Alpha-Toxin in Deep Tracheal Aspirates-Preliminary Evidence for Its Presence in the Lungs of Sepsis Patients.

The pore forming alpha-toxin (hemolysin A, Hla) of () is a major virulence factor with relevance for the pathogenicity of this bacterium, which is involved in many cases of pneumonia and sepsis in humans. Until now, the presence of Hla in the body fluids of potentially infected humans could only be shown indirectly, e.g.

Intensive insulin therapy and pentastarch resuscitation in severe sepsis.

Background: The role of intensive insulin therapy in patients with severe sepsis is uncertain. Fluid resuscitation improves survival among patients with septic shock, but evidence is lacking to support the choice of either crystalloids or colloids.

Methods: In a multicenter, two-by-two factorial trial, we randomly assigned patients with severe sepsis to receive either intensive insulin therapy to maintain euglycemia or conventional insulin therapy and either 10% pentastarch, a low-molecular-weight hydroxyethyl starch (HES 200/0.

Epidemiology of sepsis in Germany: results from a national prospective multicenter study.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and mortality of ICU patients with severe sepsis in Germany, with consideration of hospital size.

Design: Prospective, observational, cross-sectional 1-day point-prevalence study.

Setting: 454 ICUs from a representative nationwide sample of 310 hospitals stratified by size.

Thermostatic tissue platform for intravital microscopy: 'the hanging drop' model.

Intravital microscopy imposes the particular problem of the combined control of the body temperature of the animal and the local temperature of the observed organ or tissues. We constructed and tested, in the rat ileum microcirculation preparation, a new organ-support platform. The platform consisted of an organ bath filled with physiological solution, and contained a suction tube, a superfusion tube, an intestine-support hand that was attached to a micromanipulator and a thermometer probe.

Akrinor-induced relaxation of pig coronary artery in vitro is transformed into alpha1-adrenoreceptor-mediated contraction by pretreatment with propranolol.

Akrinor (AKR), a mixture of theodrenaline (TDR) and cafedrine (CDR), is a sympathomimetic agent used to counter transitory hypotension. Although some cases of vascular complications associated with AKR have been reported there are no experimental data about its direct effects on coronary arteries. The effects of AKR, TDR, CDR, and ephedrine (EDR) were studied on the isometric contraction of the ring preparations of pig coronary arteries precontracted with KCl.