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Data are presented on iron content and distribution in several fresh and salt water fish species and are compared with those in man and rat. Iron metabolism was studied in the tench by means of intracardiac administration of tench plasma labelled withFe(III). The disappearance of plasma iron and the role which the different organs and tissues play in the clearance of plasma iron were studied. A method is presented for calculating internal iron kinetics. Iron transport from the plasma to the erythropoietic system equals the iron transport to the non-erythropoietic organs. To explain this high non-erythropoietic iron transport it is postulated that most of the iron transported to the non-erythropoietic organs will be excreted. The liver-bile system forms an important excretory route. In case of a sudden (erythropoietic) demand for iron the direction of the plasma iron transport may be switched from the liver to the erythropoietic organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbohydrate composition of IgG purified from serum of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), pregnant women, and blood donors has been determined by gas-liquid chromatography. Comparison of the results indicates that IgG from patients with RA contains significantly less galactose but more N-acetylglucosamine than normal IgG, whereas the fucose and sialic acid contents are not changed. The carbohydrate content of IgG in RA is reduced. IgG in pregnancy contains more galactose and more sialic acid than normal IgG, whereas fucose, N-acetylglucosamine, and the total carbohydrate content are not changed. These data suggest a temporal compensation of the RA associated undergalactosylation of IgG in female patients with RA during pregnancy, a period during which remission of the disease is often observed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In a group of depressive patients a study was made of the influence of isocarboxazid on hunger sensations, on the peripheral glucose uptake and on the mobilization of glucose from liver glycogen. The group was symptomatologically homogeneous: all patients showed the symptoms of the vital depressive syndrome. We established the following. 1. In the group of patients showing improvement upon isocarboxazid medication (group A), the Δ glucose value prior to treatment was significantly lower than that in the group of patients refractory to this drug (group B). During medication the Δ glucose value showed a distinct increase, and after treatment it remained at a normal level. 2. Group B showed a tendency corresponding to that in group A, but this just escaped attaining the level of statistical significance. 3. Mayer's glucostatic theory of hunger regulation was not corroborated. 4. Isocarboxazid does not demonstrably inhibit intrahepatic glycogenolysis. In a previous study we demonstrated that the therapeutic effect of anti-depressive hydrazines is accompanied by an increase in glucose tolerance. It is assumed that the increased extrahepatic glucose uptake now observed is responsible for this phenomenon. Finally it is concluded that (in view of the composition of groups A and B) metabolic factors must be considered in addition to the psychopathological features when using anti-depressive hydrazines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]