A peculiar structure has been demonstrated in neurons of rabbits treated with vincristine using electron microscope. The structure has a crystalline form such as honeycomb like pattern or highly regular arrays of electron dense line, and a variety of profiles depend upon the plane of section. The possible origin and nature of neuronal crystalline structure were discussed.

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We had 49 cases of mitral valve replacement. Aortic valve replacement has been performed 30 cases. Double valve replacement was performed in 7 cases, which were all serious.94 artificial valve were used in the valve replacement of our cases, and 61 of them were a ball valve of Starr-Edwards. 26 were a disc valve of SAKAKIBARA (SAM).Postoperatively, anticoagulant treatment was given to all cases. On the surgical result of our artificial valve replacement, early death was seen in 22 (25.5%) and late death in 10 (11.6%) of 86 cases.Postoperative complication and cause of death were low cardiac output syndrome, hemorrhage, pulmonary edema, infection and embolism. On the Pre and postoperative changes of functional capacity by NYHA, the most of cases were improved to II or III grade.

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For the purpose of clarifying the action of procaine physically or molecularly, the pattern of association or dissociation of the surface-bound Ca⁺⁺ was isotopically investigated when procaine was applied externally. It was presumed that procaine acted in a cationic form and the results were compatible with an interaction of procaine with anionic sites on the membrane.1) The effect of local anesthetics might not be established through the change in membrane potential level, and external Ca ions had no relation to an interaction between these two parameters. Procaine immobilized ⁴⁵Cakinetics on the membrane surface. During the time of Ca⁺⁺ immobilization, exchange diffusion of Na ions was stimulated. The immobilizing action of procaine took place regardless of the presence of external Ca ions.2) Procaine acted probably on a protein portion of the membrane, but it was suggested that for this activity the maintenance of an assembly of membrane lipoprotein was required. It was negligible to consider lipoprotein-calcium-procaine complex formation in the membrane. The anionic sites for procaine may locate in a protein portion but are not identical with the sites proper to Ca ions. Procaine and Ca ions do probably not compete for the same site on the membrane components.3) It is supposed from the results that the selective binding of procaine to lipoprotein, particularly to its protein portion and not to original Ca sites, inhibits secondarily an exchangeability of Ca ions preferentially bound to protein by means of induction in a physical sense.

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Immunofluorescent staining of the human adult gastric mucosal glycoprotein, which gave a positive staining in malignant gastric cancer cells, was carried out on the fetal gastrointestinal tissues.The fetal stomach of the incompletely differentiated histological structure was found to possess the intensely fluoresced epithelial cells even at the end of the first trimester of gestation.The results supported the widely-accepted thesis of the antigenic similarity between the embryonic and tumor tissues.

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Using atropinized dogs under morphine and pentobarbital anesthesia, an overall study was conducted on blood pressure changes in response to sympathomimetic amines such as ephedrine, methamphetamine, tyramine, pheniprazine, epinephrine and norepinephrine after acute reserpinization.1) Pressor effects of ephedrine and related compounds were markedly augmented after acute reserpinization. The rate of rise was higher as the dose was decreased. Ephedrine and methamphetamine above 0.5 mg/kg caused i) a suppression of blood pressure rise despite reserpine administration or ii) a tendency to tachyphylaxis. However, reserpine administration somewhat temporarily suppresses the appearance of tachyphylaxis . When no control dose of these drugs was administered before reserpine, on the other hand, all of these drugs administered for the first time after reserpine markedly raised blood pressure. At a control dose tyramine had more intense pressor action than other drugs and administration of more than 0.5 mg/kg after reserpine may reduce the degree of blood pressure rise in some animals. Action of raising blood pressure of pheniprazine at a control dose was weaker than that of other drugs and the rise of blood pressure after reserpine was markedly accentuated, making the difference before and after reserpine more pronounced. The intensity of the rise of blood pressure through norepinephrine and epinephrine tended to decrease slightly after reserpine.2) The rate of the rise of blood pressure by ephedrine and related compounds in acutely reserpinized dogs revealed some suppression of ephedrine and methamphetamine action after adrenalectomy. In tyramine, the change in the rate of augmentation was not so pronounced. On the contrary, the rate of the rise of blood pressure by pheniprazine tended to increase.

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The effect of cocaine on the pressor response to some sympathomimetic amines before and after the acute reserpinization in dogs, anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium (i. v) in combination with morphine hydrochloride (s. c) and atropine sulfate (s. c), was investigated.Administration of cocaine suppressed the pressor effect of ephedrine and related compounds ; but administration of reserpine considerably removed the suppressive action of cocaine, though some difference was found according to the stage. However, the suppressive action of cocaine on tyramine was more intense than other drugs. In experiments in which no ephedrine-like compounds in the control dose were administered before cocaine, blood pressure rose after reserpine was restored, especially in the case of tyramine.

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Systemic arterial pressure changes caused by ephedrine, methamphetamine, tyramine, epinephrine and norepinephrine in chronically reserpinized dogs anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium after premedication consisting of morphine hydrochloride and atropine sulfate were studied in this experiment.In chronically reserpinized dogs, pressor action of ephedrine-like compounds was markedly suppressed while the action of epinephrine and norepinephrine were markedly potentiated. Subsequent norepinephrine infusion further reduced the reaction to ephedrine and methamphetamine; but only the action of tyramine was somewhat potentiated by infusion. When a certain dose of ephedrine or methamphetamine was given before norepinephrine infusion, however, no augmentation by tyramine was seen after infusion. When norepinephrine infusion was carried out at first, followed by ephedrine-like compounds for the first time, the pressor effect of all these drugs appeared more intense than in those without infusion. However, administration of cocaine before infusion almost completely suppressed such rise of blood pressure.

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