SUMMARY Fifty normal people and 50 diabetic patients were studied by means of an enzymatic method for the glucose content in the blood, tears, and urine before and after the peroral glucose load. In normal subjects the fasting glucose lhvels in the tears averaged 3-6 mg/100 ml (0-2 mmol/l) and in the diabetic patients it averaged .ng/100 ml (0-92 mmol/l). As in blood and urine, tear glucose levels are significantly higher in diabetic patients than normal persons both at fasting and after the peroral glucose load test. The fasting tear glucose level did not appear to be a satisfactory index for classifying a person as a diabetic or normal. It was found that after the peroral glucose load test a tear glucose level at 11 mg/100 ml (0'61 mmol/l) resulted in only 4-6% of the diabetics being missed, while 5 8 % of the normal persons were misclassified as diabetics.It has been the practice to obtain blood or urine samples for glucose analysis to detect hyperglycaemia and diabetes mellitus. Collection of a blood sample is not always convenient and of a urine sample is messy. The difficulties are greater in mass surveys for detecting the prevalence of diabetes in a given population. Attention has therefore been drawn to the study of tear glucose to find out if it can be used as an alternative method for the detection of diabetes and hyperglycaemia, However, the data concerning its level in tears remain confusing and contradictory both as regards its normal level in tears and its relationship with hyperglycaemia.1-4The purpose of this project was to study the relationship between tear glucose and blood glucose in normal people and in diabetic patients before and after the peroral glucose load test. It was also intended to see whether any value of tear glucose could be used to separate diabetics and normal persons. Samples of blood, tears, and urine were collected after overnight fast and without the diabetic patients receiving any antidiabetic drugs. Tear specimens were collected by the method already described.5 All the samples were stored at -20°C and analysed on the same day. An oral load of 100 g of glucose was given to each subject. Further samples of blood, tears, and urine were collected 2 hours after the peroral glucose load test. The samples were analysed by the enzymatic method.6 Patients and methods ResultsThe mean, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation (CV) of the level of glucose in blood, tears, and urine in normal persons and in diabetic patients during fasting and after the glucose load are given, in Table 1. It can be seen that there was considerable variation from one individual to another in fasting glucose level and the level after 693 on 12 May 2018 by guest. Protected by copyright.

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Lysozyme, discovered by Fleming,' is widely distributed in nature. It has been found in measurable quantity in tears, saliva, serum, nasal secretions, urine, neutrophils, and macrophages.2 Since alteration in the lysozyme level in human tears has been observed in some ocular diseases,-'2 its measurement can be of considerable diagnostic importance. However, an adequate knowledge of the biological variations is essential for valid comparisons of tear lysozyme levels between healthy and diseased subjects.The present study was undertaken to find out differences, if any, in the tear lysozyme concentration between the two eyes and also the diurnal variation in the same eye. The concentrations of tear lysozyme over a period of time and in relation to age and sex have also been studied. Material and methodsThe study was carried out on healthy Indian subjects belonging to the same racial group. They were either volunteers or had attended the outpatient department of Guru Nanak Eye Centre, New Delhi, for refraction. They had no ocular or systemic disease. All of them had been in the uniform hospital environment for at least two hours prior to sampling.In the first part of the study tear samples were

(Hemmingsen and 0ther, 1967;Dieckhues, 1967;Allansmith et al., 1973).It was therefore decided to study the immunoglobulin levels in aqueous humour in living eyes with senile cataractous changes so that the available data could be used as control for further studies in various ocular diseases. Subjects and methods44 cases with cataractous changes were included in the study. All of them reported to Irwin Hospital for extraction of the lens. The mean age of these patients was 55-9 years (SD 10-0, range 35 to 85 years). There were 21 females with mean age 54-3 years , range 40 to 70 years), and 23 males with mean age 60-0 years (SD 10-8, range 35 to 85 years). 14 cases showed early senile cataractous changes, 13 moderate senile cataractous changes, and 17 nearly mature senile cataracts. Hypermature

1959) have observed a decrease in liver RNA and protein in hypophysectomized rats. Administration of growth hormone restored the levels of liver RNA and protein in these animals. Sesso & Valeri (1958) noted that growth hormone increased the DNA and RNA content of the atrophic pancreas in hypophysectomized rats and concluded that the primary effect of growth hormone is to increase cellular multiplication without modifying appreciably the cytoplasmic growth or the per-cell content of the nucleic acids. In this paper we have examined the effects of growth-hormone treatment and of partial hepatectomy on the incorporation of labelled orthophosphate into RNA from several subcellular fractions of rat liver. MATERIALS AND METHODSAnimals. Six-month-old female (plateaued) albino rats (Malaria Institute strain) were used with litter-mates as controls. The rats were deprived of food overnight.Growth hormone. Antuitrin-G (Parke, Davis and Co. Ltd.) was used and diluted in sterilized 0 9 % NaCl, so that each millilitre contained 10 units. The biological potency of the material was confirmed by assay on female plateaued rats (Evans & Simpson, 1931). The weights of the treated rats increased by 16-26 %, whereas those of the controls did not fluctuate beyond 5-7 %.Partial hepatectomy. One lobe of liver was removed under ether anaesthesia. After 26 hr. the rat was killed and the liver removed.Radioactive phosphorus. 32P as orthophosphate in sterile 0 9 % NaCl (Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay) was injected intraperitoneally (100,uc/100 g. of rat).Removal of the tissue. The animals were killed by decapitation. The liver was perfused through the hepatic vein with cold 0-25M-sucrose; it was weighed and homogenized in a mixture of (a) 8 vol. of 0-25M-sucrose containing 3-3 mM-CaCI2 and (b) 1 vol. of 0 5M-sucrose (final concentration: sucrose 0-28M, CaCl2 2-9 mM). The homogenization was done in a Potter-Elvehjem (Potter, 1955) type of homogenizer fitted with a Teflon pestle.

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SUMMARY The a1-antitrypsin and serum albumin levels in tear fluids were measured by electroimmunodiffusion in 76 healthy subjects and 63 patients with acute adenovirus conjunctivitis. They were found to be significantly increased during the acute phase of the disease. There was a correlation between increased severity of disease and increased levels of both the proteins. There was no significant difference in the tear a1-antitrypsin and serum albumin levels in viral isolation-positive and isolation-negative patients. The raised levels of the two proteins in tears may reflect conjunctival inflammation rather than infection, since both isolation-positive and isolationnegative patients had the raised levels. The levels of the two proteins returned to normal with clinical improvement.