Detection of drug effects on gastric emptying and contractility using a wireless motility capsule.

Background: A wireless motility capsule is a new method for ambulatory assessment of transit times and motility throughout the gastrointestinal tract. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of a wireless motility capsule to detect drug effects on gastric emptying time (GET) and gastric contractility.

Methods: 15 healthy adults were administered in random order saline, erythromycin IV 150 mg, or morphine IV 0.

Do patients at risk of sleep apnea have an increased risk of cardio-respiratory complications during endoscopy procedures?

Background: Patients with sleep apnea (OSA) have an increased risk of perioperative complications.

Aim: The purpose of this study is to assess whether OSA increases the risk of cardio-respiratory complications in patients undergoing endoscopic procedures with conscious sedation.

Methods: A prospective study over a 7-month period was performed.

Does sleep apnea increase the risk of cardiorespiratory complications during endoscopy procedures?

Background: Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have an increased risk of perioperative complications.

Aim: The purpose of this study is to assess whether OSA increases the risk of cardiorespiratory complications in patients undergoing endoscopic procedures.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed.

Thyroid hormone responsive protein (THRP) mediates thyroid hormone-induced cytotoxicity in primary neuronal cultures.

The thyroid hormone responsive protein (THRP) is a novel gene product that remains responsive to thyroid hormone (TH) in the cerebral cortex of adult rats. To study the effects of THRP on neuronal cell survival, primary neurons cultured from rats at embryonic day 19 were treated with either 10(-7) mol L(-1) 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T(3)), or 10(-7) mol L(-1) L: -thyroxine (T(4)). This resulted in decreasing neuronal cell number starting 48 h after treatment.

Microarray analysis of thyroid hormone-induced changes in mRNA expression in the adult rat brain.

To determine which genes in the adult rat brain are regulated by thyroid hormone (TH), we used microarrays to examine the effect of hyperthyroidism on neuron-specific gene expression. Four-month-old male Fisher 344 rats were rendered hyperthyroid by intraperitoneal injection of 3,5,3'-L-triiodothyronine (T3, 15 microg/100 g body weight) for 10 consecutive days. To minimize interindividual variability, pooled cerebral tissue RNA from four-control and five-hyperthyroid rats was hybridized in duplicates to the Affymetrix (Santa Clara, CA) U34N rat neurobiology microarray, which contains probes for 1224 neural-specific genes.

Suppression of apolipoprotein AI gene expression in HepG2 cells by TNF alpha and IL-1beta.

Plasma inflammatory cytokines are elevated in obese subjects as well as in those with type 2 diabetes. This presumably results in systemic insulin resistance, characterized by a pro-atherogenic plasma lipid profile and reduced apolipoprotein AI (apoAI) protein levels. To determine how cytokine-mediated insulin resistance suppresses apoAI gene expression, we investigated the effect of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) on apoAI protein, mRNA, and transcriptional activity in the human hepatoma cell line HepG2.