Correspondence high potassium diet with large doses of spironolactone could be dangerous! He further proposes that with either the high potassium or the spironolactone regimen, the normal fluid intake be supplemented by the drinking of 10-15 glasses of distilled water over each of the 3 days before competition.The effects of such mineral ion manipulation upon muscle water content are further supplemented by glycogen depletion (pushed to a state of 'borderline ketosis', as an initial allowance of 92 g day-1 is tapered to 23 g day-' over the period 7-4 days before competition), with a final period of 'supercompensation', when 10 separate 40-g carbohydrate meals are taken at 90-min intervals. The sources of carbohydrate are limited to items such as bananas, raisins, dates, yams, tomatoes, apricots and peaches, the objective being to maximize the intake of potassium, and to minimize the intake of sodium. If the muscles still appear 'flat' on the day before competition, the intake of these carbohydrates is further boosted to 40gh-1. Protein (lgkg-1 of body mass) is taken as dry curd, with the objective of further minimizing sodium intake.After the weigh-in, the 'coach' allows no further fluids until judging has been completed. A sauna to the point of sweating is taken on the day before competition, and again on the morning of competition. The competitor is told to remain lying down for as much of the final 24h as possible, in the hope of achieving an even distribution of oedema fluid. One hour before judging. 100 g of liquid protein is ingested, and half an hour before competition, the competitor also seeks to boost blood sugar by drinking three-quarters of a cup of liquid honey. The stated intent of this practice is to combine muscle oedema with the desired paper thin skin.It is regrettable to see one more form of international competition where coaches are misunderstanding and abusing the expertise of the physiologist in a search for competitive advantage. Moreover, the manipulation of intracellular water content by rigorous dieting and/or the administration of spironolactone carries a considerable risk to health, especially when those who advocate such practices make no attempt to monitor blood electrolytes, and are unclear on the difference between a 100-mg dose and a 100-g poisoning with aldactone! Most entrants in body-building contests are not of an age where cardiac problems would be anticipated, but the combination of heavy weight-lifting with high plasma potassium levels could provoke a lethal cardiac arrhythmia. I am not aware that any of the victims of this particular manipulation have yet progressed to cerebral signs of water intoxication, such as disorientation, restlessness, confusion, a reduced sensitivity to pain and partial or complete loss of consciousness5. However, such intoxication is not unknown in ultramarathon and triathlon events6-8as a consequence of an excessive intake of water and potassium. Appropriate treatment includes the administration of hypertonic saline and/or furosemide or bicarb...

The presence of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase in human fetal membranes and alterations in enzyme activity during the gestational period were studied. Fetal membranes from term deliveries exhibited a high enzymatic activity, whereas membranes from preterm deliveries showed alterations with regard to the gestational weeks. These alterations were found to be similar to those which had previously been obtained from rat placentae during fetal growth and development.

Low levels of blood ascorbate in pregnant women had been thought to have a role in incidence of premature rupture of membranes (PROM). In this study, maternal and fetal blood levels of ascorbate were surveyed in term and preterm labor. Each group was subdivided according to the presence of PROM. Placental ascorbate levels were also studied. Since ascorbate is known to be involved in the synthesis of collagen, hydroxyproline content of the amnion was also measured and taken as an index for collagen production. Amnionic membranes from births with PROM showed relatively low levels of hydroxyproline.Preterm newborns with PROM also exhibited a significantly low ascorbate concentration as compared with preterm controls. In conclusion, ascorbate in the fetal compartment appears to be important for the occurrence of PROM.

No abstract

Fetal tissue transplantation has gathered considerable interest among researchers dealing with organ transplantation. A large number of studies concerning fetal intestinal transplantation have been published in the past 2 decades, almost all of them aiming to determine the feasibility of a properly functioning fetal transplant in continuity with the host's own enteral system. This study was designed to determine the absorptive capacity of the neogut in vivo, without anastomosing the transplant to the host's intestine, and to evaluate its use as an accessory enteral segment. Intestinal segments taken from Wistar albino fetuses were transplanted subcutaneously into the abdominal wall of 20 Sprague-Dawley rats. Immunosuppression was maintained by daily cyclosporin A (Cy A) 10 mg/kg injections s.c. and evaluated by determination of serum Cy A level and T-helper/T-suppressor cell ratio. The neogut was converted into a Thiry-Vella loop 2 weeks after transplantation. A test solution composed of 20% glucose and Trophamine was perfused via the stomas; glucose and amino acid absorption gradients were calculated. The gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity and mitotic index of the neogut were determined. Results were compared to those obtained from the host. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in glucose absorption between the neogut and the host tissue. Amino acid absorption and specific GGT activity were significantly less (P < 0.01) in the neogut. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between neogut and host intestine in mitotic index. Our data support the idea of using a transplanted fetal intestinal segment as an accessory feeding route.