Urination Frequency and Cystic Pressure Resistance After Fractionated whole or Partial Irradiation of the Rabbit Urinary Bladder

Urination frequency and cystic pressure resistance have been used as end-points to assess x-ray-induced changes of bladder function. Whole or half bladders of adult male rabbits were irradiated, caudally or cranially. The absorbed dose was 33 Gy, 36 Gy or 39 Gy, given in 5 daily fractions. Animals which received a whole bladder dose of 39 Gy or 36 Gy showed increased urination frequency and enhanced bladder pressure resistance during the whole follow-up time of 100 weeks, compared with the sham-irradiated controls. At half bladder irradiation, only the highest doses (39 Gy to the cranial part of the bladder and 39 Gy or 36 Gy to the caudal part) gave rise to a slight increase in frequency at about 20 weeks after exposure.     

Time after excision and temperature alter ex vivo tissue relaxation time measurements

Previously unreported effects of tissue storage were recently observed in the authors' experimental magnetic resonance (MR) studies. To evaluate the effect of elapsed time after excision and storage temperature on tissue relaxation time measurements, tissue samples from the liver, pancreas, kidney, testis, spleen, and brain were obtained in rats. T1 and T2 were first measured within 5 minutes of excision, and between subsequent measurements, tubes were kept in a water bath at 40°C, at room temperature (28°C), or in an ice bath (4°C). Cellular and organellar integrity was assessed with electron microscopy and correlated with the MR findings. At 40°C (20-MHz spectrometer), the T1 of liver decreased from 280 msec ± 8 to 212 msec ± 10 during the first 60 minutes; the T1 of pancreas decreased from 276 msec ± 3 to 208 msec ± 2. Other tissues showed less than a 5% decrease in T1. T2 changes were smaller than T1 changes in all tissues. Electron microscopy of pancreatic acinar cells showed postmortem changes in mitochondria evolving over the first 60 minutes after death. Manganese loading experiments implicated mitochondrial manganese stores in the observed enhanced postmortem decrease in T1. This study calls into question reported relaxation time data for liver and pancreas. MR studies of excised tissues must account for time and temperature to prevent systematic experimental errors.     

Entwicklung der Hornhautdicke und -endothelzelldichte nach Kataraktextraktion mittels Phakoemulsifikation

Ziel der vorliegenden Untersuchung war es, das Ausma? der Hornhautsch?digung durch eine Kataraktextraktion im Hinblick auf das Hornhautendothel und die Hornhautdicke zu untersuchen. Patienten und Methode: In einer prospektiven Untersuchung wurde die Entwicklung der Hornhautdicke und der Endothelzelldichte an 48 Patienten untersucht. Die Patienten wurden mittels Phakoemulsifikation operiert. Die Hornhautdicke wurde dabei mit einem Ultraschallpachymeter bei 12 Uhr und im Hornhautzentrum und die Endothelzelldichte mit einer Endothelzellkamera an den gleichen Me?punkten pr?operativ sowie 4 Wochen, 4 Monate und 1 Jahr postoperativ bestimmt. Ergebnisse: Ein Jahr postoperativ nahm die Hornhautdicke nach Phakoemulsifikation an der 12-Uhr-Position um ca. 9% und im Hornhautzentrum um ca. 12% im Vergleich zum pr?operativen Wert zu. Die Endothelzelldichte war 1 Jahr postoperativ an der 12-Uhr-Position um ca. 27% und im Zentrum um ca. 18% reduziert. Das Patientenalter korrelierte signifikant mit dem Zellverlust an beiden Me?punkten. Bezüglich der Dickenzunahme ist keine signifikante Korrelation festzustellen. Schlu?folgerung: Nach einer Kataraktextraktion ist der Hornhautstoffwechsel reduziert. Als Indikator k?nnen der Verlauf der Endothelzelldichte und der Dicke herangezogen werden.      

The epidemiology of logging injuries in the northwest

Logging is among the most hazardous forms of employment. However, a comprehensive review of severe logging injuries and their outcome has apparently not been previously undertaken. In the present study we review 51 consecutive injured loggers requiring transfer to a regional Level I trauma center. The average age was 34 years and the mode of injury in 67% was being struck by a falling or rolling log. Orthopedic intervention was required most frequently (49%), with neurologic injury in 43%. Two patients died (4%), both secondary to severe head injury, and both survived less than 24 hours. Importantly, while most severely injured patients survived, they required long hospitalizations and had a 58% permanent disability, with more than half of these being brain or spinal cord related. Although the overall number of workers involved in logging is small, the young average age, the work years lost, and the high risk of permanent disability support continued strong efforts to improve overall safety. Particularly, the high incidence of head injury argues strongly for improved and increased use of safety helmets, which may significantly impact the mortality and morbidity of logging accidents.     

Sirolimus and mycophenolate mofetil as calcineurin inhibitor-free immunosuppression in a cardiac transplant patient with chronic renal failure.

Chronic renal failure triggered by calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-based immunosuppression is a common complication after cardiac transplantation. Sirolimus and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) are 2 newer immunosuppressive agents with no documented nephrotoxic side effects. This case report describes a patient with ongoing chronic renal failure 10 months after cardiac transplantation on cyclosporine-based immunosuppressive therapy. Conversion of the immunosuppressive regimen from cyclosporine to sirolimus and MMF resulted in freedom from acute rejection, excellent cardiac graft function and consistently improved renal function. This case illustrates the beneficial potential of sirolimus and MMF as CNI-free and safe long-term immunosuppression in a patient with chronic renal failure after heart transplantation.     

The role of complement, C5a and its receptors in sepsis and multiorgan dysfunction syndrome.

Sepsis continues to be a major clinical problem that is difficult to treat, as the pathophysiology of the disease is still unclear. Despite promising experimental strategies, therapeutic interventions have been largely unsuccessful. There is now increasing evidence that the disturbance of innate immunity during sepsis and multiorgan dysfunction syndrome (MODS) may be linked to uncontrolled activation of the complement system. Especially, the powerful anaphylatoxin C5a seems to play a key role in the development of immune paralysis. In this review, we describe our present understanding of the role of complement in the inflammatory response during sepsis and MODS.