Abnormal regulation of proximal tubule renin mRNA in the Dahl/Rapp salt-sensitive rat.

Background: The precise pathogenesis of salt-sensitive hypertension in the Dahl rat is unknown. Abnormalities in renal hemodynamics and NaCl handling have been implicated, and may relate to changes in the activity of the intrarenal renin-angiotensin system.

Methods: Circulating, juxtaglomerular and intrarenal (glomerular and proximal tubular) renin were studied in Dahl/Rapp salt-sensitive and salt-resistant rats fed with a normal (0.

Heterogeneity of the psychoses: is there a neurodegenerative psychosis?

Whereas etiological heterogeneity of the various types of schizophrenia has been repeatedly proposed, relatively few attempts have been made to separate the component diseases. Using a strategy focusing on bimodal distributions within several relevant domains of schizophrenia, we demonstrate that currently available data on schizophrenia patients are consistent with the hypothesis that some of these patients have an ongoing neurodegenerative disease, whereas others do not. We review studies (longitudinal and cross-sectional) documenting progressive increases in ventricular size, accelerated loss of brain tissues, progressive delays in treatment response, and neurochemical (magnetic resonance spectroscopy) and neurophysiological (P300) indices, all of which are consistent with ongoing cerebral degeneration in a significant subgroup of schizophrenia patients.

Coronary artery aneurysmal fistula: a late complication of stent deployment.

An unusual case of a coronary artery fistula with the right atrium is described. Four months following the placement of a stent in a high grade, complex lesion of the proximal right coronary artery, restenosis, and contrast spill with rapid clearance into the right atrial space was evident on coronary angiogram. The calculated shunt fraction was trivial and hemodynamically insignificant.

Prevention of gastrointestinal cancer--the potential role of NSAIDs in colorectal cancer.

Gastrointestinal cancers are among the leading sites of cancer and leading causes of cancer-related deaths. Gastrointestinal cancers are often at an advanced stage at the time of diagnosis, and are highly resistant to non-surgical therapy. Thus early diagnosis and prevention are approaches that are under active investigation.

Research issues related to the oral health status of aging veterans.

This article reviews the research on the oral health status of aging veterans and offers recommendations for a research agenda that will improve their oral health and quality of life. Uniform definitions, or a "composite" measure, of overall oral health status would facilitate oral health status measurement. Because such a measure is not available, traditional oral epidemiologic indexes or treatment-needs data have been used to identify oral health status in aging veterans.

Enhancing the health of somatization disorder patients. Effectiveness of short-term group therapy.

To identify an effective method of treating patients with somatization disorder (SD), the authors conducted a randomized controlled clinical trial of group therapy with 70 SD patients. Primary care physicians treating all patients in the study received a consultation letter offering treatment recommendations for SD. The experimental patients were invited to attend eight group therapy sessions in addition to the consultation provided to their physicians; 45% attended one or more sessions.

Presence of Treponema denticola and Porphyromonas gingivalis in children correlated with periodontal disease of their parents.

Considerable evidence exists suggesting that periodontal disease is due to the overgrowth of a finite number of specific bacteria such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Treponema denticola, Bacteroides forsythus, and Prevotella intermedia, among others. Three of these organisms-P. gingivalis, T.

Clarithromycin as monotherapy for eradication of Helicobacter pylori: a randomized, double-blind trial.

Unlabelled: Current regimens to eradicate Helicobacter pylori usually consist of metronidazole plus a bismuth compound, as well as a third agent such as tetracycline. Such regimens are not ideal because organisms may be metronidazole-resistant, side-effects occur, and compliance is often poor. This randomized, double-blind study was designed to assess the ability of clarithromycin, a new macrolide antimicrobial, as monotherapy to eradicate H.

Reversible segmental left ventricular dysfunction after coronary angioplasty.

Patients with chronic segmental myocardial dysfunction may demonstrate improvement after coronary revascularization. To evaluate the early effects of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) on resting left ventricular segmental function, we obtained serial two-dimensional echocardiograms 1.1 +/- 0.

Pulmonary gas exchange during dialysis in patients with obstructive lung disease.

Hypoxemia occurs during routine hemodialysis and may contribute to morbidity, but its cause is not well understood. We reasoned that patients with COPD would be more vulnerable to abnormalities in gas exchange with dialysis. Thus, to investigate the cause of dialysis-related hypoxemia, we measured gas exchange in a group of stable dialysis patients with normal pulmonary function (n = 6) and a group of dialysis patients with COPD (n = 6).

Transcardiac serotonin concentration is increased in selected patients with limiting angina and complex coronary lesion morphology.

Serotonin is released by activated platelets and may act as a mediator to initiate or sustain certain unstable syndromes of ischemic heart disease in humans. To determine whether or not serotonin concentration increases across the coronary bed in patients with severe, limiting angina, we measured central aortic and coronary sinus serotonin concentrations by a sensitive radioenzymatic assay in 39 patients with coronary artery disease and 13 patients with minimal or no coronary artery lesions as detected by arteriography. Although no difference existed in the mean aortic or coronary sinus serotonin concentrations between these two groups, elevated coronary sinus serotonin concentrations were detected in 23% of those with coronary artery disease.

Improvement of oral colonic lavage with supplemental simethicone.

We have noted that colons of patients prepared for colonoscopy with Golytely, a nonabsorbable electrolyte lavage solution, frequently contain foam which may obscure small mucosal lesions. Therefore, a randomized, blinded controlled trial was performed to determine the prevalence of Golytely-induced foam and the effect of supplemental simethicone in decreasing the prevalence of foam. Foam was present in 32% of colons prepared with Golytely alone but in none of the colons prepared with Golytely supplemented with simethicone.

Effects of acetate and bicarbonate dialysate on left ventricular performance.

Whether bicarbonate dialysis (BiHD) improves left ventricular (LV) function more than acetate dialysis (AcHD) and whether AcHD exerts a negative inotropic effect remains controversial. To address this question, the LV contractile responses to both dialysate buffers were tested in six stable chronic dialysis patients not taking any cardiac or antihypertensive medicines. The patients were studied with echocardiography before and after an isovolemic dialysis (no weight change) with either buffer, and neither heart rate nor blood pressure were significantly altered during either procedure.

Plasma serotonin concentrations: validation of a sampling technique using long catheters.

Serotonin is released by activated platelets and may promote platelet aggregation and epicardial coronary artery constriction in animal models. Serotonin may have similar effects in humans and, thus may be a mediator of certain ischemic syndromes. However, the role of serotonin in human ischemic heart disease has not been studied.