Francis D. Speer

Comparison of Hypotensive Action of Sodium Azide in Normotensive and Hypertensive Patients.

Summary 1. A comparison was made between the effects of sodium azide in both normotensive and hypertensive patients. Doses of 0.65-1.3 mg, administered orally, had a rapid hypotensive effect which persisted from 10-15 minutes. When given chronically to hypertensives (0.6-1.3 mg 3 to 4 times daily for periods up to 2 years), sodium azide produced a sustained lowering of the blood pressure toward normotensive levels. Repeated administration of the drug results in a greater hypotensive effect following equivalent doses and/or a progressively more sustained period of normotensive blood pressure levels. The observations indicate that a significant difference exists in the relative sensitivity of hypertensive and normotensive individuals to the hypotensive effects of sodium azide. 2. Intravenous injection of the drug to animals subjected to hemorrhage had no dilating effects on the constricted blood vessels in the exteriorized mesentery. Sodium azide (0.5 mg/100 g body wt) lowers the blood pressure of hypertensive rats. The observation that sodium azide in hypertensives rarely lowers the elevated blood pressure below normotensive levels suggests a general non-specific action of the drug on all vascular beds.

PROTECTIVE ACTION OF AUTOLOGOUS MARROW AGAINST NITROGEN MUSTARD TOXICITY

Excerpt A principal limitation in the use of currently available cancer chemotherapy is bone marrow toxicity. The repeated use of drugs such as nitrogen mustard leads to progressive leukopenia, thr...

Eisenmenger's complex in association with congenital tricuspid endocarditis (fetal); review of literature and report of case.

Summary An additional example of a caseof Eisenmengers complex with pathological study is illustrated and described. To date eighteen such cases with pathological study were recorded. The first documented case of Eisenmengers complex in association with congenital verrucous tricuspid endocarditis (fetal) is presented. An additional example of congenitaltricuspid endocarditis is presented. Only four previously described cases of congenital fetal tricuspid endocarditis were recorded in the literature.

Relative dehydrogenase activity of kidney and liver slices from control and tumor mice.

Summary The in vitro dehydrogenase activity of liver and kidney slices from female control and tumor mice of the CFW, C3H, dba, and A strains was determined and the relative intensity of the kidney to liver values (K/L ratio) was calculated. The K/L ratio was found to be maintained within a relatively narrow range in the different control groups. In the CFW and A mice this value was shifted to a lower value in the presence of a tumor. Such a change occurred to a lesser degree in the dba mice and not at all in the C3H mice.

Effects of Enzyme Inhibitors on in vitro Dehydrogenase Activity of Cancer Tissue Slices.

Summary 1. Tissue slices from various human cancer and control tissues and mouse breast cancer were incubated in TTC solution with and without the enzyme inhibitors: fluoride, malonate and azide and the ^g of TTC reduced/mg of acetone dried tissues determined. 2. Both control and tumor tissues exhibited a linear relationship between the endogenous and fluoride inhibited TTC reduction. The tumors were characterized by a decreased fluoride inhibition as compared to homologous controls. Malonate inhibition of tumor tissue also tended to be minimal. The findings were discussed in terms of the metabolism of tumor tissue.

Vascular Participation in Tumor Slice Metabolism

Summary Tissue slices from mammary carcinoma and diverse normal tissues of mice of different strains were incubated in TTC solutions with and without fluoride, malonate, azide and succinate. Frozen section examination after such treatment revealed formazan deposition in the vasculature and stroma of the tumor but none in the tumor cells, themselves. This manifestation of dehydrogenase activity in the stromal vessels was not inhibited by fluoride, malonate or azide; a finding confirmed by quantitative determinations of μ of TTC reduced per mg of acetone dried tumor tissue. No such stromal dehydrogenase activity was found in slices of normal mammary parenchyma, adrenal cortex or medulla, kidney, liver, skin or lymph node. These findings are discussed in terms of a unique function of tumor capillaries.