Orthotopic liver transplantation in an adult with situs inversus: an easy way to fit the liver.

Situs inversus (SI) is a rare congenital disorder with a complete mirror image of thoracic and abdominal organs. In adults with SI and decompensated cirrhosis experience with liver transplantation is limited. Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in an adult with cirrhosis using a technique where the recipient liver was placed using a 90-degree rotation of the graft was previously reported by Klintmalm et al, however no other reports using this technique have been described.

TNFR1 mediates increased neuronal membrane EAAT3 expression after in vivo cerebral ischemic preconditioning.

A short ischemic event (ischemic preconditioning) can result in subsequent resistance to severe ischemic injury (ischemic tolerance). Glutamate is released after ischemia and produces cell death. It has been described that after ischemic preconditioning, the release of glutamate is reduced.

Dual role of nitric oxide in adult neurogenesis.

In the last decade, it has been demonstrated that neurogenesis persists in the adult mammalian brain and that it is induced after insults, where newborn neurons migrate to damaged areas, differentiate and contribute to the recovery. The understanding of the cellular and molecular events involved in this phenomenon could provide effective therapies not only to promote brain repair in stroke or seizures, but also to facilitate functional improvement in depression or Alzheimer. In this context, many advances have been made, such as the implication of different growth factors, membrane receptors, and most importantly diffusible messengers like nitric oxide (NO).

Cell lines as in vitro models for drug screening and toxicity studies.

Cell culture is highly desirable, as it provides systems for ready, direct access and evaluation of tissues. The use of tissue culture is a valuable tool to study problems of clinical relevance, especially those related to diseases, screening, and studies of cell toxicity mechanisms. Ready access to the cells provides the possibility for easy studies of cellular mechanisms that may suggest new potential drug targets and, in the case of pathological-derived tissue, it has an interesting application in the evaluation of therapeutic agents that potentially may treat the dysfunction.

The nonthiazolidinedione PPARgamma agonist L-796,449 is neuroprotective in experimental stroke.

Some agonists of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) belonging to the thiazolidinedione (TZD) family, as well as the cyclopentenone prostaglandin 15-dPGJ2, have been shown to cause neuroprotection in animal models of stroke. We have tested whether the TZD-unrelated PPARgamma agonist L-796,449 is neuroprotective after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in the rat brain. Our results show that L-796,449 decreases MCAO-induced infarct size and improves neurologic scores.

Predictors of remediation success on a trained memory task.

Cognitive remediation has led to improvements for some but not all individuals with schizophrenia. The goal of the current investigation was to determine which variables predicted response to cognitive remediation training. In a sample of 58 patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, normalization of performance on a trained memory task was selected as the criterion for successful remediation.

Rosiglitazone and 15-deoxy-Delta12,14-prostaglandin J2 cause potent neuroprotection after experimental stroke through noncompletely overlapping mechanisms.

Stroke triggers an inflammatory cascade which contributes to a delayed cerebral damage, thus implying that antiinflammatory strategies might be useful in the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke. Since two unrelated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) agonists, the thiazolidinedione rosiglitazone (RSG) and the cyclopentenone prostaglandin 15-deoxy-Delta(12,14)-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2), have been shown to possess antiinflammatory properties, we have tested their neuroprotective effects in experimental stroke. Rosiglitazone or 15d-PGJ2 were administered to rats 10 mins or 2 h after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).

Refractory ascites.

Patients with cirrhosis have significant abnormalities in their fluid and electrolyte balance; this is manifested mainly by the development of ascites and edema. Ascites is the most common complication of patients with cirrhosis and its development constitutes the first and most important manifestation of the disease. With disease progression, patients with advanced cirrhosis and severe urinary sodium retention develop refractory ascites, a condition in which patients do not respond to diuretics or develop severe side effects to these that preclude their use.

Zolpidem and triazolam do not affect the nocturnal sleep-induced memory improvement.

Rationale: It is widely accepted that sleep facilitates memory consolidation. Hypnotics (e.g.

N-(triphenylmethylsulfanyl)phthalimide.

The title compound, C27H19NO2S, contains chains of fused R(2)(2) (19) rings formed by intermolecular C-H...

Database design and implementation for quantitative image analysis research.

Quantitative image analysis (QIA) goes beyond subjective visual assessment to provide computer measurements of the image content, typically following image segmentation to identify anatomical regions of interest (ROIs). Commercially available picture archiving and communication systems focus on storage of image data. They are not well suited to efficient storage and mining of new types of quantitative data.

Quality assurance evaluation of delivery of respiratory-gated treatments.

We describe a method for evaluating the quality of respiratory-gated radiation delivery using a commercially available device. During irradiation, gating traces for one field for each treatment were extracted from the system for each of 14 patients. The data were then transferred to a spreadsheet.

Neuroprotection afforded by prior citicoline administration in experimental brain ischemia: effects on glutamate transport.

Background And Purpose: Cytidine-5'-diphosphocholine (citicoline or CDP-choline), an intermediate in the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine, has shown beneficial effects in a number of CNS injury models including cerebral ischemia. Citicoline is the only neuroprotectant that has proved efficacy in patients with moderate to severe stroke. However, the precise mechanism by which citicoline is neuroprotective is not fully known.

Hepatorenal syndrome: a dreaded complication of end-stage liver disease.

Hepatorenal syndrome is the dreaded complication of end-stage liver disease characterized by functional renal failure due to renal vasoconstriction in the absence of underlying kidney pathology. The pathogenesis of hepatorenal syndrome is the result of an extreme underfilling of the arterial circulation secondary to an arterial vasodilation located in the splanchnic circulation. This underfilling triggers a compensatory response with activation of vasoconstrictor systems leading to intense renal vasoconstriction.

TNFR1 upregulation mediates tolerance after brain ischemic preconditioning.

A short ischemic event (ischemic preconditioning (IPC)) can result in subsequent resistance to severe ischemic injury (ischemic tolerance (IT)). The expression and neuroprotective role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) have been described in models of IPC and we have showed the participation of its processing enzyme, the TNF-alpha convertase enzyme (TACE) in this process. We have now decided to explore the expression and localization of TNF receptors (TNFR) as well as other signalling mechanisms involved in IT.

The role of likelihood ratio in clinical diagnosis: applicability in the setting of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.

Despite imperfect clinical information and uncertainty about clinical course and outcome, the clinician's main task is to make reasonable decisions about patient care. The clinical history and physical examination typically provide information that is useful for making a diagnosis; however, we still rely on laboratory and radiologic tests to confirm a diagnosis in most cases. Understanding the operative characteristic of a test is of key importance because it can change the probability that a patient has a disease before the result of a test is known.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of novel histamine H1 antagonists: indolylpiperidinyl benzoic acid derivatives.

A series of indolylpiperidinyl derivatives were prepared and evaluated for their activity as histamine H(1) antagonists. Structure-activity relationship studies were directed toward improving in vivo activity and pharmacokinetic profile of our first lead (1). Substitution of fluorine in position 6 on the indolyl ring led to higher in vivo activity in the inhibition of histamine-induced cutaneous vascular permeability assay but lower selectivity toward 5HT(2) receptor.