Differential adrenergic response to extrinsic denervation in canine longitudinal jejunal and ileal smooth muscle.

Early postoperative complications after small bowel transplantation (SBT) are likely mediated, at least in part, by dysmotility caused by the obligate disruption of extrinsic and enteric nerves in the graft. Adrenergic hypersensitivity of gut smooth muscle has been observed in some (but not all) segments of intestine in various experimental models of SBT, highlighting regional and species variability in response to denervation. Little is known about changes in canine longitudinal muscle after extrinsic denervation.

Expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in different stages of human atherosclerosis.

Background: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory response of the arterial wall to injury. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a cytokine with potent inflammatory functions, was thus considered to be important in atherosclerotic lesion evolution.

Methods And Results: We studied the presence and distribution of MIF immunoreactivity (MIF-IR) and MIF mRNA in internal mammary arteries with a normal histology and arteries with plaques in different stages of human atherosclerosis.

Principles of the morbidity and mortality conference.

The goals of the morbidity and mortality conference are learning from mistakes, recognising problems, and being aware of the risks of one's own procedures. Data are continuously collected, complications are classified, and the results of surgery are analyzed. By analysing and discussing the results every three months, total case mortality, mortality of specific procedures, incidence of haematomas, infection rate and incidence of thromboses and emboli are known and a continuous quality control is possible.

Additive effect of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin-4/5 on rat fetal nigral explant cultures.

Transplantation of embryonic dopaminergic neurons is an experimental therapy for Parkinson's disease, but limited tissue availability and suboptimal survival of grafted dopaminergic neurons impede more widespread clinical application. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5) exert neurotrophic effects on dopaminergic neurons via different receptor systems. In this study, we investigated possible additive or synergistic effects of combined GDNF and NT-4/5 treatment on rat embryonic (embryonic day 14) nigral explant cultures grown for 8 days.

1,6-Methano[10]annulene has a Delocalized Structure in S and S : High-Resolution Spectroscopy in a Supersonic Jet.

For the ground state of the Hückel aromatic ring 1,6-methano[10]annulene (MA) both a localized and a delocalized structure have been proposed in the past, depending on the theoretical methods used. A high-resolution electronic spectrum in a supersonic jet unambiguously shows that isolated, ultracold MA has a delocalized structure in its S ground state as well as in its S excited state.

Death-associated protein 3 (Dap-3) is overexpressed in invasive glioblastoma cells in vivo and in glioma cell lines with induced motility phenotype in vitro.

Purpose: To discover the genetic determinants of glioma invasion in vivo, we compared the mRNA expression profiles of glioblastoma cells residing at the tumor core versus those at the invasive rim of a human tumor resection.

Experimental Design: From a single glioblastoma specimen, 20,000 individual cells from each region (core and invasive rim) were collected by laser capture microdissection and analyzed by mRNA differential display. Differential expression of gene candidates was confirmed by laser capture microdissection and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR in additional glioblastoma multiforme specimens, and the role in migration was further evaluated in glioma cell lines in vitro.

Identification and validation of P311 as a glioblastoma invasion gene using laser capture microdissection.

The mRNA expression profiles from glioblastoma cells residing at the tumor core and invasive rim of a human tumor resection were compared. From a single tumor specimen, 20,000 single cells from each region were collected by laser capture microdissection. Differential expression of 50-60 cDNA bands was detected.

[Play sports and feel well! Effects of sports on mental health].

The role of mental health is increasingly recognised in the discussion about health. In this article, health is considered to be a dynamic balance between resources and potential risk factors. Sport and physical activity may represent resources that do not only contribute to an increased well-being, but also to an improved self concept as a cognitive representation of one's health-status.

A worksite intervention module encouraging the use of stairs: results and evaluation issues.

Objectives: Recent recommendations suggest that health benefits can also be derived from regular daily activities of moderate intensity which accelerate breathing, such as climbing stairs. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an intervention programme on behaviour change in stair use in a working environment.

Methods: Intervention field workers were instructed to offer attractive or pull actions.

Intratumoral arteriovenous shunting in malignant gliomas.

Objective: Intratumoral arteriovenous shunting in glioblastomas has been suspected but neither proven nor quantified.

Methods: Using a previously described technique of selective intra-arterial intratumoral injection of 99mTc-labeled microparticles (macroaggregated albumin), we measured the amount of radioactivity, by cerebral and pulmonary scintigraphy, in seven patients with malignant gliomas (six with glioblastomas and one with an anaplastic oligodendroglioma). The pulmonary shunt index was calculated as a percentage from the pulmonary/pulmonary plus cerebral radioactivity ratio.

Central lumbar disc herniation.

Unlabelled: A follow-up study which describes the experience of the Department of Neurosurgery in Berne in the treatment of patients with central lumbar disc herniation (CLDH).

Background Data: The anatomical position of lumbar disc herniation, in general, does not seem to affect postoperative outcome. However, according to other studies a subgroup of patients with central lumbar disc herniations appears to have poorer results.

Dilemmas in the management of patients with arteriovenous malformations.

An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) consists of one or more arteries that drain through one or several small openings directly into one or more veins. The capillary system between arteries and veins is missing. The natural history of an unruptured AVM demonstrates a 1-2% bleeding rate and once ruptured a 2-4% annual risk of rebleeding.

Influence of time in culture and BDNF pretreatment on survival and function of grafted embryonic rat ventral mesencephalon in the 6-OHDA rat model of Parkinson's disease.

Embryonic midbrain can be maintained as free-floating roller tube cultures prior to grafting in experimental Parkinson's disease. We examined the influence of pregrafting culture time and pretreatment with brain-derived neurotrophic factor on graft survival and function. Cultures were prepared from solid pieces of embryonic (E14) rat ventral mesencephalon and maintained 4, 8, or 12 days in vitro with or without brain-derived neurotrophic factor (100 ng/ml) and grafted into the striatum of 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats.

Transdural cauda equina incarceration after microsurgical lumbar discectomy: case report.

Objective And Importance: Complications usually occur when they are least expected. We present an unusual case of nerve entrapment after microsurgical discectomy.

Clinical Presentation: A patient undergoing uneventful first lumbar microsurgical discectomy developed severe back and leg pain and a progressive neurological deficit during the first postoperative night.

Sellar reconstruction with resorbable vicryl patches, gelatin foam, and fibrin glue in transsphenoidal surgery: a 10-year experience with 376 patients.

Object: Closure of the sella turcica after transsphenoidal surgery is mainly accomplished with autologous muscle fascia and fat or muscle; this requires a second surgical incision. The authors review the results of using resorbable vicryl patches, gelatin foam, and fibrin glue for sellar reconstruction.

Methods: A review was conducted of 376 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for pituitary adenomas, cysts, or subdiaphragmatic craniopharyngiomas in the sella turcica that the senior author (R.

[Results and role of carotid endarterectomy].

Background: The indications for carotid endarterectomy have been defined on the basis of several large prospective randomised trials. Today this operation is widely performed as primary and secondary stroke prevention in patients with high grade carotid artery stenosis. Permanent quality control of the surgical results is mandatory to ensure optimal stroke prevention and further reduce perioperative complications.

Silent cerebral ischemia detected by diffusion-weighted MRI after carotid endarterectomy.

Background And Purpose: Small emboli arising from a friable plaque during carotid endarterectomy (CEA) constitute an important risk of perioperative ischemic complications. To evaluate the incidence and significance of silent cerebral ischemic lesions of embolic origin after CEA, we prospectively examined a series of surgical patients with high-grade carotid stenosis by using diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI). We also tried to correlate postoperative ischemic lesions with the occurrence of sonographic cerebral embolic signals, the presence of plaque ulcerations, and the use of intraoperative shunting.

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor stimulates the morphological differentiation of cultured ventral mesencephalic calbindin- and calretinin-expressing neurons.

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a potent neurotrophic factor for mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons. Subpopulations of these neurons express the calcium-binding proteins calbindin (CB) and calretinin (CR). Understanding the specific effects of GDNF on these neurons is important for the development of an optimal cell replacement therapy for Parkinson's disease.

Endoscopic stereotactic surgery for intraventricular loculated empyema: case report.

Background: Ventriculitis accompanied by formation of an intraventricular loculated empyema is a very unusual complication of purulent meningitis.

Case Description: A 62-year-old man presented with acute purulent ventriculitis secondary to a small paraventricular abscess. The well-documented computed tomography scans demonstrated the development of an intraventricular loculated empyema in the posterior portion of the left lateral ventricle.