How safe is donor semen?
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Feldschuh.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
We measured systemic hemodynamics, regional blood flow, and neurohormonal parameters in 13 patients with severe chronic congestive heart failure before and after 1 month of therapy with oral milrinone, a bipyridine cardiotonic agent. After milrinone there were significant reductions in pulmonary wedge pressure (27 +/- 2 to 19 +/- 3 mm Hg; P less than 0.02) and systemic vascular resistance (1866 +/- 152 to 1393 +/- 93 dyne X sec/cm5; P less than 0.05) that were associated with increases in cardiac index (1.85 +/- 0.15 to 2.47 +/- 0.20 L/min/m2; P less than 0.02). There was a marked improvement in forearm blood flow (1.98 +/- 0.14 to 3.02 +/- 0.16 ml/min/dl; P less than 0.01) and a reduction in forearm vascular resistance (45 +/- 3 to 30 +/- 3 U; P less than 0.01). Overall there was no significant change in renal blow flow, renal vascular resistance, or glomerular filtration rate. However, there was a heterogeneous response of renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate, such that both were directly correlated with the magnitude of increase of cardiac index (r = 0.587 [P less than 0.05] and r = 0.721 [P less than 0.01], respectively). After milrinone there were no significant overall or subgroup changes in urinary sodium excretion, blood volume, plasma renin activity, urinary aldosterone levels, plasma or platelet vasopressin levels, or plasma norepinephrine levels. Thus 1 month of therapy with milrinone improves systemic and forearm hemodynamics, but its effects on renal blood flow and function were heterogeneous. These heterogeneous effects on regional blood flow may depend on the relative vasodilator and inotropic effects of milrinone.
As the characteristics of sodium and water balance in heart failure remain undefined, we evaluated the hemodynamic, metabolic, and hormonal effects of balanced sodium intake in 10 patients with chronic congestive heart failure. We discontinued diuretics to avoid their confounding influence, and all patients received 1 wk of 10 meq and 100 meq balanced sodium intake and controlled free water. Comparing sodium intake of 10 with 100 meq, the following observations were made. There was weight gain (2.0 kg) and increased sodium excretion (11 +/- 3 to 63 +/- 15 meq/24 h), unaccompanied by increase of blood volume. Both renin-angiotensin system and sympathetic nervous system activity were greater during the 10 meq diet, and suppressed with the 100 meq sodium diet. For both diets, plasma renin and urinary aldosterone excretion were correlated with urinary sodium excretion (r = -0.768, r = -0.726, respectively; P less than 0.005). Systemic hemodynamics were minimally changed with increased sodium intake. However, reversal of vasoconstriction by captopril during the 10 meq diet, and its ineffectiveness during the 100 meq diet, indicated a renin-dependent mechanism in the former, and a renin-independent mechanism in the latter diet. There were two subgroups of response to the 100 meq diet: one group (n = 5) achieved neutral balance, while the second (n = 5) avidly retained sodium and water. Renin-angiotensin system activity was significantly higher in the latter group, and the mechanism for differences in sodium excretion for the subgroups could not be identified by blood volume or hemodynamic parameters. Orthostatic hypotension during tilt was greater during the 10 meq sodium diet, and in all cases, related to ineffective hemodynamic and hormonal compensatory responses.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Investigation into the cause of extreme systemic acidosis during cardiac arrest led to the discovery that a major contributing factor was Abbott 1:10,000 single-dose epinephrine, which contained a large unsuspected acid level. Analysis of this product, both in vivo and in vitro, demonstrated that it contained 8.2 times the acid content of a presumably identical product from Bristol Laboratories and also of a presumably identical product from Bristol Laboratories and also 1,850 times the acid content of an identical epinephrine dose made from a Parke-Davis preparation. Abbott epinephrine injected into the central circulation or directly into the heart causes extreme acidemia, which may be potentially lethal by itself when superimposed on pre-existing acidosis as in cardiac arrest.
The ability of freshly collected and frozen human spermatozoa to migrate in round capillary tubes containing specially formulated polyacrylamide gel was investigated, using 33 ejaculates from 27 donors. Each semen sample was divided; one portion was left undiluted, and the other portion was diluted to 50 x 10(6) sperm/ml. Glycerol was used as the cryoprotectant. The percentage of motile sperm cells was determined before and after freezing. Fresh semen contained a higher percentage of motile cells, which migrated farther than those of cryopreserved-thawed semen. Various correlations between the percentage of motile sperm and migration distance ranged from 0.57 to 0.62. There was a low positive correlation of migration distance with sperm cell concentration per milliliter, r = 0.25 to 0.34; and thus adjusting semen samples to a standard sperm concentration improved the accuracy of the test only slightly. The regression coefficient of migration distance on the percentage of motile sperm in fresh semen was 0.65, indicating that for each 10% increase in sperm motility, migration distance is predicted to increase 6.5 mm. Five batches of polyacrylamide gel gave uniform results, and the application of this stable gel to fertility investigations is discussed.
Predictions of blood volume (BV) assume the existence of a constant ratio between BV and body weight or surface area (SA). We examined the validity of this assumption by calculating BV from plasma volume and body hematocrit in 160 normal volunteers whose weights ranged from -38.7 to 210.8% of desirable weight (assessed by a modification of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Desirable Weight tables). BV is not a constant fraction of body weight or SA in this population. Its prediction from such constant ratios results in a large error of estimate which is systematically biased with respect to height and weight. BV prediction from the observed regressions of the parameter on weight and SA reduces the error substantially but remains biased with respect to height. BV prediction from the subject's degree of deviation from desirable weight affords a smaller error of estimate which is apparently free from systematic bias.
A retrospective analysis of the caloric intake of patients in the coronary intensive care unit was undertaken after discovery of two cases of severe hypoglycemia. An unsuspected number of extremely low daily caloric intakes were found after careful analyses. The surviving group (50 patients) had less than 600 calories on 19.5% of the patient days and under 800 calories on 28.8% of patient days. In the nonsurviving group (29 patients) caloric intake was under 600 calories on 48.8% of patient days and under 200 calories on 22.7% of patient days. This study indicates the importance of monitoring actual caloric intake to avoid unrecognized extreme caloric deprivation and its possible complications.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.