Role of nitric oxide in the control of blood pressure in young and adult spontaneously hypertensive rats

1. The depressor response to sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and the pressor response to Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) were investigated in anaesthetized and ganglion-blocked 6 week old (young) and 20 week old (adult) spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and the results were compared with those in age-matched normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. 2. SNP produced a dose-dependent decrease of the mean blood pressure (BP) in both strains, and no differences in vascular sensitivity to SNP were observed between the strains. 3. L-NAME caused dose-dependent pressor responses in both strains. The sensitivity and the maximal response to L-NAME in SHR were significantly greater than those in age-matched WKY (P< 0.05 or 0.01; t-test, 13 d.f. in both ages). However, there were no significant differences in the responses between ages in each strain. 4. Acute reduction of BP induced by 7-O-ethylfangchinoline did not affect the responses to SNP and L-NAME in the adult SHR. 5. These results indicate that a greater amount of NO is tonically released in SHR and that its contribution to BP control is greater in SHR than in WKY, whereas vascular sensitivity to NO does not differ between the strains. In addition, acute changes in BP do not affect the degree of dependency on NO for BP control.     

Clinical evaluation of postoperative adjuvant arterial infusion chemotherapy in resected hepatoma patients

Eighty surgically treated patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were divided into two groups. In group I, twenty patients whose mean diameter of tumors was 56 mm, prophylactically underwent hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy after liver resection. Chemotherapeutic agents (5-FU, ADM, MMC, CDDP, Lipiodol) were administered 4 times a year via Infuse A port. The remaining 60 patients, whose mean diameter of tumors was 57 mm, served as the control without prophylactic infusion (group II). The 2-year cumulative survival rate was higher in the prophylactic group (71%) than the control (48%, p = 0.040). The two-year disease-free survival rate was improved in group I (38%) compared with that in group II (27%, p = 0.021). Intrahepatic multiple recurrence within 1 year after surgery was recognized in four out of 18 patients of group I (22%) and in thirty-three out of 60 patients of group II (55%, p = 0.029). In group I, two cases who died of hepatic failure with no recurrence, had lower functional reverse and a larger amount of Lipiodol than the remaining 18 patients. Adjuvant arterial infusion chemotherapy can thus be be efficacious in alleviating hepatoma recurrence after liver resection. For patients with poor liver function, a smaller volume of chemotherapeutic agents might be feasible.     

Mild hearing loss in children with communication disorders

The prevalence of MHL in 202, 1 to 6 year-old children with communication disorders who visited our clinic in 1991 was investigated. 1) 31% of the subjects had MHL bilaterally. The prevalence of MHL was 44% at age 1 year, 20% at age 2 years, 36% at age 3 years, 24% at age 4 years, 39% at age 5 years, 33% at age 6 years. 2) 88% of children with MHL had OME, 10% had mild sensorineural hearing loss, and 2% had cerminous plug. 3) The prevalence of MHL in children with mental retardation and autistic disorders was 9%, that with stuttering was 9%, that of OME accompanied by moderate and severe hearing disorders was 6%. 4) The primary causes in 191, except for those with stuttering, were as follows; the prevalence of MHL was 30%, that of mental retardation and autistic disorders was 24%, and that of articulation disorders was 28%. 5) On the other hand, the prevalence of MHL in children with retarded language development and articulation disorders was 30%, which was significantly higher than that of the other communication disorders. Accordingly, the results of this study suggest that MHL in early childhood greatly influences communication disorders.     

Nodular glomerulosclerosis of unknown origin associated with the nephrotic syndrome

A 35-year-old male patient clinically characterized by massive proteinuria and hypertension without evidence of systemic diseases is reported. Histological investigation of renal biopsy specimens revealed extensive nodular formations in the mesangial areas in every glomerulus. Light-microscopic examination did not allow discrimination between the glomerular changes found in these specimens and the nodular glomerulosclerosis described in patients with diabetes mellitus. Electron-microscopic examination confirmed the presence of massive, nodular, mesangial expansions consisting of finely fibrillar substances without electron-dense deposits and circumferential mesangial interposition. Immunofluorescent examination showed deposition of IgG, C3, fibrinogen and kappa and lambda light chains in mesangial areas, peripheral capillary loops and a part of the nodules. Furthermore, collagen types IV, V, VI and laminin were detected in the nodules. Amyloid was not observed in these nodules. This diagnosis has not been made, and the mechanism of this nodular glomerulosclerosis remains unknown.     

Increase in serum vascular endothelial growth factor levels during altitude training

Atlantoaxial transarticular fixation is a proven stabilization technique used to augment conventional sublaminar fusion. Along with its superior biomechanical profile comes the inherent risk of neurovascular injury and potential compromised fixation during its application. This article presents a detailed systematic guide to this procedure including preoperative evaluation, positioning, and the more subtle aspects of the surgical technique. A new instrumentation design that has enhanced the ease and accuracy of screw placement with less operative frustration and potential morbidity of previous systems also is presented.     

Characterization of the neurochemical effects of N-[2-(1-azabicyclo[3,3,0]octan-5-yl)ethyl]2-nitroaniline fumarate (SK-946) as a cognition activator

BACKGROUND: This study characterized the phenotypic subsets of isolated gastric lymphocytes and the cellular immune response in cultured gastric biopsy specimens. METHODS: Endoscopy specimens from 40 Helicobacter pylori-positive and 40 H. pylori-negative patients were studied. a) Isolated gastric lymphocytes were analysed for CD4+, CD8+ T-lymphocyte subsets, activated T cells, and natural killer cells on a fluorescence-activated cell sorter, using monoclonal antibodies. b) The supernatant of cultured gastric biopsy specimens were assayed for interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, and IL-6 levels. RESULTS: In H. pylori-positive patients there was (a) a decrease in CD4+/CD8+ T cells, no change in activated T cells, and an increase in natural killer cells, and (b) no change in IL-2 levels and a significant increase in IL-4 and IL-6 levels. CONCLUSIONS: There is an increase in CD8+ lymphocytes and natural killer cells, and the observed increase in IL-4 and IL-6 might be important in H. pylori-associated gastritis.     

Biliary excretion mechanism of CPT-11 and its metabolites in humans: involvement of primary active transporters

After administration of CTP-11, a camptothecin derivative exhibiting a wide spectrum of antitumor activity, dose-limiting gastrointestinal toxicity with great interpatient variability is observed. Because the biliary excretion is a major elimination pathway for CPT-11 and its metabolites [an active metabolite, 7-ethyl-10-hydroxy-camptothecin (SN-38), and its glucuronide, SN38-Glu], several hypotheses for the toxicity involve biliary excretion. Here, we investigated whether primary active transport is involved in the biliary excretion of anionic forms of CPT-11 and its metabolites in humans using bile canalicular membrane vesicles (cMVs). Uptake of the carboxylate form of CPT-11 and the carboxylate and lactone forms of SN38-Glu by cMVs prepared from five human liver samples was ATP dependent. The concentration dependence of the ATP-dependent uptake of the carboxylate form of CPT-11 and SN38-Glu suggests the involvement of at least two saturable transport components, both with lower affinity and higher capacity than in rats. The ATP-dependent uptake of the carboxylate form of SN-38 showed a single saturable component but was detectable only in one human cMV sample. Both carboxylate and lactone forms of SN38-Glu uptake also showed a large intersample variability, although the variability was less than that observed for the carboxylate form of SN-38. On the other hand, the carboxylate form of CPT-11 exhibited much less variability. The carboxylate forms of SN38-Glu and SN-38 almost completely inhibited the ATP-dependent uptake of leukotriene C4, a well-known substrate of canalicular multispecific organic anion transporter, whereas the inhibition by the carboxylate form of CPT-11 was not as marked. Thus, multiple primary active transport systems are responsible for the biliary excretion of CPT-11 and its metabolites, and the major transport system for CPT-11 differs from that for the other two compounds. A greater degree of inter-cMV variability in the uptake of SN-38 and SN38-Glu may imply that interindividual variability in biliary excretion of these metabolites might contribute to interpatient variability in the toxicity caused by CPT-11.     

Vectorial finite-element method without spurious solutions for dielectric waveguide problems

A new vectorial finite-element method for the analysis of dielectric waveguide problems is formulated in terms of all three components of the magnetic field H. In this approach, the relation div H = 0 is satisfied and the spurious non-physical solutions do not appear.