The ability to vary systematically the neuronal environment is one advantage afforded by the use of cell culture. Replacement of serum, a variable and undefined medium supplement, with known ingredients allows even greater control of culture conditions. We have studied biochemical and morphological properties related to neurotransmitter metabolism of rat sympathetic neurons cultured in a modifi...

A 32-year-old female patient presented complaining of increased flushing, perspiration and heat intolerance of 3 months’ duration. Medical history included idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura of 4 years’ duration, which had been treated by splenectomy after failed immunosuppression with prednisone and azathioprine and was currently in remission. On examination, she was found to be clinically eu...

In this new solid-phase antibody enzyme immunoassay for free triiodothyronine (FT3) in serum, beta-D-galactosidase conjugated to triiodothyronine is used. Results are uninfluenced by physiological concentrations of thyroxin-binding globulin or albumin. Results correlate well with those determined by equilibrium dialysis (r = 0.95). The mean CVs within and between assays were 6.1 and 9.5%, respe...

under usual artificial light conditions, and storage of unproc-essed whole blood without antico-agulants at room temperature on the bench. Additionally, we tested the effect of multiple freeze-thaw cycles. 25(OH)–vitamin D 3 measurements were performed on a Cobas E601 an-alyzer (Roche), using the vitamin D 3 (25-OH) assay as recommended by the manufacturer. Samples from each storage experiment ...

A reliable method has been developed for the determination of total serum T3, dialyzable fraction (DFT3), and absolute concentration of free T3 (AFT3). Total T3 values (mean +/- SD) were: healthy euthyroid subjects, 0.33 +/- 0.07 mug per 100 ml; hyperthyroid patients, 0.71 +/- 0.1 mug per 100 ml; hypothyroid, 0.10 +/- 0.03 mug per 100 ml. Values (mean +/- SD) for DFT3 in these groups were 0.46 ...

We describe a double-antibody enzyme immunoassay for free thyroxin (FT4) in serum with use of beta-D-galactosidase conjugated to thyroxin. The method is uninfluenced by thyroxin-binding globulin or albumin. Values for FT4 so determined correlated well with those determined by radioimmunoassay (r = 0.98) and equilibrium dialysis (r = 0.89). The mean variability (CV) within and between assays was...

We have developed a method to determine serum scavenging-capacity profile against multiple free radical species, namely hydroxyl radical, superoxide radical, alkoxyl radical, alkylperoxyl radical, alkyl radical, and singlet oxygen. This method was applied to a cohort of chronic kidney disease patients. Each free radical species was produced with a common experimental procedure; i.e., uv/visible...

Two age groups (young and old, n = 12) matched for physical fitness and two physical fitness groups (high and old, n = 12) matched for age participated in a four month physical fitness programme. Blood samples were drawn at four stages of metabolic stress at the pre-test and five stages at the post-test. The blood samples were analyzed by colorimetric methods for total cholesterol and free chol...

A dialysis method for determining “free” thyroxine in diluted serum is presented. The effect of a number of variables (pH, incubation time and temperature, buffer composition and concentration, protein concentration, and specimen dilution) was studied, and pertinent data are presented. Withinrun precision (95% confidence limits) was ±10.6%; between-run precision was ±14.2%. Specimens from 84 he...

The finding of lipid substances in all electrophoretically separable serum proteins, in the case of w and ,&globulins in remarkably large proportions (Blix, Tiselius, and Svensson, 1941), raised the question of the possible r&e of the lipids in the electrophoretic behavior of these proteins. Experiments with sera from which the lipids had been largely removed, according to the mild extraction p...