The effect of propylthiouracil (PTU) on the growth activity of intact liver and liver regenerating after partial (65-70 %) hepatectomy (PH) was studied in rats. FEU (Propycil, Kali-Chcmie, FRG) was dissolved in drinking water (1 g PTU per litre) and this was given to the rats, as their sole source of fluids, three days before PI I and then up to the end of the experiment. In rats given FPU, marked inhibition of liver DNA synthesis and the mitotic activity of hepatocytes was found after PH. This effect was potentiated to some extent by partial inanition of the experimental animals given FITJ, as demonstrated in a paired feeding test in control rats. PTU inhibition of DNA synthesis in intact and regenerating liver also took effect in thyroidectomized rats, even with substitution (thyroid hormone) therapy. The experiments demonstrated that the effect of propylthiouracil on DNA synthesis in the liver is mediated primarily by way of its direct effect on the liver.
The study investigated second derivative of the finger arterial pressure waveform (SDFAP) in 120 healthy middle-aged subjects and in 24 subjects with essential hypertension. SDFAP consists of 5 sequential waves ‘a’-‘e’. Their normalized magnitudes (B/A, C/A, D/A, and E/A) were calculated. In multivariate regression analysis, B/A and C/A correlated only with age. D/A independently correlated with age, heart period, mean blood pressure (MBP), body height, and gender. E/A independently correlated with age and MBP. D/A and E/A were higher (0.42±0.16 vs. 0.33±0.14, p=0.05 and 0.63±0.15 vs. 0.45±0.14, p<0.001), while B/A and C/A were lower (1.04±0.16 vs. 1.20±0.17, p=0.002 and 0.09±0.15 vs. 0.26±0.20, p=0.001) in hypertensives compared to sex- and age-matched controls. After the adjustment for MBP, heart period, and body mass index (ANCOVA), independent discriminative power was preserved only for indices B/A and C/A (p = 0.001 and 0.021, respectively). Therefore, B/A and C/A provide additional information about simple clinical characteristics and might reflect the structural alteration of the arterial wall in hypertensive subjects.