| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,100,000)
Fiscal Year 1988: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000)
Fiscal Year 1987: ¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000)
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| Research Abstract |
A radioimmunoassy method for endogenous leusine-enkephalin in human body fluid is developed and used to study the immunoreactive components. This method was different from the conventional method up to the step of extraction immunoreactive leucine-enkephalin. Namely, the influence of the discarded proteins in body fluid can be removed by dialysis. The dialytic outer solution containing enkephalin is applied on silicagel ODS-Q3 column and further examined by means of HPLC combined with a specific radioimmunoassay method. In concequence, the mean value of leucine enkephalin like substance in normal human cerebrospinal fluid and serum were 423 pg/ml and 174 pg/ml. The enkephalin like immunoreactivity in cerebrospinal fluid of patients were measured and divided into three groups, normal control group, acute pain group and chronic pain group. The values in control group, acute pain group and chronic pain group were 365 pg/ml,1121 pg/ml and 115 pg/ml, respectively. These results indicate that acute pain stress may release enkephalin into cerebrospinal fluid, which may modify pain sensation and chronic pain stress may decrease enkephalin, enhancing pain sensation. In the one hand, serum levels of leucin-enkephalin were determined 26 woman who had become pregnant normally, some of whom 5 to 40 weeks gestation. Enkephalin dose during 5-6 weeks gestation 982 pg/ml, differing significantly from that of the normal adult control groups, 174 pg/ml. The values of serum enkephalin during 10-40 weeks of gestation were within normal limits. These results indicate that the enkephalin concentrations increase in earyly stage of pregnancy. Although the physiological mechanism and exact meaning of this change is still unknown, a srong possibility suggests itself that this substance has an important part to play in such physiological functions as pregnancy.
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