0.5% levobupivacaine versus 0.5% ropivacaine: Are they different in ultrasound-guided sciatic block?

Context And Aims: Little is known about onset and duration of sciatic block after 0.5% levobupivacaine (Levo) versus 0.5% ropivacaine (Ropi) for ultrasound-guided technique.

Evaluation of CellSolutions BestPrep® automated thin-layer liquid-based cytology Papanicolaou slide preparation and BestCyte® cell sorter imaging system.

Objective: A double-blind study was conducted to compare the performance of the new BestPrep® (CellSolutions) liquid-based thin-layer Papanicolaou (Pap) test with ThinPrep® (Hologic).

Study Design: Samples from the study patients (n = 105) were collected twice in the same encounter with the ThinPrep sample always taken first and the BestPrep sample collected second. Slides were prepared according to both manufacturers' protocols and evaluated using manual microscopic review and the BestCyte® cell sorter imaging system (CellSolutions).

Preoperative moderate renal impairment is an independent risk factor of transfusion in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture surgery and receiving low-molecular-weight heparin for thromboprophylaxis.

Study Objective: To define the risk factors of allogeneic erythrocyte transfusion in patients older than 65 years of age who underwent hip fracture surgery.

Design: Retrospective, single-center study.

Setting: Orthopedic unit of a university hospital.

Improving diagnostic criteria for Propionibacterium acnes osteomyelitis: a retrospective analysis.

The identification of Propionibacterium acnes in cultures of bone and joint samples is always difficult to interpret because of the ubiquity of this microorganism. The aim of this study was to propose a diagnostic strategy to distinguish infections from contaminations. This was a retrospective analysis of all patient charts of those patients with >or=1 deep samples culture-positive for P.

The local antinociceptive effects of paracetamol in neuropathic pain are mediated by cannabinoid receptors.

Paracetamol analgesic mechanism of action is still poorly defined but mainly involves central inhibition of cyclooxygenases. Here we tested the peripheral antinociceptive effects of paracetamol (intraplantar injections) in a rat model of neuropathic pain. Paracetamol dose-dependently decreased mechanical allodynia and lowered nociceptive scores associated with hyperalgesia testing.

Is there any need for expanding the perineural space before catheter placement in continuous femoral nerve blocks?

Background And Objective: There is debate regarding the benefit of perineural space expansion before catheter placement in continuous femoral nerve block. This question is addressed in this prospective, comparative, and randomized study.

Methods: Sixty patients scheduled for total knee replacement were randomly assigned to receive continuous femoral nerve block with or without perineural space expansion using 10 mL dextrose 5% in water (D5W) flush before stimulation-guided catheter placement.

Effects of apolipoprotein E genotype on spatial attention, working memory, and their interaction in healthy, middle-aged adults: results From the National Institute of Mental Health's BIOCARD study.

The cognitive consequences of the apolipoprotein E-epsilon4 (APOE-epsilon4) allele were examined in middle age, before likely onset of symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. The authors identified 3 cognitive processes--visuospatial attention, spatial working memory, and the effect of visuospatial attention on working memory--and devised "behavioral assays" of the integrity of components of these processes. Redirecting visuospatial attention, retention of memory for location, and attentional modulation of memory of target location were affected by APOE genotype.

Chronic effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition on kinin receptor binding sites in the rat spinal cord.

With the use of in vitro receptor autoradiography, this study aims at determining whether the higher level of kinin B(2) receptor density in the spinal cord of the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) is secondary to arterial hypertension and whether chronic treatment with angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) can regulate neuronal B(1) and B(2) receptors. SHR received, from the age of 4 wk, one of the two ACEI (lisinopril or zofenopril, 10 mg x kg(-1) x day(-1)) or for comparison, the selective AT(1) antagonist (losartan, 20 mg x kg(-1) x day(-1)) in their drinking water for a period of 4, 12, and 20 wk. Age-matched untreated SHR and Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) were used as controls.

EGF receptor transactivation is obligatory for protein synthesis stimulation by G protein-coupled receptors.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was recently identified as a signal transducer of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In this study, we have examined the contribution of EGFR transactivation to the growth-promoting effect of GPCRs on vascular smooth muscle cells. Activation of the G(q)-coupled ANG II receptor or G(i)-coupled lysophosphatidic acid receptor resulted in increased tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of EGFR.