0000000000732744
AUTHOR
Ulrich Krause
A New Culture Technique: An Approach to the in-Vitro Reconstitution of Endocrine Organs
A new cell culture technique called three-dimensional-rotation culture (3dR-culture) has been developed. Its main characteristics are: (i) cultivation under constant rotation, and (ii) the use of a three-dimensional material that allows the cells to adhere and to grow in a three-dimensional arrangement. Two glassfibre materials and one gelatine-sponge proved suitable for the use in cell culture. The new technique has the advantage to yield in large numbers cells bound on a stable matrix that can easily be handled, e.g. for implantation.
Evaluation of the clonidine-suppression test in the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma
In this study we examined the preoperative value of the clonidine-suppression test in 15 patients with surgically proved pheochromocytomas. The result of the clonidine-suppression test was pathological (epinephrine plus norepinephrine above 500 ng/l 3 h after clonidine) in 10 of 15 patients (66%). These patients had relatively large tumors and higher basal norepinephrine plasma levels. Out of the 5 cases without a pathological clonidine test 4 had normal basal plasma catecholamine levels with the result that the clonidine test could not be properly applied and 1 case produced a false negative result. These 5 cases generally had smaller tumors and lower plasma catecholamine levels. Two of th…