« 1 2 3View All»

UCLA-8. Study of Calcium Metabolism Using Calcium-47 as a Tracer

BETWEEN 1962 AND 1964, staff of the University of California Medical School, Los Angeles conducted calcium metabolism studies using calcium-47 (Ca47) to determine the gastrointestinal absorption of calcium by humans.

Calcium-47 was administered orally to 11 patients at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Los Angeles. The administered activity is not stated. Some of the patients suffered from cirrhosis of the liver, osteoporosis, or hyperparathyroidism. Four were on calcium balance, and three were normal, healthy subjects. The investigators assayed the Ca47 in stool, urine, and blood and conducted total-body counts.

This study showed that calcium absorption rates in normal and osteoporotic subjects were highly variable and overlapped between groups. This study was funded by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

UCLA-9. Study of Lung Imaging Techniques Using Albumin Labeled with Iodine-131 and Iodine-125

BETWEEN 1963 AND 1965, the University of California Medical School, Los Angeles conducted studies to develop new methods for imaging the lungs.

In these studies, albumin (a simple protein found in the body), labeled with 100 to 200 microcuries of iodine-131 (I131) or iodine-125 (I125), was administered by intravenous injection. The subjects’ lungs were then scanned to produce an image to determine where the albumin deposited. Areas of impaired lung function were indicated by low uptake of I131 or I125-albumin. Using this technique, lung tumors and other abnormalities were detectable before they were apparent on traditional x rays.

These methods were tested on patients with a variety of lung disorders, including pneumonia, tuberculosis, and lung cancer. Subjects with normal lung function were also used for comparison. Approximately 100 subjects were used in these studies. This research was supported by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

UCLA-10. Strontium-85 Retention in Humans

A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED in 1964 at the University of California, Los Angeles on the skeletal retention of strontium-85 (Sr85) in subjects after intravenous injection. The purpose of this study was to develop a correlation between body depositions of strontium and the amount excreted in urine at various times after injection. It was hoped that this information could be used to estimate the amounts of strontium-90 (Sr90) fallout in people exposed to radioactive fallout from atmospheric weapons testing.

Twenty-three subjects, both men and women, were selected to participate in this study. The subjects ranged in age from 11 to 76 years and included 10 patients with osteoporosis, 4 cancer patients, 6 patients with other illnesses, and 3 normal healthy subjects. These subjects were each injected with 5 to 10 microcuries of Sr85 chloride.

The amount of Sr85 retained in the subjects bodies was measured in the University’s total-body counter at frequent intervals for up to several months post-injection. Radiation measurements were also selectively made over the knee and tibia midshaft (shin) areas of nine subjects to estimate the fraction of the total-body deposition in skeletal tissue. Complete collections of all urine and feces were obtained from 11 patients on metabolic balance regimens to determine calcium/strontium ratios.

The study showed that strontium intake and body deposition could be evaluated by urinalysis measurements. Funding for the study was provided by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

UCLA-11. Lung Scanning of Inhaled Radiopharmaceuticals Using Iodine-131and Technetium 99m

DURING THE PERIOD 1964 TO 1968, the Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine and Radiobiology at the University of California, Los Angeles conducted studies on the use of radiolabeled compounds for the diagnosis of various pulmonary diseases in man. While most of these studies were intended for the diagnosis of conditions in patients with disease, some of the studies were conducted using normal, healthy volunteer subjects.

Aerosols of albumin aggregate labeled with iodine-131 (I131) and administered by inhalation were used to diagnose bronchial obstructions in patients with lung cancers and in normal volunteer subjects. The lungs of each subject were imaged using a gamma camera after administration of the aerosol. The number of subjects and the amounts of activity administered were not stated. The diffusion of gases across alveolar (air cells in the lungs) membranes was studied in an unstated number of normal, healthy subjects using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid labeled with technetium-99m (Tc99m-EDTA) administered by inhalation. The distribution of the Tc99m-EDTA in the lungs was then determined by gamma camera imaging. The amount of Tc99m-EDTA administered to each subject was not stated. These studies were funded by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

UCLA-12. Measurement of Loss of Iodine 131B-Labeled Human-Serum Albumin in Children

IN 1967, nine healthy children aged 6 months to 12 years, and seven ill children aged 18 months to 14 years, participated in a study at the University of California, Los Angeles to determine the rate of loss of iodine-131 (I131)B labeled human serum albumin by using total-body counting. The study was designed to compare the retention between healthy and ill children and between children and adults.

After their thyroid uptake was blocked with Lugol’s solution, the children were intravenously injected with 0.05 to 0.10 microcurie of I131-albumin, estimated to impart an absorbed dose of about 10 millirads. Whole-body retention was studied for 3 weeks following injection.

This study showed that I131 was retained in healthy children with half-times ranging from 2 to 13 days, a period shorter than the 13- to 18-day adult retention period. The study was funded by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

UCLA-13. Copper-67 Absorption in Patients with Disorders of Iron Metabolism

IN APPROXIMATELY 1968, a preliminary study of copper absorption was conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles. Copper-67 (Cu67) was used to measure total-body absorption and retention of elemental copper in seven patients with disorders of iron metabolism, and in two normal volunteers.

Subjects were orally administered an unstated amount of Cu67 with a small amount of stable copper. The absorption and retention were measured in the Total-Body Counter Facility over a period of 15 days. Due to the variability between patients of day-to-day measurements, the experiment produced only rough estimates of copper absorption and retention. This study was funded by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

UCLA-14. Total-Body Counting of Iodine 131B-Labeled Gamma Globulins

AROUND 1968, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles conducted a study of metabolic kinetics of gamma globulins. Gamma globulins labeled with an unstated amount of iodine-131 (I131) or iodine-125 (I125) were administered intravenously to 11 hospital patients. The rates of loss of these substances from the blood and from the body were measured over a period of 3 to 4 weeks.

This study showed that the blood concentrations of the g-type gamma globulin labeled with I131 cleared with a half-time of 10 to 32 days. The time range for complete clearance of I131 from the body was 9 to 60 days. In patients who also received the m-type gamma globulin, the rate of metabolism was faster, showing a clearance half-time of 1.3 to 20 days. This work was funded by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

UCLA-15. Study of Manganese-54 and Copper-67 Absorption and Retention

IN A 1969 STUDY conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles, 14 subjects were administered isotopes of manganese and copper to determine the absorption and retention rates of these elements. The subjects were seven patients with hemochromatosis (excessive iron in the body) and seven normal, healthy volunteers.

Each subject was orally administered manganese-54 (Mn54) as manganese chloride and measured for body retention with a whole-body counter two to three times a week. Eight subjects were counted for 3 weeks, and six subjects were counted for 60 days. Whole-body counting also was used to evaluate copper absorption and retention in the hemochromatosis patients who had been administered 20 to 25 microcuries of copper-67 (Cu67).

These studies showed that Mn54 absorption ranged from 6 to 34 percent, with a mean of 13 percent. The Cu67 absorption ranged from 46 to 84 percent. Further study was needed to determine whether increased Mn54 absorption in two patients was associated with hemochromatosis or related to an iron deficiency produced by repeated phlebotomy (therapeutic bleeding). This research was funded by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

UCLA-16. Study of Inhaled Pollen-Associated Asthma Using Technetium-99m and Xenon 133

IN THE EARLY 1970s, researchers at the University of California Medical School, Los Angeles conducted a study of the distribution of inhaled grass pollen to understand how large pollen grains are able to induce bronchospasm reactions in sensitive subjects.

Four normal subjects and five asymptomatic allergic subjects inhaled pollen grains labeled with technetium-99m (Tc99m). Gamma camera scintiphotos of their head, chest, and abdominal regions were then obtained. Standard lung function studies, which included administration of xenon-133 (Xe133), were conducted before and after the pollen inhalation. The results of the study indicated that the inhaled pollen grains were too large to reach the bronchial mucosa; and therefore the pollens deposited mostly in the mouth and pharynx and produced clinical asthma 4 to 8 hours later. This research was funded by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

UCLA-17. Liver Blood Flow Study Using Gold-198 and Technetium-99m

IN THE EARLY 1970s, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles conducted studies on venous blood flow to the liver. The purpose of this study was to show that certain disease conditions tend to localize in the liver’s right lobe.

« 1 2 3View All»