Effect on exercise tolerance and pharmacokinetics of conventional and sustained release preparations of propranolol in patients with angina pectoris--a double-blind cross-over study.

Ten patients with effort angina were studied in a randomized double-blind cross-over trial in order to investigate the effect of sustained release propranolol (LA) and conventional propranolol (Prop) formulations on exercise tolerance. LA was given once daily and Prop three times daily. Treadmill exercise tests were performed using the Bruce protocol and the plasma propranolol levels were measured.

Immunopathological correlation between mesangial C3d-deposition and C3d-fixing circulating immune complexes in lupus nephritis.

By a direct immunofluorescent technique, glomerular C3d deposition was examined in a total of 50 renal biopsy specimens from patients with lupus nephritis. C3d deposition was then compared with disease activity, glomerular IgG and C3c deposition, and the levels of circulating immune complexes (CIC) measured by a solid-phase anti-C3d assay. There was a good correlation between disease activity and the positivity of glomerular C3d deposits (P less than 0.

Analysis of asynchronous wall motion by regional pressure-length loops in patients with coronary artery disease.

The progression of regional dysfunction during angina pectoris was studied in eight patients with coronary artery disease. Single plane left ventriculograms were obtained using a high fidelity micromanometer-tipped catheter both at rest and immediately after rapid cardiac pacing. Each image of the left ventriculogram was digitized and transferred to a computer.

Angiotensin II analogue infusion test in renovascular hypertension under low sodium intake and under spironolactone administration: is angiotensin II analogue infusion test useful in determining the mode of treatment?

An angiotensin II antagonist (1-Sar, 8-Ileu-angiotensin II) was infused into 5 hypertensive patients with unilateral renal artery stenosis under 5-day low sodium diet (2 g NaCl/day) and under 7-day spironolactone administration (300 mg/day). In the sodium depleted state, 1 case showed depressor response, 2 cases pressor response and the other 2 no response. During the spironolactone administration, 3 cases showed depressor, 1 case pressor, and another case no response.

High level of plasma inactive renin in Bartter's syndrome.

In 10 cases of Bartter's syndrome, plasma active and inactive renin (AR and IR) were measured by two different methods. First, plasma renin activity (PRA), and total renin activity (TRA) after activating IR with trypsin, were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) of angiotensin I (AI) generated from endogenous substrate. And secondly, plasma active renin concentration (ARC) and total renin concentration (TRC) were measured by RIA of AI generated in the presence of an excess of exogenous substrate.

Emission computed tomography with technetium-99m pyrophosphate for delineating location and size of acute myocardial infarction in man.

Emission computed tomography with technetium-99m pyrophosphate was used to delineate the location and estimate the size of myocardial infarcts in 20 patients with documented acute myocardial infarction. Tomography was performed after planar imaging within 2-5 days after the onset of infarction. A series of transaxial, frontal, and sagittal tomograms were reconstructed from 32 views imaged from the left side of the patient's chest with a rotating gammacamera.

Intravenous left ventriculography utilizing digital subtraction technique.

To detect the left ventricular boundary in the intravenous ventriculography, we used a subtraction technique for background suppression. Images containing contrast medium and reference mask images were transferred to a computer through a flying spot scanner and stored on the digital disc. Stored reference mask images were subtracted from the digitized contrast images.

Electrocardiographic findings in experimental myocarditis in DBA/2 mice: complete atrioventricular block in the acute stage, low voltage of the QRS complex in the subacute stage and arrhythmias in the chronic stage.

To determine whether arrhythmias persist in the chronic stage of myocarditis, serial electrocardiograms were studied in DBA/2 mice with experimentally induced myocarditis. After baseline electrocardiograms with standard limb and two precordial leads were recorded, 52 mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with 0.1 ml of the myocardiotropic variant of encephalomyocarditis in a viral suspension containing 10(2) TCD50 (50% tissue culture infective dose).

Stress scintigraphy using single-photon emission computed tomography in the evaluation of coronary artery disease.

Twenty-seven patients with angina pectoris, 24 with postmyocardial infarction angina and 7 with normal coronary arteries were examined by exercise thallium-201 emission computed tomography (SPECT) and planar scintigraphy. Exercise SPECT was compared with the reperfusion imaging obtained approximately 2 to 3 hours after exercise. The sensitivity and specificity of demonstrating involved coronary arteries by identifying the locations of myocardial perfusion defects were 96 and 87% for right coronary artery, 88 and 89% for left anterior descending artery (LAD) and 78 and 100% for left circumflex artery (LC).

Three-dimensional analysis of regional myocardial function in response to nitroglycerin in patients with coronary artery disease.

Biplane cineventriculography was performed at rest and after sublingual nitroglycerin in 13 patients with coronary artery disease. In six patients (responders), there was a significant increase in ejection fraction [40 +/- 5 to 52 +/- 4% (p less than 0.001)], while in the other seven (nonresponders), there was no alteration in ejection fraction.

Effect of prostacyclin and prazosin in the treatment of congestive heart failure; with special reference to the sympathetic nervous system.

Therapy to decrease the load in congestive heart failure is now classified as acute and chronic vasodilator therapy. In this symposium, we presented prostacyclin (PG I2) as an acute and prazosin as a chronic vasodilator. Their hemodynamic and clinical effectiveness were evaluated and their effect on the sympathetic nervous system was also studied.

Recognition of regional hypertrophy in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy using thallium-201 emission-computed tomography: comparison with two-dimensional echocardiography.

The configuration of the hypertrophied myocardium was evaluated by thallium-201 emission-computed tomography and 2-dimensional (2-D) sector scan in 10 patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC), 10 with nonobstructive HC with giant negative T waves and 10 with concentric left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy. Thallium-201 myocardial imaging was reconstructed into multiple 12-mm-thick slices in 3 planes. The thickness ratio of the ventricular septum and the LV posterior wall in the short-axis plane and the ratio of the ventricular septum and the apical wall in the long-axis plane were analyzed.

Unusual vasomotor coronary arterial responses after reversal of ergonovine induced spasm with glyceryl trinitrate.

Unusual vasomotor responses in the coronary arteries occurred in two patients after the administration of glyceryl trinitrate to relieve spasm induced by ergonovine maleate. In one patient after treatment with glyceryl trinitrate and despite dilatation of the adjoining segments a new severe reduction in diameter occurred distally to the segments of the right coronary artery where the ergonovine induced spasm developed. In the other patient the left anterior descending artery filled very slowly after the completely occlusive spasm of the right coronary artery had resolved with glyceryl trinitrate though the circumflex did not.

Quinidine-induced rise in ajmaline plasma concentration.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the simultaneous determination of ajmaline and quinidine in human plasma. With 0.5 ml plasma sample of a ajmaline and quinidine, concentrations as low as 0.

Improvement of pacing induced regional myocardial ischemia by Solcoseryl in conscious dogs with coronary stenosis.

The effects of Solcoseryl on regional myocardial function were studied in 5 conscious dogs with partial coronary constriction, in which temporary ischemia was induced by rapid cardiac pacing. During the coronary artery constriction, the percent shortening of the ischemic segment decreased by 9%. When the heart rate was increased by pacing, the percent shortening of the ischemic segments was further reduced by 57%.

Exogenous coenzyme Q attenuates the tension prolongation phenomenon.

In order to determine whether exogenous coenzyme Q can modify the course of mechanical changes in the myocardium during hypoxia and reoxygenation, we studied isolated rat heart muscles contracting isometrically at Lmax, 12 times per minutes at 28 degrees C. The prehypoxic mechanical parameters of 6 control muscles and 6 muscles treated with coenzyme Q10 (40 m micrograms/ml in the bath) did not differ, nor did the changes in developed tension and resting tension during 15 min of hypoxia and 45 min of reoxygenation. However, the time it took for the tension to fall to 50% of the peak value (RT1/2), the time from the onset of contraction to peak isometric tension (TPT) and TPT + RT1/2 on early reoxygenation were significantly diminished in coenzyme Q treated muscles.

Enhancement of left ventricular contractility after opening of an arteriovenous fistula in dogs.

The effect of opening and closing the infrarenal arteriovenous (A-V) fistula on left ventricular (LV) function was analysed in 12 anaesthetised dogs, instrumented with a micromanometer and a pair of ultrasonic crystals for measurement of LV diameter (D). Plasma noradrenaline (NA) levels sampled from the right ventricular cavity were determined using a high-performance liquid chromatographic method. Immediately after opening of the A-V fistula, the peak LV pressure (P) decreased by 4.