[Primary ciliary dyskinesia--importance of early diagnosis].

Background: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is an inherited disease characterized by specific ultrastructural defects of cilia and sperms. The impairment of mucociliary clearance (MCC) results in chronic respiratory infections and subsequently in bronchiectasis.

Main Purpose: The evaluate rational decisions in early diagnosis of PCD.

Pulmonary hypertensive effects of lung inflation in chronic hypoxia: a study in rats.

Lung inflation was compared in isolated perfused lungs of control (C) and chronically hypoxic (CH) rats; in the latter, there is muscularization and loss of compliance in the pulmonary arterial system. During ventilation hypoxia, high alveolar pressure (Palv) elevated the pulmonary artery pressure (Ppa) less in C than in CH rats; Ppa fell during sustained inflation, rose on deflation, and after inflation hypoxic vasoconstriction was attenuated. Opposite changes took place in CH rats; Ppa often rose during inflation, fell on deflation, and after inflation hypoxic vasoconstriction was enhanced.

Attenuation of chronic hypoxic pulmonary hypertension in rats by cyclooxygenase products and by nitric oxide.

We wanted to assess the respective roles of arachidonic acid products and nitric oxide in the modulation of pulmonary hypertension in chronically hypoxic rats. In isolated blood-perfused lungs, the effects of arachidonic acid before and after treatment with the cyclooxygenase inhibitor, meclofenamate, were compared in control (C) rats and rats exposed for two weeks to 10% oxygen (chronic hypoxia CH). Arachidonic acid caused mixed dilator and constrictor effects during both normoxia and hypoxia; dilatation was more prominent in chronically hypoxic rats.

[The ultrastructure of accumulated mitochondria in injuries of demyelinated axons].

The authors ligated the nervus lienalis of the cat, and observed the subsequent accumulation of mitochondria in nonmyelinated axons in close vicinity proximal and distal to the ligature. In enlarged axons they found groups of mostly homogen population of mitochondria with specific morphologic signs. Concerning the mitochondrial ultrastructure authors arranged the mitochondria to three classes and five subclasses.