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Biomedical subjects

R Gunter

Publications and source records attributed to R Gunter.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

Renal artery embolization with diluted hot contrast medium: an experimental study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of diluted hot contrast medium to embolize the renal arteries in a canine model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Transcatheter embolization was performed in 15 dogs (five dogs in each phase: I, II, and control). The diluted hot contrast medium was heated to 90 degrees C--100 degrees C and 30--60 mL were injected into a renal artery of each dog in phase I (optimization studies) and II (efficacy studies). In the control group, balloon inflation was performed without injection of diluted hot contrast medium. The temperature measurement was performed on one dog in phase I by temperature probe. Follow-up angiography was performed immediately (n = 15), at 1 week (n = 9), at 1 month (n = 9), and after 3 months (n = 5). All dogs were killed and kidneys were removed for histologic examination. RESULTS: The procedure was performed successfully in all dogs. Follow-up angiography showed complete obstruction of the injected renal arteries in phases I and II. The microscopic findings showed acute full-thickness necrosis of the renal cortex and renal artery in phase I, and complete coagulative necrosis of the cortex, medulla, and intrarenal blood vessels in phase II. There were no histologic changes of renal veins, inferior vena cava (IVC), and aorta. There were nonspecific findings in the control group. CONCLUSION: This preliminary experimental study suggests that diluted hot contrast medium may be a safe agent for renal ablation without thrombus formation in the renal vein or IVC.

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Model phenylketonuria (PKU) in the albino rat: behaviroal, biochemical, and neuroanatomical effects.

Model phenylketonuria was induced in albino rats by injecting (at 1-20 days of age) and feeding (at 21-80 days) L-phenylalanine and D-L-para-chloro-phenylalanine. Behavioral testing on an eight-item battery occurred twice: first, whil the animals were either receiving the excess phenylalanines or not (original); and second, following a 90-day drug-free recovery period (retention). Results indicated drug-dependent deficits in learning and activity on both original and retention tests. Serum phenylalanine, serum tryptophan, and liver phenylalanine hydroxylase activity levels were positively correlated with the behavioral deficit. Clumped dense material in some myelin sheaths and associated degeneration of axons were found in experimental subjects.

Animals↗

Induction of enzymes by glucagon, glucose repression, adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate concentration during carcinogenesis and in Morris 6918A hepatoma.

We have studied glucagon induction of enzymes, adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate concentrations, and glucose repression in Morris 9618A hepatoma and in the liver of rats fed, for periods of up to 5 weeks, a solid diet containing 2-acetylaminofluorene or 3'-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene. While the basal levels of the enzymes serine dehydratase and tyrosine aminotransferase were the same as those found in control rats, their response to glucagon was reduced in experimental animals with or without tumors. However, the basal or glucagon-stimulated levels of adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate in the liver of rats given the carcinogens were not changed. In Morris 9618A hepatoma, these parameters were, likewise, comparable to those in control animals. When glucose was administered to carcinogen-treated or tumor-bearing rats that had received a single dose of glucagon, there was no suppression of the increase in activity of serine dehydratase and tyrosine aminotransferase observed after glucagon treatment alone. The loss of glucose repression was seen already at 2 to 3 weeks following initiation of the carcinogenic diets. As previous studies had established for normal liver, the hormone-induced high levels of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate remained unchanged also in Morris 9618A hepatoma and in rats given carcinogen. These results indicate that alterations in enzyme induction during chemical carcinogenesis are not the consequence of changes in adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate levels caused by carcinogens. The early disappearance of the glucose effect, which persists in slow-growing hepatomas, may be an expression of interference by carcinogens with the translation apparatus of the hepatic cell.

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