Jacob Menczel

Effect of swimming on bone growth and development in young rats.

The effect of chronic swimming on bone modelling was studied. Forty female Sabra rats (5 weeks old) were randomly assigned to the following experimental groups: 30 rats were trained to swim (water bath 35 +/- 1 degree C, one h daily, five times a week) for 20 weeks--20 of them loaded with lead weights (1% body weight) while the rest (10 animals) swam load free. Ten sedentary rats matched for age and weight served as controls. At the end of the twenty-week swimming period, all rats were sacrificed, both humeri bones were dissected and prepared for the following examinations: morphometric, bone density (BD), bone mineral content (BMC), compression tests and cross-sectional geometrical parameters, histomorphometry and biochemical analysis of minerals (Ca, Pi, Mg, Zn). All measured parameters were found to be significantly higher (P less than 0.05) in the swimming rats irrespective of load, as compared with the controls. Bone weight was higher by 19%, bone volume by 11%, bone length by 2.8%, cortical area by 16%, BD by 7% and BMC by 15%. The compression breaking force at the distal shaft of the humerus was higher by 24% in the trained group, while the ultimate compressive stress was not significantly different. Maximal and minimal moment of inertia at the distal diaphysis were 33.4 and 40% higher, respectively, for the swimming groups than the controls. Ca, Pi, Mg and Zn levels per total humeral bone were significantly higher in the exercising rats. The histomorphometry and cross-sectional data emphasize longitudinal and transversal growth. These data indicate that swimming exercise exerts a positive effect on bone growth and development in young rats.

Tooth dwarfism and root underdevelopment following irradiation

Abstract Tooth dwarfism, root dwarfism, and absence of several teeth were observed in a patient who was irradiated from the age of 2 1 2 years because of glioma retinae of both eyes. Conservative dental treatment of the mandibular teeth was followed by insertion of a complete upper denture immediately after extraction of all thirteen maxillary teeth.

The effect of age and sex on bone density, bone mineral content and cortical index.

The density of cancellous bone in the nondominant radius of healthy subjects has been observed by the Compton scattering method as a function of age and sex. The average density for males is higher than for females. In males the density does not change up to the age of 80 years, while in females the density decreases beginning at age 50. A significant decrease in the bone mineral content of the distal radius is observed at earlier ages as measured by the Cameron-Sorenson technique. The average value of the cortical index of the third metacarpal shows some difference between the sexes over the age of 50, the index in males being higher than in the females. Between 30 and 50 years the female cortical index is greater than in the males. Little correlation was found among the three parameters studied, suggesting that they measure different phases of the pathophysiological processes involved in aging bone.

HLA-D antigens and Paget's disease of bone

HLA-A, -B, -C, -DR, and -DQ antigens were determined in 25 Ashkenazi Jews with Pagets disease of bone. HLA-DR2 was more frequent in the Pagetic patients compared with 57 healthy controls of the same ethnic origin. This finding concurs with a previous report and raises the possibility that HLA-DR2 may be associated with Pagets disease of bone, probably by predisposing the bone cells to viral infection.

Radiological osteoporosis: correlation with dietary and biochemical findings.

Abstract: Roentgenograms of the lumbar spine, left femur and left hand were obtained on 1451 adults who did not have bone disease or malignant disease. Osteoporosis was visually evaluated on the basis of radiological density and the number of collapsed vertebrae. The height and the antero‐posterior length of the 3rd lumbar vertebra, and the total and medullary diameters of the femur and the 2nd metacarpus were measured. In females, vertebral height decreased with age and the degree of osteoporosis. The ratio of vertebral mid‐height to anteroposterior length decreased in females with age and in both sexes with increasing severity of osteoporosis. The ratio of mid‐height to anterior vertebral height was independent of age, sex and the presence of osteoporosis. In tubular bones, the medullary‐canal width increased with age and the severity of osteoporosis, particularly in females. This finding was more pronounced in the metacarpus than in the femur.

Screening for Cognitive Deficits in a Sample of Hospitalized Geriatric Patients: A Re-evaluation of a Brief Mental Status Questionnaire

A 30‐item screening examination for cognitive deficits was administered to 65 hospitalized elderly patients and to 60 elderly controls. A high proportion (73 per cent) of the hospitalized patients were found to have low cognitive scores indicative of probable organic mental syndrome (OMS). Especially high deficits were found among the patients with orthopedic and cerebrovascular conditions. The test correctly identified the 15 cases of established OMS. The percentage of false positive results in the normal controls was reasonably low. The importance of routine cognitive measurements in medical wards is stressed.

Radioiodine uptake by the infarcted heart

Abstract An increased uptake of radioiodine by the infarcted heart has been reported by us previously. Forty-nine patients have now been investigated: twenty-three patients with recent myocardial infarction, twenty-one control patients and five patients in whom exact diagnostic classification as to the presence or absence of infarction was impossible. In all patients with infarction, an increased radioiodine uptake over the area of the heart in comparison with the corresponding area on the right side of the chest could be observed. The increased left-to-right ratio appeared after twenty-four to forty-eight hours and was also noticeable at least on the sixth, the seventh or the eighth day after iodine administration. The 100 μc. dose of I 131 seems to be a suitable one with the instruments employed. The phenomenon of increased radioiodine uptake by the infarcted heart, although its nature is still poorly understood, appears to have some clinical diagnostic value.

An epidemiological study of osteoporosis in Israel.

Lateral lumbar spine roentgenograms from 1,463 adult outpatients without bone disease or malignancy were visually evaluated for degree of osteoporosis, with diet studied for 330. Degree of osteoporosis increased with age, more rapidly in females. In subjects over 60, 68% of men and 94% of women showed some degree of osteoporosis, and 5% and 22%, respectively, showed more than minimally detectable osteoporosis. Subjects of North African and Asian (other than Israeli) origins had significantly more osteoporosis than those of European, North American, or Israeli origins. Males consumed more calcium and protein, consumption of both decreasing with age. By age and sex, there was no association between calcium or protein intake and osteoporotic extent. Although levels of calcium, nitrogen, or hydroxyproline in random urine samples were not associated with osteoporosis, higher phosphorus levels were.

Aortic calcification in Israel. An epidemiological study.

Lateral roentgenograms of the lumbar spine from 1,463 ambulatory outpatients of the Department of Roentgenology of the Hadassah-Hebrew Hospital in Jerusalem were graded with respect to the degree of osteoporosis and aortic calcification. Aortic calcification increased in both sexes with an increase in age and to approximately the same degree, although men over the age of 60 showed somewhat more calcification than women of the same age. Many of the subjects were immigrants to Israel, but little effect of the area of origin upon the degree of aortic calcification could be proven. The association between the degree of osteoporosis and aortic calcification in both men and women over age 60 was highly significant, but this association is not explained by the fact that both disorders are age- dependent.

Osteoporosis in Tube‐Fed Bed‐Ridden Elderly Female Patients

To the Editor: In response to the letter from Dr. Lisi in this issue that expresses dismay at an editorial I wrote regarding an article by Gilstad and Finucane, opinion regarding how the system currently works, not advocacy for or against the publishing practices of the drug industry, accompanied my observations concerning rhetorics. I do not think it is ‘‘justified’’ for the pharmaceutical industry to inflate facts but do believe they are entitled to put forth their interpretations of data from studies or clinical trials, subject to limitation by peer review and journal editors. I agree with Dr. Lisi that pharmaceutical companies, like academic and all other authors, are accountable for what they write. I would again emphasize the importance of transparent declarations by authors regarding their roles in creating manuscripts, and their potential conflicts of interest, as well as independent editorials and letters to the editor, to give perspective to these communications. Finally, a major concern is that pharmaceutical companies publish or otherwise make available to the public data from all of their clinical trials with a given drug. Selective publication of positive trials may otherwise skew perspectives falsely inflating efficacy while minimizing adverse effects. The public should be able to see the ‘‘empty part of the glass as well as the full.’’ I also agree with Dr. Lisi that we can and should expect high standards in the medical publication process but believe that ‘‘buyer beware’’ will always remain an appropriate attitude when reading reports regarding benefits and limits of drug therapy. Martin R. Farlow, MD Department of Neurology School of Medicine Indiana University Indianapolis, IN