Comparison of aerosol therapy with different perfluorocarbons in surfactant-depleted animals.

Objective: The study investigates the effectiveness of aerosol treatment on gas exchange and pulmonary inflammatory reaction using perfluorocarbons with different molecular structure and vapor pressure.

Design: Experimental, prospective, randomized, controlled study.

Setting: Experimental laboratory at a university hospital.

Five-year follow-up of a 13-year-old boy with a pituitary adenoma causing gigantism--effect of octreotide therapy.

Background/aim: In children, there is little experience with octreotide therapy for pituitary tumors, especially growth hormone (GH) producing adenomas. We report on a 13-year-old boy with gigantism due to a GH-producing pituitary adenoma caused by a Gsalpha mutation on the basis of McCune-Albright syndrome.

Methods: At the age of 6.

High frequency oscillatory ventilation suppresses inflammatory response in lung tissue and microdissected alveolar macrophages in surfactant depleted piglets.

The impact of high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) compared with intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV) on oxygenation and pulmonary inflammatory response was studied in a surfactant depleted piglet model. After establishment of lung injury by bronchoalveolar lavage, piglets either received HFOV (n =5) or IMV (control; n = 5) for eight hours. PaO(2) was higher and mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP) was lower with HFOV (HFOV versus control, mean +/- SEM; endpoint PaO(2): 252 +/- 73 versus 68 +/- 8.

Cardiopulmonary bypass surgery does not further increase elevated serum leptin concentrations after major surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to examine the impact of major heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in childhood on serum leptin concentrations in relation to plasma cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and insulin. DESIGN: Controlled, prospective study. SETTING: Intensive care unit of a university hospital.

Pilot intervention: aerosolized adrenomedullin reduces pulmonary hypertension.

In pulmonary hypertension, systemic infusion of adrenomedullin (ADM), a potent vasodilator peptide, leads to pulmonary vasodilatation. However, systemic blood pressure declines alike. The present study investigated the effect of aerosolized ADM on pulmonary arterial pressure in surfactant-depleted newborn piglets with pulmonary hypertension.

No influence of surgical stress on postoperative leptin gene expression in different adipose tissues and soluble leptin receptor plasma levels.

Unlabelled: As part of the postsurgical stress response, plasma leptin levels increase in-between 12 h postoperatively.

Objective: To study the kinetics of leptin gene expression in different adipose tissues before and after severe surgical trauma in children and adults.

Methods: In 22 adults and 23 children with cardiac and 19 adult patients with abdominal surgery, we measured plasma leptin concentrations preoperatively, 4 and 10-17 h postoperatively and quantified leptin mRNA expression by TaqMan real-time PCR in adipose tissue taken at the beginning and the end of surgery from subcutaneous, intrathoracic, omental and mesenteric fat.

Laser-assisted microdissection and real-time PCR detect anti-inflammatory effect of perfluorocarbon.

The aim of this study was to identify cell types involved in the anti-inflammatory effect of ventilation with perfluorocarbon in vivo. Fifteen anesthetized, surfactant-depleted piglets received either aerosolized perfluorocarbon (Aerosol-PFC), partial liquid ventilation (rLV) at functional residual capacity (FRC) volume (FRC-PLV), or intermittent mandatory ventilation (control). After laser-assisted microdissection of different lung cell types, mRNA expression of IL-8 and ICAM-1 was determined using TaqMan real-time PCR normalized to hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT).

Aerosolized perfluorocarbon reduces adhesion molecule gene expression and neutrophil sequestration in acute respiratory distress.

In acute respiratory distress syndrome, neutrophil migration into the lung plays a key role in the development of lung injury. To study the effect of different modes of ventilation with perfluorocarbon (FC77), intrapulmonary neutrophil accumulation and mRNA expression of E-selectin, P-selectin and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), mediating leukocyte sequestration, were measured in surfactant depleted piglets. After bronchoalveolar lavage, 20 animals either received aerosolized perfluorocarbon (Aerosol-PFC), partial liquid ventilation (PLV) with perfluorocarbon at functional residual capacity filling volume (FRC-PLV) or at low volume (LV-PLV) or intermittent mandatory ventilation (control).

Aerosolized adrenomedullin suppresses pulmonary transforming growth factor-beta1 and interleukin-1 beta gene expression in vivo.

The effect of aerosolized adrenomedullin on interleukin-1 beta and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 mRNA and protein expression was studied in surfactant depleted piglets, receiving aerosolized adrenomedullin (adrenomedullin, n=6), aerosolized adrenomedullin plus i.v. N(G)-nitro-L-arginine-methylester (adrenomedullin+L-NAME, n=5), or aerosolized saline solution (control, n=6).

Nitric oxide increases adrenomedullin receptor function in rat mesangial cells.

Background: Adrenomedullin (ADM) exerts antiproliferative effects on rat mesangial cells in vitro and, therefore is a possible renoprotective agent. In contrast, nitric oxide (NO) is capable of exerting both cytoprotective and cytotoxic actions. It was the objective of the present study to examine whether NO stimulates the ADM system.

Aerosolized perfluorocarbon suppresses early pulmonary inflammatory response in a surfactant-depleted piglet model.

The effect of new ventilation strategies on initial pulmonary inflammatory reaction was studied in a surfactant-depleted piglet model. Sixty minutes after induction of lung injury by bronchoalveolar lavage, piglets received either aerosolized FC77 (aerosol-PFC, 10 mL/kg/h, n = 5) or partial liquid ventilation (PLV) with FC77 at functional residual capacity volume (FRC-PLV, 30 mL/kg, n = 5), or at low volume (LV-PLV, 10 mL/kg per hour, n = 5), or intermittent mandatory ventilation (control, n = 5). After 2 h, perfluorocarbon application was stopped and intermittent mandatory ventilation continued for 6 h.

Inflammatory cytokines stimulate adrenomedullin expression through nitric oxide-dependent and -independent pathways.

A body of evidence indicates that the production of adrenomedullin (ADM) in vivo is activated in states of inflammation. Our aim was to characterize the intracellular signaling pathways along which inflammation leads to a stimulation of ADM expression. For this purpose, we characterized the effects of inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (100 microg/L), interleukin-1beta (20 microg/L), and interferon-gamma (0.