Non-invasive imaging diagnosis of left renal vein compression causing hematuria. Part 2. CT

Left renal veins of 77 patients were examined by computed tomography (CT) to evaluate its usefulness in determining the left renal vein compression which is causing renal bleeding. From CT image, left renal vein compression was observed in 6 (86%) of the 7 cases which had been classified as idiopathic renal bleeding, in 9 (21%) of the 42 cases which had urinary tract diseases causing hematuria, and in 3 (11%) of the 28 cases which did not have hematuria. In 15 of the 18 cases of left renal vein compression, left renal vein was compressed between the superior mesenteric artery and the abdominal aorta, showing so-called nutcracker phenomenon. In the remaining 3 cases, however, the superior mesenteric artery provided sharp delineation from the abdominal aorta. The superior mesenteric artery and the abdominal aorta made the mean angle of 35.5 degree in patients with normal left renal vein, the mean angle of 45.4 degrees in those with left renal vein compression without nutcracker phenomenon, and the mean angle of 11.9 degrees in those with nutcracker phenomenon. CT was superior to ultrasonography, in revealing left renal vein compression.     

The relationship between diuretics and serum cholesterol in Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program participants

The effect of diuretics, mainly chlorthalidone, on serum cholesterol was studied in 7,006 of the Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program (HDFP) hypertensive patients not on antihypertensive medication at baseline. Several investigators have reported that diuretic therapy increases serum cholesterol in treated subjects. However, data from two long-term studies indicated that no increase in cholesterol occurred after two years of diuretic treatment. In the present study, yearly changes in serum cholesterol in hypertensives treated with diuretics were observed. The results were in agreement with those reported from both short-term and long-term studies, in that a significant increase in cholesterol was observed in six months to one year into the study but not from the second to the fifth year of therapy. In fact, the serum cholesterol levels were the same as baseline values after two years of drug treatment and decreased slightly thereafter. In the untreated group, no change or a decrease in serum cholesterol was observed during the course of the study. The possible causes for changes in serum cholesterol concentration such as regression to the mean, change in body weight, baseline cholesterol concentration, and the action mechanism of diuretic drugs are discussed.     

The synaptic responses of the neurons in the medulla oblongata to stimulation of the stepping stria of the spinal cord in the cat

Synaptic responses of bulbar neurons to stimulation of stepping points in the dorsolateral funiculus were recorded in decerebrate cats. 40% of neurons were excited from both ipsi- and contralateral stepping points, the rest of them were excited only from one of those points. Part of the neurons was activated from stepping points at both C2 and Th12 spinal cord levels. Latencies of the synaptic responses to stimulation of the stepping point at the cervical level were from 2 to 18 ms. These results suggest that bulbar neurons as well as propriospinal ones contribute to initiation of locomotion.     

Pharmacological activity and clinical effects of trecrezan and other tris-(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium salts of arylheteroacetic acids (A review)

The results of an experimental and clinical study on the pharmacological properties of new compounds representing tris-(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium salts (TES) of arylheteroacetic acids-in particular, tris-(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium-2-methylphenoxyacetate (trecrezan)-are summarized. Trecrezan exhibits a modulating action on immunity and hemopoiesis and offers a promising approach to immune correction for the treatment of immune deficiency and autoimmune disorders. Recovery of the proliferative activity of the early precursors of erythropoiesis with the aid of trecrezan (experimental model) leads to the normalization of immunity and hemopoiesis. A method involving trecrezan administration has been developed for the complex treatment of acute viral hepatitis B as well as hepatitis A and B complicated by occupational anamnesis. Trecrezan has also been successfully applied for the complex treatment of ischemic heart disease and multiple sclerosis. Trecrezan stimulates the regeneration of hepatocytes during partial hepatectomy and acts as an effective adjuvant in the complex therapy of tuberculosis. Trecrezan analogs (TES) show antitumor, hepatoprotective, and adaptive activity, increase the resistance of animals to oxygen insufficiency and to poisoning with heavy metal salts and organophosphorus compounds, and improve the endurance of animals under physical load and emotional stress conditions. __________ Translated from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 41, No. 5, pp. 13–17, May, 2007.