Role of neuronal and inducible nitric oxide synthases in the guinea pig ileum myenteric plexus during in vitro ischemia and reperfusion

Background Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury leads to abnormalities in motility, namely delay of transit, caused by damage to myenteric neurons. Alterations of the nitrergic transmission may occur in these conditions. This study investigated whether an in vitro I/R injury may affect nitric oxide (NO) production from the myenteric plexus of the guinea pig ileum and which NO synthase (NOS) isoform is involved. Methods The distribution of the neuronal (n) and inducible (i) NOS was determined by immunohistochemistry during 60 min of glucose/oxygen deprivation (in vitro ischemia) followed by 60 min of reperfusion. The protein and mRNA levels of nNOS and iNOS were investigated by Westernimmunoblotting and real time RT-PCR, respectively. NO levels were quantified as nitrite/nitrate. Key Results After in vitro I/R the proportion of nNOSexpressing neurons and protein levels remained unchanged. nNOS mRNA levels increased 60 min after inducing ischemia and in the following 5 min of reperfusion. iNOS-immunoreactive neurons, protein and mRNA levels were up-regulated during the whole I/R period. A significant increase of nitrite/nitrate levels was observed in the first 5 min after inducing I/R and was significantly reduced by Nx-propyl-L-arginine and 1400 W, selective inhibitors of nNOS and iNOS, respectively. Conclusions & Inferences Our data demonstrate that both iNOS and nNOS represent sources for NO overproduction in ileal myenteric plexus during I/R, although iNOS undergoes more consistent changes suggesting a more relevant role for this isoform in the alterations occurring in myenteric neurons following I/R

SINFONI - Integral Field Spectroscopy at 50 milli-arcsecond resolution with the ESO VLT

SINFONI is an adaptive optics assisted near-infrared integral field spectrometer for the ESO VLT. The Adaptive Optics Module (built by the ESO Adaptive Optics Group) is a 60-elements curvature-sensor based system, designed for operations with natural or sodium laser guide stars. The near-infrared integral field spectrometer SPIFFI (built by the Infrared Group of MPE) provides simultaneous spectroscopy of 32 x 32 spatial pixels, and a spectral resolving power of up to 3300. The adaptive optics module is in the phase of integration; the spectrometer is presently tested in the laboratory. We provide an overview of the project, with particular emphasis on the problems encountered in designing and building an adaptive optics assisted spectrometer.Comment: This paper was published in Proc. SPIE, 4841, pp. 1548-1561 (2003), and is made available as an electronic reprint with permission of SPIE. Copyright notice added to first page of articl

Randomized trial on adjuvant treatment with FOLFIRI followed by docetaxel and cisplatin versus 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid for radically resected gastric cancer

Some trial have demonstrated a benefit of adjuvant fluoropirimidine with or without platinum compounds compared with surgery alone. ITACA-S study was designed to evaluate whether a sequential treatment of FOLFIRI [irinotecan plus 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid (5-FU/LV)] followed by docetaxel plus cisplatin improves disease-free survival in comparison with 5-FU/LV in patients with radically resected gastric cancer. Patients with resectable adenocarcinoma of the stomach or gastroesophageal junction were randomly assigned to either FOLFIRI (irinotecan 180 mg/m(2) day 1, LV 100 mg/m(2) as 2 h infusion and 5-FU 400 mg/m(2) as bolus, days 1 and 2 followed by 600 mg/m(2)/day as 22 h continuous infusion, q14 for four cycles) followed by docetaxel 75 mg/m(2) day 1, cisplatin 75 mg/m(2) day 1, q21 for three cycles (sequential arm) or De Gramont regimen (5-FU/LV arm). From February 2005 to August 2009, 1106 patients were enrolled, and 1100 included in the analysis: 562 in the sequential arm and 538 in the 5-FU/LV arm. With a median follow-up of 57.4 months, 581 patients recurred or died (297 sequential arm and 284 5-FU/LV arm), and 483 died (243 and 240, respectively). No statistically significant difference was detected for both disease-free [hazard ratio (HR) 1.00; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85-1.17; P = 0.974] and overall survival (OS) (HR 0.98; 95% CI: 0.82-1.18; P = 0.865). Five-year disease-free and OS rates were 44.6% and 44.6%, 51.0% and 50.6% in the sequential and 5-FU/LV arm, respectively. A more intensive regimen failed to show any benefit in disease-free and OS versus monotherapy

Localized superconducting to normal transition at the grain boundary for transport critical current in YBa2Cu3O7--d

International audienc

Visuospatial Deficits Are Associated with Pisa Syndrome and not Camptocormia in Parkinson's Disease

Background: Pisa syndrome (PS) and camptocormia (CC) are postural abnormalities frequently associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Their pathophysiology remains unclear, but the role of cognitive deficits has been postulated. Objectives: To identify differences in the neuropsychological functioning of patients with PD with PS or CC compared with matched patients with PD without postural abnormalities. Methods: We performed a case-control study including 57 patients with PD with PS (PS+) or CC (CC+) and 57 PD controls without postural abnormalities matched for sex, age, PD duration, phenotype, and stage. Patients were divided into four groups: PS+ (n = 32), PS+ controls (PS−, n = 32), CC+ (n = 25), and CC+ controls (CC−, n = 25). We compared PS+ versus PS− and CC+ versus CC− using a neuropsychological battery assessing memory, attention, executive functions, visuospatial abilities, and language. Subjective visual vertical (SVV) perception was assessed by the Bucket test as a sign of vestibular function; the misperception of trunk position, defined as a mismatch between the objective versus subjective evaluation of the trunk bending angle >5°, was evaluated in PS+ and CC+. Results: PS+ showed significantly worse visuospatial performances (P = 0.025) and SVV perception (P = 0.038) than their controls, whereas CC+ did not show significant differences compared with their control group. Reduced awareness of postural abnormality was observed in >60% of patients with PS or CC. Conclusions: Low visuospatial performances and vestibular tone imbalance are significantly associated with PS but not with CC. These findings suggest different pathophysiology for the two main postural abnormalities associated with PD and can foster adequate therapeutic and prevention strategies

SINFONI - Integral Field Spectroscopy at 50 milli-arcsecond resolution with the ESO VLT

SINFONI is an adaptive optics assisted near-infrared integral field spectrometer for the ESO VLT. The Adaptive Optics Module (built by the ESO Adaptive Optics Group) is a 60-elements curvature-sensor based system, designed for operations with natural or sodium laser guide stars. The near-infrared integral field spectrometer SPIFFI (built by the Infrared Group of MPE) provides simultaneous spectroscopy of 32 x 32 spatial pixels, and a spectral resolving power of up to 3300. The adaptive optics module is in the phase of integration; the spectrometer is presently tested in the laboratory. We provide an overview of the project, with particular emphasis on the problems encountered in designing and building an adaptive optics assisted spectrometer