HDL-cholesterol levels were determined by a heparin-Ca precipitation method in 89 survivors of cerebral infarction (CI) (75 males, 14 females) and 14 patients with transient ischemic attacks (TIA) (8 males, 6 females). The mean values of HDL-cholesterol concentration and HDL:LDL-cholesterol ratio for both sexes of CI patients were significantly lower than those of the healthy controls (37 males, 14 females). These values for CI patients were significantly lower than in patients with various diseases excluding cardiovascular disease, hepatic disease, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus and degenerative disorders of the nervous system (46 males, 43 females). In patients with TIA, these differences were statistically significant only for men. Based on the patient's history, clinical signs and symptoms and the findings of computerized tomography and 4-vessel angiography, male CI patients were divided into 2 sub-groups, CI believed to be in the distribution of a perforating artery and CI in the distribution of a cortical artery; it was found that the HDL-cholesterol level and HDL:LDL-cholesterol ratio were significantly lower in the cortical artery group than in the perforating artery group, suggesting that these lipoprotein abnormalities may play a part in the pathogenesis of CI, particularly of the cortical artery area infarction.

Age-related differences of human skin collagen in solubility, susceptibility to pepsin digestion, and the spectrum of collagen molecules were systematically examined. Less than .5% of the skin collagen were solubilized in a neutral salt solution. The solubility in acetic acid decreased rapidly during maturation and then slowly with age. Insoluble collagen from an infant was almost completely solubilized by pepsin digestion, whereas most of that from the elderly individuals remained insoluble even after four repeated times of pepsin digestion. The solubilized collagen was considered to contain a considerable amount of polymeric molecules. Characteristically, the amount of the Millipore-retained fraction of pepsin-solubilized collagen was prominent at the fourth decade. These differences represent the aging process of collagen.

MURAI, A., MIYAHARA, T., TANAKA, T., KANEKO, T., SAKO, Y. and KAMEYAMA, M. Abnormalities of Lipoprotein and Carbohydrate Metabolism in Degenerative Diseases of the Nervous System -Motor Neuron Disease and Spinocerebellar Degeneration. Tohoku J. exp. Med., 1983, 139 (4), 365-376 The levels of plasma high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and plasma triglyceride were determined in 44 patients with motor neuron disease (MND) and in 36 patients with spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD). In both groups the HDL cholesterol levels were significantly lower than those in healthy controls, whereas the plasma triglyceride levels were higher than those in the controls. Glucose levels during the oral glucose tolerance test (GTT) were significantly higher in both MND and SCD groups than in healthy controls. Immunoreactive insulin (IRI) levels during GTT were rather higher at 0 and 120 min in both MND and SCD groups than in healthy controls. Glycosylated hemoglobin levels were lower in MND than in the controls. These results indicate that both lipoprotein and carbohydrate metabolisms were impaired in MND and SCD groups. The possibility was presented that denervation might play a part in the pathogenesis of abnormalities of lipoprotein and carbohydrate metabolisms.---motor neuron disease; spinocerebellar degeneration; high density lipoprotein; glucose tolerance test; glycosylated hemoglobin A number of studies have shown a high incidence of impaired glucose metabolism in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (Ionaescu and Luca

No abstract

We examined the osteogenesis process in transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1)-treated neonatal and adult rats, aiming to investigate the age difference in the effect of TGF-beta 1 on mesenchymal cell differentiation. Recombinant human (rh) TGF-beta 1 (20 and 200 ng) was injected onto the outer periostea of the right side of the parietal bone of each rat once a day for 1-12 days starting at the age of either 1 day or 12 weeks. On the day after the final injection, the calvaria was excised and evaluated histologically. In the neonates, the 12-day treatment with rhTGF-beta 1 increased the number of osteoprogenitor cells, resulting in intramembranous ossification. In the adult rats, rhTGF-beta 1 induced differentiation of chondrocytes. Cartilage masses were surrounded by mesenchymal cells, which would differentiate into chondrocytes. The cartilage matrix was partially calcified, with chondrocytes buried therein. In the calcified matrix, marrow cavities containing some multinuclear osteoclasts were formed. These findings indicate that rhTGF-beta 1 stimulated the differentiation of mesenchymal cells into chondrocytes and produced the cartilaginous matrix. rhTGF-beta 1 induced intramembranous ossification of the parietal bone in neonatal rats, and it induced enchondral ossification in adults. This result suggests that the different responses of mesenchymal cells in the periosteum to rhTGF-beta 1 may depend on the age of the animals used: namely, they may reflect the respective osteogenic stages of modeling and remodeling.