Effects of long-term treatment with trandolapril on augmented vasoconstriction in rats with chronic heart failure

Background:

Despite the clinical relevance of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE)inhibitors, their effects on impaired vascular function in patients and animals with chronic heart failure (CHF) have not been fully understood. This study was undertaken to determine whether long-term treatment with an ACE inhibitor improved the altered contractile properties of vessels from rats with CHF.

Methods and Results:

Twelve weeks after coronary artery ligation, the rats were sacrificed and the isometric tension development of thoracic aorta, pulmonary artery, and mesenteric artery with and without endothelium was examined. Contractile responses to norepinephrine and prostaglandin F₂α were augmented in endothelium-intact, but not in endothelium-denuded, thoracic aorta and pulmonary artery segments of the rat with CHF. The contractile response to angiotensin II was augmented in endothelium-denuded mesenteric artery segments of the rat with CHF, which was attenuated by indomethacin or diclofenac sodium but not by bunazosin. Trandolapril (3 mg/kg/d) was administered orally from the 2nd to 12th week after the operation. Treatment with trandolapril reversed the augmented contractile response of the rat with CHF to norepinephrine, prostaglandin F₂α, and angiotensin II almost to the levels in the sham-operated rat.

Conclusions:

The results demonstrate that an ACE inhibitor is capable of reversing altered vascular function in the rat with CHF, suggesting that vascular beds are possible sites of action for ACE inhibitors in the therapy for CHF.     

Hand-arm vibration syndrome and its prevalence in the present status of private forestry enterprises in Japan

Summary Currently there are no limitations on age of employment on private forestries in Japan. Hence, it was hypothesized that in these kind of enterprises, elderly chain saw operators, or those with long-term exposure, might be at higher risk of developing hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). We consequently investigated the prevalence of HAVS in 447 chain saw workers on private forestries in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, with particular reference to age and exposure period. Of this population, 43 (9.6%) had signs and symptoms of vibration-induced white finger (VWF), and among these workers the severity of finger blanching was significantly correlated (P < 0.01) with the exposure period. Classification of all subjects by exposure period showed that workers with 30 years' exposure had higher prevalences of VWF (20.9%) and numbness of the hands (25.4%) compared to other groups. Significant differences (P < 0.01) were found between the functional capacities of workers with VWF and those of control subjects. We concluded that (a) the elderly chain saw operators and those with longer exposure should be moved to other jobs with a lower or no risk of exposure to vibration, and (b) the results of screening tests, even without cold water immersion (which we did not employ, in order to protect workers' hands), could be helpful for the identification of workers with VWF.     

Prognosis of the Lennox Syndrome—Long-Term Clinical and Electroencephalographic Follow-up Study, Especially with Special Reference to Relationship with the West Syndrome

The long-term clinical and electroencepha-lographic follow-up studies were carried out for more than three years, up to 14 years in the longest, on 116 cases with Lennox syndrome. And the results of systematic study on changing patterns and outcome have been reported. The follow-up examination was performed also on West syndrome which is closely related with Lennox syndrome; especially the relationship between both syndromes regarding prognosis has been clarified.

• 1 According to the long-term follow-up on 116 cases with Lennox syndrome, there were 98 cases (84.5%) having mental defect. The remaining of seizure was observed in 71 cases (61.2%) and persisted as Lennox syndrome except for one case.
• 2 Generally speaking, the cases with age of onset before two years old showed unfavorable outcome.
• 3 There were 42 cases (36.2%), which were converted from West syndrome and showed markedly unfavorable prognosis in regard to intelligence as well as the remaining of seizure. (31 cases, 77.5%)
• 4 On the other hand, in 23 idiopathic cases, which showed no developmental retardation before onset of seizure, had favorable outcome, and the remaining of seizure was observed in eight cases (34.8%). However, even in such cases, it was noticed that those displaying mental defect at the follow-up attained 14 cases (60.9%). That is to say, it was clarified that persistence of even minor seizures induced mental deterioration.
• 5 The cases with favorable prognosis showed usually a typical slow spike-and-wave pattern electroencephalographically, whereas those with poor prognosis showed mostly an asymmetric or disorganized slow spike-and-wave pattern.
• 6 In many cases displaying signs of brain atrophy with pneumoencephalogram and accompanying overt neurological signs at the initial examination, prognosis is obviously poor.
• 7 From the follow-up examination on 94 cases with West syndrome for three to 15 years, there were 51 cases (54.3%) which was transformed into Lennox syndrome. Among them, those cases with the remaining of seizure at the time of follow-up were 44 (46.8%) out of 94 cases, of which 37 cases (83.8%) had remaining seizure as Lennox syndrome.
• 8 From the above results, it is emphasized that Lennox and West syndromes show close relationship with each other and that a study should be done on the interrelation between their prognosis.

     

Thallium-201 single photon emission tomography of intracranial angiomas

We herein describe thallium-201 single photon emission tomography (T1-201 SPECT) findings in three cases with intracranial angioma. One of the lesions which was associated with chronic encapsulated intracerebral hematoma showed moderate accumulation of T1-201, but, others demonstrated no accumulation. The usefulness and limitations of T1-201 SPECT in differential diagnosis of intracranial mass lesions are discussed.     

Clinicopathologic study of mass-screened neuroblastoma with special emphasis on untreated observed cases: a possible histologic clue to tumor regression

Spontaneous regression and maturation of neuroblastoma (NB) are well documented and occur frequently in infants, including those detected by mass screening. To seek histologic clues for regression/maturation in mass-screened NB, clinicopathologic features of 12 tumors that were resected after 2 to 18 months of untreated observation were reviewed. Unobserved screened and age-matched unscreened patients were also studied. To evaluate the possible important role of apoptosis, apoptotic cells were detected by in situ deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) nick end labeling and immunohistochemical stain for activated caspase-3. Nests with a varying degree of reduced cellularity ("less cellular" and "hypocellular" nests) were common in patients younger than 18 months of age, and were rare in older patients. Two characteristic cells, which have not been focused previously, were frequent, especially in the hypocellular nests. One showed amorphic eosinophilic cytoplasm with pyknotic nuclei and the other contained plump cytoplasm with well-maintained nuclei. These cells were also observed in 89% of the unobserved screened NBs and 79% of the age-matched unscreened patients with good outcome, whereas they could not be confirmed in any of the age-matched unscreened NBs with poor outcome. The amorphic and plump cells were negative for activated caspase-3 and in situ DNA nick end labeling. From these results, the authors hypothesize that these cells most likely represent a degenerative process, in either a state before the activation of caspase-3 or a caspase-independent form of cell death. The presence of less cellular and hypocellular nests with amorphic/plump cells may serve as one of the important clues in predicting tumor prognosis.     

心电图同期CT脑血管造影诊断动脉瘤小泡样突起

目的了解心电图同期CT脑血管造影(CTA)技术对于未破裂动脉瘤的小泡样突起诊断的准确性。方法2004年间对15例患者进行了心电图同期CTA检查。结果其中10例患者在心电图同期CTA图像上发现有搏动部位存在,提示动脉瘤上有小泡样突起,手术中也有同样发现。切除的15例动脉瘤标本组织学检查均发现肌层和内弹力层部分或完全缺失,而有小泡的10例动脉瘤中发现胶原层减少,这与小泡样突起的存在相吻合。结论心电图同期CTA可用于未破裂动脉瘤的小泡样突起的诊断,其准确性可用标本的组织学检查加以证明。     

Photic regulation of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase 1 mRNA in trout retina

Melatonin production in the pineal organ and retina is controlled by both light-dark cycles and a circadian clock via the oscillating activity of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) in most vertebrates. However, this clock regulation is absent in the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) pineal organ: the trout has two different AANAT genes (AANAT1 and AANAT2), and AANAT2 mRNA levels in the pineal organ did not exhibit circadian oscillation In this study, we confirmed by RT-PCR analysis that AANAT1 is expressed only in the retina, while AANAT2 is expressed in the pineal organ and brain. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis demonstrated that AANAT1 mRNA levels in the retina exhibited daily variations with high levels during the dark phase under light-dark cycles, but kept high and low titers under constant darkness and constant light, respectively. Thus, AANAT1 gene expression in the trout retina is regulated not by a circadian clock but by lighting conditions.     

Thyroid cancer susceptibility and THRA1 and BAT-40 repeats polymorphisms.

Although genetic and environmental factors have been identified in the etiology of thyroid cancer, the specific genetic implications in sporadic thyroid tumors are poorly understood but, as in other common cancers, low-penetrance susceptibility genes are believed to be crucial in the tumorigenesis processes. Here, we have carried out a case-control study to investigate whether there is an association between THRA1 CA repeat or BAT-40 A repeat polymorphisms and thyroid cancer risk. The THRA1 repeat resides in the thyroid hormone receptor-alpha1 gene, which is associated with thyroid cancer and whose expression depends on the THRA1 repeat size. We also analyzed the BAT-40 repeat that maps to chromosome 1, a region known to be involved in thyroid cancer. This repeat is located in the 3-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase gene that is associated with prostate cancer susceptibility. The THRA1 repeat was genotyped in 212 thyroid cancer patients and 141 controls of a Spanish population. From these individuals, 207 patients and 138 controls were also analyzed for the BAT-40 marker. No significant difference in the THRA1 allele distribution between patients and controls was found, although short alleles (<128 bp) might have some protective effect on thyroid cancer risk of carriers (odds ratio, 0.50; 95% confidence interval, 0.22-1.13; P = 0.094). By contrast, the BAT-40 allele distribution in patients was significantly different with respect to control (P = 0.035). Essentially, the difference were found in the genotypes involving the 111- to 115-bp allele range, which seem to be associated with a protective effect on thyroid cancer susceptibility in the studied population (odds ratio, 0.18; 95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.57; P = 0.02). Therefore, our results indicate that the BAT-40 containing region and to a less extend the thyroid hormone receptor-alpha1 gene are related to thyroid cancer susceptibility. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the identification of genetic factors for thyroid cancer susceptibility.