Rosmarinic acid in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Argusia argentea</Emphasis> inhibits snake venom-induced hemorrhage

A methanolic extract of Argusia (or Messerschmidia or Tournefortia) argentea (Boraginaceae) significantly inhibited hemorrhage induced by crude venom of Trimeresurus flavoviridis. The extract was then separated according to antivenom activity by using silica gel column chromatography and HPLC equipped with an octadecylsilanized silica gel (ODS) column to afford rosmarinic acid (RA) (1) as an active principle. RA (1) significantly inhibited the hemorrhagic effect of crude venoms of T. flavoviridis, Crotalus atrox, Gloydius blomhoffii, Bitis arietans as well as snake venom metalloproteinases, HT-b (C. atrox), bilitoxin 2 (Agkistrodon bilineatus), HF (B. arietans), and Ac1-proteinase (Deinagkistrodon acutus). This is the first report of the antihemorrhage activity of RA (1), and RA (1) greatly contributes to the antihemorrhagic efficiency of A. argentea against crude snake venoms and hemorrhagic toxins.     

Studies on beta-lactam antibiotics. XII. Synthesis and activity of new 3-ethynylcephalosporin

The synthesis of the orally absorbed 3-ethynylcephalosporin is described. In addition, the structure-activity relationships and oral absorption in rats of 7 beta-[(Z)-2-(2-amino-4-thiazolyl)-2- carboxymethoxyiminoacetamido]cephalosporins having various aliphatic hydrocarbon groups at the 3-position are discussed. Of these cephalosporins, 3-ethynyl-cephalosporin exhibited better activity against Staphylococcus aureus than the other cephalosporins and showed moderate oral absorption in rats.     

Myocardial protection of the pressure overload hypertrophied heart in human cardiac surgery by acceleration of anaerobic glycolysis.

BACKGROUND: Because of the decreased tolerance to ischemia and increased reperfusion injury in hypertrophied myocardium, myocardial hypertrophy is a well known risk factor for cardiac surgery. We have previously demonstrated in a left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) model that a highly buffered cardioplegic solution (HBS) that provided glucose as a substrate and promoted anaerobic glycolysis during ischemia afforded superior myocardial protection when compared to standard formulations. And we reported the superiority of this cardioplegia in human cardiac surgery. METHODS: In this study, 16 patients with aortic stenosis (AS) and LVH receiving HBS were reviewed and compared to another patient group with AS and LVH who received either cold blood cardioplegia (CBC; n=5) or glucose insulin potassium (GIK; n=6). RESULTS: Postoperative cardiac index was better in the HBS group than the other two groups with similar or lower catecholamine. CK-MB was lower in HBS group than GIK group, but this was not significant. Only one DC cardioversion was required in the HBS group, whereas 2 DC in the CBC group and total 7 DC in the GIK group. CONCLUSIONS: We found that histidine buffered cardioplegic solution provided comparable or better pump performance after surgery with relatively lower inotropic requirement, less DC cardioversion and homologous blood requirements for left ventricular hypertrophied heart associated with aortic stenosis.     

Effects of thiopental on sensory evoked potentials in the cat

Noninvasive electrophysiological evaluation with sensory evoked potentials would be of clear diagnostic and prognostic value in evaluating comatose patients with stroke or severe head injury. In order to protect the brain from such kinds of insults, barbiturate coma therapy has been employed and its effectiveness has been already established. However, in the barbiturate coma therapy, it is occasionally difficult to distinguish the pharmacological effect of barbiturate from the preexisting brain dysfunction caused by the underlying process of the disease. In adult cats, authors studied changes of sensory evoked potentials following cumulative intravenous administration of thiopental which is used clinically for barbiturate coma therapy. P1 and N1 of cortical SEP showed tendency of gradual decrease in amplitude. However, no significant changes occurred in latency by stepwise increment of thiopental dose. Changes in amplitude of P1 and N1 of cortical SEP preceded to the flattening on electroencephalogram. Around at the level of the concentration where EEG changes began, I-II interpeak latency of BAEP and latency of wave I of short latency SEP started to increase. BAEP and early components of SEP (I.II.III.IV) persisted even in by far the higher level of serum concentration of thiopental than that of clinical use. Furthermore, most of these parameters showed no statistically significant change neither in amplitude nor in latency. These experimental results suggest that sensory evoked potentials will provide us with useful information in the assessment of the brainstem function in patients under thiopental induced deep coma.     

A Screening Method for Adrenoleukodystrophy Using a Dried Blood Spot on Filter Paper

The authors have devised a new, simple method for the diagnosis of adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) using a dried blood spot sample. Fatty acid from the dried blood spot was extracted and methylated with HCl-methanol. Fatty acid methyl esters were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Fatty acid composition of the blood spot from five patients with ALD and from five healthy controls was determined from the mass chromatogram of the m/z 143 ion, [(CH₂) ₆ COOCH₃]±. The ratios of tetracosanoic acid to docosanoic acid (C24:0/C22:0) and of hexacosanoic acid to docosanoic acid (C26:0/C22:0) were significantly greater in ALD patients than in controls. The C24:0/C22:0 ratios of ALD patients and of controls were 2.08 ± 0.33 and 1.47 ± 0.16 (mean ± SD), respectively. The C26:0/C22:0 ratios of ALD patients and of controls were 0.31 ± 0.024 and 0.092 ± 0.041, respectively. The fatty acid composition of the dried blood spot did not change at room temperature within a week. Since the specimens can be sent by mail, this method could be applied to the screening of other “peroxisomal” diseases, such as neonatal ALD and Zellweger syndrome, as well.     

Altered anterior‐posterior connectivity through the arcuate fasciculus in temporal lobe epilepsy

How the interactions between cortices through a specific white matter pathway change during cognitive processing in patients with epilepsy remains unclear. Here, we used surface‐based structural connectivity analysis to examine the change in structural connectivity with Broca's area/the right Broca's homologue in the lateral temporal and inferior parietal cortices through the arcuate fasciculus (AF) in 17 patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) compared with 17 healthy controls. Then, we investigated its functional relevance to the changes in task‐related responses and task‐modulated functional connectivity with Broca's area/the right Broca's homologue during a semantic classification task of a single word. The structural connectivity through the AF pathway and task‐modulated functional connectivity with Broca's area decreased in the left midtemporal cortex. Furthermore, task‐related response decreased in the left mid temporal cortex that overlapped with the region showing a decrease in the structural connectivity. In contrast, the region showing an increase in the structural connectivity through the AF overlapped with the regions showing an increase in task‐modulated functional connectivity in the left inferior parietal cortex. These structural and functional changes in the overlapping regions were correlated. The results suggest that the change in the structural connectivity through the left frontal–temporal AF pathway underlies the altered functional networks between the frontal and temporal cortices during the language‐related processing in patients with left TLE. The left frontal–parietal AF pathway might be employed to connect anterior and posterior brain regions during language processing and compensate for the compromised left frontal–temporal AF pathway. Hum Brain Mapp 37:4425–4438, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The features in IgA-dominant infection-related glomerulonephritis distinct from IgA nephropathy: a single-center study

Background

IgA-dominant infection-related glomerulonephritis (IgA-IRGN) is a unique form of IRGN, which needs to be distinguished from IgA nephropathy (IgAN).

Methods

Thirteen patients with IgA-IRGN (IgA-IRGN group) and 122 with IgAN (IgAN group) were selected from 1788 patients who underwent kidney biopsy between 2000 and 2015 in Kitano Hospital. Data selected included clinical and serological parameters; light and electron microscope findings; immunofluorescence findings; and prognostic parameters like renal and overall survival and creatinine increase by >?50%. In addition, a 26-patient IgAN cohort (matching-IgAN), matching with IgA-IRGN group with respect to age, sex, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and proteinuria was segregated for comparison.

Results

Compared to IgAN group, IgA-IRGN group were older, had lower hemoglobin, higher CRP, lower eGFR, heavier proteinuria, lower serum albumin, and higher serum IgG and IgA levels (p?<?0.05). Endocapillary hypercellularity, deposition of immune complexes along the glomerular capillary wall, and subendothelial and subepithelial electron dense deposits were more frequently observed (p?<?0.05); and they were more susceptible to renal dysfunction and poorer prognosis. After propensity score-matching, serum albumin was significantly lower in the IgA-IRGN group. Significantly subendothelial and subepithelial deposits were frequently observed in this group. Matching-IgAN group showed relatively advanced sclerotic lesions with more global sclerosis and fibrous crescent.

Conclusion

Local inflammation involved glomerular capillary wall in IgA-IRGN, in contrast to relatively chronic and sclerotic renal lesion in IgAN, might result in poorer prognosis in former, even under indistinguishable condition of deteriorated renal function and proteinuria.