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PubMed1995

Specificity of different organic nitrates to elicit NO formation in rabbit vascular tissues and organs in vivo.

1. In the present study we assessed the formation of nitric oxide (NO) from classical and thiol-containing organic nitrates in vascular tissues and organs of anaesthetized rabbits, and established a relationship between the relaxant response elicited by nitroglycerin (NTG) and NO formation in the rabbit isolated aorta. Furthermore, the effect of isolated cytochrome P450 on NO formation from organic nitrates was investigated. 2. Rabbits received diethyldithiocarbamate (DETC; 200 mg kg-1 initial bolus i.p. and 200 mg kg-1 during 20 min, i.v.) and either saline, or one of the following organic nitrates: nitroglycerin (NTG, 0.5 mg kg-1), isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), N-(3-nitratopivaloyl)-L-cysteine ethylester (SPM 3672), S-carboxyethyl-N-(3-nitratopivaloyl)-L-cysteine ethylester (SPM 5185), at 10 mg kg-1 each. After 20 min the animals were killed, blood vessels and organs were removed, and subsequently analyzed for spin-trapped NO by cryogenic electron spin resonance (e.s.r.) spectroscopy. 3. In the saline-treated control group, NO remained below the detection limit in all vessels and organs. In contrast, all of the nitrates tested elicited measurable NO formation, which was higher in organs (liver, kidney, heart, lung, spleen) (up to 4.8 nmol g-1 20 min-1) than in blood vessels (vena cava, mesenteric bed, femoral artery, aorta) (up to 0.7 nmol g-1 20 min-1). Classical organic nitrates (NTG, ISDN) formed NO preferentially in the mesenteric bed and the vena cava, while the SPM compounds elicited comparable NO formation in veins and arteries. 4. Using a similar spin trapping technique, NO formation was assessed in vitro in phenylephrine-precontracted rabbit aortic rings. The maximal relaxation elicited by a first exposure (10 min) to NTG (0.3 to 10 microM) was positively correlated (r = 0.8) with the net increase (NTG minus basal) of NO spin-trapped during a second exposure to the same concentration of NTG in the presence of DETC. 5. Cytochrome P450 purified from rabbit liver enhanced NO formation in a NADPH-dependent fashion from NTG, but not from the other nitrates, as assessed by activation of purified soluble guanylyl cyclase. 6. We conclude that the vessel selective action of different organic nitrates in vivo reflects differences in vascular NO formation. Thus, efficient preload reduction by classical organic nitrates can be accounted for by higher NO formation in venous capacitance as compared to arterial conductance and resistance vessels. In contrast, NO is released from cysteine-containing nitrates (SPMs) to a similar extent in arteries and veins, presumably independently of an organic nitrate-specific biotransformation. Limited tissue bioavailability of NTG and ISDN might account for low NO formation in the aorta, while true differences in biotransformation seem to account for differences in NO formation in the other vascular tissues.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Meta-analysis: the efficacy of strategies to prevent organ disease by cytomegalovirus in solid organ transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus (CMV), the most common opportunistic viral infection in solid organ transplant recipients, is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy of universal prophylaxis and preemptive approaches in preventing CMV organ disease and other complications in solid organ transplant recipients. DATA SOURCES: Using no language restrictions, the authors searched the following databases from their inception through May 2005: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Evidence-Based Medicine. The authors also reviewed abstracts from scientific meetings and contacted experts and pharmaceutical companies. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized, controlled trials that evaluated antiviral strategies for preventing CMV and associated complications in solid organ transplant recipients were selected. DATA EXTRACTION: Two reviewers independently extracted and assessed the data. DATA SYNTHESIS: The authors found 17 trials involving 1980 patients. Compared with placebo or no therapy, both universal prophylaxis (odds ratio [OR], 0.20 [95% CI, 0.13 to 0.31]) and preemptive strategies (OR, 0.28 [CI, 0.11 to 0.69]) reduced CMV organ disease. However, only universal prophylaxis seemingly reduced CMV organ disease in subgroups of patients at highest risk (donors with positive CMV serostatus and recipients with negative CMV serostatus and induction with antibodies). Both strategies reduced the rate of allograft rejection. Only universal prophylaxis statistically significantly reduced bacterial and fungal infections (OR, 0.49 [CI, 0.36 to 0.67]) and death (OR, 0.62 [CI, 0.40 to 0.96]). Both acyclovir and ganciclovir statistically significantly prevented CMV organ disease in the universal prophylaxis trials. LIMITATIONS: Studies were of modest size, and few studies assessed all outcomes. Studies did not always provide data that discriminated between CMV organ disease and CMV syndrome or data about the timing of CMV organ disease. CONCLUSIONS: Universal prophylaxis and preemptive strategies are beneficial in preventing CMV organ disease in solid organ transplant recipients. Both strategies are associated with a reduction in allograft rejection, but current data suggest that only universal prophylaxis reduces bacterial and fungal infections and death. Acyclovir and ganciclovir are both effective for universal prophylaxis.

Antiviral Agents↗
PubMed1995

Deficiency of complement factor C5 reduces early mortality but does not prevent organ damage in an animal model of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of complement factor C5 in a model of zymosan-induced multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. DESIGN: Experimental animal study. SETTING: Central animal laboratory of a university hospital. SUBJECTS: Twenty-five C5-deficient B2D10/Old and 25 C5-sufficient B2D10/New mice. INTERVENTIONS: On day 0, all mice received an intraperitoneal injection with zymosan suspended in paraffin in a dose of 1 mg/g body weight. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Between days 0 and 12, biological parameters (temperature, body weight, and clinical condition) were measured daily and mortality was monitored. Clinical condition was assessed as a symptom score by blindly grading the degree of lethargy, conjunctivitis, diarrhea, and ruffled fur of each mouse on a 2-point scale (maximum score of 4). On day 12, all surviving mice were killed and relative organ weights of lungs, liver, spleen, and kidneys were calculated. Relative organ weight was defined as (organ weight/body weight) x 100%. Zymosan administration induced a typical triphasic illness. Deterioration of the clinical condition, as indicated by the symptom score, and the decrease in temperature and body weight in the acute phase were all significantly less severe in C5-deficient mice (p < .005). In the late phase, no differences could be noticed in the courses of these biological parameters. Overall mortality was 2 (8%) of 25 in C5-deficient mice and 8 (32%) of 25 in C5-sufficient mice (p = .049), a difference that was mainly due to a difference in the acute phase. Organ damage, assessed as the relative organ weights, did not show any statistical differences for any organ between both strains. CONCLUSIONS: Complement factor C5 appears to play an important role in the acute hyperdynamic septic response in this model. However, deficiency of C5 could not prevent organ damage in the late multiple organ dysfunction syndrome phase. This finding suggests that other factors must be more important in the development of the inflammatory response leading to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.

Aging↗
PubMed1987

[Status of organ transplantation of the kidney, liver and small intestine: aspects of biological and artificial organ replacement].

Substitution of all functions of an organ failure is characteristic for organ transplantation, whilst artificial organ supply is confined to some essential functions. But technical organ substitution would be unlimited in performance, in contrast to organ transplantation, which depends on availability of human organs. Thus, according to the example in substitution of renal failure, those, organ transplantation and technical organ supply have to be worked out furthermore in other organ systems, thus in liver and small intestine substitution. In future, technical supply will change to biotechnical methods and organ grafting will develop to a long lasting therapeutic procedure.

Artificial Organs↗
PubMed1995

A controlled study of hepatitis C transmission by organ transplantation. The New England Organ Bank Hepatitis C Study Group.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be transmitted by transplantation of cadaver organs from donors with antibody to HCV (anti-HCV); therefore, transplantation of organs from anti-HCV positive donors to anti-HCV-negative recipients has been discouraged. We have looked at outcomes in recipients of organs from anti-HCV positive and negative donors to determine whether this advice is well-founded. Stored sera from 716 consecutive cadaver organ donors procured by the New England Organ Bank between 1986 and 1990 were tested for anti-HCV by a first-generation ELISA (ELISA1); 13 (1.8%) were positive. 29 recipients who received organs from these donors were the study group. 37 donors were randomly selected from 703 ELISA1-negative cadaver organ donors. 74 recipients of organs from these 37 donors were the control group. Clinical records were reviewed and recipient sera were tested for anti-HCV with a second-generation ELISA (ELISA2), and HCV RNA was tested for by polymerase chain reaction. Median post-transplant follow-up was 42 and 49 months for study and control groups. Post-transplantation prevalence of anti-HCV and HCV RNA was 67% and 96% among recipients from anti-HCV-positive donors, and 20% and 18% among recipients from anti-HCV-negative donors (p < 0.001). Post-transplantation non-A, non-B hepatitis, graft loss, and death were observed in 55%, 52%, and 31% among recipients of organs from anti-HCV-positive donors, and 16%, 53%, and 33% among recipients from anti-HCV-negative donors. In a proportional hazards model, the relative risks for non-A, non-B hepatitis, graft loss, and death among recipients from anti-HCV-positive donors were 4.37 (95% CI 1.97-9.70), 0.93 (0.51-1.70), and 0.89 (0.41-1.93). Transmission of HCV infection by organ transplantation increased the risk of liver disease among recipients. However, after 3.5 years, donor HCV infection did not adversely affect patient survival or graft survival.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Multiple organ system failure in critically ill cirrhotic patients. A comparison of two multiple organ dysfunction/failure scoring systems.

OBJECTIVES: The prognosis for critically ill cirrhotic patients depends on the extent of hepatic and extrahepatic organ dysfunction/failure. We hypothesize that a graded multiple organ dysfunction score, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), would provide more descriptive and discriminative power for predicting the hospital mortality for critically ill cirrhotic patients than the classical organ system failure (OSF) score, which defines organ failure as an all-or-none phenomenon. METHODS: 160 patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis were admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) from January 2002 to June 2003. Information considered necessary for calculating the Child-Pugh, OSF and SOFA scores on ICU admission was collected prospectively. RESULTS: Hepatitis B infection was the most common cause of liver cirrhosis. A significantly progressive increase in mortality rate was associated with OSF and SOFA scores (p < 0.001). Close correlation between OSF and SOFA scores (p < 0.001) suggested that both systems evaluated the same event. In patients with similar organ dysfunction, the number of failed organ system(s) was significantly higher among non-survivors. However, no correlation existed between the SOFA scores and mortality rate in patients with the same OSF number. Meanwhile, both OSF and SOFA scores displayed excellent discriminative power (areas under receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) were 0.906 and 0.892, respectively), while Child-Pugh scores clearly performed more poorly (AUROC 0.712). Both OSF and SOFA demonstrate a good fit using the Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test. CONCLUSIONS: Both OSF and SOFA scores are excellent tools for predicting prognosis for cirrhotic patients admitted to ICU. Both of them are superior to Child-Pugh score. Hospital mortality for critically ill cirrhotic patients occurs owing to severe failure of a relatively few organs, rather than because of an accumulation of mild dysfunction in many organ systems. Graded organ dysfunction scales provide no further benefit for predicting hospital mortality for critically ill cirrhotic patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Precision-cut organ slices to investigate target organ injury.

Drug-induced organ injury is a multifaceted process, involving numerous cell types and mediators, and remains a significant safety issue in pharmaceutical development and clinical therapy. Organ slices, an in vitro model representing the multicellular, structural and functional features of in vivo tissue, is a promising model for elucidating mechanisms of drug-induced organ injury and for characterising species susceptibilities. Time- and concentration-dependent drug-induced effects on organ slice gene expression, function and morphology are providing insight into the molecular and biochemical pathways leading to organ dysfunction, an altered morphology and the induction of repair pathways. Human organ slice studies are valuable for bridging the extrapolation of animal-derived data and for identifying mechanisms relevant for humans. The liver is the major organ used in organ slice studies; however, the utility of extrahepatic-derived slices, as well as cocultures for investigating multiple organ involvement in tissue injury is increasing. Organ slice investigations can further our understanding of the cell types and cell interactions involved in drug-induced injury and the consequences of drug-induced off-target effects for identifying compound liabilities that will impact safety.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Organ donor index: a benchmark for comparing hospital organ donor rates.

OBJECTIVE: To develop organ donor indices to assess donor rates of individual hospitals. DESIGN: Data from hospital databases were retrospectively reviewed for patient separation ICD-9-CM codes (i.e., diagnostic codes from the International classification of diseases, 9th revision, clinical modification) to identify and categories actual and potential organ donors. Organ donor indices for groups of codes and for individual hospitals were determined by dividing the number of actual donors by the total number of patients who died with the same separation ICD-9-CM codes. SETTING: The three South Australian adult tertiary hospitals in 1988-1995. PATIENTS: The 154 actual organ donors, and all patients aged less than 71 years who died with the same groups of ICD-9-CM codes as the organ donors. RESULTS: Organ donors could be classified by three groups of ICD-9-CM codes specifying diseases or pathological processes that could result in brain death. These groups were head injury (44.2% of donors), cerebrovascular accident (CVA) (42.2%), and eight "other" codes (13.6%). Differences between the head injury donor indices for the three hospitals were not significant (Hospital A, 19.1%; Hospital B, 24%; Hospital C, 21%), but there were significant interhospital differences in donor indices for the CVA group (A, 11.2%; B, 5.7%; C, 5.1%; P < 0.05) and the "other" group (A, 3.6%; B, 0.7%; C, 0.3%; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: ICD-9-CM codes can be used to describe organ donors and hospital populations from which potential organ donors may be found. The casemix-controlled organ donor indices can be used to compare the organ donor rates of individual hospitals and to examine reasons for low rates (other than purely casemix variation).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Reduced medication in organic farming with emphasis on organic dairy production.

Medication is an important focus area in organic animal husbandry. The combination of goals relating to improved animal welfare and reduced use of chemicals in general creates a common wish to reduce medication. Based on data from current Danish research projects in organic dairy farming, one specific organic medication pattern or policy cannot be described. The disease treatment pattern is influenced by many factors, e.g. the interaction with colleagues, veterinarians and agricultural advisors. No significant difference could be found with regard to incidence of mastitis treatments or somatic cell counts in 27 organic and 57 conventional herds. A marked tendency to shorter treatment periods in relation to mastitis treatments was described for organic farms in comparison with conventional farms (1.9 days versus 3.2 days (5 organic and 7 conventional herds)). In a study of development of health advisory service in organic herds, the dialogue between farmer, veterinarian and agricultural cattle advisor changed the treatment pattern markedly during a period of 6 months. Among important future challenges for veterinarians in organic farming is pointed at the constructive, open, and critical interaction with the single organic farmer as well as the organic animal husbandry system in general.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed2004

[Influence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on environmental behaviors of organic pollutants in soils].

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important component of solutions in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems through its influence on acidity, nutrient availability, and toxicity. DOM could enhance the apparent solubility of organic pollutants and alter adsorption-desorption equilibrium of organic pollutants on soil. The enhancement of organic pollutants desorption in the presence of DOM could facilitate the mobility of organic pollutants in soil. On the other hand, the sorption of DOM by solid sorbents in soil could also enhance the retention of DOM-associated organic pollutants in soil. Furthermore, as a photosensitizer, DOM could promote the photogradation of organic pollutants in soil. And under certain condition, DOM also affected the hydrolysis of organic pollutants in soil solution. The effects of DOM on environmental behaviors of organic pollutants in soils were related to the physico-chemical characteristics of organic pollutants, DOM, and soil.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2004

The use of marginal-suboptimal donor organs: a practical solution for organ shortage.

The demand for organ transplantation has been rapidly increasing as a result of rising incidence of end-stage organ failure while the supply of cadaver organs from "ideal" or optimal donors has remained low and inadequate to meet the increasing demand. Yet many so called "marginal" or "suboptimal" organs have been discarded by many centers when many patients die each day while on the waiting list. In this review important data from our experience and that of several other centers have confirmed that using such marginal organs can provide a viable solution to organ shortage. Such organs include those from donors > 55 years, children < 5 years, diabetics, non-heart beating cadavers, and organs with extended preservation. Such organs can be successfully used with appropriate surgical techniques and immunosuppression protocols and the supply of donor organs can be increased by 25% to 30%.

Blood Vessels↗
PubMed1990

[Changes in organ water content in patients with postburn multiple organ failure].

Water contents of lung, heart, kidney, liver, gastro-intestines, and spleen in accident victims with good health (N = 10) and patients with postburn multiple organ failure (PBMOF) (N = 10) were measured. It was found that organ water content of all visceral organs was increased markedly in PBMOF patients. Moreover, the severity of increased organ water content was paralleled with the severity of organ failure. However, there were some differences between the results of the estimated blood volume in different organs. The pulmonary, cardiac and gastrointestinal residual blood water volumes were increased in these patients with PBMOF, indicating that congestion and/or sludging were superimposed in these organs. In contract, the renal and spleen residual blood water volumes were decreased, indicating that these organs were suffered from ischemia. On the other hand, the hepatic residual blood water volume was declined in these PBMOF without hepatic failure. However, it was increased in those with hepatic failure. These results suggested that the increase of organ water content might play an important role in the pathogenesis of organ failure.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Organ preference of metastasis. The role of organ-specifically modulated endothelial cells.

Many cancers display characteristic organ colonization patterns that do not fit simple, anatomical-mechanical trapping theories of tumor cell dissemination. Organ preferences of metastatic spread appear to be mediated partly by the selective attachment of tumor cells to organ-specific, microvascular endothelium. To study these tumor cell-endothelial cell interactions in an efficient and reproducible manner, we have designed a novel in vitro assay system wherein endothelial cells isolated from large vessels (e.g., aorta) can be modulated to assume phenotypic traits of organ-specific, microvascular endothelium. Modulation is achieved by growing bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) on organ-specific matrix components, termed tumor attachment modulators (TAMs). Using monolayers of modulated BAEC in a tumor attachment assay, we show here that tumor cells which metastasize to a given organ, have a significantly higher binding affinity for BAEC grown on TAMs of the preferred, metastasized organ, than they have for BAEC grown on TAMs of any other organ not colonized by these tumor cells. Lung-metastatic tumor cells (R3230AC-MET, B16-F10) adhere preferentially to BAEC monolayers grown on lung-specific TAMs, whereas liver-metastatic tumor cells (RAW117-H10, M5076) selectively adhere to BAEC grown on liver-specific TAMs. In contrast, nonmetastatic tumors cells (R3230AC-LR, RBTCC-1, 647V) show no such adhesion preferences. Preferential tumor cell adherence is increased by growing BAEC for prolonged periods on organ-specific TAMs. Metastatic preference and organ distribution are mediated, at least in part, by urea-extractable endothelial cell surface components that are regulated by the extracellular matrix.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1986

Expression by human fetal organs of organ-specific cancer neoantigens as measured by leukocyte adherence inhibition.

Human cancers express organ-specific cancer neoantigens (OSN) as determined by in vitro leukocyte responses to extracts of cancers by the tumor host. In this study, we determined whether the OSNs were normal developmental proteins that were expressed by fetal organs and re-expressed with oncogenesis. Fetal extracts, principally of lung and colon but also of liver and kidney, were tested for their ability to induce leukocyte adherence inhibition (LAI) as compared to extracts from adult tissues of the same organ. Leukocytes from lung cancer patients showed positive LAI responses to 13- and 19-week fetal lung tissue. Likewise, leukocytes from colon cancer patients showed positive LAI responses to 14- and 19-week fetal colon tissue, whereas leukocytes from control subjects did not. Neither group responded positively to 21-week fetal organs. Criss-cross experiments showed that the fetal antigen was organ specific. Multiparous pregnant women showed positive LAI responses to cancer extracts but not to extracts from normal tissues of the same organ. The pattern of the LAI response was bell-shaped. Positive LAI responses to lung and breast cancer were detected at 4 to 7 months gestation and peaked at 5 months. To the fetal colon, LAI positive responses were detected at 5 to 8 months gestation, with the peak response at 6 months. The results indicate that OSN of cancers are also expressed by fetal organs and sufficient antigen is shed by fetal organs to sensitize pregnant women. Older fetal organs (21 weeks) and adult organs do not express an immunogenic or antigenic OSN.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1999

Quantification of the dissolved organic matter effect on the sorption of hydrophobic organic pollutant: application of an overall mechanistic sorption model

This study presents an overall sorption model to estimate the sorption equilibrium coefficients of hydrophobic organic pollutants for heterogeneous aquatic systems. This proposed model combines a series of sorption equilibrium relationships including the adsorption of dissolved organic matters on particulates, the binding between organic pollutants and dissolved organic matters, and the sorption of organic pollutants on particulates with or without the presence of dissolved organic matters. By using this model, variations among the sorption equilibrium coefficients with the concentrations of dissolved organic matters are obtained. Also discussed herein are case studies involving pollutants having a wide spectrum of K(ow)s, different types of dissolved organic matters, different pH values and ionic strengths. In most of the case studies, the sorption equilibrium coefficients initially increase with the-concentrations of dissolved organic matters and, then, decrease after reaching a maximum value. This study also addresses the relative errors of partition coefficients attributed to the negligence of the effect caused by the dissolved organic matter, the so-called third-phase effect.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

Control analysis applied to the whole body: control by body organs over plasma concentrations and organ fluxes of substances in the blood.

Metabolic control analysis is adapted as a method for describing and analysing the control by organs in the body over the fluxes and concentrations of substances carried in the blood. This physiological control analysis can most usefully be applied to substances with fluxes into and out of organs that are uniquely dependent only on their plasma concentrations. The organ flux of a substance is defined as the steady-state net flux of a substance into a particular organ. The organ flux control coefficients quantify the extent to which a particular organ controls the flux of a substance into the same or another particular organ. Organ concentration control coefficients quantify the extent to which an organ controls the steady-state concentration of a substance in the blood. The control coefficients are additive and obey summation, connectivity and branching theorems. Thus the control coefficients can be determined experimentally by measuring the sensitivities (elasticities) of organ fluxes to the plasma concentration of the substance. As an example of the application of these concepts, the control of ketone-body metabolism in vivo is analysed using data from the literature.

Abdomen↗
PubMed2001

Pineal organ-like organization of the retina in megachiroptean bats.

Phylogenetically originated from photoreceptive structures, the pineal organ adapts the organism to circadian and circannual light periodicity of the environment, while the retina develops to a light-based locator. Bats have a nocturnal life and an echolocator orientation presumably modifying the task of photoreception. Looking for morphological basis of the special functions, in the present work we compared the fine structure and immunocytochemistry of the retina and pineal organ in micro- and megacrochiroptean bats. We found that there is a high similarity between the retina and pineal organ in megachiropterans when compared to other species investigated so far. Besides of photoreceptor derived pinealocytes, the pineal organ of both micro- and megachiropterans contain intrapineal neurons and/or ganglionic cells as well as glial cells. Like spherules and pedicles of retinal photoreceptors, axon-type processes of pinealocytes form synaptic ribbon containig terminals. Similar to retinal photoreceptors and neurons, pinealocytes and pineal neurons contain immunoreactive glutamate and aspartate. In addition, excitatory amino acids accumulate in the pineal neurohormonal endings and might have a role in the hormonal (serotonin?) release of the organ. Concerning the structure of the retina the highest similarity to the organization of the pineal organ was found in the megachiroptean fruit eating bats Cynopterus sphinx and Rusettus niloticus. The retina of these species forms folds and crypts in its photoreceptor layer. This organization is similar to the folds of the pineal wall successively developed during evolution. Since a folded photoreceptor layer is not viable for a photolocator screen in decoding two-dimensional images, we suppose that this peculiar organization of the megachiropteran retina is connected to a "pineal-like" photometer task of the eye needed by these species active at night.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Meridian-like networks of internal organs, corresponding to traditional Chinese 12 main meridians and their acupuncture points as detected by the "Bi-Digital O-Ring Test imaging method": search for the corresponding internal organ of Western medicine for each meridian--Part I.

The "Bi-Digital O-Ring Test" imaging method has been successfully used not only to outline the internal organs but also malignant tumors as long as identical reference control tissue is available, regardless of whether it comes from the same individual or others, without exposing the patient to undesirable radiation from X-Rays, strong magnetic field or ultra-sound. While imaging the outline of the internal organs the author found that, from the surface of each organ, lines or networks of lines extend to other parts of the body. Such a line closely resembles well-known lines of meridians of major internal organs in Oriental medicine. This meridian-like network of each internal organ can be imaged using a microscopic slide, dessicated tissue or raw tissue of the same internal organ as reference control substance in "Bi-Digital O-Ring Test" imaging method. In previous papers, among meridians of 12 main internal organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the author was able to find which meridian corresponds to which internal organ of Western Medicine as in 10 meridians by "Bi-Digital O-Ring Test" imaging with corresponding internal organs as reference control substances, with the exception of "Pericardium Meridian", and "Triple Burner Meridian". In this study we were able to confirm that the "Pericardium Meridian" can be imaged mainly using adrenal gland as a reference control substance and "Triple Burner Meridian" can be imaged by the ovary or adrenal gland in the female and also can be imaged by the testes or adrenal gland in the male. Thus, the author was able to confirm, for the first time, the corresponding internal organ of Western Medicine for each one of the 12 main meridians. During this study, when actively imaging the meridian-like network, the author found bulging areas of the meridian-like network at specific locations, and found that these bulging areas correspond to specific acupuncture points. The area or average diameter of these acupuncture points often increased in the abnormal area and returned relatively small normal diameter by acupuncture given on certain acupuncture points of the same meridian. Thus, one can find the exact location of the meridian-like network and specific acupuncture points along the network. Therefore, it is now possible to re-evaluate true effects of giving acupuncture on these specific points as well as some of the other classical concepts of acupuncture.

Acupuncture Therapy↗