Protective effect of leptin against ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat small intestine

BACKGROUND: The small intestine is extremely sensitive to ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury and a range of microcirculatory disturbances which contribute to tissue damage. Previous studies have shown that leptin plays an important physiological role in the microvasculature. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effects of leptin in I/R – induced mucosal injury in the small intestine. METHODS: Forty rats were divided into 5 groups (n = 8). Group I was subjected to a sham operation. Following mesenteric ischemia in group II (control); physiologic saline 1 cm(3), in group III; leptin 100 μg/kg, and physiologic saline 1 cm(3), in group IV; N(G)-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) 20 mg/kg, and physiologic saline 1 cm(3), in group V; leptin 100 μg/kg, L-NAME 20 mg/kg, and physiologic saline 1 cm(3 )were given intra-peritoneally. In these groups, an I/R procedure was performed by occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery for 45 min followed by 120 min reperfusion. After reperfusion, the small intestines were resected for malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) concentration and histopathologic properties. Mucosal lesions were scored between 0 and 5. Tissue MDA and NO concentration and histopathologic grades were compared statistically. RESULTS: Tissue MDA level significantly increased (P < 0.05), tissue NO level significantly decreased in group V animals, compared to group III animals respectively (P < 0.001). Histopathologically, intestinal injury significantly decreased in the leptin treated ischemic group. CONCLUSION: Leptin can be used safely in mesenteric occlusive diseases, since it induces NO formation and release in mesenteric vessels

Asymptotic energy of connected cubic circulant graphs

In this article, we compute the oblique asymptote of the energy function for all connected cubic circulant graphs. Moreover, we show that this oblique asymptote is an upper bound for the energies of two of the subclasses of Möbius ladder graphs and lower bound for the remaining four subclasses

Online Submissions: wjg.wjgnet.com World J Gastroenterol 2008 January 28; 14(4): 641-643 www.wjgnet.com World Journal of Gastroenterology ISSN 1007-9327

Combined duplication of the colon and vermiform appendix in an adult patien

Villus necrosis involving distal one-half villus involvement in group V rats (Grade III) (HE, ×100)

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Protective effect of leptin against ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat small intestine"</p><p>BMC Gastroenterology 2005;5():37-37.</p><p>Published online 21 Nov 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1334207.</p><p>Copyright © 2005 Hacioglu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.</p

Development of Gruenhagen's space at tip of a villus in group III rats (Grade II) (HE, ×100)

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Protective effect of leptin against ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat small intestine"</p><p>BMC Gastroenterology 2005;5():37-37.</p><p>Published online 21 Nov 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1334207.</p><p>Copyright © 2005 Hacioglu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.</p

Combined duplication of the colon and vermiform appendix in an adult patient

Combined duplication of the colon and vermiform appendix is one of the rare congenital anomalities of the alimentary tract. Only a few cases have been reported in the adult population. A 28-year-old man presented to the clinic with a mass in the right flank. Imaging showed only a hydronephrotic atrophic kidney. The final diagnosis was only available at exploration. Combined duplication of the tubular colon and vermiform appendix was confirmed histopathologically. The patient was treated with nephrectomy and complete resection of the duplicated colon and vermiform appendix. The patient recovered uneventfully, and has done well for the past year. This is believed to be one of the first reports of combined duplication of the tubular colon and vermiform appendix as a cause of hydronephrotic atrophic kidney in an adult patient

A multicenter retrospective study defining the clinical and hematological manifestations of brucellosis and pancytopenia in a large series: Hematological malignancies, the unusual cause of pancytopenia in patients with brucellosis

The aim of the study is to review the clinical manifestations and the hematological findings of brucellosis and pancytopenia, with or without hematological malignancies. The records of 202 patients with brucellosis were evaluated retrospectively. Among these cases of brucellosis seen in a 6 year period between April 1999 and June 2005, 30 patients with pancytopenia were identified. The most common manifestation was fever, followed by weight loss, anorexia, malaise, arthralgia, and hepatosplenomegaly. Bone marrow biopsies revealed hypercellularity or normocellularity. The most common findings in the bone marrow evaluation were histiocytic hemophagocytosis and granulomas. Among all cases, we diagnosed 5 hematological malignancies (1 acute myelogenous leukemia, 2 acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and 2 multiple myeloma) concurrently with brucellosis. The clinical symptoms and findings were similar in patients with and without malignancies. In cases with malignancies, the bone marrow biopsy revealed predominant primary disease involvement. Significant increases in ESR and CRP, severe anemia and thrombocytopenia were observed in patients with malignancies. Peripheral blood counts in patients without malignancies returned to normal after antibiotic treatment for brucellosis. However, pancytopenia in two patients with malignancies did not recover because of primary resistant disease. We conclude that while histiocytic hemophagocytosis may be considered as a major cause of pancytopenia, leukemic infiltration can also be an extreme and unusual cause of pancytopenia in patients in whom brucellosis was concurrently diagnosed with hematological malignancies