Acute systemic and regional hemodynamic effects of felodipine, a new calcium antagonist, in conscious renal hypertensive rabbits

Using the radioactive microsphere technique, we studied the acute systemic and regional hemodynamic effects of felodipine (10, 30, and 100 nmol/kg, i.v.) in conscious renal hypertensive rabbits. A dose-dependent decrease in arterial blood pressure was observed after felodipine administration, accompanied by tachycardia. Cardiac output increased significantly after the third felodipine dose. Thus, the hypotensive effect of the drug resulted from a reduction in total peripheral resistance. An increase in blood flow to the heart was measured after felodipine. However, probably secondary to the reduction in diastolic perfusion time, a decrease in the endocardial/epicardial blood flow ratio was noticed in the left ventricular wall. The drug also enhanced the blood supply to the brain, the gastrointestinal tract, and, at higher doses, to the skeletal muscles while blood flow to the kidneys and the bones remained unchanged. After the highest dose of felodipine, a significant decrease in the blood flow to the skin was measured. With the exception of the cutaneous vascular bed, felodipine caused a rather generalized peripheral vasodilatation. In conclusion, felodipine appears to be a very effective antihypertensive agent. However, the stimulation of the heart and the unfavorable regional blood flow distribution in the left ventricular wall illustrate the negative aspects of single treatment with this arterial vasodilator.     

Intravesical migration of intrauterine device resulting in pregnancy

Spontaneous migration of an intrauterine device into the bladder is very rare. A 29-year-old woman in whom an intrauterine device had been placed 6 years previously, presented complaining of chronic pelvic pain and recurrent irritative urinary tract symptoms. One year after insertion she had became pregnant and given birth without complications. Intravesical migration of the intrauterine device was confirmed by sonography and cystoscopy. The intrauterine device was removed by suprapubic cystostomy.     

Platelet glycine, glutamate and aspartate in primary headache

Platelet levels of glutamic and aspartic acid and glycine were measured in patients with migraine with aura, migraine without aura, tension headache and cluster headache. High levels of these amino acids were found in patients with migraine with aura compared to normal subjects and other headache groups. During headache, glutamate levels further increased in migraine with aura patients. These findings may have relevance to the neurological symptoms of migraine with aura.     

Embryotoxic and teratogenic effects of interaction of cadmium and lindane in rats

Embryotoxic and teratogenic effects of cadmium and lindane were studied in rats. Cadmium or lindane alone did not produce any significant malformations in the 20 day old foetuses whereas their combination caused significant reduction in the body weight of dams and pups and increased total embryonic deaths. Skeletal deformities like wavy ribs, reduced skull ossification and reduced caudal vertebrae were potentiated in coexposure group. The study indicated that the simultaneous exposure to cadmium and lindane may have more deleterious effects on the developing foetus compared to either alone.     

Comparison of the content and subpopulations of CD3 and CD34 positive cells in bone marrow harvests and G-CSF-mobilized peripheral blood leukapheresis products from healthy adult donors

Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)-mobilized peripheral blood stem/progenitor cells (PBPC) have replaced bone marrow (BM) harvests for autologous transplantation after myeloablative therapy in cancer patients. G-CSF-mobilized PBPC from healthy donors contain one log excess of T lymphocytes representing a potential risk for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). However, recent pilot clinical studies of G-CSF-mobilized allogeneic PBPC transplantation have shown rapid haematological recovery and no severe acute GVHD except in a very few cases. Therefore, the risk of inducing severe acute GVHD is not as high as was expected during the pioneering period of allogeneic PBPC transplantation.The present study was performed to address the possible reasons for the rapid haematological recovery and the absence of severe acute GVHD observed after allogeneic PBPC transplantation by comparing the contents and subsets of CD3⁺ and CD34⁺ G-CSF-mobilized PBPC (n = 31) with those of BM (n = 26) allografts from healthy adult donors. The present results revealed that the phenotypic profiles of CD3⁺ and CD34⁺ cells differ between PBPC and BM allografts. The single PBPC leukapheresis product contained 10 times more mononuclear cells, 1.5 times more CD34⁺ cells, 5.5 times more CD3⁺ T lymphocytes, 3 times more CD19⁺ B lymphocytes and 3.8 times more CD14⁺ monocytes than the single BM harvest. Both CD34⁺CD33⁺ myeloid progenitor cells and CD34⁺HLA-DR- long-term reconstituting haemopoietic stem cells were significantly increased in the CD34⁺ G-CSF-mobilized PBPC compared with the CD34⁺ BM cells; median 73.1% and 30.4% vs 60.6% and 5.0%, respectively, P < 0.01.The percentage of CD3⁺ cells coexpressing CD4 (T helper/inducer) was similar in both PBPC and BM allografts, 47.2% and 45.6%, respectively, whereas the percentage of CD3⁺ cells coexpressing CD8 (T suppressor/cytotoxic) was significantly decreased in PBPC compared with BM; 37.0% vs 55.9%, p < 0.01.     

Giant cementifying fibroma

A 36 year old female with giant cementifying fibroma is presented. The tumour had replaced one half of the body of the mandible. The management policy and brief review of the disease is discussed.     

Malignant lymphoma of stomach associated with duodenal carcinoid.

We report a 73-year-old man with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the stomach in whom distal gastrectomy specimen revealed coexisting carcinoid tumor of the duodenum. Postoperatively the patient received six cycles of chemotherapy (CHOP regimen) and was asymptomatic nine months later.