An approximately threefold increase in glycogenolytic activity of the neutral alpha-1,4-glucosidase and a twofold increase in the same activity of the acid isoform have been found in extracts of anaplastic astrocytoma and glioblastoma multiforme tumors of brain tissue. "Maltase activity" of the respective enzymes increased by 60-80% in both kinds of tumor extracts. However a significant decreas...

A patient with acid maltase deficiency was treated with a high protein diet for 7 months. Protein turnover expressed in terms of lean body mass was shown to be increased in this patient before the diet but was markedly reduced following the diet. The patient improved clinically whilst on the diet both subjectively and in terms of mobility, breathing and reduced peripheral cyanosis at rest.

We present a case of adult Pompe disease (acid maltase deficiency) with an uncommon clinical presentation characterized by severe fatigue and myalgia prior to the onset of limb girdle weakness. Remarkably, the muscle biopsy demonstrated selective involvement of type 1 muscle fibers. The cause and clinical effects of fiber type specific involvement are currently unknown, but the phenomenon might...

There was a significant depression of the activities of intestinal lactase, invertase, and alkaline phosphatase in rats given drinking water containing 2.5 mg of colchicine per 100 ml. Activities of intestinal maltase, aspartate transcarbamylase, and dihydroorotase were not affected by the drug. Injection of colchicine (1 mg/kg) caused depression of intestinal invertase activity within 8 hr. In...

A procedure for the purification of neutral maltase from human polymorphonuclear leukocytes is described, involving solubilization with Triton X-100, proteolytic attack and three chromatographic steps: DEAE ion exchange, AcA 22 gel filtration and a second DEAE chromatography. The enzyme was obtained with a final specific activity of 30 units/mg of protein, comparable with that of other neutral ...

Digestive physiology links physiology to applications valued by society, such as understanding ecology and ecological toxicology and managing and conserving species. Here I illustrate this applied and integrative perspective with several avian case studies. The match between digestive features and diet provides evidence of tradeoffs that preclude doing well on all possible substrates with a sin...