[Does axillary liposuction modify histologic study of excised lymph nodes?].

Objective: To determine the pathological features of lymph nodes removed by axillary liposuction.

Methods: A prospective study of 34 axillary dissections performed from July 1995 to September 1996 in patients with breast cancer N0. After lipolysis, the fat was drained from the axillary cavity by means of liposuction (Karman nozzle ch.

Functional identification of a sarcolemmal chloride channel from bovine tracheal smooth muscle.

The biophysical and pharmacological characteristics of unitary Cl- currents from bovine tracheal smooth muscle cells were studied after reconstitution of microsomal vesicles into planar lipid bilayers. Two types of currents were recorded simultaneously in KCl buffer: the well-defined Ca(2+)-dependent K+ conductance [GK(Ca)] and a much smaller Cl- current, indicating that the Cl- channels under scrutiny originate from the same membrane as the GK(Ca)-type channels, the plasma membrane of airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells. The GK(Ca) activities were eliminated by the use of CsCl buffer.

[Let us start medical school again! Value of problem-based learning].

In 1993, the University of Montreal Medical School changed from an old teaching curriculum to a new one with Problem-Based-Learning as its major component. The first group of problems covers growth and development at all ages. The authors present this new learning method and discuss their experience and that of students with problems involving physiologic, psychologic and environmental learning objectives.

N-[1-(2-Benzo(b)thiophenyl)cyclohexyl]piperidine (BTCP) and cocaine induce similar effects on striatal dopamine: a microdialysis study in freely moving rats.

N-[1-(2-Benzo(b)thiophenyl)cyclohexyl]piperidine (BTCP) and cocaine inhibit dopamine (DA) uptake but bind to different sites on the transporter. Their dose-dependent effects (i.p.

Biochemical regulation of sarcoplasmic reticulum Cl- channel from human atrial myocytes: involvement of phospholamban.

Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membrane vesicles derived from human atrium were characterized by specific ryanodine binding assay and fused into planar lipid bilayers. The tritiated form of the alkaloid bound to its receptor with a K(D) of 2.2 nM and a Bmax of 268 fmol/mg protein respectively.

Conducting and voltage-dependent behaviors of potassium ion channels reconstituted from diaphragm sarcoplasmic reticulum: comparison with the cardiac isoform.

Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) K+ channels from canine diaphragm were studied upon fusion of longitudinal and junctional membrane vesicles into planar lipid bilayers (PLB). The large-conductance cation selective channel (gamma(max) = 250 pS; Km = 33 mM) displays long-lasting open events which are much more frequent at positive than at negative voltages. A major subconducting state about 45% of the fully-open state current amplitude was occasionally observed at all voltages.

Reconstitution of ionic channels from inner and outer membranes of mammalian cardiac nuclei.

Recent reports suggest that the nuclear envelope possesses specific ion transport mechanisms that regulate the electrolyte concentrations within the nucleoplasm and perinuclear space. In this work, intact nuclei were isolated from sheep cardiac cells. After chromatin digestion, the nuclear envelopes were sonicated and four nuclear vesicle populations were separated by sucrose step gradients (SF1-SF4).

[Uterine necrosis after Nd-YAG laser ablation of the endometrium. A case report].

Myometrial coagulation necrosis occurred after LH-RH analogue treatment and Nd:YAG laser reduction of the endometrium. This rare complication occurred in a patient with adenomyosis.

Specific cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitors differently modulate contractile kinetics in airway smooth muscle.

The involvement of various phosphodiesterases (PDEs) in controlling the time-dependent mechanical properties of guinea pig trachealis smooth muscles was determined by using different classes of PDE inhibitors as pharmacological tools. These drugs produced low amplitude and long-lasting dose-dependent relaxations on the resting tone with the following EC50 values: rolipram, 3 nM; indolidan, 0.11 microM; and zaprinast, 0.

Examination of the role of phosphorylation and phospholamban in the regulation of the cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum Cl- channel.

Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) vesicles were prepared from either canine or sheep heart and fused into lipid bilayers to study their ionic channels. A 92 +/- 5 pS anion-selective channel was recorded in asymmetric 50 mM trans/250 mM cis CsCl buffer system. Reversal potentials and theoretical equilibrium potentials for Cl-ions obtained under various experimental conditions allowed us to confirm the Cl- selectivity of this SR channel.

Multicenter study of case finding in elderly emergency department patients.

Objectives: To assess the feasibility of a brief comprehensive case-finding program for detecting functional, cognitive, and social impairments among elderly ED patients and to estimate the prevalence of unknown, undetected, or untreated impairments elderly patients may have.

Methods: A multicenter prospective study conducted at five private and public hospital EDs in five different communities across the country. Patients aged 60 years and older released to their homes during 52 randomly selected evening and weekend shifts between February 1 and April 30, 1993, were eligible for the case-finding program.

PKG-I alpha phosphorylates the alpha-subunit and upregulates reconstituted GKCa channels from tracheal smooth muscle.

Modulation of Ca(2+)-dependent K+ channel (GKCa) activities in airway smooth muscles (ASM) by guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKG) is thought to play a central role in mediating the effect of some bronchodilator agents that elevate cytoplasmic basal cGMP concentrations. However, no direct evidence supports this hypothesis in ASM. In the present work, we provide evidence that PKG-I alpha upregulates GKCa channels derived from bovine tracheal smooth muscle cells and reconstituted into planar lipid bilayers.

Self-management teaching programs and morbidity of pediatric asthma: a meta-analysis.

Background: Self-management teaching programs are becoming an important asset in the management of pediatric asthma.

Objective: The study was designed to evaluate the impact of self-management teaching programs on the morbidity of pediatric asthma.

Methods: The meta-analysis included randomized clinical trials, published between 1970 and 1991, addressing the outcome of morbidity.

Biochemical and pharmacological characterization of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase in airway epithelium.

According to their respective elution order, specificity for cAMP and cGMP, their sensitivity to calmodulin, and their modulation by cGMP and rolipram, four cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDE) were separated from the cytosol: PDE I (calmodulin-sensitive), PDE II (stimulated by cGMP, PDE IV (cGMP specific-PDE and inhibited by rolipram) and PDE V (cGMP specific). PDE IV (Km = 1.4 microM) was competitively inhibited by rolipram (Ki = 1.

Demonstration of an ectoATP-diphosphohydrolase (E.C.3.6.1.5.) in non-vascular smooth muscles of the bovine trachea.

An ectoATP-diphosphohydrolase (ATPDase) is put in evidence in non-vascular smooth muscles of the bovine trachea. The enzyme has an optimum pH of 7.0 and catalyzes the hydrolysis of the gamma- and beta-phosphate residues from extracellular triphospho- and diphosphonucleosides.

Admissions to a pediatric intensive care unit for status epilepticus: a 10-year experience.

Objective: To characterize the etiology, course, and prognosis in children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) for status epilepticus.

Design: Retrospective, descriptive study.

Setting: Pediatric ICU in a university hospital.

Putative anticarcinogenic actions of carotenoids: nutritional implications.

This review provides an update on nutritional aspects of carotenoids (as distinct from retinoids), with specific relevance to anticarcinogenesis. Critical gaps remain in our knowledge of the nutritional functions of carotenoids despite an overwhelming accumulation of research data in areas tangential to human nutrition. In addition to their roles as precursors of retinol and retinoids, carotenoids have distinct functions of their own in animals and humans.

Characterization of indolidan- and rolipram-sensitive cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases in canine and human cardiac microsomal fractions.

The distribution of phosphodiesterase (PDE) activities was studied in canine cardiac microsomal fractions separated by sucrose density gradient (fractions F1 to Fv1). These fractions were characterized by their 45Ca2+ uptake and release properties, [3H] ryanodine binding [used as sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) markers] and their [3H]nitrendipine binding (as a T-system marker). The solubilized canine and human SR-enriched membranes were subjected to high performance liquid chromatography and the PDE forms were then analyzed for their kinetic properties and drug sensitivies.

Lepidopteran-specific crystal toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis form cation- and anion-selective channels in planar lipid bilayers.

Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that CryIC, a lepidopteran-specific toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis, triggers calcium and chloride channel activity in SF-9 cells (Spodoptera frugiperda, fall armyworm). Chloride currents were also observed in SF-9 membrane patches upon addition of CryIC toxin to the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. In the present study the ability of activated CryIC toxin to form channels was investigated in a receptor-free, artificial phospholipid membrane system.

Evaluation of acromegaly by measurement of 24-hourly urinary growth hormone excretion.

Twenty-four hourly urinary growth hormone excretion (24-h uGH) has been quantified using a combination of ultrafiltration and conventional immunoradiometric assay. Twenty-four hourly uGH was measured in 20 normal adults and in 42 patients with acromegaly (9 untreated, 28 treated but with above-normal IGF-I levels, and 5 treated and cured). The means and ranges were as follows: 3.