Preservative solution for skeletal muscle biopsy samples

Context:

Muscle biopsy samples must be frozen with liquid nitrogen immediately after excision and maintained at -80°C until analysis. Because of this requirement for tissue processing, patients with neuromuscular diseases often have to travel to centers with on-site muscle pathology laboratories for muscle biopsy sample excision to ensure that samples are properly preserved.

Aim:

Here, we developed a preservative solution and examined its protectiveness on striated muscle tissues for a minimum of the length of time that would be required to reach a specific muscle pathology laboratory.

Materials and Methods:

A preservative solution called Kurt-Ozcan (KO) solution was prepared. Eight healthy Sprague-Dawley rats were sacrificed; striated muscle tissue samples were collected and divided into six different groups. Muscle tissue samples were separated into groups for morphological, enzyme histochemical, molecular, and biochemical analysis.

Statistical method used:

Chi-square and Kruskal Wallis tests.

Results:

Samples kept in the KO and University of Wisconsin (UW) solutions exhibited very good morphological scores at 3, 6, and 18 hours, but artificial changes were observed at 24 hours. Similar findings were observed for the evaluated enzyme activities. There were no differences between the control group and the samples kept in the KO or UW solution at 3, 6, and 18 hours for morphological, enzyme histochemical, and biochemical features. The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) of β-actin gene was protected up to 6 hours in the KO and UW solutions.

Conclusion:

The KO solution protects the morphological, enzyme histochemical, and biochemical features of striated muscle tissue of healthy rats for 18 hours and preserves the mRNA for 6 hours.     

Incidence,efficacy and safety of YAG laser goniopuncture following nonpenetrating deep sclerectomy at a university hospital in Riyadh,Saudi Arabia

Purpose

Assessing the frequency and evaluating the efficacy and safety of Neodymium:Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG) Laser goniopuncture (LGP) following nonpenetrating deep sclerectomy (NPDS).

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Patients and methods

We retrospectively reviewed the outcome of 197 eyes of 153 patients with open angle glaucoma who underwent either NPDS or NPDS combined with cataract extraction between January 2005 and September 2010 at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH). Both demographic and clinical data were retrieved and analysed.

Results

Goniopuncture (GP) was needed in 48 (24.4%) of the eyes which had NPDS or NPDS with cataract extraction after a mean post operative interval of 9.78 (±11.16) months. The mean IOP had significantly decreased from 23.3 (±5.9) mmHg prior to Nd:YAG LGP procedure to 14.6 (±4.4) mmHg at the last post-procedure assessment. At the last follow-up; Nd:YAG LGP was successful in controlling IOP in 27 eyes (56.3%). Mean Nd:YAG LGP failure time was 6.04 (±5.80) months. Young age (<50 years) (p = 0.001); type of glaucoma (secondary versus primary open angle, p = 0.0258) and the use of drainage implant (p = 0.038) were the identified predicting factors for the need of Nd:YAG LGP. Complications following Nd:YAG LGP occurred in 5 eyes (iris touch to TDM (4.2%), Hyphema (2.1%), hypotony maculopathy (2.1%) and choroidal detachment (2.1%).

Conclusions

LGP is an efficient IOP lowering procedure after NPDS, when it is indicated. It is a simple and noninvasive procedure. However, certain precautions should be taken to avoid complications.     

Effects of morning versus evening intake of atorvastatin on major cardiac event and restenosis rates in patients undergoing first elective percutaneous coronary intervention

It is not known whether taking atorvastatin in the morning versus in the evening has a different effect on major cardiac event and restenosis rates in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of morning versus evening intake of atorvastatin on major cardiac events and restenosis rates and also on serum lipid and high sensitivity C-reactive protein levels in patients with single-vessel disease who underwent first elective percutaneous coronary intervention.     

Blockade of endocannabinoid hydrolytic enzymes attenuates precipitated opioid withdrawal symptoms in mice

Δ(9)-Tetrahydrocannbinol (THC), the primary active constituent of Cannabis sativa, has long been known to reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms. Although THC produces most of its pharmacological actions through the activation of CB(1) and CB(2) cannabinoid receptors, the role these receptors play in reducing the variety of opioid withdrawal symptoms remains unknown. The endogenous cannabinoids, N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide; AEA) and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG), activate both cannabinoid receptors but are rapidly metabolized by fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), respectively. The objective of this study was to test whether increasing AEA or 2-AG, via inhibition of their respective hydrolytic enzymes, reduces naloxone-precipitated morphine withdrawal symptoms in in vivo and in vitro models of opioid dependence. Morphine-dependent mice challenged with naloxone reliably displayed a profound withdrawal syndrome, consisting of jumping, paw tremors, diarrhea, and weight loss. THC and the MAGL inhibitor 4-nitrophenyl 4-(dibenzo[d][1,3]dioxol-5-yl(hydroxy)methyl)piperidine-1-carboxylate (JZL184) dose dependently reduced the intensity of most measures through the activation of CB(1) receptors. JZL184 also attenuated spontaneous withdrawal signs in morphine-dependent mice. The FAAH inhibitor N-(pyridin-3-yl)-4-(3-(5-(trifluoromethyl)pyridin-2-yloxy)benzyl)-piperdine-1-carboxamide (PF-3845) reduced the intensity of naloxone-precipitated jumps and paw flutters through the activation of CB(1) receptors but did not ameliorate incidence of diarrhea or weight loss. In the final series of experiments, we investigated whether JZL184 or PF-3845 would attenuate naloxone-precipitated contractions in morphine-dependent ilea. Both enzyme inhibitors attenuated the intensity of naloxone-induced contractions, although this model does not account mechanistically for the autonomic withdrawal responses (i.e., diarrhea) observed in vivo. These results indicate that endocannabinoid catabolic enzymes are promising targets to treat opioid dependence.