Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy assessed with 64-slice computed tomography

A 69-year-old man was admitted to hospital because of sustainedventricular tachycardia with right bundle branch block morphology.After abolition of ventricular tachycardia, an electrocardiogramshowed atrial fibrillation, complete right bundle     

Role of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in a murine model of toluene diisocyanate-induced asthma

BACKGROUND: Adhesion molecules such as intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) are thought to contribute to the airway inflammation and airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) of allergic asthma. Some differences from allergic asthma have been noted, including airway neutrophilia, and the involvement of ICAM-1 in toluene diisocyanate (TDI) asthma is currently unclear. OBJECTIVE: We utilized mice lacking ICAM-1 expression (ICAM-1(-/-)) to investigate the role of ICAM-1 in airway inflammation and AHR in TDI-induced asthma. METHODS: Male C57BL/6J mice (ICAM-1(+/+)) and ICAM-1(-/-) mice were intranasally sensitized to TDI solution or solvent alone. Airway inflammation, AHR and cytokine secretion were assessed 24 h after challenge by TDI or solvent. The production of antigen-specific IgG and IgE by TDI sensitized and non-sensitized mice was determined. RESULTS: TDI challenge to ICAM-1(+/+) mice induced an increase in airway inflammatory cell numbers, AHR and cytokine secretion of TNF-alpha, macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2), IL-4, IL-5 and IFN-gamma into the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. All these pathophysiological changes were reduced in ICAM-1(-/-) mice. Serum levels of TDI-specific IgG and IgE of ICAM-1(-/-) and ICAM-1(+/+) mice were comparable. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that ICAM-1 plays an essential role in airway inflammation and AHR in TDI-induced asthma.     

Addition of Transdermal or Inhaled Long-Acting β 2-Agonists in Adult Asthmatic Patients Treated with Inhaled Corticosteroids: Switchover Study from Tulobuterol Patch to Salmeterol Dry Powder Inhaler

Sixty-four patients with persistent asthma receiving 200 to 800 μ g of fluticasone propionate daily were enrolled in this switchover study. The patients applied a tulobuterol patch 2 mg every 24 hours for 4 weeks followed by inhalation of salmeterol 100 μ g bid for 4 weeks. The mean values for morning and evening peak expiratory flow improved significantly compared with baseline during the 4 weeks of tulobuterol patch treatment. Further improvement was seen on switching to salmeterol treatment, which was significant even in the first week, and continued until the final week of the study. Use of salmeterol alone resulted in a significant increase in the percentage of forced expiratory volume in 1 second %FEV1 from baseline, with 51% of patients feeling that the treatment was effective (vs. 37% on tulobuterol). These data suggest that salmeterol can achieve better control in asthmatic patients after switching from using tulobuterol patches.     

A polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel as a soft contact lens material

A transparent polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel was prepared from a PVA solution in a mixed solvent consisting of water and a water miscible organic solvent by cooling. The physical properties were evaluated in comparison with commercially available soft contact lens materials, such as polyhydroxyethyl methacrylate (PHEMA) and copolymers of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and N-vinyl pyrrolidone (VP). The PVA hydrogel showed higher tensile strength and elongation at break than the other materials, while it had high water content and oxygen permeability the latter being comparable to those of PMMA/VP copolymers. The protein adsorption of the PVA hydrogel was much less than those of the other materials. The PVA hydrogel soft contact lenses were applied on rabbit eyes for 12 weeks. The influence on the cornea was studied by biomicroscopy, ultrasonic corneal pachymetry and histopathological examination. These examinations revealed no abnormal findings in the cornea. These results suggest that the PVA hydrogel may be promising as a new soft contact lens material.     

Treatment strategies for hepatic metastasis from colorectal cancer

Hepatic micrometastases of the parenchyma adjacent to a macroscopic lesion were detected in 17 of 31 resected liver metastases. Fifty-nine micrometastatic lesions were detected in total; 26 lesions were situated in the portal vein (PV), 22 in the central vein (CV), 5 in the bile duct (BD), and 6 in the sinusoid (SS). A histological study confirmed the direct invasion of the macrometastatic cancer cells into the adjacent PV, CV, BD, and SS. According to the tumor doubling time, the mean diameter of the macrometastases in 19 remnant livers was calculated to have been 0.57±0.87 cm at the time of the primary resection. The calculated diameter of 3 of these 19 macrometastases was found to be less than 0.01 cm, the minimum implantable size, indicating that the cancer recurrence in these specimens may have developed from macroscopic metastatic lesions as a satellite, and not from the primary tumor. In 13 patients who received doses of 5250 mg or more of 5 fluorouracil (FU) via the hepatic artery, the cumulative disease-free rate 2 years postoperatively was 100%; this value was 47.6% in 11 patients who received less than 5250 mg of 5 FU via the hepatic artery, and 0% in 39 patients who received no chemotherapy (P<0.005). These results suggest that anatomical hepatic resection for satellite lesions, combined with prophylactic hepatic arterial chemotherapy for micrometastases, decreases the recurrence rate of hepatic metastases in the remnant liver.     

Effects of sodium nitroprusside (MR7S1) and nitroglycerin on the systemic,renal, cerebral,and coronary circulation of dogs anesthetized with enflurane

Summary In beagle dogs anesthetized with enfluranenitrous oxide, effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP; MR7S1) and nitroglycerin (NTG) on hemodynamics and main organ circulation were studied to evaluate their effectiveness and safety as hypotensive agents during anesthesia. SNP (MR7S1) infusion (1–10 g/kg/min) decreased arterial blood pressure in a dose-dependent manner. The hypotension was stable during the infusion. After discontinuation of infusion, the blood pressure rapidly returned to the initial level. The hypotension was associated with decreases in cardiac output and total peripheral resistance. NTG infusion (3–10 g/kg/min) decreased arterial blood pressure, too, but the hypotension was less marked and not dose dependent, and the recovery was slower. Neither drug changed the heart rate. Infusion of SNP (MR7S1) and NTG did not change the hypotension induced by the injection of adenosine, SNP, and NTG. Furthermore, cerebral blood flow, cerebral oxygen consumption, and renal blood flow were unchanged during the hypotension produced by either drug. Coronary blood flow was decreased, but this was due to decreases in cardiac oxygen consumption. In conclusion, SNP (MR7S1) is superior to NTG as a hypotensive agent during anesthesia in efficacy, clear dose dependency, and rapid recovery. The hypotension induced by NTG as well as SNP (MR7S1) seems to have no undesirable effects on the circulation of important organs.     

Potentiation of allergic bronchoconstriction by repeated exposure to formaldehyde in guinea-pigs in vivo

BACKGROUND: Indoor formaldehyde (FA) might worsen allergies and be an underlying factor for the increasing incidence and severity of asthma; the exact mechanism, however, remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the effects of repeated exposure to FA on methacholine- and antigen-induced bronchoconstriction in guinea-pigs in vivo. METHODS: First, non-sensitized guinea-pigs were transnasally treated with 0.1 or 1.0% FA or saline three times a week for 6 weeks, and increasing concentrations of methacholine (50, 100, and 200 microg/mL) were inhaled at 5-min intervals. Second, guinea-pigs pre-treated with transnasal administration of FA or saline using the same protocol were passively sensitized with anti-ovalbumin (OA) serum 7 days before antigen challenge. Third, guinea-pigs were actively sensitized with OA and pre-treated with transnasal administration of FA or saline using the same protocol. The lateral pressure of the tracheal tube (Pao) was measured under anesthesia and artificial ventilation. RESULTS: The antigen-induced increase in Pao in actively sensitized guinea-pigs was significantly potentiated by FA exposure in a dose-dependent manner. The dose-response curve of the methacholine-induced increase in Pao in non-sensitized guinea-pigs or of the antigen-induced increase in Pao in passively sensitized guinea-pigs was not altered by FA exposure. Transnasal administration of FA significantly increased the serum anti-OA homocytotropic antibody titre (IgG) as measured by the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction in actively sensitized guinea-pigs. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that repeated exposure to FA worsens allergic bronchoconstriction through enhancing antigen sensitization.     

Temperature-dependent Cu2+-Cu2+ paired structure in ethylene/methacrylic acid copolymer neutralized with Cu(II). Ionic crystallite disordering and polyethylene crystallite melting

Temperature-dependent ESR spectra of Cu²⁺-Cu²⁺ pairs in ethylene/methacrylic acid copolymer neutralized with Cu(II) were reexamined in detail. The resonance positions and the linewidths of one of the ESR fine-structure lines showed thermal distension of the Cu²⁺-Cu²⁺ distance, and the slopes in the temperature variations changed at the temperature associated with melting of the polymer crystallites. No meaningful anomalies were observed around the temperature at which the preceding endothermic transition takes place. In this transition, the Cu²⁺-Cu²⁺ pairs seems to enter a disordered state, keeping almost the same paired structure. In contrast to this irreversible order-disorder transition, the melting process in the most part of the polyethylene crystallite phases starts to impose stress upon the Cu²⁺-Cu²⁺ pairs, accompanying the slope changes of the ESR parameters. These reversible variations with remarkable thermal hysteresis are compatible with the DSC analyses.