Ventricular Arrhythmias and Sudden Death Following Percutaneous Pulmonary Valve Implantation in Pediatric Patients.

Reports have suggested a transient increase in ventricular ectopy early after percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI). Little is known about the potential for more serious ventricular arrhythmias (VA) in children who undergo PPVI. We sought to evaluate the incidence of severe VA following PPVI in a pediatric population and to explore potential predictive factors.

Ghrelin in the summer flounder: immunolocalization to the gastric glands and action on plasma cortisol levels.

We searched for evidence of the hormone ghrelin in the stomach of a juvenile, marine teleost, the summer flounder. Using antiserum against the conserved core of the ghrelin peptide, immunoreactivity was observed in the simple, branching epithelium that comprises the gastric glands. The immunoreaction was especially strong in the glandular epithelium located deep in the tissue.

Evidence for the onset of feedback regulation of cortisol in larval summer flounder.

We investigated the functional development of feedback regulation of cortisol levels during early development in a marine teleost, summer flounder, using a novel pharmaceutical approach. Larvae were immersed for 4h in the glucocorticoid agonist dexamethasone (20 microM) and/or the glucocorticoid-receptor antagonist RU486 (0.12 microM) at 1, 7, or 21 days after hatching.

Cortisol is necessary for seawater tolerance in larvae of a marine teleost the summer flounder.

Larval-stage summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) were immersed in the corticosteroid-receptor blocker RU486 to test the effects of cortisol deficiency on salinity tolerance. Premetamorphic larvae held at 10 (near isosmotic) or 30 (hyperosmotic) parts per thousand ( per thousand) seawater survived well over 5d in 0, 0.012, or 0.

Adaptation for water balance in the partial gastrointestinal tract of summer flounder.

Marine teleosts continually drink and absorb water across the intestine to prevent dehydration. Surprisingly, summer flounder that are missing most of their intestine, due to necrotizing enteritis, maintain osmotic homeostasis. Here, we tested the hypothesis that this remnant gastrointestinal tract undergoes compensatory adaptation for fluid uptake.