Methods of the endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal adenomectomy

This paper provides the practical part of a procedure for endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal resection of pituitary tumors. The authors have presently gained experience with about 400 endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal operations. The advantages of endoscopic surgery include the wide vision field of an operative site under good illumination. The endoscopic intervention provides a possibility of extracting not only endo-, but also paracellular portions of a tumor under direct visual control, which can be rarely done during a standard microscopic transnasal operation. The paper gives recommendations on the equipment of an operating suite and anesthetic maintenance. It also describes surgical stages and postoperative management of patients.     

Intrinsic single-domain switching in ferroelectric materials on a nearly ideal surface

Ferroelectric domain nucleation and growth in multiferroic BiFeO(3) is studied on a single-domain level by using piezoresponse force spectroscopy. Variation of local electromechanical response with dc tip bias is used to determine the size of the domain formed below the conductive scanning probe tip. The domain parameters are calculated self-consistently from the decoupled Green function theory by using tip geometry determined from the domain wall profile. The critical parameters of the nucleating domain and the activation energy for nucleation are determined. The switching mechanism is modeled by using the phase-field method, and comparison with experimental results shows that the nucleation biases are within a factor of approximately 2 of the intrinsic thermodynamic limit. The role of atomic-scale defects and long-range elastic fields on nucleation bias lowering is discussed. These measurements open a pathway for quantitative studies of the role of a single defect on kinetics and thermodynamics of first order bias-induced phase transitions and electrochemical reactions.     

Assessment of the state of atrial myocardium by two-dimensional grey-scale deformation in patients with arterial hypertension and mild left ventricular hypertrophy

Non-Doppler two-dimensional grey-scale deformation (TGD) is a novel method of assessment of deformation and velocity of deformation of myocardium. TGD allows to evaluate regional and global mechanical function of atria. Aim of our work was to study longitudinal deformation and deformation velocity of the left atrium (LA) and right atrium (RA) in patients with arterial hypertension (AH) and mild left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). We carried out standard transthoracic echocardiography with subsequent analysis by the TGD method in 30 patients with 1st degree AH and mild LVH. The following measurements were done: maximal longitudinal deformation and maximal velocity of deformation during atrial contractile, reservoir, and conduit phases. We also measured global maximal deformation of LA during its contractile, and reservoir phases. Results of the study showed that changes of parameters of deformation of atrial myocardium developed in patients and mild LVH. Changes of parameters of deformation of LA myocardium were observed in reservoir and conduit phases manifesting as reduced deformation and deformation velocity. Patients with AH and mild LVH had no significant changes of parameters of deformation of atrial myocardium in their contraction phase. Further investigations are required for understanding changes of deformation occurring in myocardium of atria.     

Mediators and receptors in the resolution of inflammation: drug targeting opportunities

The active resolution of inflammation is recognized as offering new opportunities to generate novel anti-inflammatory agents. The emerging appreciation of the importance of active resolution in regulation of inflammation also creates an imperative to examine developing and existing agents for their potential to influence these pathways. This themed issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology contains papers that discuss the roles of annexin-1, lipoxins and related lipid products of fish oils as well as other mechanisms involved in active resolution and their receptor targets.This article is part of a themed issue on Mediators and Receptors in the Resolution of Inflammation. To view this issue visit http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121548564/issueyear?year=2009     

Histamine H1 receptor knockout mice exhibit impaired spatial memory in the eight-arm radial maze

Background and purpose:

In the mammalian brain, histaminergic neurotransmission is mediated by the postsynaptic histamine H₁ and H₂ receptors and the presynaptic H₃ autoreceptor, which also acts as a heteroreceptor. The H₁ receptor has been implicated in spatial learning and memory formation. However, pharmacological and lesion studies have revealed conflicting results. To examine the involvement of histamine H₁ receptor in spatial reference and working memory formation, H₁ receptor knockout mice (KO) were tested in the eight-arm radial maze. Previously, we found that the H₁ receptor-KO mice showed reduced emotionality when confronted with spatial novelty. As it is known that emotions can have an impact on spatial learning and memory performance, we also evaluated H₁ receptor-KO mice in terms of emotional behaviour in the light–dark box.

Experimental approach:

Mice lacking the H₁ receptor and wild-type mice (WT) were tested for spatial reference and working memory in an eight-arm radial maze with three arms baited and one trial per day. Emotional behaviour was measured using the light–dark test.

Key results:

The H₁ receptor-KO mice showed impaired spatial reference and working memory in the radial maze task. No significant differences between H₁ receptor-KO and WT mice were observed in the light–dark test.

Conclusions and implications:

The spatial memory deficits of the H₁ receptor-KO mice might be due to the reported changes in cholinergic neurochemical parameters in the frontal cortex and the CA1 subregion of the hippocampus, to impaired synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, and/or to a dysfunctional brain reward/reinforcement system.     

Regional radiotherapy versus an axillary lymph node dissection after lumpectomy: a safe alternative for an axillary lymph node dissection in a clinically uninvolved axilla in breast cancer. A case control study with 10 years follow up

Background

To correlate the metabolic changes with size changes for tumor response by concomitant PET-CT evaluation of lung cancers after radiotherapy.

Methods

36 patients were studied pre- and post-radiotherapy with¹⁸FDG PET-CT scans at a median interval of 71 days. All of the patients were followed clinically and radiographically after a mean period of 342 days for assessment of local control or failure rates. Change in size (sum of maximum orthogonal diameters) was correlated with that of maximum standard uptake value (SUV) of the primary lung cancer before and after conventional radiotherapy.

Results

There was a significant reduction in both SUV and size of the primary cancer after radiotherapy (p < 0.00005). Among the 20 surviving patients, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy using PET (SUV) were 94%, 50%, 90% respectively and the corresponding values using and CT (size criteria) were 67%, 50%, and 65% respectively. The metabolic change (SUV) was highly correlated with the change in size by a quadratic function. In addition, the mean percentage metabolic change was significantly larger than that of size change (62.3 ± 32.7% vs 47.1 ± 26.1% respectively, p = 0.03)

Conclusion

Correlating and incorporating metabolic change by PET into size change by concomitant CT is more sensitive in assessing therapeutic response than CT alone.     

The diagnosis and treatment of enteroparesis in patients with acute pancreatitis

Two leading moments in endotoxicosis of acute pancreatitis pancreatogenic and enterocologenic should be emphasized. A new noninvasive method is proposed for objective determination of the degree of enteroparesis in patients with acute pancreatitis. A conversion of the gastroenterocolonogram curves into digital parameters gave quantitative data which help to reveal the form of acute pancreatitis. the degree of endogenous intoxication and shows the course of the treatment.     

Bacterial hepatocyte growth factor receptor agonist stimulates hepatocyte proliferation and accelerates liver regeneration in a partial hepatectomy rat model

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is central to liver regeneration. The Internalin B (InlB) protein is a virulence factor produced by the pathogenic bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. InlB is known to mimic HGF activity by interacting with the HGF receptor (HGFR) and activating HGFR‐controlled signaling pathways. We expressed and purified the HGFR‐binding InlB domain, InlB321/15, cloned from the fully virulent clinical L. monocytogenes strain. HGFR and Erk1/2 phosphorylation was determined using Western blotting. The capacity of InlB321/15 to bind HGFR was measured using microscale thermophoresis. Liver regeneration was studied in a model of 70% partial hepatectomy (70%PHx) in male Wistar rats. The nuclear grade parameters were quantified using manual (percentage of binuclear hepatocytes), automated (nuclear diameters), or combined (Ki67 proliferation index) scoring methods. Purified InlB321/15 stimulated HGFR and Erk1/2 phosphorylation and accelerated the proliferation of HepG2 cells. InlB321/15 bound HGFR with Kd = 7.4 ± 1.3 nM. InlB321/15 injected intravenously on the second, fourth, and sixth days after surgery recovered the liver mass and improved the nuclear grade parameters. Seven days post 70% PHx, the liver weight indexes were 2.9 and 2.0%, the hepatocyte proliferation indexes were 19.8 and 0.6%, and the percentages of binucleated hepatocytes were 6.7 and 4.0%, in the InlB321/15‐treated and control animals, respectively. Obtained data demonstrated that InlB321/15 improved hepatocyte proliferation and stimulated liver regeneration in animals with 70% hepatectomy.