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Serum and milk alkaline phosphatase (AP) values are reported for the first 16 weeks of lactation. Serum levels at all stages are elevates above normal-pregnant controls. Sequential milk AP values are reported for the first time. Heat inactivation and phenylalanine inhibition studies would suggest that serum AP in lactation is composed of bone and liver isoenzymes, but it shows an increase in the rate at which enzymatic activity is lost when frozen, indicating that lactation serum AP is largely a different isoenzyme. Electrophoresis demonstrates several AP "slow" bands of unknown origin in lactation serum.

This paper reports on the diagnostic usefulness of two commercial PTH assay kits and four "in-house" assays using commercially available reagents, studying the same samples from normal controls and different patient groups. The ability of such assays to discriminate proven primary hyperparathyroid (1 degree HPT) patients from normals varied significantly but without any apparent correlation with assay components. For all assays, performance declined markedly in 1 degree HPT patient groups with lower serum calcium levels. Patients with PTH secondary to chronic renal disease were well discriminated from normal by all assays. Although immunoassays are useful in many cases of 1 degree HPT, it is difficult to develop C-terminal or mid-region PTH assays that are uniformly diagnostically useful in the clinical situation where they are of greatest potential use i.e. in cases of mildly hypercalcaemic 1 degree HPT.

In 34 subjects--coal workers with pneumoconiosis, patients with collagenic diseases and healthy subjects--the daily urinary excretion of hydroxyproline (HP) and the plasma concentrations of HP and of collagenic peptidase have been measured during one week under HP-free and HP-enriched diet. It is shown that a 24-hour period of HP-free diet is necessary and sufficient before collecting urine or plasma for diet independent measurements of total or non-protein bound HP. Concentrations in plasma correlate well with the amounts excreted in urine. Collagenic peptidase is independent from the diet and well suited for assessment of the activity of the metabolism of collagene. There are no differences between healthy subjects and coal workers with pneumoconiosis.

A significant chromatographic isotope effect is reported for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in a wide variety of HPLC separation systems. The effect is also observed for 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. Retention times differ from less than 1% up to 4% depending on the separation system and the degree and position of tritium substitution. Such an effect must be corrected for whenever both labeled and unlabeled vitamin D metabolites are used in HPLC cochromatography or assay recovery studies.

We found that human malignant melanoma cells had varying thermal sensitivity and that some exhibited natural thermal resistance, a heretofore unrecognized phenomenon. Samples of 73 melanoma cell suspensions were heated at 42 degrees C for 1 hour before plating in the soft agar clonogenic assay or the thymidine assay for proliferating cells. We observed greater than 75% cell kill after hyperthermia in 39 (53%) tumors. Native thermal resistance was apparent in 17 (23%) tumors and growth enhancement in 17 (23%) at this temperature and exposure time. We postulated that prostaglandin, known to protect stomach mucosa against thermal injury, has a role in stabilizing the tumor cell membrane exposed to heat. Three melanoma cell lines known to be thermosensitive were heated to 42 degrees C without and with exogenous prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). The survival of colony-forming cells was increased in all three lines in the presence of 30 microM PGE2. A naturally thermoresistant cell line was exposed to 1 microgram/ml indomethacin for 24 hours before hyperthermic treatment. The survival of colony-forming cells was significantly decreased compared to cells not treated with indomethacin. The addition of 30 microM of exogenous PGE2 to indomethacin-treated cells reestablished thermal resistance. These preliminary data suggest that some tumor cells synthesize prostaglandins to render the cell thermoresistant. Treatment with indomethacin blocks prostaglandin synthesis and induces thermosensitivity. These discoveries may have important clinical applications for hyperthermia treatment of human cancers.

Based on the new international definition of pneumoconiosis the various types of this lesion and their roentgenological appearance are described. The lesions may arise from fibrosis-inducing dusts (silica, asbestos) and also from the deposition of dust particles especially those of high atomic weight. Pneumoconiosis in coal miners, the most common dust-induced lung disease in Germany, is reviewed in detail and the X-ray demonstration of dust in the lungs is discussed.

The diagnostic steps for in five groups divided forms of bronchial asthma are listed and are discussed. The diagnosis includes: 1. the anamnesis. 2. the clinical examination including X-ray, lung function tests, bronchologic inspection a.s.o., 3. special examinations for allergy including skin tests, provocation tests and pharmacodynamic tests, 4. serological-immunological methods of examination including determination of total IgE, specific IgE and several serum proteins.

Biologically inactive thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) has been reported in hypothyroid patients. We report the first case of immunoreactive, but abnormal TSH in a euthyroid patient following hypophysectomy for a prolactin secreting pituitary adenoma. Indirect evidence indicates that this abnormal TSH was biologically inactive. The TSH was characterized by gel chromatography and has a molecular weight of approximately 23,000 daltons.

A combination of quantum mechanical calculations and molecular dynamics simulations has been used to calculate the tautomer ratio of 4-(5-)methyl imidazole in solution, and the results are in good agreement with experiment.

A division into two main groups is made: causal and symptomatic treatment. The first group includes elimination and avoidance of allergens and the specific hyposensitization according to own experiences. The second group is divided into medicamentous treatment (bronchodilatators, DNCG, corticosteroids, secretolytics, antibiotics, tranquilizers) and into a nonmedicamentous treatment like physiotherapy, climate therapy and psychotherapy.

The bronchial asthma disease is divided into 5 groups: 1. bronchial asthma caused by allergy, 2. bronchial asthma caused by infection, 3. bronchial asthma caused by physicochemical irritants, 4. bronchial asthma caused by exercise, 5. combination between the groups 1--4. Etiological factors, immunologic phenomena so far as known and pathogenic mechanisms are listed for each group and discussed.

Hyposensitization with semi-depot extracts was effective in 439 of 533 patients (82.4%) with allergic manifestations. The result suggests that treatment will be most effective when (1) the patient is young, (2) the disease is located in the respiratory tract, (3) the disease has been of relatively short duration, (4) the hyposensitization extract contains only one type of allergen, (5) only a few allergens are involved, (6) treatment continues over a long period of time, (7) the final dosage is high, and (8) dosage and time schedules are carefully followed. Success does not depend on the patient's sex or the occurrence of side effects during the treatment.

The correlation between barometric pressure and arterial oxygen pressure has been investigated in 3,054 coal miners. Furthermore, the correlation between alveolar oxygen pressure and alveolar-arterial oxygen pressure difference and barometric pressure has been investigated in 1,669 coal miners. For low and for high pO2a there are significant correlations to barometric pressure, in particular for the young age groups. PO2A and AaDO2 show closer correlations to barometric pressure in the middle range of pO2a (65--84 mm Hg). This points to different regulating mechanisms. A correction with a uniform factor is not possible and, for clinical purposes, unnecessary, since the influence of changing barometric pressure on pO2a is only about 1--3 mm Hg.