Not All Lectins Are Equally Suitable for Labeling Rodent Vasculature.

The vascular system is vital for all tissues and the interest in its visualization spans many fields. A number of different plant-derived lectins are used for detection of vasculature; however, studies performing direct comparison of the labeling efficacy of different lectins and techniques are lacking. In this study, we compared the labeling efficacy of three lectins: isolectin B4 (IB4); (WGA), and (LEA).

Serotonin syndrome following metaxalone overdose and therapeutic use of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.

Unlabelled: Metaxalone has only recently been associated with serotonin syndrome. The mechanism of action of this centrally acting muscle relaxant is unknown; however, the observation of serotonin syndrome in patients with metaxalone overdose suggests a role in the serotonergic pathway.

Case Report: (Case 1) A 29-year-old woman with overdose of metaxalone presented to the emergency department with altered mental status, seizure-like activity, hyperthermia, rigidity in the lower extremities, myoclonus, and hyperreflexia.

A prospective randomized clinical trial of liver preservation using high-sodium versus high-potassium lactobionate/raffinose solution.

High-sodium as opposed to high-potassium lactobionate/raffinose preservation solution offers potential advantages in improving the quality of liver storage by reducing potassium-induced vasoconstriction and preventing hyperkalaemia on reperfusion. In our study we evaluated in a prospective trial (encompassing 40 consecutive cadaver donor hepatic retrievals and subsequent transplants) the efficacy of a high-sodium formulation versus the standard high-potassium solution. Quality of preservation was assessed by clinical indices of liver function in the intraoperative and early postoperative phases, including measurements of requirements for blood and blood products and potassium, circulating liver enzymes and bilirubin.