Effect of the calcium entry blocker verapamil on renal ischemia

The ability of the calcium entry blocker verapamil to ameliorate the effects of renal ischemia was studied in ten sheep. Postanesthesia, bilateral cutaneous ureterostomies were placed in each sheep to facilitate urine collection and analysis. Both kidneys were made ischemic for one hour by occluding each renal artery. However, immediately before occlusion of the right renal artery, 0.05 mg/kg of verapamil was injected into the artery. Comparison of urinary creatinine excretion and urine volume for 72 h after reversal of ischemia demonstrated that those kidneys pretreated with verapamil had greater functional preservation (p less than .05). In this study, verapamil appeared to provide protection against renal damage after an ischemic insult.     

Benign intracranial hypertension and recombinant growth hormone therapy in Australia and New Zealand

Benign intracranial hypertension (BIH) is reported in three children from Australia and one from New Zealand, who were being treated with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH). Three males and one female, aged between 10.5 and 14.2 y, developed intracranial hypertension within 2 weeks to 3 months of starting treatment. A national database, OZGROW, has been prospectively collecting data on all 3332 children treated with rhGH in Australia and New Zealand from January 1986 to 1996. The incidence of BIH in children treated with growth hormone (GH) is small, 1.2 per 1000 cases overall, but appears to be greater with biochemical GHD (<10IUml ^-1), i.e. 6.5/1000 (3 in 465 cases), relative risk 18.4, 95% confidence interval 1.9-176.1, than in all other children on the database. The incidence in patients with Turner's syndrome was 2.3/1000 (1 in 428 cases). No cases in patients with partial GHD (10–20 IUml ^-1) or chronic renal failure were identified. Possible causative mechanisms are discussed. The authors'practice is now to start GH replacement at less than the usual recommended dose of 14IUm-² week^-1 in those children considered to be at high risk of developing BIH. Ophthalmological evaluation is recommended for children before and during the first few months following commencement of rhGH therapy and is mandatory in the event of peripheral or facial oedema, persistent headaches, vomiting or visual symptoms. The absence of papilledema does not exclude the diagnosis.     

In the Context of Risk: Supportive Adults and the School Engagement of Middle School Students*

Abstract: Many students in the United States, particularly those from lower income or racially/ethnically diverse families, are exposed to clusters of risk factors that have a negative impact on school success. This study examined the association between the number of supportive and caring adults in the home, school, and neighborhood and the school engagement of students in early adolescence. Results revealed that students who reported such supportive adults in their lives also reported higher levels of psychological and behavioral engagement with their schooling. Additionally, including measures of environmental risk factors in analytical models of the school engagement of middle school students reduced otherwise statistically significant race/ethnicity differences to nonsignificance. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.     

Histamine and PGE2 stimulate the production of interleukins -6 and -8 by human articular chondrocytes in vitro

Inflammation Research - .     

Superiority of intravesical immunotherapy with Corynebacterium parvum and Allium sativum in control of murine bladder cancer

Intravesical immunotherapy with bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), Corynebacterium parvum (CP), keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), and an extract of Allium sativum (AS) was studied in mice transplanted intravesically with mouse bladder tumor cells (MBT-2). Female C3H/He mice were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital. Two X 10(5) MBT-2 cells were delivered into the bladder transurethrally using a small catheter, immediately after the posterior wall of the bladder had been electrocauterized. Bladder tumor became palpable or demonstrable microscopically in two weeks. Immunotherapy with BCG (2 X 10(6) CFU), CP (250 micrograms), KLH (50 micrograms), or AS (25 mg) was administered directly into the bladder via urethral catheter on day 1, day 6, or days 1 and 6. On day 21 the bladders and spleens were excised and weighed, and the bladders were examined macroscopically and microscopically for evidence of tumor. The results of the study showed that two treatments given one and six days after tumor transplant yielded the lowest tumor incidence and that CP and AS appeared equally effective or even slightly more effective than BCG in this model. These results suggest that clinical evaluation of CP or AS may be worthwhile.