McKenzie, Bernard F.

Abstract 1. The concentration of hyaluronic acid in synovial fluid was determined by a modification of the Dische carbazole method for the determination of uronic acids. 2. The results of this determination in 80 specimens of normal and abnormal synovial fluid confirmed values reported by other methods. 3. An inverse relationship between the hyaluronic acid in the synovial fluid and the degree of synovitis was suggested.

Abstract Modification of the Köiw and Grönwall procedure for the staining of glycoproteins separated by paper electrophoresis has adapted this method to papers of the Whatman 3MM class, with achievement of results comparable to those reported by direct chemical determination of hexose in the individual protein fractions. Preliminary concentration of specimen fluids was achieved by ultrafiltration through collodion sacks. A preliminary wash of the oven-dried paper strips with 95 per cent ethanol was found essential to clear the paper of buffer salts and insure that the pH in the oxidation procedure remained in the 3.0-3.5 range. Close control of the reagent composition and timing of each step were found necessary. Inclusion of 40 per cent ethanol in the oxidation bath and immersion of dry strips were required to insure rapid penetration of the periodic acid. Control of the oxidation procedure at 20 ± 0.5° for 12 minutes was of prime necessity to maintain a low background color. Also, the concentrations of hydrochloric acid in the dye bath and in the wash solutions were found to affect the quality of the final stain. The ethanol wash served to remove residual sulfite and hydrochloric acid and stabilize the color. The new method has been applied to the analysis of several body fluids of normal persons and patients with certain disease entities, and satisfactory glycoprotein distribution patterns have been obtained.

Abstract The glycoprotein hexose in the sera of patients having an electrophoretically homogeneous globulin fraction was studied by paper electrophoresis. The largest diagnostic category was multiple myeloma, but also included were cases of macroglobulinemia, primary systemic amyloidosis, lymphoma, collagen vascular disease, liver disease, and other conditions. The hexose contents of the pathologic globulin fractions were compared; only in the macroglobulins was this value of diagnostic significance, consistently averaging more than 3 times that in normal gamma globulin. In myeloma globulins there was a relationship between the hexose content and the electrophoretic mobility, with only an occasional value approaching the macroglobulin range in the faster electrophoretic mobilities. It is shown that paper electrophoresis and the PAS staining technic, in conjunction with protein staining on a duplicate sample of serum, constitute a useful screening test for detection of increased concentration of macroglobulin in serum in a large percentage of cases of "hypergammaglobulinemia." Gel electrophoresis, immunologic typing, and ultracentrifugation studies then can be used for further elucidation of the type of abnormality present.

Nicotinic acid was administered orally to 33 patients with hypercholesterolemia in doses varying from 1.5 to 6.0 Gm. per day for periods of 3 months to 1½ years. Significant, sustained, and reproducible decreases in the concentration of cholesterol and total lipids in the plasma and of serum beta-lipoprotein cholesterol were observed in a majority of patients. This form of therapy appears to be effective, practical, and probably free from serious harmful effects.