Inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis improves the vasoconstrictive effect of noradrenaline in sepsis.

Background: Septic shock is characterized by systemic vasodilation and an impaired reactivity to vasoconstrictor agents. It has been suggested that an excessive release of nitric oxide has a role in this hemodynamic derangement.

Objective: To investigate whether inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis by the administration of N omega-nitro-L-arginine (LNNA), improves the vasoconstrictor effects of catecholamines in sepsis.

Side effects of the catechol-O-methyl-transferase inhibitor Ro 40-7592 in rabbits.

Catechol-O-methyl-transferase inhibitors are promising drugs in Parkinson's disease since these drugs enhance levodopa effects and increase their duration. However, since these compounds block a pathway for the peripheral metabolism of catecholamines, they may also produce side effects related to elevation of catecholamines in plasma. We investigated the adverse effects of Ro 40-7592 in rabbits and the relationship of Ro 40-7592 to norepinephrine plasma levels.

Role of nitric oxide in the hemodynamic changes of sepsis.

Objective: To study the role of nitric oxide in the hemodynamic changes of sepsis.

Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled, intervention study.

Subjects: Twenty-five sheep randomized to four groups: Group A (n = 8, nonseptic sheep) received NG-nitro L-arginine (20 mg/kg i.

Characterization of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy in different biological specimens from ten Portuguese families.

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is a severe neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive demyelination, adrenocortical insufficiency and accumulation in tissues and body fluids of unbranched, saturated very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA). The diagnosis of ALD is usually based on clinical history, neurological examination and the determination of levels of VLCFA in plasma and cultured skin fibroblasts. In the present paper we report the biochemical findings in plasma, cultured skin fibroblasts and lymphoblastoid cell lines from ALD patients.

Hemodynamic changes in the dog connected to a dialysis circuit: influence of the body temperature.

Eighteen sessions in 9 mongrel dogs were carried out to know the hemodynamic effects produced by body temperature variation, when blood passes through a dialysis circuit with a Cuprophan dialyzer, without dialysate contact. The decrease of 2 degrees C in body temperature caused a decrease in heart rate and cardiac index (-8.6 and -17.

[Coronary microcirculation in myocardial reperfusion. The phenomenon of no-reperfusion].

Purpose: The study of the ultrastructural features of the coronary microvessels in postischemic reperfusion.

Material And Methods: Five mongrel dogs of either sex, weighing 2 to 17 kg were studied Each dog was anesthetized with 30 mg. of pentobarbital and ventilated with room air.

[The coronary flow reserve during reperfusion in myocardial infarction].

Purpose: The study of coronary flow reserve on the reperfused myocardium damaged by 90 minutes of severe ischemia.

Material And Methods: Nine mongrel dogs of either sex, weighing 12 to 17 kg were studied. Each dog was anesthesiated with 30 mg of pentobarbital and ventilated with room air.

[Coronary flow reserve during myocardial reperfusion, after 15 minutes of ischemia].

Purpose: To study the coronary resistance reserve on the reperfused myocardium, damaged by 15 minutes of severe ischemia.

Material And Methods: Eight mongrel dogs, of either sex, weighing 14.4 to 21 kg were used.

[Significance of intramural vascular injuries in myocardial revascularization. A case report].

The authors report the case of 59 year-old hypertensive woman, suffering from angina pectoris, who died 24 hours after coronary by pass surgery due to cardiogenic shock. Autopsy revealed a small recent postero-lateral infarction. The venous by pass, however, were inconspicuous.

Thrombus apposition on catheter ablation injuries.

64 ablation catheter-induced injuries were studied macroscopically and microscopically to determine the incidence of endocardial thrombus formation. Ablation was performed in 16 mongrel dogs, 7 days before necropsy, 16 endocardial necroses were located in the right atrioventricular (AV) junction, 16 in the non-coronary cusp of the aortic valve or the subaortic valve area, 16 in the right and 16 in the left ventricle. Cathodal discharge at the distal electrode was employed against an external anodal plate for ventricular ablation.

[Adrenergic coronary vasoconstriction during myocardial hypoperfusion].

The intramural branches of the coronary arteries of dogs were studied using venilite casts. The intramyocardial vessels have a general pattern with straight branches that cross from the epicardium toward the endocardium. Many branches were observed throughout the extension of these vessels, mainly in the subendocardium, where there is a rich interconnecting plexus.

[Histologic aspects of intramyocardial arterioles, during drug induced vasodilation and vasoconstriction].

The author studied the histologic features of the intramyocardial arterioles of the dog, under various situations of vasomotricity induced by drugs. Hemodynamics were evaluated by the pressures of the right atria and the aorta and through the coronary flow. The histologic studies were done on biopsy specimens taken from the anterior left ventricular wall.

[Ischemic cardiopathy with normal epicardial coronary arteries. Probable spasm of the coronary arteries. A case report].

The authors discuss the case of a young woman, with chest pain at rest and normal coronary arteries. Sixty-three days after the onset of the symptoms the patient had a myocardial infarction. The coronariogram showed obstruction of the left coronary artery in its full length.

The Aspergillus toxin restriction is a suitable cytotoxic agent for generation of immunoconjugates with monoclonal antibodies directed against human carcinoma cells.

The protein toxin restriction, isolated from the mould Aspergillus restrictus, inactivates protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells by blocking the ribosome elongation cycle. This protein acts as a specific nuclease that cuts off a small fragment from the 28-S rRNA. Biochemical and biological characterization of this toxin indicated that it is a non-glycosylated polypeptide of Mr 16836, exhibiting in cell-free systems a protein synthesis inhibition capacity similar to that of the ricin A chain.

Continuous intracerebroventricular infusion of dopamine and dopamine agonists through a totally implanted drug delivery system in animal models of Parkinson's disease.

We studied the effect of intracerebroventricular infusion of dopamine and dopamine agonists in animal models of dopamine deficiency as an experimental approach to the treatment of levodopa induced fluctuations in Parkinson's disease. Dopamine deficiency was produced in rats by unilateral lesion of the nigrostriatal pathway or by chronic treatment with reserpine. Monkeys were lesioned by intravenous injection of MPTP.

Continuous intracerebroventricular infusion of dopamine and dopamine agonists through a totally implanted drug delivery system in animal models of Parkinson's disease.

We studied the effect of intracerebroventricular infusion of dopamine and dopamine agonists in rat and primate models of Parkinson's disease as an experimental approach to the treatment of levodopa-induced fluctuations. The infusion of dopamine, lisuride, and pergolide into the ventricle ipsilateral to the lesion, by 6-hydroxydopamine, of the nigrostriatal pathway induced a contralateral rotation which was maximal 24-48 h after infusion and whose intensity progressively decreased over the period of 1 week. [3H]Spiperone binding was decreased by the infusion of dopamine but the responses to subcutaneous apomomorphine were unchanged.