The flexible bronchoscopic approach to lung volume reduction.

Surgical lung volume reduction is effective in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) because it improves the ratio between residual lung volume and total lung volume. The same effect may be achieved by inducing an iatrogenic atelectasis in one or more lung lobes using a flexible bronchoscopic approach. This article discusses the origin and the progress, up to date, of this new minimally invasive flexible bronchoscopic approach.

Effect of glyceryl trinitrate on proximal stomach musculature in normal volunteers.

Unlabelled: The effect of GTN on stomach is unknown although there is evidence that nitric oxide, the active component of GTN have a mediator role in the upper gastrointestinal tract. By the use of a newly developed barostat technique it was investigated the effect of GTN on gastric fundal tone and contractions.

Method: measurements were done 1 hour before an 1 hour after the administration of either 500 micrograms sublingual GTN and 5 mg buccal GTN or a placebo in 7 healthy individuals (14 experiments) by recording variations in the volume of air within an intragastric bag that was maintained at a constant pressure of 12 mmHg by the barostat.

Meigs' syndrome. A case report and review of literature.

A 31-year-old woman, with primary infertility associated with cervico-vaginal defect, presented with intermittent breathlessness often correlated by the patient with menses, cough and chest pain. The symptoms had lasted for 6 months, and were attributed to a pleurisy, which was confirmed at roentgenology and treated by frequent thoracentesis, evacuating in all over 15 liters of fluid. Several aetiologies were excluded, such as: viral, TB, L.

An overview of oncogenesis.

The paper reviews the actual knowledge in the field of oncogenesis, according to the oncogene theory of cancer. The main actions of proto-oncogenes during cellular proliferation are outlined and oncogenes are classified to their specific roles. The relationships between proto-, viral-, and cellular oncogenes are analyzed and the several steps of the evolution of a p-onc towards a c-onc are described.

Influence of cloprostenol in the experimentally induced ulcer in rats.

We have tested the action of cloprostenol a relatively stable analogue of PGF2 alpha in experimentally induced gastric ulcer in rats by contention stress or indomethacin. Our results show that CIPG, administered at higher doses than those inducing an luteolytic effect, has a gastroprotective effect both in the contention stress-induced ulcer (2.30 + 0.