Assessment of single beat end-systolic elastance methods for quantifying ventricular contractility.

Multi-beat end-systolic elastance (E) is considered a gold-standard index of ventricular contractility. However, it is difficult to measure clinically due to the need for transient manipulation of ventricular preload or afterload. We compared the performance of 5 'single-beat' methods that do not require loading interventions, for estimating the equivalent of E.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a Treatment for Electroconvulsive Therapy Phobia: Case Report and Review of Literature.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can raise feelings of fear and anxiety in our patients. No documented cases of phobia regarding ECT or its treatment were found in the literature.

Methods: We present a patient who developed anxiety regarding ECT that was severe enough to be classified as a phobia.

Pharmacological and physiological characterization of d[Leu4, Lys8]vasopressin, the first V1b-selective agonist for rat vasopressin/oxytocin receptors.

Recently, we synthesized and characterized the first selective V(1b) vasopressin (VP)/oxytocin receptor agonist, d[Cha(4)]arginine vasopressin. However, this agonist was only selective for the human receptors. We thus decided to design a selective V(1b) agonist for the rodent species.

Design and synthesis of the first selective agonists for the rat vasopressin V(1b) receptor: based on modifications of deamino-[Cys1]arginine vasopressin at positions 4 and 8.

The neurohypophyseal peptides arginine vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT) mediate a wide variety of peripheral and central physiological and behavioral effects by acting on four different G-protein coupled receptors, termed V1a (vascular), V1b (pituitary), V2 (renal), and OT (uterine). We recently reported that d[Cha4]AVP (A), d[Leu4]AVP (B), d[Orn4]AVP (C), and d[Arg4]AVP (D) have high affinity and are selective agonists for the human V1b receptor. However, peptides A-D were subsequently shown to be potent antidiuretic agonists in the rat and are, thus, not selective V1b agonists in the rat.

Design and synthesis of potent, highly selective vasopressin hypotensive agonists.

We report here the solid-phase synthesis and vasodepressor potencies of a new lead vasopressin (VP) hypotensive peptide [1(beta-mercapto-beta,beta-pentamethylenepropionic acid)-2-0-ethyl-D-tyrosine, 3-arginine, 4-valine, 7-lysine, 9-ethylenediamine] lysine vasopressin, d(CH(2))(5)[D-Tyr(Et)(2), Arg(3), Val(4), Lys(7), Eda(9)]LVP (C) and 21 analogues of C with single modifications at positions 9 (1-13), 6 (14), 2 (16-20) and combined modifications at positions 6 and 10 (15) and 2 and 10 (21). Peptides 1-13 have the following replacements for the Eda residue at position 9 in C: (1) Gly-NH(2); (2) Gly-NH-CH(3); (3) Ala-NH(2); (4) Ala-NH-CH(3), (5) Val-NH(2); (6) Cha-NH(2); (7) Thr-NH(2); (8) Phe-NH(2); (9) Tyr-NH(2); (10) Orn-NH(2); (11) Lys-NH(2); (12) D-Lys-NH(2); (13) Arg-NH(2). Peptide 14 has the Cys residue at position 6 replaced by Pen.