Noninvasive ultrasonic subtotal ablation of the prostate in dogs

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) can be used for subtotal ablation of the prostate gland in dogs without causing damage to surrounding tissues. DESIGN: Experimental trial. ANIMALS: Adult hounds > or = 5 years old and weighing between 20 and 30 kg. PROCEDURE: Prostatic ablation was performed in all dogs, using a transrectal HIFU probe. Acute effects of HIFU treatment were evaluated in 4 dogs. These dogs were euthanatized and necropsied 4 hours after the procedure. Chronic effects were evaluated in the other 3 dogs. Serial CBC, serum biochemical analyses, urinalyses, and transrectal ultrasonography were performed. Dogs were euthanatized and necropsied 3 months (1 dog) or 1 year (2 dogs) after HIFU treatment. RESULTS: Histologic examination of the prostate glands from the 4 dogs euthanatized 4 hours after treatment revealed that 80 to 90% of the gland had undergone hemorrhagic, liquefactive necrosis. Only slight discoloration of the prostatic capsule was detected, and there were not any gross or histologic lesions of the rectal mucosa or urinary bladder. All 3 dogs followed up after HIFU treatment developed cystic cavities within the prostate. Clinicopathologic testing did not indicate any long-term adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This method was effective in causing subtotal ablation of prostatic tissue in dogs. Further study of morbidity is required before the technique can be used clinically.     

Alloantigen-specific T-cell anergy induced by human keratinocytes is abrogated upon loss of cell-cell contact

BACKGROUND: Peppermint oil is used to relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, relaxing intestinal smooth muscle by reducing the availability of calcium, but its effects on intestinal transport are unknown. AIMS: To determine the effect of peppermint oil on intestinal transport processes. METHODS: The influence of peppermint oil on intestinal transport was investigated in rat jejunum using both intestinal sheets mounted in Ussing chambers and brush border membrane vesicles. RESULTS: Mucosal peppermint oil (1 and 5 mg/ml) had no significant effect on basal short circuit current, but inhibited the increase associated with sodium dependent glucose absorption. The increased short circuit current induced by serosal acetylcholine, a reflection of calcium mediated electrogenic chloride secretion, was unaffected by mucosal peppermint oil (5 mg/ml). In contrast, serosal peppermint oil (1 mg/ml) inhibited the response to acetylcholine without reducing the effect of mucosal glucose. In brush border membrane vesicles active glucose uptake was inhibited by extravesicular peppermint oil at concentrations of 0.5 and 1 mg/ml. CONCLUSIONS: Peppermint oil in the intestinal lumen inhibits enterocyte glucose uptake via a direct action at the brush border membrane. Inhibition of secretion by serosal peppermint oil is consistent with a reduced availability of calcium.     

Application of polymerase chain reaction to detect adulteration of sheep's milk with goats' milk

The polymerase chain reaction has been applied for the specific detection of goats’ milk in sheep's milk using primers targeting the mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA gene. The use of goat-specific primers yielded a 122-bp fragment from goats’ milk DNA, whereas no amplification signal was obtained in sheep's, cows’, and water buffaloes’ milk DNA. Polymerase chain reaction analysis of raw and heat-treated milk binary mixtures of sheep/goat enabled the specific detection of goats’ milk with a sensitivity threshold of 0.1%. This study demonstrates the usefulness of the proposed polymerase chain reaction assay for authentication of milk products in routine analysis.