The effect of spontaneous respiration on esophageal variceal flow was evaluated using 5 MHz color flow Doppler echography. Twenty-one patients with esophageal varices, of whom 19 had liver cirrhosis (95%), were examined with a convex array transesophageal transducer. The direction and velocity of the variceal flow during inhalation and exhalation could be inferred from the color, its brightness or the Doppler time-velocity spectrum. The mean intravariceal flow velocity was significantly higher during inhalation (20.6 cm per sec) than in exhalation (11.5 cm per sec; p less than 0.01). The direction of intravariceal flow at any given point did not change throughout the respiratory cycle. However, a combination of real-time color flow imaging and the doppler time-velocity spectrum revealed that, when the sampling point was near the peak of the curve of the varix, the spectrum falsely indicated reversal of direction between inhalation and exhalation. This semiinvasive method, which yields anatomical and physiological information simultaneously, appears to be very useful for the study of variceal flow.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Treatment of malignant tracheobronchial stenosis by Dacron mesh-covered Z-stents.

Z-stents partially covered with an expandable Dacron mesh into which epinephrine and thrombin were infiltrated, were used to reopen both mainstem bronchi, stenosed by bronchogenic carcinoma and to deliver hemostatic agents to the lesion. On follow-up 4 and 6 weeks later, airway patency was retained, the tumor surface was compressed, and the glossy surface of the stent suggested that it was covered with mucosa. For treatment of airway stenosis due to cancer invasion, a stent covered with a Dacron mesh sheet is thought to be effective in compressing the tumor and preventing tumor ingrowth into the stent.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A dedicated Z-stent for acquired saber-sheath tracheobronchomalacia.

The tracheobronchial lumen has a continuous horseshoe arch morphology. We formed Z-stents accordingly to support the weakened cartilagenous portions. With this type of stent we treated a patient with acquired saber-sheath type tracheobronchomalacia (TBM), Rayl's type II, Johnson's grade III, whose condition was aggravated even under positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) therapy. The patient improved gradually. No immediate complication was observed. Bronchofiberscopic examination revealed that the tracheobronchial arcade was closely strut-braced and showed no expiratory collapse. Six months later, when the patient was intubated due to asthmatic attacks, tissue ingrowth through the stent was found and removed. There was no recurrence of TBM. The patient died 2 years later of pneumoconiosis.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Transesophageal real-time two-dimensional Doppler echography--a new method for the evaluation of azygos venous flow.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Azygos Vein↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Brain uptake of flurazepam and of N1-desalkyl flurazepam after administration of flurazepam to the cat.

A gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric procedure was employed to identify flurazepam and several of its metabolites in the plasma, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and brain of cats after an iv injection of flurazepam. Following tissue redistribution, flurazepam was lost from plasma with a mean half-time of 1.4 hr; although usually not detectable in plasma by 24 hr, significant quantities were found in the brain at this time, particularly in the corpus callosum. N1-Hydroxyethyl flurazepam appeared rapidly in plasma following iv flurazepam, peaked at about 40 min, and then declined with a mean half-time of 2.1 hr. N1-Desalkyl flurazepam accumulated in plasma in the first 6 hr after flurazepam was injected, and then declined slowly with a mean half-time of about 50 hr. At 24 hr, corpus callosum concentrations of the N1-desalkyl flurazepam exceeded those of flurazepam by 16- to 63-fold and produced brain/plasma ratios of 6 to 62 in three cats. CSF concentrations of flurazepam and N1-desalkyl flurazepam did not reflect brain concentrations but only the estimated plasma fractions of the unbound drugs. The results suggest that long term central effects of iv flurazepam are mediated to a large extent by the N1-desalkyl flurazepam, in species in which that metabolite accumulates.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

1 alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and all-trans-retinoic acid inhibit the growth of a lung cancer cell line.

The secosteroid 1 alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol) and retinoic acid are the major biologically active metabolites of vitamins D and A, respectively. Their antitumor activity has been observed in several cancer cells in vitro apart from lung cancer cells. The purpose of this study was to examine the possible effects of the agents on lung cancer cell lines. The responses of five lung cancer cell lines to calcitriol or all-transretinoic acid (RA) were assessed by a colorimetric MTT assay. Calcitriol inhibited growth in one of the tested cell lines, i.e. EBC-1 squamous cell carcinoma, dose dependently. RA also exhibited the same effect in EBC-1 cells. However neither agent affected the growth of other lung cancer cell lines. Subsequently we examined the mRNA expression of vitamin D receptor (VDR) and retinoic acid receptor (RAR alpha) in these lung cancer cells by quantitative RT-PCR. EBC-1 cells expressed high levels of mRNA for both VDR and RAR alpha, while other cell lines expressed much lower mRNA levels for the receptors. These data suggest that the growth inhibitory effects of the vitamins are associated with mRNA expression for VDR and RAR alpha.

Actins↗