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During 1988 and 1989, a regional cohort of 81 infants with birth weights less than 1501 g were treated with oxygen only (n = 11), early continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) (n = 68) or mechanical ventilation from birth (n = 2). We used an easily applicable lightweight CPAP system with nasal prongs and a gas jet supplemented with ventilator treatment if necessary, but with conservative criteria for ventilator treatment with tolerance of high PCO2. A total of 65 infants (80%) survived to discharge, 61 of whom were supported solely with CPAP or oxygen. Nineteen infants (26%) developed periventricular-intraventricular haemorrhage, but only 4 survivors (6%) developed prognostically significant bleedings grade 2-4. No survivors had bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Follow-up at 12-39 months of age revealed definite disabilities in 6 (10%) and suspected disabilities in 2 of 62 long-term survivors. The results suggest that treatment by early CPAP with nasal prongs with tolerance of high PCO2 may be effective and lenient in most infants more than 25 weeks' gestation.

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Alanine dehydrogenase (L-alanine:NAD+ oxidoreductase (deaminating), EC 1.4.1.1) from Halobacterium salinarium requires high concentrations of NaCl for both activity and stability. The enzyme is thermophilic with an optimum temperature of 70 °C in 3.4 M KCl and of 60 °C in 3.4 M NaCl. A thermophilic character has also been found for six other enzymes from H. salinarium. The alanine dehydrogenase becomes inactivated if the NaCl concentration drops below 1.5 M and it becomes reactivated if the salt concentration is increased to 4 M. Both reactions, the inactivation as well as the reactivation, require the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol for a complete reactivation. The reactivation reaction is irreversibly inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide.

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