Clinical application of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy using microexplosions

Extracorporeal stone disintegration using a chemical explosive (10 mg. lead azide) as an energy source of underwater shock waves was performed in 105 patients 11 to 72 years old who had stones in the upper urinary tract. We used a prototype disintegrator in this series. The over-all rate free of stones 3 months after treatment was 82 per cent. Shock wave therapy was performed alone in 77 patients (73 per cent), while the remainder required combined treatment with percutaneous and/or transurethral lithotripsy. The most common complications were colic pain (30 per cent) and fever (23 per cent). In 4 patients other complications, that is bacteremia, gastrointestinal bleeding, ureteral injury and subcapsular renal hematoma, were observed but they were treated conservatively with no serious adverse effects. Our study demonstrates the safe use of this method for clinical treatment.     

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.     

Microarray analysis on Phase II drug metabolizing enzymes expression in pregnant rats after treatment with pregnenolone-16alpha-carbonitrile or phenobarbital

We previously reported the expression profiles of 9 cytochrome P450 isozymes (CYPs) proteins and those of 40 CYPs genes in pregnant rat's liver, placenta and fetal liver after treatment with pregnenolone-16alpha-carbonitrile (PCN) or phenobarbital (PB). This study was carried out focusing on the gene expression profiles of Phase II drug metabolizing enzymes, Glutathione S-transferase isozymes (GSTs) and UDP-glycosyltransferase isozymes (UDPGTs). Fischer 344 (F344) pregnant rats were daily treated intraperitoneally with 50 mg/kg of PCN or 80 mg/kg of PB from 13 to 16 days of gestation (DG). They were sacrificed on 17 DG, and microarray analysis using Affymetrix Rat Expression Array 230 A was performed. Among 16 GSTs genes examined in this study, 7 genes were significantly induced in dam's liver and 3 genes in fetal liver, respectively, in the PCN-group, while 8 genes were significantly induced in dam's liver and 1 gene in fetal liver, respectively, in the PB-group. On the other hand, among 11 UDPGTs genes examined, 5 genes were significantly induced in dam's liver and 3 genes in fetal liver, respectively, in the PCN-group, while 5 genes were significantly induced in dam's liver and 1 gene in fetal liver, respectively, in the PB-group. There were no significant changes in the placenta of all groups. This is the first report of the gene expression profiles of Phase II drug metabolizing enzymes in pregnant rat and fetal livers and placenta after treatment with typical inducers of drug metabolizing enzymes.     

Identification of HIV-1 epitopes that induce the synthesis of a R5 HIV-1 suppression factor by human CD4+ T cells isolated from HIV-1 immunized hu-PBL SCID mice

We have previously reported that immunization of the severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice reconstituted with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) (hu-PBL-SCID mice) with inactivated human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1)-pulsed-autologous dendritic cells (HIV-DC) elicits HIV-1-reactive CD4(+) T cells that produce an as yet to be defined novel soluble factor in vitro with anti-viral properties against CCR5 tropic (R5) HIV-1 infection. These findings led us to perform studies designed to identify the lineage of the cell that synthesizes such a factor in vivo and define the epitopes of HIV-1 protein that have specificity for the induction of such anti-viral factor. Results of our studies show that this property is a function of CD4(+) but not CD8(+) T cells. Human CD4(+) T cells were thus recovered from the HIV-DC-immunized hu-PBL-SCID mice and were re-stimulated in vitro by co-culture for 2 days with autologous adherent PBMC as antigen presenting cells, APC previously pulsed with inactivated HIV in IL-2-containing medium to expand HIV-1-reactive CD4(+) T cells. Aliquots of these re-stimulated CD4(+) T cells were then co-cultured with similar APC's that were previously pulsed with 10 microg/ml of a panel of HIV peptides for an additional 2 days, and their culture supernatants were examined for the production of both the R5 HIV-1 suppression factor and IFN-gamma. The data presented herein show that the HIV-1 primed CD4(+) T cells produced the R5 suppression factor in response to a wide variety of HIV-1 gag, env, pol, nef or vif peptides, depending on the donor of the CD4(+) T cells. Simultaneous production of human interferon (IFN)-gamma was observed in some cases. These results indicate that human CD4(+) T cells in PBMC of HIV-1 naive donors have a wide variety of HIV-1 epitope-specific CD4(+) T cell precursors that are capable of producing the R5 HIV-1 suppression factor upon DC-based vaccination with whole inactivated HIV-1.     

Simulation studies of data classification by artificial neural networks: Potential applications in medical imaging and decision making

Artificial neural networks are being investigated in the field of medical imaging as a means to facilitate pattern recognition and patient classification. In the work reported here, the effects of internal structure and the nature of input data on the performance of neural networks were investigated systematically using computer-simulated data. Network performance was evaluated quantitatively by means of receiver operating characteristic analysis and compared with the performance of an ideal statistical decision maker. We found that the relatively simple neural networks investigated in this study can perform at the level of an ideal decision maker. These simple networks were also found to learn accurately even when the training data are extremely unbalanced with respect to the prevalence of actually positive cases and to differentiate input data patterns by recognizing their unique characteristics.     

A combination of interleukin-6 and its soluble receptor impairs sperm motility: implications in infertility associated with endometriosis

BACKGROUND: We previously reported that the level of interleukin (IL)-6 is increased in the peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis. This study was undertaken to assess the effects of IL-6 and soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) on in vitro sperm motility. METHODS: Sperm (n = 20) were cultured with IL-6 or sIL-6R, or with a combination of both. After 24 h cultures, sperm motility was evaluated using a computer-assisted semen analysis system. Gene and protein expressions of IL-6, IL-6 receptor (IL-6R), and glycoprotein 130 (gp130) were examined in sperm by RT-PCR analysis and western blot analysis. RESULTS: Addition of IL-6 or sIL-6R individually to the culture media had no affect on sperm motion. However, adding a combination of IL-6 and sIL-6R dose-dependently reduced the percentage of motile and rapidly moving sperm. Adding anti-IL-6R antibody abolished these adverse effects. Sperm expressed the gp130 gene and protein, but not IL-6 or IL-6R. CONCLUSIONS: A combination of IL-6 and sIL-6R may be associated with gp130 expressed in the sperm and reduce sperm motility. IL-6 and sIL-6R may contribute to the pathogenesis of endometriosis-associated infertility.