Despite the complex vascular effects of dexmedetomidine (DEX), its actions on human pulmonary resistance arteries remain unknown. The present study tested the hypothesis that DEX inhibits vascular tension in human pulmonary arteries through the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) mediated production of nitric oxide (NO). Pulmonary artery segments were obtained from 62 patients who underwent lung resection. The direct effects of DEX on human pulmonary artery tension and changes in vascular tension were determined by isometric force measurements recorded on a myograph. Arterial contractions caused by increasing concentrations of serotonin with DEX in the presence or absence of L-NAME (endothelial nitric oxide synthase inhibitor), yohimbine (α2-adrenoceptor antagonist) and indomethacin (cyclooxygenase inhibitor) as antagonists were also measured. DEX had no effect on endothelium-intact pulmonary arteries, whereas at concentrations of 10⁻⁸~10⁻⁶ mol/L, it elicited contractions in endothelium-denuded pulmonary arteries. DEX (0.3, 1, or 3×10⁻⁹ mmol/L) inhibited serotonin-induced contraction in arteries with intact endothelium in a dose-dependent manner. L-NAME and yohimbine abolished DEX-induced inhibition, whereas indomethacin had no effect. No inhibitory effect was observed in endothelium-denuded pulmonary arteries. DEX-induced inhibition of vasoconstriction in human pulmonary arteries is mediated by NO production induced by the activation of endothelial α₂-adrenoceptor and nitric oxide synthase.
Arteries ; Dexmedetomidine* ; Endothelium ; Humans ; Indomethacin ; Lung ; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III* ; Pulmonary Artery ; Serotonin ; Vasoconstriction* ; Yohimbine

Objective: To determine differences in pain, salivary components and taste between burning mouth syn⁃ drome (BMS) patients and the normal population and to study the effects of intramuscular injections of vitamin B1 (VitB1) and vitamin B12 (VitB12) on BMS. Methods: Before treatment: We observed and compared differences in un⁃ stimulated salivary flow rate (USFR); stimulated salivary flow rate (SSFR); salivary amylase, cortisol, and secretory im⁃ munoglobulin A (SIgA) concentrations; and taste levels between BMS patients and normal controls. After treatment: The treatment group received an intramuscular injection of 100 mg VitB1 and 0.5 mg VitB12 in the buttocks once per day for 10 days. The above indexes were recorded before and after treatment and compared. A visual analog scale (VAS) score was used to assess the degree of pain relief in patients and as a clinical evaluation index. Results: Before treat⁃ ment: SSFR, salivary amylase levels and bitter taste levels of the treatment group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The concentration of SIgA was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05), and the USFR and the cortisol concentration were not significant different from the those of the control group (P > 0.05). After treatment: The total effective rate of VitB1 and VitB12 on BMS was up to 70%. USFR was increased signifi⁃ cantly after treatment (P < 0.05), and the concentration of SIgA decreased (P < 0.05). There were no significant differ⁃ ences in the SSFR or the cortisol and salivary amylase concentrations (P > 0.05). Taste levels improved by varying de⁃ grees. Conclusions The abnormal decreases in SSFR, salivary amylase levels, and taste sensitivity and the abnormal increase in SIgA levels seen in BMS patients may be sensitive salivary indicators for the diagnosis of BMS. A VitB1 and VitB12 intramuscular injection is an effective treatment for patients with BMS, who showed pain relief. Changes in SIgA levels may be used as an indicator during follow⁃up and for the prognosis of BMS patients.

Objective: To investigate the effect of Kamistad gel on oral ulcer healing and the expression of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) after oral administration in ulcer tissue of rats and to provide animal experimental data for the clinical application of Kamistad gel. Methods: The oral ulcer rat model was established by chemical cauterization. The rats were randomly divided into four groups: Kamistad group (Kamistad gel), befuxin group (befuxin gel), lidocaine group (lidocaine cream), blank control group (normal saline), with 12 rats in each group. The ulcer area of the rats in each group was measured before and 1, 3 and 5 days after treatment; at 1 day after treatment, the duration of swabbing behavior within 3 minutes of intraoral capsaicin infusion was recorded to evaluate the degree of pain; the ulcer tissue was collected at 5 days after treatment, and the histopathological changes were observed by HE staining, the expression of TNF-α, IL-6 and EGF in the ulcer tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry and ELISA. Results: At 1 day after treatment, the duration of mouth wiping induced by capsaicin was significantly shorter in the Kamistad group than in the blank control and befuxin groups (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between the Kamistad and lidocaine groups (P >0.05). At 5 days after treatment, the ulcer area was significantly smaller in the Kamistad group than in the blank control and lidocaine groups (P < 0.05), and there was no significant difference between the Kamistad and befuxin groups (P >0.05). At 5 days after treatment, H&E staining of the oral ulcer tissue sections showed significantly reduced levels of inflammatory cells and significantly proliferated fibroblasts and better epithelial hyperplasia in the Kamistad group compared with those in the lidocaine and blank control groups, and there were no differences between the Kamistad and befuxin groups. At 5 days after treatment, the expression levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and EGF in the ulcer tissue of rats in each group were significantly different (P < 0.05). Compared with the blank control and lidocaine groups, the expression of TNF-α and IL-6 was significantly decreased and the expression of EGF was significantly increased in the Kamistad group (P < 0.05); there were no significant differences in the expression of the above three factors between the Kamistad and befuxin groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion Kamistad gel exhibited anti-inflammatory, analgesic and healing effects on experimental oral ulcers.

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and molecular characteristics of Listeria monocytogenes in cooked products in Zigong City, China. The overall occurrence of the L. monocytogenes in the ready-to-eat (RTE) shops and mutton restaurants surveyed was 16.2% (141/873). An occurrence of 13.5% was observed in RTE pork, 6.5% in RTE vegetables, and more than 24.0% in either cooked mutton or cooked haggis. Serotype 1/2b (45.4%), 1/2a (33.3%), and 1/2c (14.2%) were the predominant types. By comparing the clonal complexes (CCs) based on multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of the L. monocytogenes from cooked foods in Zigong City and 33 listeriosis cases from different districts of China, CC87, CC9, CC8, and CC3 were showed to be prevalent in cooked products and CC87 and CC3 were the first two frequent types in the 33 clinic-source strains. All CC87 stains harbored the newly reported Listeria pathogenicity island 4 (LIPI-4) gene fragment ptsA, and all CC3 strains possessed the Listeria pathogenicity island 3 (LIPI-3) gene fragment llsX. These may increase the occurrence of the strains belonging to CC87 and CC3 in listeriosis cases in China and also underline the risk of infection owing to the consumption of the cooked products from Zigong. ST619 (serotype 1/2b) harbored both llsX and ptsA, indicating a potential hypervirulent sequence type in Zigong.
China ; epidemiology ; Cooking ; Fast Foods ; microbiology ; Food Contamination ; Food Microbiology ; Humans ; Listeria monocytogenes ; genetics ; pathogenicity ; Listeriosis ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Meat ; microbiology ; Multilocus Sequence Typing ; Prevalence ; Seasons