The effect of food intake versus brief fasting on gastrointestinal absorption of lead was measured in five healthy men who were living in a metabolic unit and eating constant lead diets. Lead absorpiton was assessed by the difference between dietary intake and output of 1) lead tracers composed of nonradioactive isotopes which were ingested as a single dose either with food or during a 16-hr… Read More

Human pancreatic polypeptide (hPP) was measured in eight normal subjects and six growth hormone deficient dwarfs after insulin-induced hypoglycemia. hPP concentrations increased similarly in both groups with induction of hypoglycemia. In eight normal subjects fasted for 72 hours, no significant elevation of hPP occurred. This is contrary to a previous report indicating such a relationship.… Read More

Carnitine metabolism was studied in normal-weight and obese subjects by measurement of carnitine and its acyl derivatives in plasma and urine. When first fed an isocaloric, low-carnitine diet, both groups showed a decrease in plasma total carnitine, primarily due to a decrease in the free carnitine fraction. Urinary free carnitine excretion also fell significantly. When fasting was instituted… Read More

Cyclic adenosine-3', 5'-monophosphate (cAMP) may influence important mechanisms in the inflammatory process, and fasting has been claimed to be clinically beneficial in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A study was therefore designed to measure the concentrations of plasma cAMP in RA patients not undergoing drug treatment during a control and a fasting period. Twelve female RA patients were… Read More

We studied plasma gastrin levels in 12 healthy men before and after 4, 8 and 10 days of total food deprivation. The gastrin levels during the starvation period were significantly lower than the preexposure values. No such changes were observed in 6 other men, serving as controls, who were allowed to eat ad libitum during the experiment. Blood glucose levels and urinary output of catecholamines… Read More