Effects of warfarin on biological processes other than haemostasis: A review.

Warfarin is the world's most widely used anticoagulant drug. Its anticoagulant activity is based on the inhibition of the vitamin K-dependent (VKD) step in the complete synthesis of a number of blood coagulation factors that are required for normal blood coagulation. Warfarin also affects synthesis of VKD proteins not related to haemostasis including those involved in bone growth and vascular calcification.

Oral warfarin intake affects skin inflammatory cytokine responses in rats.

Warfarin is an anticoagulant used in prevention/prophylaxis of thromboembolism. Besides the effects on coagulation, non-hemorrhagic reactions have also been documented. Although cutaneous reactions were reported in some patients, the impact on skin immunity was not explored.

Warfarin affects acute inflammatory response induced by subcutaneous polyvinyl sponge implantation in rats.

Purpose: Warfarin (WF) is an anticoagulant which also affects physiological processes other than hemostasis. Our previous investigations showed the effect of WF which gained access to the organism via skin on resting peripheral blood granulocytes. Based on these data, the aim of the present study was to examine whether WF could modulate the inflammatory processes as well.

Strain differences in intestinal toxicity of warfarin in rats.

Intestinal hemorrhage characterizes effectiveness of warfarin (WF) as rodenticide and is among adverse effects of therapy in humans. Having in mind genetic variations in the effectiveness of WF in wild rats and in the doses required for therapeutic effect, strain differences in the intestinal toxicity of oral warfarin in rats were examined in this study. High WF dose (3.

Strain differences in toxicity of oral cadmium intake in rats.

Influence of genetic background on toxicity of oral cadmium (Cd) administration (30 days, in drinking water; 5 ppm and 50 ppm of cadmium) was examined in Albino Oxford (AO) and Dark Agouti (DA) rats. Similar cadmium deposition was noted in gut and draining mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) of both strains but intensity and/or the pattern of responses to cadmium in these tissues differ. Less intense intestinal damage and leukocyte infiltration was observed in gut of cadmium-exposed AO rats.

Intestinal toxicity of oral warfarin intake in rats.

Though warfarin is extensively used in the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic processes in humans, adverse effects of warfarin therapy have been recognized. Intestinal hemorrhage is one of the hazards of anticoagulant therapy, but the mechanisms of warfarin toxicity are virtually unknown. In this work, the effects of 30 days oral warfarin (0.

Transdermal toxicity of topically applied anticoagulant rodenticide warfarin in rats.

Occupational/accidental exposure data have showed hemorrhage as a result of transdermal exposure to warfarin, however, other effects are not known. In the present study, the impact of epicutaneous application of 10 μg or 100 μg of warfarin (three times, once a day) on peripheral blood polymorphonuclear (PMN) and mononuclear cells (PBMC) was examined in rats. Both doses resulted in prolongation of prothrombin time and changes in hematologic parameters.

Toxicity of oral cadmium intake: Impact on gut immunity.

Gastrointestinal tract is one of the main targets of cadmium (Cd), an important food and drinking water contaminant. In the present study, the effect of subchronic (30 days) oral (in water) intake of 5ppm and 50ppm of cadmium on immune responses in the gut was examined in rats. Cadmium consumption resulted in reduction of bacteria corresponding to Lactobacillus strain, tissue damage and intestinal inflammation [increases in high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1 molecules), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity and proinflammatory cytokine (TNF, IL-1β, IFN-γ, IL-17) content].

Inter-application displacement of brachytherapy dose received by the bladder and rectum of the patients with inoperable cervical cancer.

Background: The aim of the study was to examine on the CT basis the inter-application displacement of the positions D0.1cc, D1cc and D2cc of the brachytherapy dose applied to the bladder and rectum of the patients with inoperable cervical cancer.

Patients And Methods: This prospective study included 30 patients with cervical cancer who were treated by concomitant chemo-radiotherapy.

Invasive inflammatory pseudotumor of the pelvis: a case report with review of the literature.

Inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) is a rare benign lesion of unknown etiology, which mimics malignant neoplasm and may arise from various organs. A 53-year-old woman was submitted to diagnostic evaluation because of bilateral, hydroureteronephrosis and oedema of the left leg after a 3-month history of fever of unknown origin. On bimanual vaginal and rectal examination, a mass was involving the uterus, parametria and mostly left adnexa, while the cervix appeared normal.

Conventional conformal radiotherapy vs intracavitary brachytherapy for the adjuvant postoperative treatment of cervical cancer: a comparative dosimetric study.

Objectives: The aim of this pilot study is to evaluate the feasibility of 3D-conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) in the adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy of the vaginal cuff and upper third of present vaginal tissue.

Methods: The representative patient (FIGO IB; PH: squamous cell carcinoma) was referred for adjuvant post-hysterectomy radiotherapy. A whole pelvis irradiation with concomitant high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy (HDR-ICBT) was applied.

Hodgkin's lymphoma of the parotid gland: report of a case and literature review.

Hodgkin's lymphoma with its primary manifestation in the parotid gland is a very rare entity. In previously published reports the diagnosis was established by postoperative histopathological examination. The present report describes a case of primary Hodgkin's lymphoma of the parotid gland, diagnosed by fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology, and includes a short review of the diagnostic approaches to the parotid gland tumors.

[Selection of the optimal radiotherapy technique for locally advanced maxillary carcinoma using a three-dimensional treatment planning system].

Aim: To compare the isodose distribution of three radiotherapy techniques for locally advanced maxillary sinus carcinoma and analyze the potential of three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiotherapy planning in order to determine the optimal technique for target dose delivery, and spare uninvolved healthy tissue structures.

Methods: Computed tomography (CT) scans of fourteen patients with T3-T4, N0, M0 maxillary sinus carcinoma were acquired and transferred to 3D treatment planning system (3D-TPS). The target volume and uninvolved dose limiting structures were contoured on axial CT slices throughout the volume of interest combining three variants of treatment plans (techniques) for each patient: 1.

Delayed sudden death in an infant following an accidental fall: a case report with review of the literature.

Several controversies exist regarding ultimately lethal head injuries in small children. Death from short falls, timing of head injury, lucid intervals, presence of diffuse axonal injury (DAI), and subdural hematoma (SDH) as marker of DAI are the most recent controversial topics of debate in this evolving field of study. In this area of debate, we present a case of delayed death from a witnessed fall backwards off a bed in a 9-month-old black male child who struck his head on a concrete floor and was independently witnessed as "healthy" postfall for 72 hours until he was discovered dead in bed.

Pathological case of the month: sudden death in a child as a result of pancreatitis during valproic acid therapy.

Valproic acid is a widely used drug in the treatment of epilepsy and, compared to other anticonvulsant drugs, is considered safe. The most common side effects of valproic acid ingestion or therapy are transient nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea. Most of these complaints are mild.

Clinical, pathologic, and toxicologic findings in asthma deaths in Cook County, Illinois.

To identify factors contributing to asthma mortality and improve our understanding of airway pathology in fatal asthma, we studied 44 cases of fatal asthma using records of one pathologist in the Office of the Medical Examiner. Records included death certificates, autopsies, toxicology, accounts by family and friends of the terminal episode, medical history of the deceased, police and paramedic reports, and hospital charts. Additionally, we interviewed by telephone surviving family and friends.

Sudden death in an 8-week-old infant with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome.

The authors report a case of a 2-month-old girl diagnosed with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) who was born prematurely and died suddenly in the hospital just before being discharged. BWS is a malformation syndrome associated with an increased risk of childhood tumors. The major features of BWS are macroglossia, abdominal wall defects, and visceromegaly, frequently leading to premature birth.

Age and species-dependent differences in the neurokinin B system in rat and human brain.

Neurokinin B and its cognate neurokinin-3 receptor are expressed more in the forebrain than in brain stem structures but little is known about the primary function of this peptide system in the central processing of information. In general, few studies have specifically addressed age-related changes of tachykinins, notably the changes in number and/or distribution of the neurokinin B-expressing and neurokinin-3 receptor-bearing neurons. Data on functions and changes of neurokinins in physiological aging are limited and apply mainly to the substance P/neurokinin-1 receptor system.

Fatal Chaetomium cerebritis in a bone marrow transplant patient.

The number of opportunistic infections in the central nervous system (CNS) has been steadily increasing because of a rising number of immunocompromised patients. A rare form of CNS infection can be caused by Chaetomium species, one of the largest genera of saprophytic ascomycetes. The CNS lesions in the present case were caused by Chaetomium atrobrunneum.

Neurokinin-3 receptor distribution in rat and human brain: an immunohistochemical study.

Autoradiographic and immunohistochemical studies have shown that the neurokinin-3 receptor is widely distributed in the rodent CNS. Expression of the neurokinin-3 receptor in human brain, however, has been debated. These conflicting findings, as well as the poor resolution of autoradiographic images, prompted us to develop a polyclonal antibody against an oligopeptide derived from the carboxy-terminus consensus sequence of both the rat and human neurokinin-3 receptor ([C]ASTTSSFISSPYTSVDEYS, amino acids 434-452 of the rat neurokinin-3 receptor).

[Treatment of locally advanced esophageal cancer by combined intralumenal brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy].

The prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer is poor, due to frequent local recurrence and distant metastasis. The last decade has also seen that brachytherapy as a treatment with real potential to improve the therapeutic ratio of external irradiation. From March 1993 to October 1994 at the Institute of oncology and radiology in Belgrade, 18 patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer were treated by combined intralumenal brachytherapywith external beam irradiation.