Spasm Group Research Articles

Preliminary studies in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid cortisol in children with different diseases

A protein binding technique for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cortisol detection is described. Using this technique and a protein binding method for plasma cortisol measurement, we studied plasma and CSF cortisol in 5 children with infantile spasms (West syndrome) and in 48 children, from the neonatal period up to 14 years of age, with other diseases (in total 35 boys and 18 girls). In the infantile spasm group we found elevated cortisol levels in the plasma exceeding 260 ng/ml, and in the CSF, levels higher than 20 ng/ml. The quotient plasma cortisol to CSF cortisol was under 10.6. Similar findings were made in 15 patients with other pathologic conditions.

SOME ASPECTS OF MESANGIAL CELL PROLIFERATION OF THE RENAL GLOMERULUS:

In order to investigate factors of the mesangial cell proliferation in acute and diffuse intramembranous-proliferative glomerulonephritis, rabbits were used for making cases of the basement membrane damaged groups by administrations of sublimate, trypsin and hyaluronidase and arteriolar spasm groups by adrenalin and noradrenalin. The renal specimen of each case was observed by light- and partially electron microscopy. In the former groups there were in the glomerulus damages of the basement membrane, mesangial matrix and cellular components, proteinous substance in Bowman's space and hyalin droplet degeneration in various degrees of tubular epithelia, while the mesangial cell did not proliferate and rather decreased in number. If any increased, they were very slight. On the contrary in the latter groups, arteriolar spasm groups, particularly in the noradrenalin series, diffuse or focal mesangial cell proliferation with slight increase of the mesangial matrix was observed. The increase of the mesangial cell wa also ascertained by calculating the number of nuclei in the glomerulus. This fact suggests that intraglomerular hypoxia due to arteriolar spasm might be one of the factors for the mesangial cell proliferation which has been left behind in recent studies of investigating the pathogenesis of Masugi-nephritis.The author wishes to express grateful appreciation to Prof. Dr. T. Kobayashi and Dr. H. Sakaguchi for their cordial instructions. He is also indebted to the many people who gave him advice and technical assistance.