Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy and drug-induced cholestasis are two clinically important forms of acquired cholestatic liver disease. The understanding of the underlying mechanisms of acquired cholestasis has recently made considerable progress by the identification of canalicular ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters as likely targets for these forms of cholestasis. Cholestasis of pregnancy is linked to estrogen and progesterone metabolites. These metabolites have been shown to ...

The sigmoidal time course of haemoglobin oxidation by nitrite, involving an initial slow reaction accompanied by a subsequent rapid reaction, was extensively explored. The initial slow reaction was much prolonged by the addition of superoxide dismutase to the reaction mixture. On the other hand, in the presence of superoxide anion generated by xanthine oxidase systems, the slow phase disappeared and the reaction changed to first-order kinetics. The oxidation of intermediate haemoglobins ...

In this rapid, cost-effective, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) eluted from dried blood spotted on filter paper, second antibody is coated onto the microwell plate and horseradish peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7) is the label enzyme. Antiserum to 17-OHP was prepared by using 4-(2-carboxymethylthio)-17-OHP-bovine serum albumin conjugate as immunogen. Enzyme conjugate was prepared from 4-(2-carboxymethylthio)-17-OHP and peroxidase. The blood spots are ...

The in vitro susceptibility of 406 clinical isolates to BMY-28142, a new semisynthetic cephem, was evaluated and compared with cefpimizole, HR 810, ceftazidime, cefotaxime, moxalactam, and cefoperazone in a broth microdilution assay. On a weight basis, the activity of BMY-28142 against Escherichia coli, Proteus species, and Klebsiella-Enterobacter-Serratia was superior to the other cephems. Against gentamicin-susceptible and -resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, BMY-28142 was more active ...

In this chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay for thyroxin, glucose oxidase (EC 1.1.3.4) is the enzyme label and the bound and free fractions are separated by the double-antibody solid-phase technique. In the assay of enzyme activity, hydrogen peroxide generated from glucose substrate is measured by its chemiluminescence reaction with bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)oxalate and 8-anilino-1-naphthalene-sulfonic acid. The measurable range of thyroxin is 2.5 to 200 micrograms/L. The coefficients ...

Although epidemiologic studies of Kawasaki disease suggest an infectious etiology, the cause of this mysterious disease remains unclear. We describe the occurrence of five episodes of Kawasaki disease over a six-year period in three siblings. Two of the three children experienced recurrent Kawasaki disease and developed coronary artery lesions, which included giant coronary artery aneurysms in the youngest child. The non-contemporaneous occurrence of the disease in these three children ...

The time course of methaemoglobin reduction in human erythrocytes treated with nitrite was studied at pH 7.4, 37 degrees C, in the presence or absence of Methylene Blue, and the changes in methaemoglobin, intermediate haemoglobins and oxyhaemoglobin during the reaction were analysed by isoelectric-focusing on Ampholine/polyacrylamide-gel plates. In both cases, with or without the dye, the intermediate haemoglobins were found to be present at (alpha 3+beta 2+)2 and (alpha 2+beta 3+)2 ...