In a number of cases chemical examination of the liver tissue was also performed. The chemical studies included nucleic acids and protein, water and fat content, and glycogen estimations. In them malnutrition group it is shown (a) that the degree of fatty infiltration is no indication of the severity or probable outcome of the disease, (b) that hepatic protein depletion is severe in these infants but that its degree cannot be quantitatively correlated with the clinical picture or prognosis, (c) that fatty infiltration does not apparently interfere with the ability of the liver to store glycogen. Occlusion of the smaller and medium-sized branches of the hepatic veins is responsible for the hepatomegaly and ascites found clinically in veno-occlusive disease. The prognosis of veno-occlusive disease is linked with the severity of the associated hepatocellular damage. Serial biopsies have made it possible to define more accurately the clinical natural history of this disease. In cases that recover the histological appearances of the liver return to normal. When the disease advances to the chronic stage, a progressive nonportal cirrhosis is found to develop in biopsy specimens. The histological changes in liver in diabetes are minimal and cannot be correlated with the response to treatment, clinical hepatomegaly, or alteration of liver-function tests. The hypoglycemia of vomiting sickness is associated with severe depletion of hepatic glycogen, which is rapidly restored by successful glucose therapy. There is a high incidence of fibrosis of the liver in patients with sickle-cell anemia, and a possible etiological relationship is suggested. Because of the frequently mixed nature of hepatic cirrhosis in the tropics and the variability of the clinical syndromes presented, liver biopsy is a useful and often essential tool for establishing a correct diagnosis. Its uses in unexplained hepatomegaly, jaundice, and splenomegaly have also been demonstrated. It is also pointed out that liver biopsy often makes it necessary to alter an apparently firmly established clinical diagnosis. The advantages of simultaneous histopathological and chemical examination of portions of the tissue obtained at biopsy have been stressed (SUMMARY)

Glucose-6-phosphatase activity in human diabetes

There is increased activity of glucose-6-phosphatase in the liver of diabetics compared with non-diabetics. Stabilisation of the diabetes was followed by decreased activity of the enzyme in 13 patients, whether the diabetes was type I, II, or J, and whether insulin or carbutamide had been administered (AU)

The influence of vitamin B12 and aureomycin upon the growth of protein deficient children

A study was made to examine the influence of vitamin B12 and aureomycin upon the growth in protein-deficient children. The results of this study present evidence for a slight positive effect of aureomycin upon the rate of weight increase, but no effect upon the rate of height increase. The result show that vitamin B12 has no positive effect upon weight or height increments. The nutritional status was observed to be low. Among the observations made were clinical examinations, growth measurements, biochemical measurements and a direct dietary survey. There is no evidence to suggest that either aureomycin or vitamin B12 would be of practical value in alleviating the malnutrition found in such areas as the Caribbean. (summary)