Protection of mouse oesophageal mucosa against gamma rays injury.

The alterations in the oesophageal epithelium were studied in mice after a single whole-body exposure to 7.5 Gy of Co-60 gamma rays in presence or absence of 2-mercaptopropionyl glycine. The epithelium showed an increase in the thickness which reached a maximum on the third day and then decreased gradually up to seventh day after irradiation in the non-drug treated group. In the 2-mercaptopropionyl glycine treated animals the epithelial thickness remained in the normal range except on the day 7 when it was significantly lower than normal. The total cell population registered a steady decline from one to seven days post-irradiation in both groups, but the number of cells was more in the 2-mercaptopropionyl glycine treated group. The number of pycnotic nuclei showed an inverse relationship to the total cell population, it increased continuously up to seven days in both the protected and non-protected groups. However, pycnotic nuclei were significantly lower in the protected group on days 3, 5 and 7 in non-protected group.     

Primary exophytic laryngeal amyloidosis presenting as sudden airway obstruction

Primary amyloidosis of larynx is an uncommon phenomenon, the precise etiopathogenesis of which is not yet clear. It can present with slowly increasing hoarseness or difficulty in breathing. It presents more commonly as infiltrative lesion, exophytic presentation is a rare occurrence.     

Myocardial metabolism and adaptation during extreme hemodilution in humans after coronary revascularization.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to evaluate the oxygen transport adjustments and myocardial metabolic adaptation that occurs with different levels of hemodilution during normothermia after cardiopulmonary bypass. DESIGN: Prospective, nonrandomized study. SETTING: Operating room in a university hospital. PATIENTS: Eight patients with ejection fractions (> 40%) undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting. METHODS: Before the institution of cardiopulmonary bypass, blood was withdrawn from patients to a target hematocrit of 15%. After coronary artery bypass grafting, a catheter was inserted directly into the coronary sinus. After the patients were rewarmed to 37 degrees C, they were weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass. Hemodynamic indices were measured, as well as measurements of myocardial oxygen consumption (VO2) and myocardial metabolism (lactate extraction and coronary sinus hypoxanthine). Measurements were made at three different hematocrit values: 15%, 20%, and 25%. Hematocrit was increased by autologous blood transfusion. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The three levels of hemodilution (hematocrit: 17.4 +/- 3.4%; 23.0 +/- 3.7%; 27.8 +/- 4.8%) were significantly different from baseline (hematocrit 37 +/- 2.6%; p < .05). Oxygen delivery, which increased with autologous transfusion, exceeded 350 mL/min/m2 at each level of dilution. The myocardial VO2 increased significantly after autologous transfusion compared with the most dilute condition (7.0 +/- 3.7 mL/min at hematocrit 17.4% vs. 11.2 +/- 4.8 mL/min at hematocrit 23.0% and 12.4 +/- 4.0 mL/min at hematocrit 27.8%). This transfusion-induced increase was also true of myocardial oxygen extraction. Lactate extraction and hypoxanthine release were normal and unchanged at each level of hemodilution. Systemic oxygen extraction ratio increased with hemodilution and decreased with autologous transfusion. CONCLUSIONS: Hemodilution to a hematocrit of approximately 15% is tolerated in anesthetized humans after coronary artery bypass surgery. There was no evidence of myocardial ischemia, as demonstrated by absence of S-T depression on the electrocardiogram, lactate extraction, or hypoxanthine release. In selected patients, postoperative transfusion may be based on systemic physiologic end-points, such as oxygen extraction ratio, rather than set hematocrit values.     

Assessing Alzheimer severity with a global clinical scale.

Diagnosis of dementia needs to be complemented by precise determination of disease severity across the broad spectrum of disease progression. The Mini-Mental State Exam (MMS), the Activities-of-Daily-Living assessment (ADL) and the Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR) were modified for direct comparability and administered to 112 outpatients and 45 nursing home residents with a range of dementia severity from mild to profound. The scales showed the highest correlations for the probable Alzheimer's disease patient group (62) (Global Assessment of Dementia; GAD vs. ADL: r = 0.91; Extended Mini-Mental Assessment; EMA vs. GAD: r = 0.91; ADL vs. EMA: r = 0.86). For these patients, scores on the individual scales tended to be similar. Disparity among the three scores for individual cases was associated with the presence of comorbidities. The high correlations and correspondence among these scales demonstrate their reliability, validity, and utility in the assessment of dementia severity. The use of an average of these measures, with their increased precision, may give a more accurate indication of dementia severity over a broader range of impairment.     

Relationship between blood catalase activity and drinking history in a human population, a possible biological marker of the affinity to consume alcohol.

The relationship between blood catalase activity and alcohol consumption was investigated in a group of Caucasian volunteers (N = 191). Subjects individually attended a 1-hr session, during which they were asked to complete the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) and MacAndrew Scale (MAC), supply information on alcohol consumption (averaged over the most recent and typical 30-day periods: Recent and Typical Q-values) and other drug use by answering the Concordia Alcohol Screening Questionnaire (CASQ), and provide a 100-microliter blood sample from the fingertip. Results showed a significant positive relationship between typical Q-Value and catalase activity (r = 0.43, P less than 0.001), which improved after eliminating multiple drug users from the analysis (r = 0.65, P less than 0.001). Multiple regression analyses showed that catalase activity combined with being male, using cocaine or crack, scoring highly on the MAC scale and having alcohol-related problems (MAST), explained a significant portion of the variance in Typical Q-Value. These results support the notion that catalase activity is a strong positive determinant of alcohol intake and support the hypothesis that the enzyme catalase plays a role in regulating voluntary ethanol consumption.     

Intracellular sodium in proximal tubules of diabetic rats. Role of glucose

Renal hypertrophy is a common consequence of diabetes mellitus that precedes and possibly accounts for the increased glomerular filtration rate. We have postulated that the glucose-mediated increase in the intracellular concentration of sodium [Na]i initiates the chain of events leading to the increase in cell size and eventually cell number. Experiments were conducted on Sprague-Dawley rats made diabetic by the intravenous injection of 45 mg/kg body wt of streptozotocin dissolved in a 5 mM citrate buffer solution. Control animals were injected with the vehicle alone. Ninety-six hours and 11 weeks later, measurements of [Na]i were done by NMR spectroscopy on suspensions of proximal tubules, using dysprosium tripolyphosphate as an extracellular shift reagent. At 96 hours after the induction of the diabetes, there was a 60% increase in [Na]i compared to control (P less than 0.01). No further increase in [Na]i was observed during the subsequent 11 weeks of observation. Addition of ouabain (1.0 mM) resulted in a fourfold increase in [Na]i in tubules from control animals, and a 2.5-fold increase in tubules from 96-hour diabetic rats. Ouabain-inhibitable Na+-K+-ATPase activity was substantially higher in the renal tubules of diabetic rats, the increase being proportional to that of [Na]i. In order to ascertain the effect of hyperglycemia on [Na]i, proximal tubules prepared from kidneys of normal and diabetic rats were exposed to low (5 mM) and high (25 mM) concentration of glucose in the media.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Ultrasonic study of processed milk cream and vegetable oils.

Food systems are complex and inhomogeneous in nature. Ultrasonic propagation velocity in the food systems, in this case processed milk cream and vegetable oils, is studied. Ultrasonic properties of the food systems are similar to those of complex biological tissues. The presence of vegetable oil as an adulterant in the processed milk cream is detected with the help of a double-probe-through-transmission ultrasonic technique. The present study helps to maintain quality control of various food systems, particularly with regard to their adulteration, if any.