Medicine and its related products and regulations

A high level of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is indicative of a
possible liver problem.  Why is this so?  In biochemistry we were
taught that ALT catalyzes the reaction

        alanine + alpha-ketoglutarate <=> pyruvate + glutamate

Does it have something to do with the fact that the blood-base ALT is
extra-cellular?

                Just curious,
                Ralph (MD 2 B, starting this fall)
—
        G. Ralph Kuntz, M.S., N2HBN, EMT-A, EIEIO       g…@attunix.att.com

My wife noticed that our son (1.5 years) had some "bumps" on the back of his
head behind his ears.  Our pediatrician said they were just swollen lymph
nodes and were no big deal, although he didn’t find any obvious cause for the
swelling and the rest of the nodes he checked were apparently normal.

Any idea why these (occipital) nodes would be swollen like this?
—
Tom Davis                 | The above statement shall be construed,
Network Software Services | interpreted, and governed by me alone.
Michigan State University | EMail: t…@convex.cl.msu.edu

Does anyone have any experience with neuropathy?  My 68-yr-old aunt
has painful burning sensations in her legs at night, and even the
Cleveland Clinic said that it just isn’t very treatable.  Basically I
guess it is an inflammation of nerve endings.
   She still works part-time and used to walk a mile or two in the
evenings, when her legs weren’t bothering her, so it’s not a result of
extreme inactivity.
   Are there any dietary factors that might influence something like
this?

My dad had diabetic neuropathy, which I believe, is a lack of
blood flow to the extremities. It became a real problem when
he got a little cut on his foot, and since there was no blood
flow, it just never healed. They tried soakings and jacuzzis to
to avail. He ended up with first having part of his foot amputated,
and then his leg, just above the knee.

–
  Naomi Walker  N7FSA
  Anasazi Phoenix, Arizona 602-953-4428

  {uunet!pyramid},{sun!sunburn!gtx!},{asuvax} !anasaz!qip!naomi

—————-
   I would much appreciate hearing from folks who can provide information
about a traditional medicine called "gennoshohko" (Japanese), which is
from the Geranium plant _geraniaceae_geranii_herba, (also "nepalense").

   It is claimed in folk herbal medicine that the roots of this plant,
boiled overnight into a tea, can provide life extension for the elderly,
especially those who suffer from the complications of heart disease.

   If someone could kindly post and/or E-mail to me any findings from
the scientific research field, I would be very thankful..

:=:

  For quite some time now (months, maybe years, I don’t remember too well),
I have been experiencing a weird phenomenon: waking up during the night, I
would feel as if my right eye was totally blind, i.e., I would have the
feeling to receive no input at all from it. After a couple of minutes
(during which I would put lights on), the feeling would cease.

  Only recently did I try (while leaving my room quite dark), to check
both eyes and to my surprise, it happens that the vision of the right
eye is totally blured to the point of being useless in the quite dark.
Now, by daytime, the right eye is supposed to be my "good" one.
I don’t know about the american 20/20 measurement, by back in France
they were giving me without correction 2/10 for the left and 6/10 for
the right eye. What I get from the right eye at night is worse than
anything I have had before, even with totally mismatched glasses, clearly
less than 1/10 (I could barely distinguish a big flag hanging on my wall).

Now this only seems to happens shortly after I wake up, so I’m wondering
if it could be due to bad blood circulation (maybe my head position is
wrong, or something). Any idea, recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

Jean-Yves Herve’

        Could someone give me a rundown on the drug L-Glutamine. Does
it have any effect on nerve and brain function ? Can any benefit be
gained from having it in the diet ? Where does it come from naturally ?

Thanx for any info,

Robert Dal Santo               Phone +61 7 377 4063       (International)

Department of Psychology,      ARPA:  rob…@psych.psy.uq.oz.au
University of Queensland,      UUCP:  ..!uunet!munnari!psych.psy.uq.oz.au!robert
St Lucia, Brisbane, 4067       JANET: psych.psy.uq.oz.au!robert@ukc
AUSTRALIA.              

+<<Has anyone herd of Gilbert’s Disease? +<<My mother says she has it but knows
nothing about it. +<< +<<Any info would be apreciated. +<<
    You’re reffering to Gilbert’s syndrome.

    It is an hereditary disorder of bilirubin metabolism. This
  condition is characterized by unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia due
  to variable degrees of glucuronyl transferase.

    Other such syndromes are know to be lethal.

    Gilbert’s syndrome is the most common, and luckily, the most
  innocuous of all. It affects up to 7% of the population and is
  transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait with incomplete
  penetrance. In addition to the problem described above, in some
  cases, patients exhibit a reduced uptake of bilirubin and a mild
  decrease in red blood cell survival.

    Except for the hyperbilirubinemia, liver functions are normal and
  the prognosis is EXCELLENT!

      wish her well,

         -< Ben >- —
 ~ EZ 1.26 ~ Does anyone read my taglines ???

SEEN-BY:

–  
Uucp: …{gatech,ames,rutgers}!ncar!asuvax!stjhmc!167!150.0!Benoit.Hebert
Internet: Benoit.Heb…@p0.f150.n167.z1.fidonet.org

        I was reading a recent Sports Illustrated article about SF Giants
first-baseman Will Clark.  The article mentioned that Clark has 20/12
vision in both eyes, and that famed ex-Red Sox hitter Ted Williams had
20/10 vision.  The article suggests that better than "normal" vision
might be a factor in the success of these two baseball players (although
Clark is not hitting well of late– perhaps he needs glasses?

        Although I myself have no delusions of ever being able to play
in the Major Leagues, I do think that being able to see "better" is a
nice idea– hence my question for netland optometrists/opthamologists:

Why are lenses not perscribed to correct myopia (or anything else– I’m
myopic myself) to "better" than twenty/twenty?  Is this for some reason
physically (optically?) impossible?  Or does it result in unwanted
"side-effects" such as making everything look really itty-bitty small?
Or is it just a conspiracy to keep me from playing baseball?

Any leads appreciated!  Thanks.

barb…@gang-of-four.stanford.edu

Does anyone know what Vitamin K is?  I think it’s psycho-active.

Boyd Roberts                    b…@necisa.ho.necisa.oz.au

“When the going gets wierd, the weird turn pro…”