Mycophenolate mofetil/sirolimus compared to other common immunosuppressive regimens in kidney transplantation.

We evaluated outcomes with the sirolimus (SRL) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) combination regimen (SRL/MMF) in solitary kidney transplant recipients transplanted between 2000 and 2005 reported to the Scientific Registry of Renal Transplant Recipients. Three-and-a-half percent received SRL/MMF (n = 2040). Six-month acute rejection rates were higher with SRL/MMF (SRL/MMF: 16.

A "weight-listing" paradox for candidates of renal transplantation?

Research suggests that end-stage renal disease patients with elevated body mass index (BMI) have superior outcomes on dialysis. In contrast, low and high BMI patients represent the highest risk cohorts for kidney transplant recipients. The important question remains concerning how to manage transplant candidates given the potentially incommensurate impact of BMI by treatment modality.

[Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation in patients with acute respiratory failure after tracheal extubation].

Background And Objectives: Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) has been routinely used to assist the weaning of the mechanical ventilation. One of the applications most common is in patients who had acute respiratory failure after extubation, even the scientific evidences for this indication still controversy. The aims of this study were to evaluate the index of patients that evolve for respiratory failure after extubation and evaluated the effectiveness of NPPV to avoid the need for reintubation and to promote increase in success index of weaning.

High interleukin-6 plasma levels are associated with functional impairment in older patients with vascular dementia.

In older individuals, inflammatory mechanisms have been linked to the pathogenesis of both dementia and functional impairment. In this cross-sectional study we have investigated the possible association between some markers of systemic inflammation and functional status, in a sample of one hundred and forty older demented patients including 60 patients with late onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) and 80 with vascular dementia (VD). Functional status was evaluated by Barthel Index (BI); the total score ranged from 0 (total dependency) to 20 (total autonomy).

The physiologic role of alternative oxidase in Ustilago maydis.

Alternative oxidase (AOX) is a ubiquitous respiratory enzyme found in plants, fungi, protists and some bacterial species. One of the major questions about this enzyme is related to its metabolic role(s) in cellular physiology, due to its capacity to bypass the proton-pumping cytochrome pathway, and as a consequence it has great energy-wasting potential. In this study, the physiological role and regulatory mechanisms of AOX in the fungal phytopathogen Ustilago maydis were studied.

Cross-linked ionomeric materials from poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) and poly(ethylene glycol) for biomedical applications: a preliminary investigation.

Two ionomeric materials, cross-linked through the formation of polyoxyethylene bridges, were synthesized by the reaction of poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) (PSMA) with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), carried out in the absence of external catalysts. The reaction was carried out at room temperature, both in bulk with excess glycol, and in acetone solution with a 20:1 ratio of anhydride rings to hydroxyl groups. The materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).

Nitric oxide is involved in the memory facilitation induced by spermidine in rats.

Rationale: Spermidine (SPD) is an endogenous polyamine that modulates N-methyl-D: -aspartate receptor functions, which has been reported to facilitate memory formation.

Objectives: In the current study, we investigated the involvement of nitric oxide in the facilitatory effect of SPD on the memory of adult male Wistar rats in the inhibitory avoidance task.

Results: The coadministration of the nonspecific NOS inhibitor N (G) nitro-L: -arginine methyl ester (L: -NAME) (0.

Plasma cytokines profile in older subjects with late onset Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia.

Some cytokines have been involved in the pathogenesis of late onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). A possible increase in plasma cytokines levels has been reported in LOAD and vascular dementia (VD), but the results of previous studies are conflicting. We evaluated the plasma levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IL-10 in four groups of older individuals: 60 patients with LOAD, 80 patients with VD, 40 subjects with cerebrovascular disease but without dementia (CDND), and 42 controls (C).

Composites between hydroxyapatite and poly(epsilon-caprolactone) synthesized in open system at room temperature.

The hydroxyls present on the surface of hydroxyapatite (HA) granules, annealed at 700 composite function, 900 composite function and 1,100 composite function C, are able to initiate the polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone (CL), not only at 185 composite function C under vacuum, but also at room temperature in open system. A polymer layer ionically linked to the substrate is formed on HA surface, enhancing the compatibility between the organic phase and the inorganic one in composite biomaterials. We studied the characteristics of the polymer, produced by the reaction carried out at room temperature in open system, as well as the percentages of the poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) ionically bonded to the HA structure and of the "free" one.

Basal lamina structural alterations in human asymmetric aneurismatic aorta.

Basal lamina (BL) is a crucial mechanical and functional component of blood vessels, constituting a sensor of extracellular microenvironment for endothelial cells and pericytes. Recently, an abnormality in the process of matrix microfibrillar component remodeling has been advocated as a mechanism involved in the development of aortic dilation. We focused our attention on BL composition and organization and studied some of the main components of the Extracellular Matrix such as Tenascin, Laminins, Fibronectin, type I, III and IV Collagens.

Postmenopausal women with colles' fracture have lower values of bone mineral density than controls as measured by quantitative ultrasound and densitometry.

Measurement of ultrasonographic parameters provides information concerning not only bone density but also bone architecture. We investigated the usefulness of ultrasonographic parameters and bone mineral density (BMD) to evaluate the probability of Colles' fracture. Two-hundred eighty-nine postmenopausal women (62.

A naturally occurring deletion in the SRY promoter region affecting the Sp1 binding site is associated with sex reversal.

Male to female sex reversal results from failure of testis development. Mutations in the SRY gene or in other genes involved in the sexual differentiation pathway are considered to cause XY gonadal dysgenesis. The majority of the mutations in the SRY described so far are located within the SRY coding region, mainly in the HMG-box conserved domain.

A clear-cut experimental method to discriminate between in-plane and out-of-plane molecular transition moments.

A new method to orient organic molecules, based on their absorption as guest of the crystalline nanoporous delta phase of uniaxially stretched syndiotactic polystyrene films, is presented. This molecular alignment method not only allows high degrees of guest orientation to be attained but also orients the planar guest molecules with their smallest cross section nearly parallel to the stretching direction (B) rather than perpendicular (A, as usual for absorption in amorphous polymeric phases). As a consequence, in-plane and out-of-plane transition moment vectors maximize their absorption intensities for light polarization nearly perpendicular and parallel to the stretching direction, respectively.

Different patterns of extracellular matrix protein expression in the convexity and the concavity of the dilated aorta with bicuspid aortic valve: preliminary results.

Objective: This study aimed to assess extracellular matrix protein expression patterns at the convexity (right anterolateral wall) and the concavity of the dilated ascending aorta in patients with bicuspid aortic valve disease.

Methods: Aortic wall specimens were retrieved from the convexity and the concavity in 27 bicuspid aortic valve patients (12 with stenosis and 15 with regurgitation) and 6 heart donors (controls). Morphometry, immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and polymerase chain reaction were performed, focusing on matrix proteins involved in vascular remodeling.

A comparison of the phenotype and genotype in adenomatous polyposis patients with and without a family history.

Objectives: Adenomatous polyposis of the colon is often secondary to an inherited mutation in adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene, however, approximately one third of patients have no family history of the disease. We studied the phenotype and genotype of adenomatous polyposis in patients without a family history.

Methods: A cohort of 57 unrelated adenomatous polyposis patients were evaluated.

Comparative pharmacodynamic evaluation of eptifibatide and abciximab in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes: the TAM2 study.

Background: The importance of the relationship between clinical outcome and degree of platelet aggregation inhibition (PAI) achieved with the dosing regimens of GPIIb-IIIa inhibitors used in large trials in patients with non-ST segment elevation (NSTE) acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is increasingly appreciated. In the PURSUIT trial, eptifibatide treatment that consistently provided >80% PAI was associated with clinical benefit at 30 days and 6 months. The GUSTO IV ACS trial, however, did not show any effect of abciximab on 30-day outcomes.

[Multicentric study of Brazilian patients with 21-hydroxylase deficiency: a genotype-phenotype correlation].

We analyzed the clinical and molecular data of 205 patients with the three different clinical forms of 21-hydroxylase deficiency, in whom the clinical and molecular diagnosis were already defined. The most frequent mutations were I2 splice in the salt wasting form, I172N in the simple virilizing and V281L in the nonclassical form, presenting similar frequencies as those observed in other populations. We found a lower frequency of 21-hydroxylase gene deletion, similar to that previously identified in Argentinean and Mexican populations.

Time-dependent modulation of inhibitory avoidance memory by spermidine in rats.

The polyamines, spermine, spermidine, and putrescine, are a group of aliphatic amines that may act as physiological modulators of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Although the modulatory role of polyamines in NMDA receptor function has long been known, the effects of polyamines on learning and memory only recently began to be unraveled. In the present study, we investigated the effect of bilateral infusions of spermidine (0.

The mitochondrial respiratory chain of Ustilago maydis.

Ustilago maydis mitochondria contain the four classical components of the electron transport chain (complexes I, II, III, and IV), a glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase, and two alternative elements: an external rotenone-insensitive flavone-sensitive NADH dehydrogenase (NDH-2) and an alternative oxidase (AOX). The external NDH-2 contributes as much as complex I to the NADH-dependent respiratory activity, and is not modulated by Ca2+, a regulatory mechanism described for plant NDH-2, and presumed to be a unique characteristic of the external isozyme. The AOX accounts for the 20% residual respiratory activity after inhibition of complex IV by cyanide.

In vitro cytotoxicity testing of chitosan-containing polyelectrolyte complexes.

Two chitosan-containing polyelectrolyte complexes, chitosan-poly(acrylic acid) and chitosan-poly(styrenesulphonate), were synthesized by polymerizing acrylic acid and sodium styrenesulphonate in the presence of chitosan and chitosan hydrochloride, respectively. The complexes were studied by optical microscopy and tested for cytotoxicity by the Neutral Red uptake, Kenacid Blue R-Binding and 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assays. The optical microscopy confirmed the differences in crystallinity and structure already found for the two polycomplexes by other characterization techniques.

Release of 5-fluorouracil by biodegradable poly(ester-ether-ester)s. Part I: release by fused thin sheets.

The 5-fluorouracil release by biodegradable epsilon-caprolactone and L-lactide copoly(ester-ether-ester)s was tested. The drug-copolymer mixture was formed by fusion in thin sheets, which were dipped in Dulbecco's PBS for time intervals ranging from one hour to two months. Each experiment shows a fast initial release, which subsequently slows down and stops at a limiting value, depending on the copolymer composition.

New composites of hydroxyapatite and bioresorbable macromolecular material.

Composite materials were prepared by mixing in different proportions of hydroxyapatite (HA) and poly(epsilon-caprolactone-oxyethylene-epsilon-caprolactone) block copolymer (PCL-POE-PCL) to produce a new resorbable material for biomedical applications. This material has proved to be very interesting for production of periodontal membranes. Mechanical properties are linearly proportional to the amount of HA introduced.

Periodontal membranes from composites of hydroxyapatite and bioresorbable block copolymers.

Biomembranes are frequently proposed as devices for "guided bone regeneration." Such membranes consist generally of a thin sheet of polymeric material, mostly textured from polymeric yarns or clots, which all have a diffuse very fine winding porosity. The cross-section size of the holes of such porosity is nanometric (diameter < 0.