Depression of intestinal epithelial cell production rate by hindgut bypass in rats

Influence of hindgut bypass on the epithelial cell production rates of the small and large intestine was tested in rats. Hindgut bypass decreased cryptal cell production rates of the jejunum, ileum, cecum, and distal colon by 40-65%. These results suggest that the entrance of ileal effluent into the hindgut and, presumably, the resultant microbial production of short-chain fatty acids are required to maintain the normal epithelial cell proliferation not only in the hindgut but also in the small intestine.     

Adherence to continuous positive airway pressure treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease and obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVE: This analysis examined whether patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) tolerate continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). METHOD: Thirty patients with AD were randomized to CPAP or sham CPAP and completed sleep, depression, and quality-of-life questionnaires. Participants could choose to continue treatment after the trial. RESULTS: Patients wore CPAP for 4.8 hours per night. More depressive symptoms were associated with worse adherence (rS=-0.37; N=30, p<0.04). Patients who continued using CPAP had fewer depressive symptoms (t [19]=2.45, p=0.02) and better adherence (t [19]=2.32, p=0.03) during the trial. CONCLUSION: Patients with AD with obstructive sleep apnea can tolerate CPAP. Adherence and long-term use may be more difficult among those patients with more depressive symptoms.     

Drug mixture which improves survival of ischemic rabbit epigastric skin flaps

The chief aim of this study was to maximize flap survival by counteracting the pathophysiological changes occurring during ischemia-reperfusion. Rabbit epigastric skin flaps given 21 hours of ischemia were infused intra-arterially with selected drugs at the start of reperfusion. Compared with control infused ischemic flaps, which had a 33% survival rate on day 7 post-ischemia, significant improvement was found with vasodilators nitrendipine (61%) and prostacyclin (65%) and the thrombolytic agent urokinase (65%); marginal improvement with the free radical scavenger desferrioxamine (53%); but no change with streptokinase (44%), heparin (21%), and ATP-MgCl₂ (35%). A drug mixture comprising all of these agents except streptokinase and urokinase produced 87% survival, suggesting an additive effect. Biochemical assays on skin homogenates and blood implicated oxygen free radicals, neutrophil infiltration, and thromboxane in flap failure. These results imply that multiple factors are responsible for ischemic flap failure and that a mixture of drugs needs to be infused to counteract all of the detrimental changes. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Charting of daily weight pattern reinforces maintenance of weight reduction in moderately obese patients.

To maintain reduced body weight by behavioral therapy in moderately obese patients, body weight was measured four times daily and charted in a weekly graph. Seventy-two female patients with simple obesity were divided into two groups: 55 patients with appliance of charting of weight pattern (group-I), and 17 patients without the charting (group-II). The percentage of patients followed for 2 years was different between group-I (87%) and group-II (65%) during 2 years after completion of weight reduction therapy interviews (p less than 0.05). Forty-eight of group-I patients succeeded in decreasing their weight by 15.2 +/- 1.5 (mean +/- SEM) kg during the 6.5 +/- 0.8 months of the therapy interviews. They were followed up for 3.8 years with no rebound weight gain. Eleven patients in group-II also succeeded in decreasing their weight by 16.8 +/- 1.9 kg during 7.8 +/- 1.3 months but their body weight rebounded by 9.0 kg during the 2-year followup period. Twelve of 15 male patients with weight charting maintained reduced weight during 4.3 years. It was easier and more effective for obese patients to maintain weight graphs for the longer period than to record no weight graphs. Obese patients could themselves monitor irregular weight patterns produced by overeating and correct the irregularities in food intake and daily lifestyles. This seems to explain why the illustration of daily fluctuations of weight measurements was useful for long-term maintenance of weight reduction.