Acute suicidal poisoning with lithium carbonate]

A case of the acute poisoning with lithium carbonate is presented. Single hemodialysis did not decrease lithium blood levels significantly. Lithium blood concentration has been slowly decreasing with persisting severe neurological symptoms. Hemodialysis should be repeated until lithium has been released from various tissue compartments.     

Monitoring of lithium levels in human serum after therapy with lithium preparations by capillary isotachophoresis

An isotachophoretic method for the evaluation of the level of lithium salts in serum samples was optimized. Use of operating systems containing polyethylene glycol permitted the separation of cationically migrating components from Li (i.e., Na, K and Ca). The pretreatment of serum samples involves only appropriate dilution with demineralized water depending on the concentration of the major components such as sodium. The lithium levels were studied both in model samples and serum from patients treated with lithium preparations.     

The kinetics of lithium in the rat serum, brain and liver]

The kinetics of lithium in the serum, liver and brain of rats is described. The serum levels resembled those of man, whereas considerable quantitative differences were observed when comparing specific kinetic parameters. The brain level increased with the increasing doses, approaching the corresponding serum level. Concentration differences between different brain areas could be observed only after repeated administrations. Striatum, cortex and hippocampus showed significantly higher levels than the thalamus. The liver content remained low with increasing doses, and was below the brain level.     

The monitoring possibility of some mammalian cells for zinc concentrations on metallic materials

Zinc plating is widely used to protect steels against corrosion. However, the possibility of a high environmental risk for zinc has been recently discussed among advanced countries and more environmentally-friendly substitutes are required urgently. Therefore, monitoring zinc concentration changes on metallic materials such as steel is very important. We chose to measure zinc concentration changes in some mammalian cells and confirmed that V79 cells were highly sensitive to changes in zinc concentrations. In this study, the following process was applied to the proprietary production for tin-zinc alloy films on steel using V79 cells. Specimens were immersed in PBS to produce extracts. Zinc concentrations in the extracts almost corresponded to zinc concentrations on steel surfaces. When extracts were added to a V79 cell culture, colony formation was inhibited, and inhibition increased with increases in zinc concentrations. Changes in zinc concentrations on steel surfaces with heat treatment could be monitored relatively well by V79 cells, even though the results were still semi-quantitative.     

The use of lithium carbonate in the treatment of mood disorders

The use of lithium ions in the treatment of manic states is discussed. Lithium is possibly the only specific drug treatment presently available for the major psychoses and has met with enthusiasm in England, Scandinavia, Australia and, more recently, in Canada and the United States.A number of the published papers on the subject are not sufficiently comprehensive to provide guidance for even its empiric use; some lack the necessary controls and design to permit comparisons with other studies.Some clinicians with wide experience of lithium therapy do not maintain laboratory control of patients by ordering serum lithium determinations but rely entirely on clinical judgement in establishing drug schedules. This is not advised if one has little experience with lithium therapy because of the possible side effects and toxicity.     

Treatment of the painful shoulder syndrome with amitriptyline and lithium carbonate

Thirty-four patients with painful shoulder syndrome (PSS) were psychologically assessed and the results compared with those from a control group presenting other musculoskeletal disorders. A significantly greater prevalence of depression was found in the former group. Fifty-six patients with PSS were treated with only lithium and amitriptyline for four months; 44 patients showed marked clinical improvement and radiologic clearing of dystrophic calcification. Lithiumamitriptyline therapy, when compared with physiotherapy in another series of 11 patients, was found to be far superior. Some possible biochemical links between depression and PSS are outlined, and the theory that PSS may be a clinical entity of psychogenic origin is discussed.     

Detection of lymphokines in patients' blood serum]

A factor suppressing the migration of donor leukocytes and macrophages of guinea pigs in vitro was revealed in the blood serum of patients suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases (pneumonia, rheumatism, tuberculosis) and carcinoma. A factor stimulating the leukocyte migration was sometimes revealed in the blood sera of the patients. In chromatography of the blood sera on sephadex G-100 the activity of both factors proved to localize in fractions with the mol wt of 15000--45000 dalton. Depression of stimulation of leukocyte migration could be also caused by immunoglobulin fractions (mol wt--150000 dalton) of the blood sera of patients suffering from acute pneumonia, apparently on account of the presence in them of the antigen-antibody complex; however, these sera contained no migration suppression factor. The blood serum fractions with the mol wt of 15000--45000 dalton, including those containing the migration suppression factor inhibited the inhibited the spontaneous and induced by phytohemagglutinin blast transformation lymphocytes, and the immunoglobulin ones--the latter only. Apparently the migration suppression factor of the blood serum served as the product of activated lymphocytes.     

Ex vivo detection of calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate in rat blood serum

The total calcium (tCa) in blood serum comprises free Ca²⁺ ions (fCa), protein-bound calcium (prCa), and complexed calcium by small anions (cCa). The cCa fraction, in addition to fCa, has been indicated to have some physiological activity. However, there is little evidence for the structure of its constituents. Here we report an ex vivo detection of the cCa constituents by synchrotron X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy. We collected the data directly on rat blood serum and, by making use of the reference samples, derived a spectrum that exhibits the features of cCa constituents. Among the features are those of the complexes of calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate. The detected complexes in the cCa fraction are mainly Ca(η²-HPO₄)(H₂O)₄ and Ca(η¹-HCO₃)(H₂O)₅⁺, in which HPO₄^2? and HCO₃^? serve as bidentate and unidentate ligands, respectively. The remained H₂O molecules on the coordination sphere of Ca²⁺ enable these complexes to behave partially like aquated Ca²⁺ ions in protein-binding. Besides, as the dominant part of prCa, albumin-bound calcium (albCa) exhibits a spectrum that closely resembles that of fCa, indicating weak interactions between the protein carboxyl groups and calcium. The weak-bound cCa and albCa, along with fCa and the relevant anions, compose a local chemical system that could play a role in maintaining the calcium level in blood.     

Immunoenzymatic method for determining thyroglobulin levels in human blood serum]

An inexpensive enzyme immunoassay method was designed for the determination of thyroglobulin concentration in human blood serum. The range of concentrations of thyroglobulin which can be measured by the method is between 6 and 800 ng/ml. The sensitivity of the method is comparable to that of the commercial test kits. The values of thyroglobulin concentration obtained with the use of the described method are strongly correlated (r = 0.946) with those obtained by using the reference method (IRMA kit of Byk, Sweden). The intraassay coefficient of variation ranged from 5.5 to 10.2% and interassay coefficient of variation from 9.5 to 13.2% depending on the thyroglobulin concentration. The upper limit of blood serum thyroglobulin concentration in healthy subjects was 70 ng/ml. The results of thyroglobulin determination obtained with the described method are falsely lowered in the presence of antithyroglobulin antibodies; simultaneous determination of these antibodies is thus necessary in such a case. It seems that the described method may be used for monitoring the patients after surgical treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer aimed at early detection of metastases.     

Level of calcitonin in blood serum of children with insulin dependent diabetes]

Calcitonin concentration (CT) was measured in 52 children with insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM). All the patients studied were divided into three groups. The first group consisted of children with freshly diagnosed diabetes remaining in the condition of ketonemic acidosis. The second group was composed of children with the well controlled diabetes during the first two years od duration of the disease. The third group included the patients with poorly controlled diabetes of the duration longer than ten years having the accompanying vascular complications. The control values were determined in children without metabolic disturbances of either diabetic or other origin. CT concentration was significantly elevated both in the patients of the first group and those of the third group. In the second group the concentration of this hormone was close to normal. It is known that calcitonin participates in the homeostasis of calcium and is an important regulator of insulin secretion. The results obtained suggest that calcitonin may play a role both in the pathogenesis of diabetes and in developing of diabetic osteopenia.     

Quantitative determination of lysozyme in the blood serum]

A method, based on the lysozyme ability to selective sorption on chitin followed by reversible enzyme-substrate complex formation, is suggested for quantitative determination of lysozyme in blood serum. The technique offers no difficulty in application, requires no expensive equipment and therefore can be used in clinical practice.