Volume 107  ·   Issue 07  ·  1994

Using the model of adriamycin-induced nephrotic syndrome in rats, we studied the relationship between urine electrolyte excretion rates and proteinuria and determined the activity of Na+-K+-ATPase in the renal tissue of nephrotic rats. No relationship was found between the increased sodium reabsorption and proteinuria. But the impaired salt excretion was inversely related to the increase of Na+-K+-ATPase activity in the renal inner medulla. It is proposed that direct effect of adriamycin on renal tubule cells is the primary events, that the increased Na(+)-ATPase activity on basolateral membrane of renal tubule cells be an intrarenal factor which mediates the action of retention of salt by the kidney and that inner medullary collecting ducts might be one of the sites of the sodium retention in nephrotic rats.

Physiological diarrhea of baby during the period of breastfeeding often occurs. To investigate the relationship between mother's milk and the physiological diarrhea of baby, we measured the PGE2 levels in milk of 320 lactating women within 4 months of postpartum with radioimmunoassay and the mean value of PGE2 level was 216.8±145.2 ng/L. The PGE2 levels in mother's milk in the group with diarrhea were 286.5±142.2 ng/L, that of control group 130.4±76.3 ng/L. The difference was obviously significant (P<0.001). The physiological diarrhea of baby was positively related to the PGE2 level in mother's milk (r=0.75, P<0.01) i.e., the high PGE2 level in mother's milk may be an important cause of diseases. The observation on 102 cases of baby with severe physiological diarrhea showed a higher level of PGE2 in the mother's milk. 52 cases of lactating women in the treated group were given indomethacin, and after treatment the PGE2 level in mother's milk decreased obviously, and the diarrhea of baby disappeared. The effective rate was 96.15%. No side effects were found in both mother and baby.

The effects of mebendazole (Meb), albendazole (Alb) and albendazole sulfoxide (AlbSO) on metacestodes of Echinococcus granulosus have been studied. The results show that Meb and Alb exhibit less effect on protoscoleces in vitro, but in vivo the protoscolicidal effect of Meb is higher than that of Alb. Both Meb and Alb are efficacious in the treatment of mice infected with secondary cysts of E. granulosus. In terms of the minimal effective dose required, the occurrence of collapsed and shrunk cysts after treatment, the drug-induced damage on the germinal layer and the relationship between the drug content in the cyst wall and the damage of germinal layer, the effect of Meb on metacestodes of E. granulosus is higher than that of Alb. The results also indicated that lower drug absorption rate and thickening of the adventitia during longer disease course are the two major factors affecting the efficacy of Meb and Alb, hence suggesting that increase of Meb absorption may be expected to raise the therapeutic effect of the drug. Finally, Alb is not only metabolized to AlbSo and AlbSP in vivo, but also metabolized by the cysts exposed to Alb in vitro. Experimental chemotherapy showed that AlbSO is the major effective metabolite of Alb, and its curative dose is only one half of the parent compound.

Twenty patients undergoing open-heart valvular operations were divided randomly into two groups. Intermittent perfusion of cold crystalloid (St. Thomas Hospital solution) with hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in the hypothermic group and continuous administration of warm blood cardioplegia with normothermic CPB in the normothermic group were used respectively. The results of warm blood cardioplegia were superior to those of cold crystalloid. 70% of patients treated with the warm technique had spontaneous return of normal sinus rhythm shortly after removal of the aortic cross-clamp, compared with only 10% of the hypothermic group (P<0.05). The extracorporeal support time from releasing of aortic clamp to the weaning of CPB was significantly shorter in the normothermic group (33.50±3.78 min vs. 25.00±4.64 min, P<0.05). The postoperative ventilation support time was also much shorter than that of the hypothermic group (19.84±1.11 h vs. 38.98±16.55 h, P<0.05). More atrial beating occurred in the normothermic group (80% vs. 20%, P<0.05) during aortic clamping, and it is showed that continuous warm blood cardioplegia might not efficiently prevent the atrium from damage.

To evaluate the occlusion of arteries, 6 conic intravascular endoprosthetic stents of titanium-nickel alloy were implanted transluminally to the right external iliac arteries in 2 normal dogs and 4 normal pigs. The stent was characterized by ductility below 313 K (40 ℃) and restoration memory-shape between 313-319 K. The diameter of the large end of conic stent was 4.0 mm (dog) and 4.5 mm(pig). The topographic anatomy showed that the external iliac artery was near complete occlusion, with a very small residual lumen (about 1 mm in diameter) in dogs at 6 months, with complete occlusion in pigs at 8 months. The histopathological examination indicated that the arterial intima of the upper branch from the stented site was smooth, and that neither inflammatory cell infiltration nor foreign giant cell reaction was found. The newly formed granulation tissue inside the stent came from emboli organization. These results suggest that the shape-memory alloy stent has good biocompatibility and the conic intravascular endoprosthetic stent might completely occlude arterial blood flow.

We studied ultrastructurally the cancellous bone tissues of the upper femoral ends, collected from 12 patients undergoing endoprosthesis replacement for fractures of the femoral neck and from 7 fresh cadavers. The bone tissues were composed of meshwork of trabeculae, that constituted tier upon tier of anisotropic arch structures of different diameters and sizes. The arch structures of the cancellous bone tissues in the femoral heads assumed round or roundish configurations, whereas those of the femoral head-neck junctions revealed oval outlines and those of the femoral necks showed narrow oval profiles. The fine structures of the trabeculae in the femoral head could be divided into superficial zone, central zone, and transitional zone. Under weight-bearing, the central zone suited to sustain the load, while the superficial zone could produce elastic deformation lest fracture of the trabecaulae should ensue. The long axes of the oval arch structures of the femoral head-neck junction and the narrow oval arch structures of the femoral neck coincided with those of the femoral neck, thereby facilitating weight-bearing under physiological conditions. However, external violence in the form of either adduction or abduction force would act in a horizontal direction on the long axes of the oval and narrow oval arches so as to produce subcapital or transverse fracture of the femur in the aged.

Twenty-four guinea pigs with normal Preyer's reflex were exposed to the octave bands of noise centered at 63 Hz and 4 kHz, 110 dB SPL. The duration of exposure was 4 and 8 hours respectively. The permanent shift of the guinea pigs at the above two frequencies was at 4-8 kHz. As the duration of exposure were 4 hours, the threshold shift at 63 Hz was smaller than that at 4 kHz. But as the duration of exposure was 8 hours, the threshold shift at 63 Hz and 4 kHz was almost the same. No morphological change of the inner ear was observed in the guinea pigs exposed for 4 hours at the octave bands of noise centered at 63 Hz and 4 kHz, but ultrastructural abnormalities were noted. After the animals were exposed for 8 hours, morphological, ultrastructural changes in the inner ear were observed. The main pathologic changes were seen at the second turn of the cochlea. These changes in hearing physiology and pathology suggest that a high intensive low frequency noise can result in high frequency hearing loss and that the use of A-weighted levels of specific damage risk criteria for noise sources may be inappropriate.

Paraffin-embedded tissue of skin biopsy specimens taken retrospectively from 24 patients with cutaneous malignant lymphomas (CML) and 8 patients with cutaneous lymphoid infiltrates (CLI) and other dermatoses were studied retrospectively with PC10 immunostaining. The results show a statistical significant difference among PC10 indices for cutaneous genuine histiocytic lymphoma (CGHL), cutaneous germinal center cell-derived lymphomas (CGCCL), cutaneous peripheral T-cell lymphomas (CPTL), non-mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sezary's syndrome (SS), and MF when compared with those for CLI. There is a linear relationship between PC10 index and square root of PC10 density, both of which seem to have a parallel relationship to the severity of malignancy in CML. The nuclear volume of the positive tumor cell or lymphocyte with PC10 immunostaining may be also useful in differentiating CML from CLI.

Using a cell line derived from human lung cancer (AOI), we successfully established human xenografts in KSN nude mice, which showed high incidence of multiple spontaneous metastases. The highest incidence of metastasis in untreated hosts was observed in the spleen followed by the lungs and lymph nodes. The rate of metastasis reached 100% in the mice bearing large sized tumors, when metastasis to any organ or tissue was counted. Experimental radiotherapy caused remarkable redistribution of metastatic foci among different organs. Lung metastasis tended to decrease, while metastasis to the liver and the kidney was increased after radiotherapy. Radiation-induced production of cytokines was speculated to be responsible for such an alteration of metastasis pattern.

The effects of alveolar macrophage (Amϕ) conditioned media from interstitial lung disease (ILD) patients on fibroblast (FB), and the role of calcium (Ca2+) blockers and calmodulin (CaM) inhibitors on the proliferation of lung FB were studied. We found that the AMϕ conditioned media could stimulate FB cell proliferation and this effect could be abolished by Ca2+ blockers and CaM inhibitors. The results indicated that AMϕ was in activated state in ILD and released some kinds of cytokines to stimulate the proliferation of FB, and Ca,2+ CaM were partially responsible for these actions.

The human immunodeficiency virus, HIV has long been known to be associated with CD4+ T-lymphocytopenia. In clinical practice, a low CD4 count usually implies an underlying HIV infection until proven otherwise. Non-HIV related CD4 depletion is a rare phenomenon, but has caused much public concern. A Chinese lady with unexplained CD4+ T-lymphocytopenia is presented, followed by a review of the condition as well as its practical implications.