Effect of chaetomellic acid on hematocrit, urine specific gravity and urinary volume values in a rat model of renal mass reduction

Chaetomellic acid (CA) is a potent and highly specific inhibitor of ras farnesyl-protein transferase that seems to reduce both functional and histological damage in uninephrectomized rats subjected to renal ischaemia-reperfusion injury. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of chronic treatment with CA on hematocrit, urine specific gravity and urinary volume in a model of renal mass reduction. Male Wistar rats were subjected to 5/6 nephrectomy (RMR) or sham-operated (SO). One week after surgery, rats have been placed in four experimental groups: RMR rats without treatment (n=13); RMR rats treated with CA (n=13); SO rats without treatment (n=13); SO rats treated with CA (n=13). CA was intraperitoneally administered in a dose of 0.23 μg/kg three times a week for three months. We observed that animals from SO groups showed a higher hematocrit and urine specific gravity, and a lower urinary volume than animals from RMR groups (p<0.05). We did not observe differences between treated and no treated animals. These results suggest that three months of treatment with CA does not have a beneficial effect on hematocrit, urine specific gravity and urinary volume. However, these are preliminary data that warrant a larger scale study

Simulator training in gastrointestinal endoscopy - from basic training to advanced endoscopic procedures

Simulator-based gastrointestinal endoscopy training has gained acceptance over the last decades and has been extensively studied. Several types of simulators have been validated and it has been demonstrated that the use of simulators in the early training setting accelerates the learning curve in acquiring basic skills. Current GI endoscopy simulators lack the degree of realism that would be necessary to provide training to achieve full competency or to be applicable in certification. Virtual Reality and mechanical simulators are commonly used in basic flexible endoscopy training, whereas ex vivo and in vivo models are used in training the most advanced endoscopic procedures. Validated models for the training of more routine therapeutic interventions like polypectomy, EMR, stenting and haemostasis are lacking or scarce and developments in these areas should be encouraged.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Metabolic Control in Patients With Phenylketonuria Pre- and Post-Sapropterin Loading Test

Abstract In Portugal, tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4)-responsive patients with phenylketonuria (PKU) are identified using a loading test (LT). Phenylalanine/natural protein (Phe/NP) intake is increased to elevate blood Phe prior to the LT. In a longitudinal retrospective study, the impact of Phe/NP titration post-LT in 58 patients (19.6 + 8.2 years) with PKU during 4 study periods (SPs) was examined. In SP1 (2010-2013), patients were diet treated only; in SP2 (2014), the Phe/NP titration was followed by the LT in SP3 (2015). In SP4 (2016), patients received diet treatment only (n ¼ 49) or BH4 þdiet (n ¼ 9). The median percentage blood Phe within the target range was higher in SP1 versus SP4 (64 [28-85] vs 45 [0-66]; P < .001). Our results suggest that transient Phe/NP titration, associated with a deliberate increase in NP, may adversely affect metabolic control. Controlled studies are necessary to examine the longer term impact of temporary increased NP with BH4 LT in non-BH4-responsive patients