An Automated System for Leukofiltration of Blood Components

Biomedical Engineering - An automated system for filtering blood transfusion media through special filters, monitoring and logging the filtration parameters, and processing filtration protocols is...     

PHB9 Use of Centralized Pharmacy Records in a Managed Care Organization to Determine Effect of Educational Material on Hormone Replacement Therapy Patient Compliance

OBJECTIVES: To study differences among two regimens of estrogen/progestin replacement therapy in post-menopausal women with respect to quality of life, pharmacoeconomics, bleeding pattern, compliance, and safety profile.
METHODS: A 12-center, randomized, comparative dose study was conducted in 183 women (mean age: 53.9 years) randomized to one of two treatment arms: Prometrium™ 200 mg (n = 90) or Provera® 5 mg (n = 93) administered in a single daily dose for 14 days in a 30-day cycle. All patients received 0.625 mg Premarin® for 25 of the 30 days. Quality of life was measured by the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), Woman's Health Questionnaire (WHQ), and Short Form 36 (SF-36).
RESULTS: Improvements in climacteric symptoms were observed between baseline and month 9 within both groups. All domains within the NHP and WHQ improved significantly for both patient groups (p < 0.008), and greater improvements were observed for Prometrium patients in the Menstrual Problems and Cognitive Difficulties domains of the WHQ. While Prometrium patients reported an improvement in the Menstrual Problems domain, Provera patients reported a worsening. The number of cycles with bleeding was significantly higher for the Provera patients (p = 0.001). Average nine-month societal menopausal costs/patient were $367 ±$120 (Cdn) for Prometrium patients and $360 ±$369 (Cdn) for Provera patients (not statistically significant). Although costs were variable, offsetting savings for Prometrium patients were observed in out-of-pocket expenses and missed time from work.
CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights important quality of life and cost aspects of Prometrium and Provera use that may impact longer term compliance when patients use Prometrium + Premarin regimens.     

Characteristics of trabeculectomy in the treatment of some forms of glaucoma in young patients]

The described technique of modified trabeculectomy with irido-retraction according to O. V. Grusha-G. A. Sokolovsky is intended for the treatment of some glaucoma forms in young patients with the anterior fixation of the iris. The basic features of the technique are as follows: (1) besides the sinus, deep scleral layers and abnormal trabecula, the scleral autoimplants include the anterior section of the scleral calcar; (2) during the operation the iris is disconnected from the site of its adhesion to the trabecular zone; (3) to prevent cilio-choroidal detachment, sclerectomy is carried out. A total of 14 eyes in 11 patients aged 17 to 42 were operated on and the results followed up for up to 2.5 years. Surgical and stable hypotensive effect was achieved in 12 cases. Two obligatory conditions of effective surgery are emphasized: punctilious performance of all the particulars of the operation and postoperative cytostatic therapy.     

Neuronal correlates of the functional reorganization of the dorsomedial thalamic nucleus in the rat after damage to the amygdala

Activity of the thalamic dorso-medial nucleus (DMN) cells evoked by stimulation of the periamygdaloid cortex was recorded in anesthetized rats in various periods of time after the baso-lateral amygdala destruction. It was found that changes in functional characteristics of cells observed at the early postoperative period intensified and reached the highest expression 10-30 days after such a destruction. Both the number of responding cells and percentage rate of neurons with excitatory and inhibitory responses restored along with the prolongation of the postoperative period. The structure of evoked excitation differed from the normal in predominant long-lasting tonic activation. Some peculiar features of functional reorganization of the DMN neuronal network involved in processing of incoming afferentation are discussed.     

Intestinal absorption of water and electrolytes.

1. Recent advances in knowledge of intestinal physiology have provided some insight into disturbed mechanisms and their clinical effects; for example, diarrhoea can now be defined biochemically as excessive fluid and electrolyte loss due to their malabsorption or excessive secretion. 2. Because of differences in structure and in absorptive and secretory mechanisms, the various parts of the gut perform different functions. In the jejunum, transport activity is extensive and the rapid equilibration of its content provides the optimal absorptive mixture. Functionally, the ileum and colon are similar; compared with the jejunum, they have greater absorptive capacity for electrolytes and generate significantly higher transmural electrical potentials. In the colon, some transport mechanisms are potentiated by adrenocortical steroids. 3. Water and electrolyte absorption and secretion are the end-products of bidirectional fluxes across the intestinal wall that are several times greater than net movement in either direction. Secretion is the surplus of negative flux (into the lumen) and absorption the surplus of positive flux (out of it). 4. Many electrolyte transport mechanisms require the absorption of other electrolytes or non-electrolytes, and some are concerned with electrolyte exchange. Water transport is always passive, in the direction of solute flow, but its solvent drag can move solutes across the intestinal membrane.