RESUMEN

A total of 136 incident intestinal type gastric cancer cases and 151 age-comparable population controls were interviewed in Puerto Rico about their dietary habits with special emphasis on dietary salt consumption. All interviews were conducted at home using a quantitative dietary frequency instrument. The weekly intake of foods was estimated from the reported frequency of consumption and portion size according to a food model. The dietary salt exposure was estimated from the intake of nine selected food items which are highly salted food items commonly consumed in Puerto Rico. A strong (odds ratio [OR] = 3.34) and statistically significant (P < 0.001) unadjusted difference was found between cases and controls regarding dietary salt exposure. A statistically significant dose response for the index of salt exposure and gastric cancer was also found. The association remained positive and statistically significant after simultaneously adjusting for the confounding effects of sex, education and cigarette smoking.

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RESUMEN

Concentrations of chorionic gonadotrophin gradually increased during early pregnancy, reached maximum values at mid-gestation, then declined to low levels. Oestradiol-17 beta concentrations were relatively low (300-600 pg/ml) during early pregnancy, increased thereafter to high levels (10-35 ng/ml), and then appeared to decline towards term. Concentrations of progesterone were constant (100-200 ng/ml) for the first 15 weeks of gestation, suggesting that sequential measurements of progesterone could be used to diagnose early pregnancy. Prolactin concentrations rose during pregnancy, reaching maximum values at term.

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Serum measurements of chorionic gonadotropin (CG), estradiol (E-2) and progesterone (P) were used to describe patterns of hormonal change in Bolivian squirrel monkeys undergoing spontaneous abortion. During early pregnancy, serum CG levels gradually increased, reaching maximum levels at the end of the first 50 days of pregnancy (range: 200-1964 ug protein/ml). E-2 concentrations also increased to high levels (10-30 ng/ml) toward the end of pregnancy, while serum P remained fairly constant at levels above 100 ng/ml. A gradual decline in serum hormone concentrations was observed in aborting animals. CG levels declined to less than 100 ug protein/ml while E-2 and P decreased to concentrations characteristic of nonpregnant cycling animals, less than 500 pg/ml and 20 ng/ml respectively. The data suggest that two weekly measurements of CG and E-2 could be used to identify monkeys undergoing abortion and those which have already aborted.

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In a squirrel monkey breeding colony, two distinct groups of females were observed during the breeding season, December through March. One had low and the other had high estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) concentrations. The conception rate in females with high E2 and P values was 74%. However, only 25% of monkeys with low steroid concentrations became pregnant during the breeding season. This study showed that all mature females in a colony may not be cycling concurrently and that two serum P measurements obtained at four-day intervals may be utilized to detect noncycling monkeys during the breeding season.

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RESUMEN

To assess diurnal fluctuations of serum androgens and cortisol in adult male Bolivian squirrel monkeys, these steroids were measured at predetermined times (0300, 0900, and 2300 hours) during two separate 24-hour periods in the breeding season (January 1983 and late November 1983). A significant diurnal change in serum cortisol was noted, with a nadir of 99.9 ± 11.9 µg/dl (x̄ ± SEM) at 2300 hours and a peak of 168.9 ± 7.8 µg/dl at 0900 hours. Conversely, a nadir in serum testosterone was noted at 0900 hours (117 ± 26.5 ng/ml) increasing to a peak of 328.5 ± 57.9 ng/ml at 0300 hours. Serum androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone followed a pattern similar to testosterone, with a serum androstenedione (176.4 ± 34.9 ng/ml) and dehydroepiandrosterone (11.7 + 1.8 ng/ml) nadir at 0900 hours and a plasma androstenedione (494.5 ± 55.4 ng/ml) and dehydroepiandrosterone (32.5 ± 4.1 ng/ml) peak at 0300 hours. Parallel changes of testosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone suggest a significant contribution of all three androgens from a common site, the testes. In contrast to old world primates and humans, serum androstenedione levels exceeded serum testosterone levels in this species.