The appearance of radioselenium in the protein fraction of duodenal aspirates hasbeen studied after an intravenous injection of ⁷⁵Se-selenomethionine, and a new clinical testfor pancreatic exocrine function; the radioselenium pancreozymin-secretin test, hasbeen developed.
The continuous flow of pancreatic juice was stimulated by pancreozymin at 120 minutesand by secretin at 140 minutes, and ⁷⁵Se-radioactivities in duodenal aspirates were analyzed.A good distinction between normal subjects and patients with suspected pancreatic diseasesas well as pancreatic diseases was obtained by measuring ⁷⁵Se-radioactivity in the proteinfraction of duodenal aspirates; either cumulative radioactivity during the combined 80-minute postpancreozymin-secretin period, or maximum ⁷⁵Se-specific activity during thepostsecretin period was used as an index.
The test presented here might be a useful and sufficiently reliable method for detectingabnormal pancreatic exocrine function.

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In order to investigate the inactivation of endogenous gastrin by liver and kidney, thefollowing gastrin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay, first serum gastrin level inpatients with hepatic, biliary tract and renal diseases, second that of dogs with hepatic injuryand with nephrectomy, and third synthetic human gastrin and BZC-tetrapeptide duringincubation with slices of liver and kidney of the rat.
The following results were obtained.
1) Fasting serum gastrin levels of patients with acute hepatitis and renal diseases weresignificantlly higher than that of normal and that of nephrectomized dogs was significantllyhigher than that of normal.
2) Fifteen minutes after administration of 1M 50ml glycine solution, a rise of serumgastrin level of nephrectomized dogs was significantlly higher than that of normal.
3) Synthetic human gastrin level after incubation with slices of injured liver and kidneywas significantlly less decreased than with those of normal liver and kidney. BZC-tetrapeptideafter incubation with those of injured liver was significantlly less decreased than with normalliver, while that after incubation with those of injured kidney was not significantlly less decreasedthan with normal kidney.
From these results, endogenous gastrin might be inactivated by kidney much more thanby liver.

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Needle-biopsy liver specimens obtained from patients with chronic liver diseases werefixed in 80% ethanol, embedded in paraffin and cut to 5μ thickness. The thin sliced liverspecimens were then incubated with a solution containing ³H-d-ATP, d-CTP, d-GTP, d-TTPand DNA polymerase. Autoradiography revealed cells being repaired from single-strandedto double-stranded DNA during incubation. The labeled cells were counted. The templateactivity of the cell nuclei was well preserved by this procedure. In livers of healthysubjects, about one-tenth of Kupffer cells were labeled. None of the other mesenchymalcell nuclei or the parenchymal cell nuclei were labeled. In chronic liver diseases, labelingwas observed in Kupffer cells, lymphocytes, fibrocytes and histiocytes. The labeling wasmore prominent in the active form than the inactive form of chronic hepatitis. Cirrhoticlivers also showed an increase in labeled fibrocytes. The parenchymal cells and bile ductcells, however, were rarely labeled in the liver disease patients. In chronic liver injury, increased DNA synthesis was observed in the rapidly proliferating mesenchymal cell nucleiand in cell nuclei with damaged DNA.

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Fifty four patients with duodenal ulcer were included in the studies. The duodenalulcerations were divided endoscopically into three stages: active stage, 14 cases; healing stage, 28 cases; scar stage, 12 cases. Biopsy specimens obtained from marginal regions of theseulcers under fiberscopy were examined by a scanning electron microscope, HITACHI SSM-2 or HITACHI HHS-2R.
Regenerating epithelium in the active stage lacked villous structures, while they formedlow and swollen leaf-shaped villi in the healing stage, showing almost normal structures inthe scar stage. Immature epithelial cells constituting the regenerating epithelium were slightlyexpanded, having short and stunded microvilli sparsely on the cell surfaces. In some ofthem, peculiar shapes considered to be degenerative ones were observed on the surfaces.
Increase of numbers of goblet cells and heterotopic epithelial cells similar to gastric typecells, appearing in the specimens of both active and healing stages could be a protectionof the duodenal mucosa to prevent further inflammatory damages. Small cellular processesand top-end swollen microvilli like polyps were observed on the epithelial cell surfacessurrounding the ones of gastric type, suggesting that there could be at least two releasingmechanisms of mucosal secretion in an abnormal cellular condition during healing processof duodenal ulcers.

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The properties of abnormal amylases which had unusually fast electrophoretic mobilityat beta-globulin portion by Cellogel electrophoresis and showed markedly reduced electro-phoretical mobility to the cathodic side by digestion with neuraminidase were studied. Theseabnormal amylases were found in three patients; one was a patient with chronic pancreatitis, the second was a patient with adenocarcinoma of pancreas, and the third was a patient withadenocarcinoma of the lung. These abnormal amylases had a close affinity for ConcanavalinA Sepharose and these bounded amylases were effectively displaced by the washing of alpha-methyl-D-mannoside containing buffer. The affinity of the abnormal amylases for theinsoluble potato starch was different from the amylases of normal human origin. Apparentdissociation constants (Ks) of abnormal amylases for soluble starch were different from thenormal human amylases. These facts were of interest in the studying the tumor producingamylases in sera,

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The effect of transection at the antral-fundic junction with or without antral vagotomywas studied on the secretion of serum gastrin and acid from the Heidenhain pouches, using8 dogs.
The results are as follows:
1) In fasting and feeding, transection without antral vagotomy produced a moderateincrease in serum gastrin concentration and a decrease in acid secretion from the pouches.
2) In fasting and feeding, transection with antral vagotomy produced a significantincrease in serum gastrin concentration and a marked decrease in acid secretion fromthe pouches.
3) With respect to the variation with time, there was observed a delay of acid secretoryresponse to a meal in the case of transection with antral vagotomy.
These findings suggested that transection at the antral-fundic junction with the divisionof the extrinsic and intrinsic innervation might lead to an increase in serum gastrin concentrationand a decrease in acid secretion from the Heidenhain pouches, and there was no obviouscorrelation between serum gastrin concentration and acid secretion from the Heidenhainpouches on stimnlatiou by feeding.

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The tissue immunoglobulins of the surgical specimens obtained from the 12 ulcerativecolitis patients were studied by immunohistochemical and immunoquantitative methods.The results: 1) The mean concentrations of immunoglobulin A, G and M in the colonic mucosawere significantly higher than those of control group. 2) IgA containing cells slightly decreasedin number. 3) The localization of IgA at the apical portion of the epithelial cellwas characteristic of the normal colonic mucosa, however the specimen obtained from thepatients showed a tendency towards an IgA decrease and the interstitial leakage of IgA intothe lamina propria increased. 4) Most of epithelial cells had secretory component, howevera part of the regenerative epithelial lining which accompanied the crypt abscess was depletedof secretory components. 5) These changes suggest disintegration or destruction of the mucosaldefence mechanism.

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Effect of tetragastrin on gastric emptying was studied in 20 normal subjects and 14 patientswith gastric ulcer scar. All subjects were tested with following examinations:
1) Gastric analysis with intramuscular injection of tetragastrin 4γ/kg.
2) Gastric emptying test by the double sampling method after George and Mizuno, using 300ml of 5% glucose solution as a test meal, for 20 minutes.
3) Gastric emptying test, described in 2), added with intramuscular injection of tetragastrin2γ/kg at instillation of test meal. Thirteen of 20 normal subjects were additionarilytested with gastric emptying using 4γ/kg tetragastrin injection instead of 2γ/kg.
Results were as follows:
Tetragastrin generally delayed gastric emptying with mode of dose-response. It wassuggested that delay of gastric emptying by tetragastrin might be caused by its direct affectionto the gastric muscles.
In hyposecretory cases with OAO less than 6mEq/h among normal subjects, stimulationof tetragastrin 2γ/kg rather accelerated gastric emptying. It was speculated that theduodenal brake mechanism could be important in control of gastric emptying.
In hyposecretory cases among patients with gastric ulcer scar, there were a few caseswho showed delay of gastric emptying by injection of tetragastrin 2γ/kg. Duodenal brakemight etiologically reffer to gastric ulcer.

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From April 1967 to December 1972, 8141 cases had been examined by indirect radiographyfor the purpose of the detection of upper gastrointestinal cancer. Most of all cases wereasymptomatic. The most frequent distribution of age were in the 4th and 5th decade and6181 cases were male and 1960 cases were female. Radiographs were taken by 70mm rollfilm by using Canon's mirror camera. Twelve films were taken per one case, three for theesophagus and nine for the stomach.
As a radiopaque material, 300ml of 75% barium sulphate was used and bubble-producingtablets were given just before the examination.
Esophageal diverticulum was found in 117 cases and total numbers were 145. Theincidence of esophageal diverticulum was 1.44% per total examined cases. Among 117 cases, 87 cases were male and 30 cases were female. 96 cases were single diverticulum and 21cases were multiple. The most popular location of esophageal diverticulum was the anteriorwall of the mid-thoracic esophagus.
Gastric diverticulum was observed in 22 cases (0.27%) among 8141 cases. 19 caseswere male and 3 cases were female. 21 cases were single diverticulum and 1 case was doublediverticula. All of these diverticulum were located on the fornix. 6 cases out of 22 casescomplained of upper gastrointestinal discomfort.
244 of duodenal diverticulum were found in 206 cases, 32 cases (16%) of them weremultiple. Among 206 cases, 150 cases were male and 56 cases were female. 60.2% of duodenaldiverticula occured in the inner posterior wall of the second portion of the duodenum, and the upper wall of the third portion of the duodenum was the next most commonsite (24.6%).
Coexistence of esophageal and gastric diverticulum were seen in 1 case and its incidencewas 0.01%. Esophageal and duodenal diverticulum were coexistent in 6 cases (0.07%), gastric and duodenal diverticulum were in 2 cases (0.02%).
Many statistical reports about the incidence of diverticular diseases are based on patientssee doctors due to any complaints, however no reports of diverticular diseases in healthyadults has been seen.
In our study, the incidence of esophageal, gastric and duodenal diverticulum is relativelyhigher compared with these previous reports.

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