An 8-year-old girl with chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIIP), who is the first case of CIIP in Japan, has been receiving total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for more than 6 years. During this time, she experienced deficiencies of copper, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B12, folic acid, and biotin, and an excess of vitamin A; she exhibited a series of signs and symptoms due to these deficiencies and vitamin A overdosage. Nevertheless, careful monitoring of serum levels of trace elements and vitamins and appropriate therapy have almost solved these problems. She has achieved normal physical and mental development and goes to school, while receiving home parenteral nutrition with an ambulatory infusion system.

Biotin↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The role of rat copulatory plug for fertilization.

To investigate the contribution of the rat copulatory plug (RCP) to fertilization we evaluated the following: 1) its role as a reservoir for spermatozoa, 2) its role in the prevention of the outflow of spermatozoa from the vagina, and 3) its importance in the process of the sperm into the uterus. Artificial inseminations with either fresh RCP or epididymal spermatozoal solutions or the postcoital removal of the RCP was performed in normal female rats in estrus and in pseudopregnant rats (following relaxation of the cervix by faradic stimulation). The pregnancy rates in the different groups indicated that only the third mechanism was important.

Animals↗