Cavo-portal transposition in rat: a new simple model

Background  

Liver transplantation in presence of diffuse portal vein thrombosis is possible by using caval blood as portal inflow, through cavo-portal transposition. However, clinical results are heterogeneous and experimental studies are needed, but similar hemodynamic conditions are difficult to obtain, especially in small animals. Herein we describe a new simple model of cavo-portal transposition in rat.     

P300 and contingent negative variation in migraine

We reviewed P300 and contingent negative variation (CNV) studies performed in migraine in order to identify their relevance in migraine and the role of neurophysiology in migraine. Publications available to us were completed by a Medline search. There is experimental and clinical evidence for loss of cognitive habituation in migraine which may serve as a specific diagnostic tool; therefore, we reviewed studies on migraine that analyzed habituation and lack of habituation by P300 and CNV, performing short-term habituation (STH) and long-term habituation (LTH). Finally, we described the two components of P300 (a and b) and of CNV (early and late wave) and the two abnormalities reported from the majority of studies on event-related potential in migraine: increased amplitude of average event-related potential and lack of habituation. These abnormalities are especially related to the early component characterizing orienting activity.     

Induced hypoglycemia. A unusual case of child battering

We describe a case of Munchausen's syndrome by proxy in a 12 years old child. The administration of glibenclamide by the mother led to severe hypoglycemias in the child, who underwent various instrumental researches and a subtotal pancreatectomy before the final diagnosis could be reached. The diagnosis also was possible with the substantial help of an accurate psychological survey. The case solution, with disappearance of hypoglycemias, was made possible by the removal of the maternal presence settled by the juvenile court.     

Effect of bezafibrate on low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol in normolipidemia. Study in coronary patients and their first degree relatives

A pharmacological study was carried out in a group of 20 subjects composed of 13 coronary patients and 7 normal close relatives (first degree) who were considered at a high risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) because of their low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLch) (mean +/- SD: 34.1 +/- 5.2 mg/dl) and their high total cholesterol/HDLch (Tch/HDLch) ratio (mean +/- SD:6.7 +/- 1.1), despite their normal serum lipid values. With the purpose of normalizing these parameters they were submitted to a 4-month treatment with bezafibrate, a hypolipidemic agent which has a known effect in increasing HDLch and in decreasing the Tch/HDLch ratio. At the end of the study total serum cholesterol and triglycerides decreased significantly by 10 and 30%, respectively (p less than 0.01). HDL increased in its cholesterol content by 33% reaching a value of 45.4 +/- 9.8 mg/dl (mean +/- SD, p less than 0.01) as well as in its apolipoprotein A1 (Apo A1) content (13%, p less than 0.02). HDL2 subfraction also rose in cholesterol and in Apo A1: by 90 and 38%, respectively (p less than 0.01). HDL3 subfraction rised only its cholesterol content by 24% (p less than 0.01). Tch/HDLch ratio was significantly reduced (p less than 0.01) to a value of 4.6 +/- 0.9 (mean +/- SD). Total serum Apo B diminished by 14% (p less than 0.01). No adverse effects were observed during the follow-up.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

阶段性健康教育对老年食管癌患者术后配合行为的影响

目的探讨阶段性健康教育对老年食管癌患者术后配合行为的影响。方法将51例患者按入院先后分为观察组（26例）和对照组（25例）。观察组实施阶段性健康教育，即住院当日、术前1～3d、术后回病房、术后第1天、拔除胃管当日、出院前1d，由管床护士实施不同内容的健康教育；对照组实施传统健康教育。术后1周评价两组患者术后的配合行为及术后并发症的发生率。结果观察组术后配合行为显著优于对照组（均P〈0．01）；并发症发生率显著低于对照组（P〈0．05）。结论对老年食管癌手术患者实施阶段性健康教育，可提高患者的术后配合行为，降低并发症的发生。     

Buprenorphine in balanced anesthesia

Buprenorphine was administered for the balanced general anaesthesia in 300 patients during several operations. The results obtained, the good features of analgesia, morphine-like, the absence of cardiovascular and respiratory side effects are presented.     

Spatiotemporal modeling of cerebral evoked magnetic fields to median nerve stimulation.

We measured somatosensory evoked magnetic fields during median nerve stimulation in 6 normal subjects. We applied multiple dipole models to study the spatiotemporal structure of early somatosensory evoked magnetic fields (SEFs), as well as the number, 3-dimensional location and time activity of their underlying neuronal sources. Two dipole sources were necessary to model the first 40 msec of SEFs explaining 85% of the data variance. Source 1 was located deeper than source 2, showed primarily a tangential orientation, and accounted for a larger part of the variance; source 2 showed no consistent orientation across subjects. Both sources showed biphasic time activities corresponding to the previously described N20-P30 and P25-N35 components. Spatiotemporal modeling could identify sources which could not be modeled consistently above noise by single moving dipoles (P25 component), revealed small latency differences of the two sources in some subjects suggesting parallel activation of these sources, and allowed separation of sources overlapping considerably both in space and time. We conclude that spatiotemporal modeling of SEFs may be useful to study functional anatomy of human sensorimotor cortex non-invasively.     

Coupling of lactose molecules to the carrier protein hinders the spleen and bone marrow uptake of doxorubicin conjugated with human albumin.

Several attempts have been made to enhance doxorubicin (DOXO) concentrations in tumour cells by drug conjugation with human albumin (HSA). HSA-DOXO has the drawback of causing DOXO accumulation in spleen and bone marrow, with a consequent leucopoenia not produced when lactose molecules are coupled to the carrier protein. In the present experiments we demonstrated that the effect of HSA lactosamination is not a consequence of a more rapid disappearance from the bloodstream of the lactosaminated conjugate (L-HSA-DOXO), which is rapidly internalized by the liver through the asialoglycoprotein receptor, but is due to a hindered uptake by spleen and bone marrow cells caused by the coupled lactose molecules. Experiments in vitro showed that HSA-DOXO produced an inhibition of murine macrophage proliferation not caused by L-HSA-DOXO. This result can be explained by higher amounts of the former conjugate entering in these cells and suggests macrophages as the cell type responsible for the spleen and bone marrow internalization of HSA-DOXO hindered by lactose coupling. Importantly, lactosamination of HSA did not reduce the marked uptake of HSA-DOXO by chemically induced rat hepatocellular carcinoma. L-HSA-DOXO, by avoiding DOXO accumulation in bone marrow is an attractive candidate for clinical trials against tumors which were found to actively internalize this conjugate in laboratory animals, such as hepatocellular carcinoma.