Liver operations in Sweden in 1987-99.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Liver surgery is developing with new techniques and treatment modalities. The aim of this study is to describe liver surgery over a long period of time in a country with a public health care system. PATIENTS AND METHOD: A register study including adult patients admitted for liver resection in Sweden (population 8.8 million) selected from the Inpatient Register 1987-99. Additional data were collected from the Swedish Cancer Register and the Cause of Death Register. Analyses of the patients, indications, mortality and causes of death are presented. RESULTS: 2,405 operations were performed (21 per million per year). The most frequent indication was colorectal metastases (27%). The 5-year survival after an operation for primary liver cancer and colorectal liver metastases was 27% and 26%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Few patients were admitted for liver operations compared to expected figures. The survival rates are in conformity with those previously published. With an increasing awareness of the relatively favourable prognosis and the introduction of new methods, the volume of liver operations will probably increase in Sweden.     

Stress-induced changes in cholecystokinin and substance P concentrations in discrete regions of the rat hypothalamus

The effects of acute stress exposure upon cholecystokinin (CCK) and substance P (SP) concentrations in discrete hypothalamic regions of the adult male rat brain were studied. Animals were exposed to foot shock stress for periods of 2, 4, 10, 30 or 60 min duration; immediately afterwards they were decapitated; brains were frozen and subsequently microdissected. CCK and SP concentrations were assayed by a specific RIA, as were serum levels of ACTH, corticosterone, PRL, GH, LH and testosterone. Stress had no effect upon SP concentrations in the anterior or posterior parts of the arcuate nucleus (ARC), but led to elevated CCK levels in the posterior ARC following 60 min of exposure. In both the ventromedial and dorsomedial hypothalamic areas, stress induced depletions of both neuropeptides. In the anterior (but not the posterior) portions of the lateral hypothalamic area, CCK and SP concentrations were reduced by stress exposure. These studies demonstrate that discrete hypothalamic CCK and SP neuronal systems are responsive to stress. This suggests that endogenous hypothalamic CCK and SP participate, along with other neurotransmitters/neuromodulators, in the integrated hypothalamic stress response, and mediate stress-neuroendocrine interactions.     

Activating effect of substance P on nerve tissue in culture

The effect of substance P on organotypic culture of rat sympathetic ganglia and spinal cord was studied. Substance P was able to stimulate the fibre outgrowth from explant, to increase the numbers of glial and fibroblasttypic cells in ganglia growth zone. The effect was observed in the range from 10(-5) to 10(-12) M (for sympathetic ganglia) and from 10(-5) to 10(-14) M (for spinal cord culture). It is suggested that substance P can be used as a nonspecific growth factor for peripheral and central nervous tissue.     

Ideological framework and health development in Tanzania 1961-2000

At independence in 1961, Tanzania inherited a classic economic structure from Britain. The most immediate aims of the new government included replacing the colonial administration with trained nationals, radical change of the development philosophy and strategies and development of self-reliance in all development sectors. The Arusha Declaration of 1967 was the turning point in Tanzania and achievements in all the sectors can be measured against targets established soon after. This paper examines development in the health sector within the wider national framework.     

Use of frequency-modulated radiofrequency pulses in MR imaging experiments

With increasing field strength for whole-body MR scanners there is a need for rf pulses of higher bandwidth to perform selective excitation or inversion. AM pulses will have to become shorter thus leading to an enormous requirement for the peak power of the power amplifier. To reduce these requirements the use of frequency modulation is investigated. The effect of pulses based on a linear frequency sweep on the spin system is analyzed by calculation and computer simulation. It turns out that the nonlinear phases induced by those pulses may compensate each other, that therefore spin-echo experiments as usual in MR imaging may be performed, and that the required peak power may be reduced by up to a factor of 50.     

Renal vascular reactivity in jaundice

Obstructive jaundice is associated with a predisposition to hypotension and acute renal failure that may be related to changes in renovascular responsiveness, particularly to norepinephrine (NE). This study was undertaken to investigate changes in vascular response to NE and to determine how these changes are related to prostaglandins. Kidneys from bile duct-ligated (BDL) rabbits (n = 5) were perfused with Krebs' solution at 7.65 ml/min, and the response to varying boluses of NE (0.78 to 6.24 micrograms) was measured as changes in perfusion pressure. When compared with sham-operated control kidneys (n = 8), a significantly blunted response was seen at all doses tested. The NE response was further assessed by measuring force development in mounted segments of main renal arteries (MRAs) (n = 8) and interlobar arteries (ILAs) (n = 6) from BDL rabbits and sham-operated controls (MRA, n = 8; ILA, n = 6). The dose-response curves were significantly depressed in both MRAs and ILAs from BDL animals. In addition, MRAs from sham-operated control animals exhibited decreased response to NE after incubation for 1 hour in jaundiced serum. This attenuated response of MRAs to NE was prevented when indomethacin (5 mg/kg) was given to BDL rabbits before death (n = 9) or when 10(-6)mol/L of indomethacin was added to jaundiced serum during incubation (n = 6). These results indicate that obstructive jaundice induces a decreased vascular contractile response in rabbits to NE and that this effect is mediated by prostaglandins.