Physico-chemical and morphologic parameters of skin layers and subcutaneous tissue in lymphedematous limb were studied in vivo using magnetic resonance imaging. High resolution images were obtained with a depth resolution of about 70 microm, using a specific surface gradient coil specially designed for skin imaging and connected to a standard whole-body imager at 1.5 T. Twenty-one patients with unilateral lower extremity lymphedema (11 primary and 10 secondary) were examined. Skin thickness, relaxation times, and relative proton density were calculated in lymphedematous limbs and in contralateral extremities. In diseased limbs, the average skin thickness (2.17 mm) was significantly larger (p = 1.5 x 10(-4)) than that of contralateral limb (1.14 mm). Major cutaneous alterations due to lymphedema took place in dermis. In lymphedematous dermis, the significant increase of relaxation time values could be due to a shift in the equilibrium of water inside this tissue in relation to the interactions between macromolecules and water molecules. In lymphedematous epidermis our results showed an increase in the number of free water protons. Information about water and fat distribution in lymphedema was also obtained using chemical shift weighted images. Our results demonstrated a water retention diffusely spread over the entire dermis, and an important fluid retention located in the interlobular spacing and beside the superficial fascia. Inside the subcutis, the mean thickness of the superficial fat lobules was increased more than that of the deep fat lobules. From all the various measurements we could not distinguish primary from secondary lymphedema.

Recent findings on the nutritive value of rapeseed oil (RSO) with high erucic acid content have been compared to those of eanbra oil (CO), an oil extracted from newly bred Canadian rapeseed with no erueie acid. Erucic acid in diets retards animal growth even if food consumption is not altered. Growth performances of CO are as good as olive or peanut oil. The unbalanced ratio of palmitic acid to monoethylenic acids of CO does not affect rat growth rate. Because of its glyeeride structure and high content of erucic acid, RSO has a lower digestibility (81%) than CO (96%) in the rat. Unabsorbed erucic acid is not preferentially excreted as calcium soaps. Interesterification of RSO which converts 31.7% of the erucic chains to the 2 position improves digestibility of erucic acid. 2-Monoerucin is more efficiently absorbed than the free acid. In vivo metabolic conversion of erucic to oleie acid has been proved in the rat. fl-oxidation of injected 14-14C labeled erucic acid proceeded at the same rate as oleic acid but the over-all yield of the reaction was lower. Fatty acid composition of tissues in animals fed RSO or CO is influenced on one hand by erueic and gadoleic (C2o:i) acids of RSO, and on the other hand by the unbalanced ratio of palmitic-monoethylenic acids and the linolenic acid content of both oils. Nonnegligible amounts of erueic acid are deposited in the body fats of rats, chickens, turkeys, lambs and found in the milk of female rats fed RSO. Almost no erueic acid is incorporated in liver and testicles in the rat and it is not recovered in chicken egg yolk. The effect of RSO on rat reproduction has been re-examined. Dietary lipid and vitamin levels are of great importance in the results

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Male wistar rats fed purified diets containing 15% sunflower oil (SF) by weight, high erucic acid rapeseed oil (HEAR) or low erucic acid rapeseed oil (LEAR) for 12 weeks and subjected to a moderate treadmill running program were compared with sedentary animals fed the same diets on the basis of cardiac morphology and complete analysis of cardiac phospholipids. HEAR caused the highest incidence and number of heart lesions both in untrained and trained rats but in the latter there was a highly significant increase of the lesions. LEAR gave a higher incidence of lesions than SF in untrained rats but not in trained ones. If compared to SF, HEAR and LEAR increased cardiac diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG) and sphingomyelin (SM) content (mg/g wet tissue) and decreased phosphatidylcholines (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) in untrained rats. Marked changes in the fatty acid pattern of these phospholipids were also observed. PE and PC in trained and untrained rats fed HEAR or LEAR contained elevated levels of C 22:5 (n-3) and C 22:6 (n-3) fatty acids whereas the C 22:4 (n-6) and C 22:6 (n-6) polyenes disappeared. Monoenes (C 18:1, C 20:1 or C 22:1) largely incorporated in DPG of rats fed the cruciferous oils. In SM levels of saturated fatty acids (C 16:0, C 18:0, C 20:0) and of n-9 monoenes (C 18:1 C 20:1 C 22:1 C 24:1) were higher in rats fed HEAR or LEAR than in those fed SF. These changes were mainly related to the high level of n-9 monoenes (oleic, eicosenoic and erucic acids) as well as to the high ratio linolenic/linoleic acid present in cruciferous oils. Physical training interacted with the effects of these dietary oils on the cardiac phospholipid composition. The relation between changes in phospholipid composition and the incidence and the number of cardiac lesions is discussed.

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