Oral pseudomonas aeruginosa immunization enhances survival in mice subsequently burned and infected with P. aeruginosa.

Mice fed 0 serotype-specific strains of P. aeruginosa for two weeks, had increased titers of IgM but not IgG antibodies to the strains fed. Immunized mice, burned and infected with P.

Is portal-systemic shunt worthwhile in Child's class C cirrhosis? Long-term results of emergency shunt in 94 patients with bleeding varices.

A prospective evaluation was conducted of 94 unselected patients ("all comers") with biopsy-proven Child's class C cirrhosis (93% alcoholic) and endoscopically proven acutely bleeding esophageal varices who underwent emergency portacaval shunt (EPCS) (85% side-to-side, 15% end-to-side) within 8 hours of initial contact (mean, 6.1 hours) during the past 12 years. Follow-up has been 100% and includes all patients for at least 1 year, and 61 patients (65%) for 5 to 12 years.

Candida albicans growth studies: a hypothesis for the pathogenesis of Candida infections in burns.

The proteolytic environment in which Candida albicans exists strongly affects its virulence. To determine whether virulence might be related to C. albicans growth in different proteolytic environments, we measured renal fungal load in burned mice and found significantly greater Candida census in kidneys from mice that were challenged with a high proteinase-generating parent C.

Treatment of Budd-Chiari syndrome due to inferior vena cava occlusion by combined portal and vena caval decompression.

This study concerns Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) caused by occlusion of the subdiaphragmatic inferior vena cava (IVC). It describes the experimental and clinical evaluation of the treatment of this disorder by one-stage combined portal and vena caval decompression with a direct side-to-side portacaval shunt (PCS) and a caval-atrial shunt (CAS) graft. BCS was produced in rats by gradual occlusion of the suprahepatic IVC with an ameroid constrictor.

Antiproliferative effects of the Ca2+/calmodulin antagonist B859-35 and the Ca(2+)-channel blocker verapamil on human lung cancer cell lines.

We have recently demonstrated that the dihydropyridine-derivative B859-35 has a selective chemotherapeutic effect on experimentally induced neuroendocrine lung tumors in hamsters. These tumors resembled human atypical lung carcinoids morphologically and expressed mammalian bombesin, calcitonin and neuron-specific enolase. In the hamster model, B859-35 had no antiproliferative effect on pulmonary adenomas of Clara cell origin.

Modulation of the uptake and metabolism of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone by nicotine in hamster lung.

The tobacco-specific carcinogenic nitrosamine, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), is formed during the curing and processing of tobacco by nitrosation of nicotine. Nicotine and NNK have structural similarities, and they are both metabolized extensively by lung tissue via several steps known to require oxidative enzyme systems, such as cytochrome P450. On the other hand, nicotine exerts many biological effects similar to those caused by the physiological neurotransmitter acetylcholine, a phenomenon mediated through selective uptake mechanisms via nicotinic cholinergic cell membrane receptors.

Reversal of diabetic somatic neuropathy by whole-pancreas transplantation.

To answer the crucial question regarding reversibility of diabetic somatic neuropathy by whole-pancreas transplantation, metabolic studies and electron microscopic morphometry of the sciatic and testicular nerves were performed monthly for 2 years in three groups of highly inbred rats: (1) NC, 47 nondiabetic controls; (2) DC, 90 untreated alloxan-induced diabetic controls; and (3) DT, 230 diabetic rats given syngeneic pancreaticoduodenal transplants 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 21 months after induction of diabetes mellitus (DM). Six diabetic nerve lesions were quantitated by a "blind" protocol: (1) loss of myelinated axons, (2) intraaxonal glycogen deposits, (3) axons with glycogen deposits, (4) demyelinated axons, (5) degenerating axons, and (6) loss of intact axoglial junctions in paranodal terminal myelin loops. In the DT group, testicular nerve specimens were obtained just before transplantation and at death so that each animal served as its own control.

Successful chemotherapy of experimental neuroendocrine lung tumors in hamsters with an antagonist of Ca2+/calmodulin.

The chemotherapeutic effect of B859-35, the (-)-enantiomer of dihydropyrine 3-methyl-5-3-(4,4-diphenyl-1-piperidinyl)-propyl-1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethy l-4- (3-nitrophenyl)-pyridine-3,5-dicarboxylate-hydrochloride (niguldipine), was tested on tumors induced in Syrian golden hamsters by N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN). Peripheral pulmonary adenomas/adenocarcinomas were induced in hamsters maintained under ambient air conditions by multiple s.c.

Intra-abdominal sepsis after hepatic resection.

One hundred and thirty hepatic resections performed over an 8-year period were reviewed for evidence of postoperative intra-abdominal sepsis. Of 126 patients who survived for more than 24 hours after operation, 36 developed culture positive intra-abdominal collections (28.6%).

Long term results of treatment of Budd-Chiari syndrome by side to side portacaval shunt.

This is a report of a long term prospective study of 13 seriously ill patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome as a result of occlusion of the hepatic veins who were treated by side to side portacaval shunt from four to 78 weeks after the onset of symptoms and who were under observation for three to 16 years. The patient population was young, ranging in age from 19 to 45 years; seven were men and six were women. The presumed cause was the use of oral contraceptives in three, polycythemia rubra vera in two, Behcet disease in one patient and unknown in seven patients.

Effect of pancreas transplantation on diabetic somatic neuropathy.

To determine whether pancreas transplantation is capable of preventing diabetic somatic neuropathy, metabolic studies and electron microscopic morphometry of the sciatic nerve were performed monthly for 2 years in four groups of highly inbred rats: (1) NC-28 nondiabetic controls; (2) DC-82 untreated alloxan-diabetic controls; (3) WPT-122 diabetic rats that received a syngeneic whole-pancreas transplant; and (4) IT-90 diabetic rats that received intraportal injections of 1500 to 2000 syngeneic pancreatic islets. Five diabetic nerve lesions were quantitated by a "blind" protocol: intra-axonal glycogen deposits, axons with glycogen deposits, demyelinated axons, intact axoglial junctions in paranodal terminal myelin loops, and basal lamina thickness of vasa nervorum. Untreated diabetic control animals had significant and progressive increases in all five nerve lesions compared to nondiabetic controls (p less than 0.

Comparison of the metabolic control of diabetes achieved by whole pancreas transplantation and pancreatic islet transplantation in rats.

To compare the long-term effectiveness of whole pancreas transplantation and pancreatic islet transplantation in controlling the metabolic disorders of alloxan diabetes, metabolic studies were performed monthly for 2 years in 4 groups of highly inbred rats: (1) NC-116 nondiabetic controls; (2) DC-273 untreated alloxan-diabetic controls; (3) PDT-182 rats that received syngeneic pancreaticoduodenal transplants shortly after induction of diabetes with alloxan; and (4) IT-92 rats that received an intraportal injection of at least 1500, but usually 2000, syngeneic pancreatic islets shortly after induction of diabetes with alloxan. Whole pancreas transplantation maintained strict metabolic control throughout the 2 years of study. In group PDT, hyperglycemia was abolished; plasma glucose concentration was maintained tightly within the normal range; markedly depressed plasma insulin levels were raised to above normal; glucose tolerance tests had insulin levels above normal and glucose levels that increased less and declined more rapidly than normal; and body weight gain and growth approached normal.

Hyperparathyroidism, cirrhosis, and portacaval shunt. A new clinical syndrome.

This is a report of six patients with cirrhosis of the liver in whom primary hyperparathyroidism occurred due to a solitary parathyroid adenoma 3 months to 9 years after undergoing emergency portacaval shunt for hemorrhage from esophageal varices. The presenting symptoms in all six patients were weakness and bone pain. Three patients had a bone fracture after insignificant trauma, one and probably two passed kidney stones, and a duodenal ulcer developed in two.

Comparison of whole pancreas and pancreatic islet transplantation in controlling nephropathy and metabolic disorders of diabetes.

To compare the long-term effectiveness of whole pancreas transplantation and pancreatic islet transplantation in controlling the metabolic disorders and preventing the kidney lesions of alloxan diabetes, metabolic and morphologic studies were performed in four groups of rats: (1) NC-116 nondiabetic controls; (2) DC-273 untreated alloxan-diabetic controls; (3) PDT-182 rats that received syngeneic pancreaticoduodenal transplants not long after induction of diabetes with alloxan; and (4) IT-92 rats that received an intraportal injection of at least 1500 and usually 2000 syngeneic pancreatic islets soon after induction of diabetes with alloxan. Each month for 24 months after diabetes was well established, body weight and plasma concentrations of glucose and insulin were measured, and five lesions were scored by light microscopy in 50 glomeruli and related tubules in each kidney by a "blind" protocol: glomerular basement membrane thickening, mesangial enlargement, Bowman's capsule thickening, Armanni-Ebstein lesions of the tubules, and tubular protein casts. There were progressive and highly significant increases in the incidence and severity of all five kidney lesions in the diabetic control rats compared with the nondiabetic control rats.

Lifelong reversal of the metabolic abnormalities of advanced diabetes in rats by whole-pancreas transplantation.

Evidence suggests that metabolic abnormalities are responsible for the widespread microvascular complications of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Interest in endocrine pancreas replacement therapy, including pancreas transplantation, is based on the hope that such treatment will reverse the complications of IDDM by providing more precise metabolic control than conventional therapy. To determine if whole pancreas transplantation is capable of reversing well-established metabolic abnormalities of diabetes mellitus (DM) and maintaining strict metabolic control for life, we performed monthly metabolic studies for 2 years in 141 nondiabetic control rats, 273 diabetic control rats with alloxan-induced DM, and 267 diabetic rats that received syngeneic whole pancreaticoduodenal transplants 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 21 months after induction of DM with alloxan.

Partial purification of a novel stimulant of gastric acid secretion from canine non-antral mucosa.

A novel stimulant of gastric acid secretion was extracted and purified from the non-antral gastric mucosa of the canine stomach and some of its biological properties were examined. Tissue was boiled in water and extracted in 2% trifluoroacetic acid. The stimulatory activity was purified by a combination of reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gel filtration.

Reversal of mesangial enlargement in rats with long-standing diabetes by whole pancreas transplantation.

An important unanswered question about clinical use of pancreas transplantation is: can pancreas transplants reverse or, at least, stabilize well-established lesions of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM)? To answer this question, we performed whole pancreas transplantations in 190 highly inbred rats 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 21 mo after induction of diabetes mellitus (DM) with alloxan. We then studied the effect on renal mesangial enlargement (ME) for 24 mo after onset of DM by a quantitative morphologic technique in which camera lucida tracings of the mesangium were made at X 1250 and were analyzed using an electronic planimeter connected to a calculator/computer. A pretransplant kidney biopsy was obtained so that the rats served as their own controls.

Catabolism of substance P and neurotensin in the rat stomach wall is susceptible to inhibitors of angiotensin converting enzyme.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the pathway of substance P (SP) and neurotensin (NT) catabolism in the gastric wall of the rat and identify some of the enzymes involved. Under anaesthesia an infusion catheter and a bundle of dialysis fibres were implanted into the stomach wall of the rat. Experiments commenced on conscious rats 2 days after surgery.

Long-term survival after emergency portacaval shunting for bleeding varices in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis.

Since 1963, a prospective evaluation of the emergency portacaval shunt procedure has been conducted in 264 unselected patients with cirrhosis and bleeding varices who underwent operation within 8 hours of admission to the emergency department. Of 153 patients who underwent operation 10 or more years ago, 45 (29 percent) have survived from 10 to 22 years and their current status is known. On admission, 40 percent of the long-term survivors had jaundice, 44 percent had ascites, 13 percent had encephalopathy (with an additional 9 percent with a history of encephalopathy), 29 percent had severe muscle wasting, and 82 percent had a hyperdynamic state.

Catabolism of substance P in the stomach wall of the rat.

The aim of this study was to examine the catabolism of substance P (SP) in the stomach wall of the rat. Catabolism in vitro was investigated by incubation of unlabelled and tritiated SP (prolyl 2,4-3,4(n)-3H SP) with membrane bound-peptidases prepared from the rat gastric corpus. Catabolism was studied in vivo by use of a catheter chronically implanted in the stomach wall to deliver tritiated SP to the gastric tissues and implanted dialysis fibers to collect the catabolic products.

Canine bombesin-like gastrin releasing peptides stimulate gastrin release and acid secretion in the dog.

The synthetic mammalian bombesin-like peptides, canine gastrin releasing peptide 27, 23 and 10, and porcine gastrin releasing peptide 27 were compared with amphibian bombesin 14 and 10 during intravenous infusions into six conscious dogs with chronic gastric cannulae. Gastrin and gastrin releasing peptide were measured in peripherally sampled venous blood by radioimmunoassay and gastric acid secretions were collected. All forms of gastrin releasing peptide stimulated gastrin release and gastric acid secretion in a dose-dependent manner.