No abstract

Rationale-After alcohol ingestion, the brain partly switches from consumption of glucose to consumption of the alcohol metabolite acetate. In heavy drinkers, the switch persists after abrupt abstinence, leading to the hypothesis that the resting brain may be "starved" when acetate levels suddenly drop during abstinence, despite normal blood glucose, contributing to withdrawal symptoms. We hypothesized that ketone bodies, like acetate, could act as alternative fuels in the brain and alleviate withdrawal symptoms.Objectives-We previously reported that a ketogenic diet during alcohol exposure reduced acute withdrawal symptoms in rats. Here, our goals were to test whether 1) we could reproduce our findings, in mice and with longer alcohol exposure, 2) ketone bodies alone are sufficient to reduce withdrawal symptoms (clarifying mechanism), 3) introduction of ketogenic diets at abstinence (a clinically more practical implementation) would also be effective.Terms of use and reuse: academic research for non-commercial purposes, see here for full terms. http://www.springer.com/gb/openaccess/authors-rights/aam-terms-v1

No abstract

1. On isoelectric focusing, renin from rat kidneys showed three activity peaks with pI values at pH 5.0, 5.2 and 5.4 after a purification procedure involving differential centrifugation, acidification, chromatography on Sephadex G-75 and dialysis. 2. The preparation (purified 140-fold) was compared with a crude kidney extract in the absence and presence of 3 M-urea by isoelectric focusing. The pattern of activity distribution was confirmed by these experiments and the content of isoenzymes in the three groups calculated. 3. Pig renin was prepared and compared with rat renin with regard to molecular weight, acid activation, behaviour on isoelectric focusing, immunogenicity and substrate affinity. 4. Extracts of rat kidney contained multiple forms of renin with mol.wt. between 39000and 42000, whereas active pig renin had an approximate mol.wt. of 40000. Acidification of rat renal extracts did not increase the activity of renin, indicating the absence of an inactive form of renin in rat kidneys, whereas pig renin was activated by this procedure. Pig renin has isoelectric points at pH 4.6, 4.8, 5.05 and 5.2, significantly lower than for rat renin. The isoenzymes from the two species had no antigenicity in common, as shown by crossed immunoelectrophoresis or rocket immunoelectrophoresis. 5. The Michaelis constants for pig and rat renin were in the same range, 1 X 10(-6) M, when rat renin substrate was used. The relative content of rat isoenzyme with pI in the pH ranges 4.9-5.1, 5.1-5.3 and 5.3-5.5 was approx. 20, 27 and 53% respectively. Purified pig renin prepared in two different ways had isoenzymes with pI in the pH regions 4.5-4.7, 4.7-4.9, 4.9-5.05 and 5.05-5.20 in the approximate proportions 14, 24, 28 and 29%.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract