Il testo consonantico della tradizione babilonese. Ms. Opp.Add. 4 154 della Biblioteca Bodleiana

This paper is part of a project on manuscripts carried on under the auspices of Prof. Paolo Sacchi. It deals with Ms. Opp.Add. 4 154 of the Bodleian Library, of Yemenite provenance. The comparison of its readings with the variants collected by Kennicott and De Rossi and the old translations confirms the results described in the first part of this project: the Babylonian text (BT) is old and similar to the Tiberian one and their common basis is the old Hebrew Bible. The agreements of the BT with Aquila, Theodotion, Symmachus, Origen, and Hieronymus show that this text was current in Palestine at least until the 4th century AD. When the Tiberian text supplanted the Babylonian in the 10th century, the BT still survived in Yemenite communities. Many variants of the BT are attested in Ashkenazi MSS, and conse­quently in the Soncino Bible.Este artículo forma parte de un proyecto sobre manuscritos llevado a cabo bajo los auspicios del Prof. Paolo Sacchi. Estudia el Ms. Opp.Add. 4 154 de la Biblioteca Bodleiana, de proveniencia yemení. La comparación de sus lecturas con las variantes recogidas por Kennicott y De Rossi y con las versiones antiguas confirma los resultados descritos en la primera parte de ese proyecto: el texto babilónico (TB) es antiguo y similar al tiberiense y su base común es el antiguo texto hebreo. Las coincidencias del TB con Aquila, Teodoción, Symmaco, Orígenes y Jerónimo muestran que ese texto era corriente en Palestina al menos hasta el siglo IV d. C. Cuando el texto tiberiense suplantó al babilónico en el siglo X, el TB toda vía pervivía en comunidades yemeníes. Muchas variantes del TB están atestiguadas en manuscritos askenazíes y, consecuentemente, en la Biblia de Soncino

Plasma prolactin levels in the inferior petrosal sinuses in various pituitary disorders during perihypophyseal phlebography

The use of intercavernous sinus phlebography for the diagnosis and neurosurgical treatment of pituitary adenomas has enabled the collection of selective venous samplings of the inferior petrosal sinuses (IPSs), where prolactin (PRL) levels can be measured before the hormone becomes excessively diluted in the systemic circulation. In the present study, plasma PRL levels were studied in the right and/or left IPS and, simultaneously, in the peripheral circulation of: (1) normoprolactinemic patients affected with various pituitary disorders which required phlebographic procedures; (2) hyperprolactinemic patients with negative radiological and computed tomographic (CT) signs of pituitary adenomas and (3) adenomatous hyperprolactinemic patients. In the 17 normoprolactinemic patients, the plasma PRL concentration in the IPSs was significantly higher (3.5 times; p less than 0.01) than in the peripheral circulation. In the 11 hyperprolactinemic patients with negative radiological and CT signs of pituitary adenomas, the central gradient for PRL was significantly higher (2.8 times; p less than 0.05) than in the peripheral circulation. No significant difference was detected between PRL concentrations in the left and right IPSs. In the 11 adenomatous hyperprolactinemic patients, there was a significant (p less than 0.01) central gradient for PRL 3.8 times higher than in the peripheral circulation on the ipsilateral side of the tumor. Furthermore, the plasma PRL concentration in the ipsilateral IPS was significantly higher (3.4 times; p less than 0.05) than that in the contralateral sinus. In conclusion, the present study shows that a clear-cut concentration gradient exists between plasma PRL levels in the IPSs and in the peripheral circulation of normoprolactinemic and hyperprolactinemic patients with negative radiological and CT signs of pituitary adenomas

Comparison of anterior pituitary hormone levels in the inferior petrosal sinuses and peripheral blood in various pituitary disorders during perihypophysial phlebography.

The present study aimed at evaluating the anterior pituitary hormone levels in the inferior petrosal sinuses and in the peripheral blood of 55 patients affected by various pituitary disorders and undergoing perihypophysial phlebography on neurosurgical indication or for diagnostic purposes. The results indicated that in 6 patients with Cushing's disease and in 4 with hyperprolactinemia the secreting adenoma could be localized by inferior petrosal sinus sampling. Furthermore, the concentrations of all the pituitary hormones were found to be higher in the right and/or in the left inferior petrosal sinus than in peripheral blood, showing a clear gradient between central and peripheral samples. Moreover, the evaluation of hormone central/peripheral concentration ratios revealed noteworthy differences, namely, that central/peripheral concentration ratios of GH, ACTH, and PRL were significantly higher than those of TSH, FSH, and LH (p less than 0.01). On the contrary, no significant differences were found when the concentration ratios of GH, ACTH and PRL or TSH, FSH and LH were compared among themselves. This finding may be attributed to at least two factors: the increased pulsatility and the relatively short biological halftime of polypeptic hormones (GH, ACTH, and PRL) compared with glycoprotein hormones (TSH, FSH, and LH)