Pentaerythritol tetranitrate improves angiotensin II-induced vascular dysfunction via induction of heme oxygenase-1.

The organic nitrate pentaerythritol tetranitrate is devoid of nitrate tolerance, which has been attributed to the induction of the antioxidant enzyme heme oxygenase (HO)-1. With the present study, we tested whether chronic treatment with pentaerythritol tetranitrate can improve angiotensin II-induced vascular oxidative stress and dysfunction. In contrast to isosorbide-5 mononitrate (75 mg/kg per day for 7 days), treatment with pentaerythritol tetranitrate (15 mg/kg per day for 7 days) improved the impaired endothelial and smooth muscle function and normalized vascular and cardiac reactive oxygen species production (mitochondria, NADPH oxidase activity, and uncoupled endothelial NO synthase), as assessed by dihydroethidine staining, lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence, and quantification of dihydroethidine oxidation products in angiotensin II (1 mg/kg per day for 7 days)-treated rats.

Analysis of anti-proliferative and chemosensitizing effects of sunitinib on human esophagogastric cancer cells: Synergistic interaction with vandetanib via inhibition of multi-receptor tyrosine kinase pathways.

The receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1-3 (VEGFR1-3), are frequently expressed in gastric cancer and are putative therapeutic targets in this disease. We have investigated the anti-proliferative and chemosensitizing properties of the multitargeted small-molecule RTK inhibitors sunitinib and vandetanib in a panel of 4 human gastric and esophageal cancer cell lines. In the 1st instance, the expression of potential targets of these small-molecule inhibitors was examined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, and flow cytometry.

Confocal chromolaser endomicroscopy: a supplemental diagnostic tool prior to transanal endoscopic microsurgery of rectal tumors?

Purpose: Due to diagnostic advancements, preoperative staging of rectal tumors was significantly improved. However, difficulties in obtaining accurate results can sometimes be observed in the staging of adenomas and early rectal carcinomas (pT1/2). The aim of this study was to test if confocal chromolaser endomicroscopy (cCLEM) can help minimize this diagnostic gap.

The proinflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha -308 AA genotype is associated with polyglandular autoimmunity.

Data regarding polymorphisms of immunoregulatory genes in polyglandular autoimmunity (PGA) are lacking. We have analyzed whether the polymorphism of the proinflammatory cytokine gene TNF-alpha; -308 and mutations of the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene were associated with PGA in adults. Sixty-seven patients with PGA and 209 healthy controls were genotyped by multiplex minisequencing with capillary electrophoresis on an ABI PRISM-310 genetic analyzer.

Busulfan systemic exposure after oral administration of extemporeanously prepared high-dose busulfan capsules.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze patients' busulfan (BU) exposure after oral administration of extemporeanously prepared BU capsules prior to blood stem cell transplantation.

Methods: Patients were treated with 1 mg/kg body weight BU administered orally every 6h on each of 4 consecutive days prior to blood stem cell transplantation. Each BU dose was administered in 1 gelatine capsule to be swallowed and containing the individually calculated dose of pure BU active substance.

Vascular and biliary anatomy of the right hilar window: its impact on recipient morbidity and mortality for right graft live donor liver transplantation.

Background: Intrahepatic anatomic variations have been associated with both morbidity and mortality associated with live donor liver transplantation. The aim of our study was to evaluate central hilar and peripheral segmental vascular/biliary anatomy in right graft living donor liver transplantation.

Methods: From January 2003 to August 2007, three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) reconstructions and virtual 3D hepatectomies were performed in 71 consecutive right graft live liver donors.

Orthotopic liver transplantation: T-tube or not T-tube? Systematic review and meta-analysis of results.

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes after duct-to-duct anastomoses with or without biliary T-tube in orthotopic liver transplantation.

Methods: We pooled the outcomes of 1027 patients undergoing choledocho-choledochostomy with or without T-tube in 9 of 46 screened trials by means of fixed or random effects models.

Results: The "without T-tube" and "with T-tube" groups had equivalent outcomes for: anastomotic bile leaks or fistulas, choledocho-jejunostomy revisions, dilatation and stenting, hepatic artery thromboses, retransplantation, and mortality due to biliary complications.

Proteomics in autoimmune thyroid eye disease.

Ocular and systemic autoimmune diseases impair the proteome patterns of tear fluid. To learn more about the complex pathological processes in autoimmune thyroid eye disease (TED) it is essential to get detailed information on these proteins. Therefore, the purpose of this prospective and controlled study was to detect and evaluate possible changes in the proteomic patterns in tear fluid of patients with TED.

A novel mutation in the DNASE1 gene is related with protein instability and decreased enzyme activity in thyroid autoimmunity.

A deficiency in the DNase enzyme, and thereby, a failure to remove DNA from nuclear antigens promotes disease susceptibility to autoimmune disorders. This study examined in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) whether a reduced DNase activity is associated with sequence variations in the DNASE1 gene. The study included 18 patients with AITD, their 10 relatives, and 111 unrelated healthy controls.

Liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma with intrahepatic lymphatic invasion: case reports.

Multiple studies addressing liver transplantation (OLT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have identified various prognostic determinants of tumor recurrence and decreased patient survival. However, little information is available on the impact of intrahepatic lymphatic invasion on tumor recurrence and survival after OLT for HCC. Intrahepatic lymphatic invasion was observed in 1.

Eurotransplant special request for high-urgency status after liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: a case report.

Hepatic artery thrombosis after liver transplantation remains a major indication for retransplantation. We report the case of a 49-year-old man with a hepatocellular carcinoma in the setting of cirrhosis associated with chronic hepatitis B and C infections who underwent split liver transplantation. The patient experienced a complicated postoperative course, characterized by 2 relaparotomies for necrosis of segment IV, and a late hepatic artery thrombosis, first discovered on postoperative day 20.

Incidence of liver retransplantation and its effect on patient survival.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review our institutional experience with re-liver transplantation (OLT) after split and full-size OLT.

Patients And Methods: We evaluated data corresponding to retransplanted patients over an 8-year period who underwent deceased donor OLT at our institution. Variables analyzed included indications for primary OLT, and re-OLT, the type of graft used during the initial versus re-OLT, the time from initial to re-OLT, and patient survival after re-OLT.

Long-term results after liver transplantation with "livers that nobody wants" within Eurotransplant: a center's experience.

Background: Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) represents the only curative treatment for end-stage liver disease, but its application is limited because of organ shortages. The purpose of this study was to review the long-term outcomes after OLT during a 2-year period of 45 rescue offers organs within Eurotransplant.

Patients And Methods: Forty-five deceased donor liver allografts had been officially offered to and rejected by other transplantation centers 162 times prior to our acceptance.

Liver transplantation as a primary indication for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a single-center experience.

Background: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is not a widely accepted indication for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The present study describes our institutional experience with patients who underwent transplantation for ICC as well as those with ICC who underwent transplantation with the incorrect diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Patients And Methods: Data corresponding to ICC patients were reviewed for the purposes of this study.

Selective transarterial chemoembolization of advanced hepatocellular carcinomas: a reasonable palliative option.

Background: The purpose of this study was to provide information concerning the performance of selective transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) as a palliative treatment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), also in the case of multifocal lesions.

Patients And Methods: We reviewed prospectively collected data on 43 patients with cirrhosis and HCC who underwent selective TACE as a palliative treatment. Patients were assigned to one of two groups: (1) those with one to three HCC lesions, and (2) those with four or more HCC lesions.

A new systematic classification of peripheral anatomy of the right hepatic duct: experience from adult live liver donor transplantation.

Objective: The peripheral intrahepatic biliary anatomy, especially at the sectorial level on the right side, has not been adequately described. The purpose of our study was to systematically describe this complex anatomy in clinically applicable fashion.

Patients And Methods: We analyzed three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) imaging reconstructions of 139 potential living liver donors evaluated at our institution between January 2003 and June 2007.

Anatomical classification of the peripheral right hepatic duct: early identification of a preventable source of morbidity and mortality in adult live donor liver transplantation.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of our classification on right graft adult live donor liver transplantation (ALDLT) outcomes.

Methods: Three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) reconstructions were used to classify the hilar and sectorial biliary anatomy of 71 consecutive live liver donors. Four possible clinical types were defined, based on the normal (N) or abnormal (A) features of the corresponding hilar/sectorial ducts: type I, N/N; type II, N/A; type III, A/N; and type IV, A/A.

Intrahepatic biliary anatomy derived from right graft adult live donor liver transplantation.

Objective: The successful management of the bile duct in right graft adult live donor liver transplantation requires knowledge of both its central (hilar) and distal (sectorial) anatomy. The purpose of this study was to provide a systematic classification of its branching patterns to enhance clinical decision-making.

Patients And Methods: We analyzed three-dimensional computed tomography (3-D CT) imaging reconstructions of 139 potential live liver donors evaluated at our institution between January 2003 and June 2007.

Hepatic hilar and sectorial vascular and biliary anatomy in right graft adult live liver donor transplantation.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to analyze vascular and biliary variants at the hilar and sectorial level in right graft adult living donor liver transplantation.

Methods: From January 2003 to June 2007, 139 consecutive live liver donors underwent three-dimensional computed tomography (3-D CT) reconstructions and virtual 3-D liver partitioning. We evaluated the portal (PV), arterial (HA), and biliary (BD) anatomy.

Liver "compliance": a previously unrecognized preoperative predictor of small-for-size syndrome in adult living donor liver transplantation.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of liver compliance on computed tomography (CT) volumetry and to determine its association with postoperative small-for-size syndrome (SFSS).

Patients And Methods: Unenhanced, arterial, and venous phase CT images of 83 consecutive living liver donors who underwent graft hepatectomy for adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation (ALDLT) were prospectively subjected to three-dimensional (3-D) CT liver volume calculations and virtual 3-D liver partitioning. Graft volume estimates based on 3-D volumetry, which subtracted intrahepatic vascular volume from the "smallest" (native) unenhanced and the "largest" (venous) CT phases, were subsequently compared with the intraoperative graft weights.

Bone mineral density and vitamin D status in female and male patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip.

Objective: Osteoporosis (OP), osteoarthritis (OA) and vitamin D deficiency are age-related disorders. We investigated the association between bone mineral density (BMD), vitamin D and OA in patients undergoing total hip or knee replacements.

Method: In total, 82 women and 35 men with mean ages of 70 and 68 years, respectively, were recruited for the study.

Oncological outcome after local excision of rectal carcinomas.

Background: Local excision (LE) of T1 rectal cancer yields low recurrence rates. However, more frequent recurrences with unknown states of high-risk T1/T2 tumors are risk factors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if, after LE, immediate reoperation is required, or awaiting salvage surgery is sufficient.

A case control study of statin and magnesium administration in patients after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: incidence of delayed cerebral ischemia and mortality.

Objective: To analyse the effect of the implementation of statin and magnesium treatment on delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) and 14 day mortality in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Methods: Retrospective, single-center, observational case control study. One hundred SAH patients received either simvastatin and magnesium, solely statin or no treatment.

Comparison between minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy and conventional thyroidectomy: is there any evidence-based information?

Background: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT) affords comparable safety and efficacy as to the open conventional surgery in dealing with patients with small thyroid nodules.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials comparing the MIVAT with open thyroidectomy were ascertained by methodical search using Medline, Embase, Pubmed, and The Cochrane Library. Primary meta-analysis outcomes were adverse events (laryngeal nerve palsy and hypoparathyroidism), and cosmesis and secondary outcomes were operative time, blood loss, and early and late postoperative pain.