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Biomedical subjects

H P Roth

Publications and source records attributed to H P Roth.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Effect of various unsaturated fatty acids on the stability of the erythrocyte membrane in the rat].

In rats restrictive feeding of a half-synthetic diet, with coconut fat as the dietary fat, caused an essential fatty acid deficiency with increased osmotic fragility of erythrocytes against hypotonic saline solutions. A 60% replacement of the coconut fat in the basal diet by pure oleic acid (18:1 n-9) or linoleic acid (18:2 n-6) by 0.6% alpha-linolenic acid (18:3 n-3), eicosatrienoic acid (20:3 n-3) or eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5 n-3) led, in the case of linoleic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid, to a significant decrease in the fragility of rat erythrocytes in comparison with the basal diet. The inefficacy of the alpha-linolenic acid treatment is possibly the consequence of a too low dietary supplementation.

8,11,14-Eicosatrienoic Acid

[The effect of dietary fats on the hemolysis resistance of the erythrocyte membrane during alimentary zinc and calcium deficiency in rats].

In an earlier Zn-deficiency experiment (8) pair-fed-control rats surprisingly showed a 100% increased osmotic fragility of erythrocytes against hypotonic sodium chloride solutions. Because coconut fat, which is very low in essential fatty acids, was used, a deficiency of essential fatty acids was assumed. When the experiment was repeated the diet's coconut fat was replaced by sunflower oil (21% oleic acid, 69% linoleic acid). The erythrocytes of the animals with Zn-deficiency showed an increase in osmotic fragility as against the control groups fed ad libitum. The data of the pair-fed control animals was in between those two groups and did not differ from the other two groups. Using sunflower oil instead of coconut fat decreased the osmotic fragility of the pair-fed animal's erythrocytes in opposition to the preceding experiment up to 100%. Additional Ca deficiency increased the osmotic fragility of the erythrocytes significantly in all three groups. When the Zn and Ca deficiency animals were repleted over 5 days on the basic diet the osmotic fragility of the erythrocytes was decreased significantly. The results show that the use of coconut fat in a restrictive diet causes essential fatty-acid deficiency. It ist also shown that the osmotic fragility of the erythrocytes depends partially on the status of Zn in dietary fat as well.

Animals

Calmodulin activity in tissues of Zn- and Ca- deficient rats.

36 male Sprague-Dawley rats of an average body weight of 48 g were divided into 4 groups of 9 animals each. Group I was fed the basal diet with 63 mg/kg of Zn and 0.88% calcium, group II received a zinc-deficient diet (1.1 mg/kg of Zn), group III a calcium-deficient diet (0.0043%) and group IV a simultaneous zinc/calcium-deficient diet (1.1 mg/kg of Zn; 0.0043% calcium). All 4 groups received the diet in the same daily amounts, which was based on the food intake of the zinc-deficient group (II), in which food intake was reduced (as it also was in group IV) because of zinc deficiency. On day 28 all animals were killed and the calmodulin activity in the brain, muscles and testes was estimated. Calmodulin activity was determined by measuring the activation of a calmodulin-free phosphodiesterase against a calmodulin standard derived from porcine brain. Compared with the control animals zinc and simultaneous zinc/calcium deficiency reduced calmodulin activity in the muscles and testes, but not in the brain. Alimentary calcium deficiency did not influence calmodulin activity in the brain, muscles and testes.

Animals

Low incidence of hospitalization with gallbladder disease among blacks in the United States.

Low rates of gallbladder disease among blacks have been reported but not systematically studied. The authors investigated the rate of hospitalization with a diagnosis of gallbladder disease in the follow-up in 1982-1984 of the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a population-based study conducted across the United States in 1971-1975. Based on hospital discharge diagnoses of gallbladder disease, 368 cases were identified for the period 1971-1984 among 10,551 persons, aged 25-74 years, who denied gallbladder disease at the baseline examination. The crude incidence of gallbladder disease per 1,000 person-years was 2.59 for white men, 1.45 for black men, 4.09 for white women, and 2.35 for black women. Controlling for obesity, parity, ethanol consumption, use of diuretics, use of oral contraceptives, and two indicators of socioeconomic status, the authors found that the hazard rate of hospitalization with gallbladder disease increased with age for white women and decreased for black women. The hazard ratio for black women compared with white women at 30 years of age was 0.71 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.52-0.96, but at age 70, it was 0.18 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.09-0.37. For women, obesity and parity were important risk factors for gallbladder disease (p less than or equal to 0.001), and the use of diuretics was marginally associated (p = 0.08). Black men compared with white men had a hazard rate of gallbladder disease of 0.53 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.24-1.16. For men, increasing age was related to gallbladder disease (p less than 0.001), and obesity was weakly related (p = 0.06). The black/white hazard ratios decreased further when controlling for socioeconomic status, persisted if the study population was limited to those hospitalized during follow-up, and increased slightly for cases with an acute complication of gallbladder disease. Thus, differential access to medical care may not explain the lower rate among blacks.

Adult

Risk factors for gallstone disease in the Hispanic populations of the United States.

The 1982-1984 Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey used ultrasonography to investigate risk factors for gallstone disease (gallstones or cholecystectomy). Mexican American, Cuban American, and Puerto Rican men (n = 968) and women (n = 1,325) aged 20-74 years were selected from household samples in nine states. Among men, the risk of gallstone disease increased with age, education, and subscapular skinfold thickness. Among women, the risk of gallstone disease increased with age, body mass index, four skinfold measures, diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, and oral contraceptive usage, but not with parity. Women currently using oral contraceptives were also found to be at increased risk of current gallstones. Menopause was a risk factor for gallstone disease and cholecystectomy. Alcohol consumption was negatively related to the risk of gallstone disease. In men, the cholesterol/high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio was positively related to gallstone disease and, in women, this ratio was negatively related. This interaction between the effect of sex and the cholesterol/high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio on gallstone disease was highly significant (p = 0.002). Mexican Americans were at increased risk of gallstone disease even when other risk factors were controlled in multiple logistic regression analysis.

Adult

A longitudinal survey of self-reported bowel habits in the United States.

Information concerning bowel habits was gathered from a representative sample of 14,407 United States adults in the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 1971-1975 and approximately 10 years later among the same individuals. The prevalence of self-reported constipation, diarrhea, infrequent defecation (three or fewer bowel movements per week), and frequent defecation (two or more bowel movements per day) increased with aging. Women were more likely than men (P less than 0.05) to report constipation (20.8% compared to 8.0%) and infrequent defecation (9.1% compared to 3.2%). Blacks were more likely than whites to report infrequent defecation (P less than 0.05). Older respondents reporting constipation were more likely to use laxatives or stool softeners than younger respondents reporting constipation, but they were also less likely to have infrequent defecation. To evaluate factors predictive of impaired bowel function, case definitions were created using information concerning complaint of constipation, laxative use, frequency of defecation, and stool consistency. Female gender, black race, fewer years of education, low physical activity, and symptoms of depression were independent risk factors for impaired bowel function. This study provides national estimates of bowel complaints and their natural history and examines possible risk factors for constipation.

Adult

Prevalence of gallstone disease in Hispanic populations in the United States.

The 1982-1984 Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey used ultrasonography to investigate the epidemiology of gallstone disease. Mexican American, Cuban American, and Puerto Rican men and women, aged 20-74 yr, were selected from household samples in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Florida. Ultrasonography was performed on 2299 persons. The age-adjusted prevalence of gallstone disease (gallstones + cholecystectomy) among Mexican American men (7.2%) was 1.7 times that of Cuban American men and 1.8 times that of Puerto Rican men. The prevalence for Mexican American women (23.2%) was 1.5 times that of Cuban American women and 1.7 times that of Puerto Rican women. Rates were about three times higher among women than men and increased with age in both sexes and all ethnic groups except older Puerto Rican women. Among Mexican American women aged 60-74 yr, the prevalence of gallstone disease reached 44.1%. These results support the hypothesis that Mexican Americans are at increased risk of gallstone disease.

Aged

Influence of zinc and calcium deficiency on the concentrations of calcitonin, parathyroid hormone, and 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 in rat serum.

48 male Sprague-Dawley rats with an average live weight of 141 g were assigned to four groups of 12 animals each. Group I was fed the basal diet (63 mg/kg of Zn, 8.8 g/kg of Ca), group II received a Ca-deficient diet (0.043 g/kg of Ca), group III was fed a Zn-deficient diet (1.1 mg/kg of Zn), and group IV received a diet with a combined Zn- and Ca-deficiency (1.1 mg/kg of Zn; 0.043 g/kg of Ca). Each of the four groups was fed the same daily quantity of rations, which was based on the food uptake of the deficient groups III and IV. After 28 days of the experiment, the rats were anesthesized with ether and sacrificed. In the obtained serum, the concentrations of calcitonin, parathyroid hormone, and 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 were measured by radioimmune assays. The Zn- and Ca-concentrations in the serum served as parameters for the status of Zn- and Ca-supply. 1. Dietary Ca-deficiency had no influence on the development of live weight of the rats in the case of restricted feeding. Zn-deficiency, however, strongly reduced live weight development. 2. Alimentary Ca-deficiency reduced the Ca-concentration of the serum by 34%, the calcitonin concentration by 17%, and the 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 concentration by 82% as compared to the levels in control animals, whereas the concentrations of Zn and parathyroid hormone remained unchanged. 3. Alimentary Zn-deficiency reduced the Zn-concentration of the serum by 63% as compared to the control animals, whereas the concentrations of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 and parathyroid hormone were increased.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals

[Effect of marginal zinc deficiency on humoral immunity in rats].

The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effects of a marginal zinc deficiency on serum immunoglobulin (Ig) IgM and IgG1 levels. 60 weanling female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into six groups of ten animals each. Two control groups (73.7 ppm Zn) and two zinc-deficient groups (4.3 ppm Zn) were fed a semisynthetic casein diet ad libitum. The animals of two further groups received the control diet (73.7 ppm Zn) pair-fed to the zinc-deficient animals. After 15 days the rats of one group of each treatment were infected i.m. with a single injection (0.2 ml) of a bovine enterovirus, apathogenous to rats. 3 weeks later, all rats were anesthetized with ether and decapitated. Infection of the rats with the bovine enterovirus had no effect on the serum immunoglobulin level. The marginal zinc deficiency did not alter the IgM and IgG1 serum concentrations at all either. It remains to be examined whether other Ig-classes will react to marginal zinc deficiency. Also, the effect of severe zinc deficiency on the humoral immune system must be studied.

Animals

Calmodulin, zinc and calcium concentration in tissues of zinc- and calcium-deficient rats.

To demonstrate the effect of zinc and/or calcium deficiency on calmodulin concentration and also the antagonistic behavior of zinc and calcium in metabolism, four groups of eight rats each were provided the following diets in equal amounts: group I, the basic diet with 63 ppm zinc and 0.88% calcium; group II, the calcium-deficient diet (0.0043% calcium); group III, the zinc-deficient diet (1.1 ppm zinc); and group IV, the combined zinc/calcium-deficient diet. The zinc-deficient diet significantly reduced the zinc concentration in serum (72%), femur (65%), pancrease (34%), muscle (23%), testis (11%) and brain (7%), and elevated the calcium concentration in testis (19%) and brain (24%), but did not affect calcium concentration in serum, pancreas and muscle. Likewise, calcium deficiency reduced the calcium concentration in serum (56%), femur (40%), pancreas (16%), muscle (43%), testis (19%) and brain (24%), and elevated the zinc concentration in femur (22%), although the zinc concentration in serum, pancreas, muscle and testis remained unaffected. Combined zinc and calcium deficiency elevated both the zinc as well as the calcium concentration in serum, femur and muscle, as compared to zinc or calcium deficiency alone. The alkaline phosphatase activity was reduced by 52% during zinc deficiency and was elevated by a factor of 2.5 during calcium deficiency. The calmodulin concentrations in muscle, testis and brain, as determined by radioimmunoassay, were elevated during both zinc as well as calcium deficiency, although this elevation could not be confirmed in every case.

Animals

Disulfiram for the treatment of alcoholism. An evaluation in 128 men.

One hundred twenty-eight alcoholic men were assigned randomly to receive either a regular dose of disulfiram (250 mg), a pharmacologically inactive dose (1 mg), or no disulfiram. There were no statistically significant differences among the three treatment groups in total abstinence, percentage of drinking days, days worked, family stability (living with same relative), or percent of scheduled appointments kept. However, 21% of those who received the regular dose of disulfiram and 25% who received the pharmacologically inactive dose remained abstinent, whereas only 12% of those who received no disulfiram did so. These results indicate that disulfiram may be of limited value in the treatment of alcoholism, fear of the disulfiram-ethanol reaction is important in preventing drinking, and patients willing to take disulfiram are more likely to be abstinent if given the drug. We also found that complete abstinence correlated significantly with compliance and obtaining employment.

Adult