59 research outputs found
The reinforcing property of ethanol in the rhesus monkey
Rhesus monkeys received intravenous injections of ethanol during daily sessions contingent on their presses on an available lever. Under the standard conditions, when each response on the lever during a 3-h period each day resulted in an i.v. injection of 0.1 g/kg ethanol, the monkeys made between 30 and 50 responses/session and developed blood ethanol levels of approximately 400 mg%. Under this and other conditions of response-contingent delivery of ethanol, a negatively accelerated pattern of self-injection within sessions was demonstrated. Variations in the dose per injection (0.05–0.2 g/kg/injection) resulted in changes in the rate of lever-pressing; the number of self-injections was inversely related to dose. Ethanol intake increased only slightly with increased dose per injection. Noncontingent administration of various doses of i.v. ethanol immediately prior to a daily session decreased the number of responses; the total amount of ethanol administered (contingent plus noncontingent), however, remained constant over a pretreatment dose range of 1 to 3 g/kg. When access time to ethanol was increased from 3 to 6 h/day, the total amount of ethanol taken increased slightly. However, the blood ethanol levels at the end of a 6-h session closely approximated those obtained following 3-h sessions, indicating that during the last 3–4 h of the 6-h sessions, the rate of ethanol intake closely matched the rate of ethanol elimination.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46404/1/213_2004_Article_BF00426785.pd
Experimental assessment of pro-lymphangiogenic growth factors in the treatment of post-surgical lymphedema following lymphadenectomy
Introduction: Lymphedema is a frequent consequence of lymph node excision during breast cancer surgery. Current treatment options are limited mainly to external compression therapies to limit edema development. We investigated previously, postsurgical lymphedema in a sheep model following the removal of a single lymph node and determined that autologous lymph node transplantation has the potential to reduce or prevent edema development. In this report, we examine the potential of lymphangiogenic therapy to restore lymphatic function and reduce postsurgical lymphedema.
Methods: Lymphangiogenic growth factors (vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C)) and angiopoietin-2 (ANG-2) were loaded into a gel-based drug delivery system (HAMC; a blend of hyaluronan and methylcellulose). Drug release rates and lymphangiogenic signaling in target endothelial cells were assessed in vitro and vascular permeability biocompatibility tests were examined in vivo. Following, the removal of a single popliteal lymph node, HAMC with the growth factors was injected into the excision site. Six weeks later, lymphatic functionality was assessed by injecting 125Iodine radiolabeled bovine serum albumin (125I-BSA) into prenodal vessels and measuring its recovery in plasma. Circumferential leg measurements were plotted over time and areas under the curves used to quantify edema formation.
Results: The growth factors were released over a two-week period in vitro by diffusion from HAMC, with 50% being released in the first 24 hr. The system induced lymphangiogenic signaling in target endothelial cells, while inducing only a minimal inflammatory response in sheep. Removal of the node significantly reduced lymphatic functionality (nodectomy 1.9 ± 0.9, HAMC alone 1.7 ± 0.8) compared with intact groups (3.2 ± 0.7). In contrast, there was no significant difference between the growth factor treatment group (2.3 ± 0.73) and the intact group indicating improved function with the molecular factors. An increase in the number of regenerated lymphatic vessels at treatment sites was observed with fluoroscopy. Groups receiving HAMC plus growth factors displayed significantly reduced edema (107.4 ± 51.3) compared with nontreated groups (nodectomy 219.8 ± 118.7 and HAMC alone 162.6 ± 141).
Conclusions: Growth factor therapy has the potential to increase lymphatic function and reduce edema magnitude in an animal model of lymphedema. The application of this concept to lymphedema patients warrants further examination
Population structure, condition factor and reproductive period of Astyanax paranae (Eigenmann, 1914) (Osteichthyes: Characidae) in a small and old Brazilian Reservoir
Sexual Abuse-Current Medico-legal, Forensic and Psychiatric Aspects
Abstract
Violence against women and minors is a worldwide problem that has not yet been sufficiently acknowledged. There are many obstacles especially when sexual abuses have to be evaluated. These problems are present both when victims of sexual abuse are evaluated and when sex offenders are dealt with, especially when the offenders are juvenile sex offenders (JSO).
These issues give cause for great concern about prognosis, and the resulting psychosocial implications, and call for a special effort from the scientific community in identifying appropriate prevention and treatment methods.
This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part deals with the forensic and psychiatric features, such as diagnostic and therapeutic/rehabilitative strategies for JSO, while the second part analyzes the legal–medicine aspects related to rape/sexual assault in a European context
Influence of Inhaled Amiloride on Lung Fluid Clearance in Response to Normobaric Hypoxia in Healthy Individuals.
AIM: To investigate the role of epithelial sodium channels (ENaC) on lung fluid clearance in response to normobaric hypoxia, 20 healthy subjects were exposed to 15 hours of hypoxia (fraction of inspired oxygen [FiO2] = 12.5%) on two randomized occasions: (1) inhaled amiloride (A) (1.5 mg/5 mL saline); and (2) inhaled saline placebo (P). Changes in lung fluid were assessed through chest computed tomography (CT) for lung tissue volume (TV), and the diffusion capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO) and nitric oxide (DLNO) for pulmonary capillary blood volume (VC). Extravascular lung water (EVLW) was derived as TV-VC and changes in the CT attenuation distribution histograms were reviewed. RESULTS: Normobaric hypoxia caused (1) a reduction in EVLW (change from baseline for A vs. P, -8.5% ± 3.8% vs. -7.9% ± 5.2%, p  0.05), and (4) CT attenuation distribution became more negative, leftward skewed, and kurtotic (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Acute normobaric hypoxia caused a reduction in lung fluid that was unaffected by ENaC inhibition through inhaled amiloride. Although possible amiloride-sensitive ENaC may not be necessary to maintain lung fluid balance in response to hypoxia, it is more probable that normobaric hypoxia promotes lung fluid clearance rather than accumulation for the majority of healthy individuals. The observed reduction in interstitial lung fluid means alveolar fluid clearance may not have been challenged
Development of sentinel node localization and ROLL in breast cancer in Europe
The concept of a precise region in which to find the lymph nodes that drain the lymph directly from the primary tumor site can be traced back to a century ago to the observations of Jamieson and Dobson who described how cancer cells spread from cancer of the stomach in a single lymph node, which they called the â\u80\u9cprimary glandâ\u80\u9d. However, Cabanas was the first in 1977 to realize the importance of this concept in clinical studies following lymphography performed in patients with penile cancer. Thanks to Mortonâ\u80\u99s studies on melanoma in 1992, we began to understand the potential impact of the sentinel lymph node (SN) on the surgical treatment of this type of cancer. The use of a vital dye (blue dye) administered subdermally in the region surrounding the melanoma lesion led to the identification of the sentinel node, and the vital dye technique was subsequently applied to other types of solid tumors, e.g. breast, vulva. However, difficulties in using this technique in anatomical regions with deep lymphatic vessels, e.g. axilla, led to the development of lymphoscintigraphy, started by Alex and Krag in 1993 on melanoma and breast cancer and optimized by our group at European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan in 1996. Today, lymphoscintigraphy is still considered as the most reliable method for the detection of the SN. In 1996, a new method for the localization of non-palpable breast lesion called radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL) was also developed at IEO. Retrospective and prospective studies have since shown that the ROLL procedure permits the easy and accurate surgical removal of non-palpable breast lesions, overcoming the limitations of previous techniques such as the wire-guided localization. The purpose of this paper is to describe the evolution of SN biopsy and radioguided surgery in the management of breast cancer. We also include a review of the literature on the clinical scenarios in which SN biopsy in breast cancer is currently used, with particular reference to controversies and future prospects
The effect of physiological urine dilution on pregnancy test results in complicated early pregnancies
Randomised controlled trial exists of levonorgestrel intrauterine system for menorrhagia
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