Partially purified cholecystokinin (CCK) was injected intraperitoneally into fasted rats prior to food presentation. The hormone produced a large dose-related suppression of intake of solid and liquid diets. Identical doses of the synthetic terminal octapeptide of cholecystokinin produced identical results. An effective dose of CCK did not suppress drinking after water deprivation. Treated animals did not appear ill and were not hyperthermic; neither CCK nor the octapeptide produced learning of a taste aversion in bait-shyness tests. The effect of CCK is not a property of all gut hormones, since injections of secretin did not affect feeding. These studies raise the possibility that CCK plays an inhibitory role in the short-term control of feeding behavior.

subunit assay), pregnancy-specific a ,-glycoprotein, and cafetoprotein persist longer after some spontaneous abortions than after the birth of normal babies. Pastorfide et al"9 showed that HCG persists for about twice as long after therapeutic abortions as after normal vaginal delivery (22 days as opposed to 11) and attributed this to viable trophoblastic cells being left in the uterus after surgical intervention, since after term delivery there is a more complete removal of placental tissue.Whatever the correct explanation our findings suggest that spontaneous abortions are more relevant to ASB and other abnormalities than has been thought. Because of the short IPG in many of the index cases it might be informative to determine whether the incidence of malformations is reduced when a subsequent pregnancy is delayed after a spontaneous abortion, especially if the HCG concentration is raised. There has been a pronounced fall in the birth rate, particularly in social classes IV and V, which is probably the result of family-planning campaigns. Additional advice could easily be given about procedure after a spontaneous abortion, and if this were done and our hypothesis is correct the incidence of ASB and probably other abnormalities would automatically fall.We thank the obstetricians and paediatricians at Broadgreen, Fazakerly, the Maternity, Mill Road, and Sefton General hospitals, Liverpool, for allowing us to study their case notes, and the clerical staff in the records offices of these hospitals for much help. We are indebted to Professor Frank Harris for valuable advice, and Dr S C Rogers for useful discussions. We are grateful to the F B Baily Charitable Trust and the Nuffield Foundation for financial support.Requests for reprints should be addressed to: Sir Cyril Clarke, Neonate, 1977, 31, 84. 16 Stevenson, A C, and McClarin, R H, Nature, 1957, 180, 198. 17 Clarke, C A, et al, British Medical journal, 1976, 1, 455. 1 Roberts, C J, and Powell, R G, Lancet, 1975, 2, 848. 19 Pastorfide, Greg B, et al, American journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1974, 118, 293. (Accepted 8 February 1978) Creamatocrit: simple clinical technique for estimating fat concentration and energy value of human milk A LUCAS, J A H GIBBS, R L J LYSTER, J D BAUM British Medical Journal, 1978, 1, 1018-1020 Summary and conclusions A simple micromethod has been devised for estimating the fat and energy content of human milk based on the centrifugation of milk in a haematocrit centrifuge. The percentage of cream, or "creamatocrit," is read from the haematocrit capillary tube and is linearly related to the fat and energy content.The technique, which is rapid and cheap, may be used in clinical practice, in research, and in epidemiological studies.

The behavior of intact rats and rats with chronic gastric fistulas was observed and scored during a 60-min test period when they were offered liquid diet after 17 hr of food deprivation. Intact rats and rats with closed fistulas displayed a specific behavioral sequence at the end of each meal: They stopped eating, engaged in grooming and exploration for a short time, and then rested or slept. Thus, a fixed behavioral sequence characterizes satiety in the rat. Although the behavioral sequence of satiety was fixed, the cessation of feeding was not a sufficient condition for the appearance of the rest of the sequence: Quinine adulteration of the liquid diet stopped sham feeding but did not elicit the complete sequence. Intraperitoneal injection of the intestinal hormone cholecystokinin during sham feeding, however, elicited the complete sequence of satiety. The observation that cholecystokinin not only stops feeding but elicits the complete sequence of satiety supports our hypothesis that endogenous cholecystokinin is a satiety signal for the rat.Recent experimental results are consistent with our hypothesis that the intestinal hormone cholecystokinin (CCK) is a satiety signal in rats (

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