2a 2b dihomo 15(S) 15 methyl PGF2 alpha methyl ester (dihomo 15 me PGF2 alpha) in intramuscular doses of 0.5 mg 8 hourly was used in 631 patients with abnormal intrauterine pregnancy comprising 282 cases of intrauterine fetal death, 233 cases of missed abortion, 34 and 82 cases respectively anencephalic and molar pregnancies. The study was carried out as a collaborative project between the University Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Singapore (Singapore), Medan (Indonesia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) during the period June 1974 and November 1979. Six hundred patients (95.1%) aborted or delivered in a mean time of 11.3 hours (S.D. +/- 7.0) with an average of 1.8 injections of the prostaglandin analogue per patient. Side effects included vomiting (23.6%; mean 0.45 episodes per patient), diarrhoea (44.4%; mean 1.00 episode per patient), cold and shivering (11.9%) and pyrexia (12.4%). One patient sustained a cervical laceration which did not require repair. There were no complications.
To compare the effects of dietary palmitic acid (16:0) vs oleic acid (18:1) on serum lipids, lipoproteins, and plasma eicosanoids, 33 normocholesterolemic subjects (20 males, 13 females; ages 22-41 years) were challenged with a coconut oil-rich diet for 4 weeks. Subsequently they were assigned to either a palm olein-rich or olive oil-rich diet followed by a dietary crossover during two consecutive 6-week periods. Each test oil served as the sole cooking oil and contributed 23% of dietary energy or two-thirds of the total daily fat intake. Dietary myristic acid (14:0) and lauric acid (12:0) from coconut oil significantly raised all the serum lipid and lipoprotein parameters measured. Subsequent one-to-one exchange of 7% energy between 16:0 (palm olein diet) and 18:1 (olive oil diet) resulted in identical serum total cholesterol (192, 193 mg/dl), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (130, 131 mg/dl), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (41, 42 mg/dl), and triglyceride (TG) (108, 106 mg/dl) concentrations. Effects attributed to gender included higher HDL in females and higher TG in males associated with the tendency for higher LDL and LDL/HDL ratios in men. However, both sexes were equally responsive to changes in dietary fat saturation. The results indicate that in healthy, normocholesterolemic humans, dietary 16:0 can be exchanged for 18:1 within the range of these fatty acids normally present in typical diets without affecting the serum lipoprotein cholesterol concentration or distribution. In addition, replacement of 12:0 + 14:0 by 16:0 + 18:1, but especially 16:0 or some component of palm olein, appeared to have a beneficial impact on an important index of thrombogenesis, i.e., the thromboxane/prostacyclin ratio in plasma.
Steroid-induced ocular hypertension (SIOH) is associated with topical and systemic use of steroids. However, SIOH-associated anterior and posterior segment morphological changes in rats have not been described widely. Here we describe the pattern of intraocular pressure (IOP) changes, quantitative assessment of trabecular meshwork (TM) and retinal morphological changes and changes in retinal redox status in response to chronic dexamethasone treatment in rats. We also evaluated the responsiveness of steroid-pretreated rat eyes to 5 different classes of antiglaucoma drugs that act by different mechanisms. Up to 80% of dexamethasone treated animals achieved significant and sustained IOP elevation. TM thickness was significantly increased and number of TM cells was significantly reduced in SIOH rats compared to the vehicle-treated rats. Quantitative assessment of retinal morphology showed significantly reduced thickness of ganglion cell layer (GCL) and inner retina (IR) in SIOH rats compared to vehicle-treated rats. Estimation of retinal antioxidants including catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione showed significantly increased retinal oxidative stress in SIOH animals. Furthermore, steroid-treated eyes showed significant IOP lowering in response to treatment with 5 different drug classes. This indicated the ability of SIOH eyes to respond to drugs acting by different mechanisms. In conclusion, SIOH was associated with significant morphological changes in TM and retina and retinal redox status. Additionally, SIOH eyes also showed IOP lowering in response to drugs that act by different mechanisms of action. Hence, SIOH rats appear to be an inexpensive and noninvasive model for studying the experimental antiglaucoma drugs for IOP lowering and neuroprotective effects.
Effects of high-protein diets that are rich in saturated fats on cell adhesion molecules, thrombogenicity and other nonlipid markers of atherosclerosis in humans have not been firmly established. We aim to investigate the effects of high-protein Malaysian diets prepared separately with virgin olive oil (OO), palm olein (PO) and coconut oil (CO) on cell adhesion molecules, lipid inflammatory mediators and thromobogenicity indices in healthy adults.