Serum Vitamin A Levels in Mothers and Their Breast-Fed Term Infants with or without Supplemental Vitamin A

ABSTRACT. Serum concentrations of vitamin A were measured in term infants ( n =72) and their mothers at delivery and after 20 weeks of breast-feeding ( n =48). During the 20 weeks the infants received either no supplemental vitamin A (but the mothers were given 3000 IU vitamin A daily) ( n =16) or a daily vitamin A supplementation of 600 ( n =17) or 1500 IU ( n =15). After 20 weeks of breast-feeding the vitamin A levels in the unsupplemented infants were similar to those at birth. The infants supplemented either with 600 or 1500 IU had higher vitamin A serum levels than at birth ( p <0.01), however, there was no difference between the two supplemented groups. During lactation, the serum vitamin A concentrations of the mothers increased significantly in all groups with or without vitamin A supplementation.     

Expression of cyclooxygenase‐2 in intestinal goblet cells of pre‐diabetic NOD mice

Cyclooxygenase, the rate‐limiting enzyme in prostaglandin synthesis, is expressed in constitutive (COX‐1) and inducible (COX‐2) isoforms. The COX‐2 has been proposed to be involved in development of autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1D). We examined COX‐2 expression in the gut‐associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), and found COX‐2 was strongly expressed in goblet cells of non‐obese diabetic (NOD) mice at the apical villi at the age of 2.5 weeks, clearly before the onset of insulitis, while the expression in the control BALB/c mice was weak or absent at all ages (P < 0.001). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) given intraperitoneally slightly increased COX‐2 expression in the goblet cells and epithelium of both NOD and BALB/c mice. High‐resolution confocal microscopy showed that the surroundings of the goblet cells contained no COX‐2, implying that the enzyme is synthesized by the goblet cells. The COX‐2 is secreted from goblet cells into the intestinal lumen along with mucins. The COX‐2 concentration in the goblet cell of BALB/c and especially of NOD mice was markedly higher than that in the intraepithelial lymphocytes or lamina propria macrophages. High mucin COX‐2 from goblet cells may increase luminal prostaglandin synthesis, alter epithelial permeability, modulate intestinal immune responses and modify functional properties of the lymphocytes in the GALT, which all may be important for the initiation of the autoimmune phenomenon in the NOD mice.     

Nine‐Month Angiographic and Intravascular Ultrasound Outcomes After Resolute Zotarolimus‐Eluting Stent Implantation for the Treatment of In‐Stent Restenosis

Objectives

We aimed to evaluate the mid‐term outcomes of resolute zotarolimus‐eluting stent (R‐ZES) implantation for in‐stent restenosis (ISR).

Background

There has been a paucity of data regarding the effects of new‐generation drug‐eluting stent to treat ISR.

Methods

From 2009 to 2010, a total of 98 patients with 98 ISR lesions were prospectively enrolled after R‐ZES implantation for the treatment of ISR. Among 98 patients, 73 patients underwent follow‐up angiography at 9 months. Serial intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) at both postprocedure and 9 months was evaluated in 55 patients. The overlapped segment of R‐ZES was defined as the portion of R‐ZES superimposed on previous stent.

Results

Late loss and binary restenosis rate were 0.3 ± 0.5 mm and 5.5% at 9 months. On IVUS, the percentage of neointimal volume and maximum percentage of neointimal area were 3.9 ± 6.3% and 17.3 ± 15.5%, respectively. There was no significant change of vessel volume index between postprocedure and 9 months (16.9 ± 4.7 mm³/mm vs. 17.1 ± 4.6 mm³/mm, P = 0.251). Late‐acquired incomplete stent apposition was observed in 5 (5/55, 9.1%) cases. Compared with nonoverlapped segments of R‐ZES, the overlapped did not show larger neointimal volume index (0.3 ± 0.5 mm³/mm vs. 0.2 ± 0.3 mm³/mm, P = 0.187) on 9‐month IVUS. During follow‐up (median, 353 days), repeat target‐lesion revascularization was performed in four cases, but there were no death or stent thrombosis.

Conclusions

This study suggested that R‐ZES implantation for the treatment of ISR was effective up to 9 months and showed favorable vascular responses on serial IVUS assessment.

     

腺嘌呤致不同性别大鼠骨质疏松的差异

肌酸尿时多见而又为主要病因的腺嘌呤广泛地应用于临床，但是腺嘌呤过多对人体是有害的。到目前为止，只有应用雄性动物研究腺嘌呤影响的报告。在雄鼠发现喂饲富含腺嘌呤的饲料会引起肾衰竭。由于腺嘌呤对雌性动物的影响的报告还甚少，本实验研究了腺嘌呤处理对不同性别大鼠的影响，并进行了讨论。年轻雄性和雌性大鼠分别给与一种预定浓度的腺嘌呤(6、60及100mg／mL)共8周(3次／周)。结果100mg／mL腺嘌呤处理能引起雄鼠肾衰，50mg／mL能引起肾功能失调。但是，只有100mg／mL才能引起雌鼠肾功能失调，其影响与雄性大鼠有些不同。雄鼠血清睾酮水平及BMD可因腺嘌呤处理而降低，但肾功能失调可有可无。相反，雌鼠尽管有肾功能失调，血清17-β雌二醇水平及BMD可完全不受腺嘌呤处理的影响。如上所述，本研究能说明腺嘌呤对骨代谢的影响是通过性激素合成实现的。腺嘌呤常含于临床药物及日常食物中，过多摄入包括腺嘌呤在内的核酸会影响内分泌功能。     

Alcohol counselling of 85 pregnant problem drinkers: effect on drinking and fetal outcome

Summary. Eighty-five pregnant problem drinkers were given intensive counselling throughout gestation to persuade them to reduce or stop their alcohol intake. Nevertheless, 7% of their blood specimens collected at follow-up visits contained ethanol. Fifty-five women (65%) were able to reduce their alcohol consumption by at least 50%. Alcohol abuse was associated in a dose-dependent manner with fetal growth retardation detectable by uftrasonography from 27 weeks gestation. Twenty infants (24%) had a complete fetal alcohol syndrome and 22 (26%) had some features of'fetal alcohol effects' (FAE). In addition, the rate of structural malformations was high (13%). Of the women with continuous alcohol abuse 89% gave birth to infants with at least one feature of FAE compared with only 40% of those who decreased their alcohol consumption.     

Water, Sodium and Acid-Base Balance in Premature Infants: Therapeutical Aspects

ABSTRACT. One of the main targets of fluid therapy in premature infants is to avoid variations in osmolality, which mainly means providing a stable sodium, glucose, and acid-base balance. Water, sodium, and acid-base balance were measured in 20 infants appropriate-for-gestational age with a gestational age 34 weeks. The infants were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. Fluid intake was restricted and air humidity in the incubator was high in order to minimize insensible water loss. Sodium intake in Group 1 was 2 mmol/kg/day and consisted of sodium chloride. Sodium intake in Group 2 was 4 mmol/kg/day and consisted of both sodium chloride and acetate. Weight loss was appropriate in both groups. In the high sodium intake group there was a tendency towards a more stable plasma sodium concentration than in the low sodium intake group. The use of sodium acetate was efficient and practical as normal acid-base balance was maintained. The protocol with restricted fluid intake (1st day 50 ml/kg, 2nd day 70 ml/kg, 3rd day 90 ml/kg, and 4th day 110 ml/kg), high air humidity, a sodium supply of 3 to 4 mmol/kg/day, and a slow correction of metabolic acidosis with sodium acetate, yields suitable guidelines in planning fluid and electrolyte therapy in premature infants 34 weeks' gestation.