The electrophysiological effects of dicentrine on the conduction system of rabbit heart.

1. The electrophysiological effects of dicentrine, an aporphine alkaloid isolated from the root of Lindera megaphylla, were examined in the Langendorff perfused rabbit heart and rabbit isolated cardiac cells. 2. Standard electrophysiological characters were measured in the Langendorff perfused rabbit heart (control study) and after 5 min exposure to 1, 3 and 9 microM of dicentrine and during the subsequent recovery phase sequentially (n = 7). The same study protocols were performed in 0.5 to 4.5 microM quinidine (n = 7), 18 to 162 microM procainamide and N-acetylprocainamide (n = 7) for comparison. 3. The results showed that the spontaneously beating heart rate and the sinoatrial (SA) and atrioventricular nodal (AH) conduction time were not significantly affected by dicentrine but were significantly suppressed by the higher doses of quinidine (4.5 microM) and procainamide (162 microM). 4. The His-Purkinje conduction time was significantly increased by the higher dose of dicentrine, quinidine and procainamide. 5. The ventricular repolarization time and its effective refractory period were significantly increased by the higher dose of dicentrine and the other agents. 6. The effective refractory period of the atrium, AV node and His-Purkinje system were also significantly increased by dicentrine and the other agents. 7. A voltage clamp study revealed that the prolongation of atrial action potential duration by dicentrine (9 microM) was associated with a significant inhibition of the transient potassium outward current. As well as inhibition of the transient outward current, a significant inhibition of the sodium inward current by dicentrine was found.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A case-control study of the effect of environmental sanitation on diarrhoea morbidity in Malawi.

A case-control design has been applied in the evaluation of improved environmental sanitation on diarrhoeal diseases in rural Malawi. The study demonstrates the feasibility of using such an approach to evaluate two levels of water supply and sanitation service quickly and at moderate cost. Sample sizes would need to be increased substantially to evaluate multiple levels of service or to investigate interactions between water supply and sanitation. The results indicate that children living in families who use good quality water supplies and latrines experience 20% less diarrhoea as reported to the health clinics during the warm, rainy season.     

Interaction between bovine collagen and glycolic acid peeling: A proposal of a new protocol

For the past 10 years the alfa-hydroxyacids and the bovine collagen injection have been used for peeling and the correction of multiple skin diseases. Until now, such progressive achievement has occurred in separate parallels just like the indications that have been held distinct. However, the studies carried out in order to clarify the mechanical action of the two substances have shown a common and fundamental denominator: the stimulation of synthesis of the new collagen in the patient's skin. On the basis of these results and the existence of common clinical indications of the use of glycolic acid and collagen, the authors have worked out a protocol involving a combined and contemporary application in progressive steps. They developed the rationales of such protocol and analyzed the results of its application on a number of carefully selected patients for a clinical comparison and on a sample of rats for a histological comparison. They have concluded that the contemporary use of glycolic acid and bovine collagen is a simple and safe method whose synergy action leads to more intense and long-lasting effects than the ones observed in the isolated application of the two substances. The authors have also obtained interesting and significant histological results.     

Normal cerebral perfusion measurements using arterial spin labeling: reproducibility, stability, and age and gender effects.

Before meaningful conclusions can be drawn from clinical measures of cerebral blood perfusion, the precision of the measurement must be determined and set in the context of inter- and intrasubject sources of variability. This work establishes the reproducibility of perfusion measurements using the noninvasive MRI technique of continuous arterial spin labeling (CASL). Perfusion was measured in 34 healthy normal subjects. Intersubject variability was assessed, and age and gender contributions were estimated. Intersubject variation was found to be large, with up to 100% perfusion difference for subjects of the same age and gender. Repeated measurements in one subject showed that perfusion remains remarkably stable in the short term when compared with intersubject variation and the large capacity for perfusion change in the brain. A significant decrease in the ratio of gray-matter to white-matter perfusion was found with increasing age (0.79% per year (P < 0.0005)). This appears to be due mainly to a reduction in gray-matter perfusion, which was found to decrease by 0.45% per year (P = 0.04). Regional analysis suggested that the gray-matter age-related changes were predominantly localized in the frontal cortex. Whole-brain perfusion was 13% higher (P = 0.02) in females compared to males.