[Specificity and normality of peripheral systolic pressure measurement by the ultrasound Doppler technic in healthy angiography-imaged extremities]. / Untersuchungen über Spezifität und Normalität der peripheren systolischen Druckmessung mit der Ultraschall-Doppler-Technik an gesunden angiographierten Extremitäten.

Our investigations on 108 healthy extremities, whereby in all cases normality was angiographically proven, demonstrate that the ankle systolic pressure (156.9 +/- 23.8 mmHg) was significantly higher than the arm systolic pressure (140.6 +/- 21.7 mmHg). Blood pressure was not measured at the same time but consecutively. We used the CW-Doppler system. The specificity is 100% if the decided limit is placed at minus 5 mmHg, that is, the ankle systolic pressure lies 5 mmHg, below the arm systolic pressure. A sufficient discrimination is also-evident if the determined normality limit is defined as no difference in pressure or higher systolic pressure in the ankle than in the arm (specifity: 98.1%). With our method we have found differences in the left and right lower extremities in 43.2% of cases. The relation of peak systolic blood pressure of the arm to that of the ankle was not dependent on blood pressure nor age. Our investigation has shown that the diagnostic reliability of the Doppler ultrasonic technique is particularly high.

Studies with lectins on the surface carbohydrate structures of mycoplasma membranes.

The surface carbohydrate structures on the cell membranes of various mycoplasma species have been investigated by using lectins, which are sugar-specific proteins. Carbohydrate structures presumably bound to glycolipids, with both galactose and glucose units, were found to be exposed on the surface of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and its temperature-sensitive mutants, M. mycoides var. mycoides and capri, M. pulmonis, M. gallinarum, and M. gallisepticum. Lipid-bound glucose was found on M. neurolyticum. The possible relationship of the lipid-bound surface carbohydrate groups to the known serological cross-reactions and lipid compositions of the various mycoplasma species is discussed. Intact Acholeplasma laidlawii and M. fermentans have no lectin-binding sites exposed on their surfaces; galactose groups were discovered only after Pronase digestion of the organisms, suggesting that their glycolipids are hidden under a protein layer. Neither intact nor Pronase-digested M. hominis reacted with the lectins; this is fully consistent with the lipid composition of this organism, which contains glycolipids. The lectins from Vicia cracca and Phaseolus vulgaris, which react with N-acetyl-galactosamine groups, agglutinated M. gallinarum, M. gallisepticum, M. mycoides var. capri, and M. pulmonis. The agglutinability was lost after Pronase treatment, indicating that the corresponding carbohydrates are presumably protein bound. They may be correlated with the extracellular structures observed by electron microscopy of both sectioned and negatively stained mycoplasma species.