Four cases of percutaneous treatment of hydatid cysts are reported. Cytologic examination of the cyst fluid is important to confirm the diagnosis in patients who did not develop antibodies. Gomori stain gives the best results in identifying the three elements of a hydatid cyst: scolices, hooklets and laminated membranes. Moreover, staining for viability assessment gives information about the success of drug treatment.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Acute effects of two natural corticosteroids on the kinetics of the Na+/H+ exchanger in rat renal brush-border membranes.

We studied the effect of adrenalectomy and acute hormone replacement, using physiological doses of natural corticosteroids, on the kinetics of the Na+/H+ exchanger in brush border membrane vesicles. We collected the data using the acridine orange uptake technique. Adrenalectomized (ADX) rats presented a decreased maximal rate (Vmax) when compared with sham-operated animals (30,000 versus 41,000 fluorescent units/min, respectively). Administration of corticosterone (B) to ADX rats restored Vmax to values above control (up to 66,000 fluorescent units/min). Smaller doses of 18-OH-B led to similar results. K(m) (16 mM) remained the same for all the groups. Amiloride behaved as a pure competitive inhibitor, with a Ki = 0.02 mM and an I50 = 98 microM (in the presence of 50 mM sodium gluconate). The presence of sodium in the external buffer, before adding the vesicles, inhibited the exchange, with an I50 = 2 mM. We observed, a significant decrease in the Na+/H+ exchanger under non-acidotic conditions in response to adrenalectomy. Acute administration of physiological doses of natural occurring corticosteroids reversed the effect.

18-Hydroxycorticosterone↗