BACKGROUND: This study was done to evaluate the sole effect of norepinephrine on the regional myocardial perfusion during displacement of the porcine beating heart using thermal diffusion method. METHODS: Thermal diffusion probe was inserted into the anterior myocardial wall during 20 procedures in 10 male pigs (30-35 kg). The measurements of regional myocardial perfusion and hemodynamic parameters were performed after complete instrumentation (baseline), after displacement of the beating heart anteriorly, and 5 and 15 minutes after norepinephrine infusion, titrated to restore baseline mean arterial pressure (MAP). RESULTS: Norepinephrine infusion reversed the decrease in MAP and myocardial perfusion, caused by displacement of the beating heart (62 +/- 3% to 115 +/- 4% of baseline, P < 0.01; 41 +/- 5% to 125 +/- 4% of baseline, P < 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Restoration of MAP with norepinephrine infusion without any preload augmentation reversed deterioration in regional myocardial perfusion during displacement of the porcine beating heart.
Arterial Pressure ; Displacement (Psychology) ; Heart ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Male ; Norepinephrine ; ortho-Aminobenzoates ; Perfusion ; Swine ; Thermal Diffusion

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to assess the effect of postoperative radiotherapy on the outcome of esophageal cancer with microscopically positive resection margin by comparing the results with those of patients with negative resection margin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records of 88 patients treated with macroscopic resection followed by postoperative radiotherapy for stage II or III squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus from June 1984 to March 2008 were reviewed. Twelve patients had received chemotherapy. Patients were classified into two groups based on resection margin status: negative resection margin (group A, n=66) and microscopically positive resection margin (group B, n=22). Median follow-up duration of living patients was 68 months (range, 18 to 115 months). Median total radiation dose of group A and group B was 51.5 Gy (range, 45 to 69 Gy) and 52.1 Gy (range, 45 to 64 Gy), respectively. RESULTS: Median overall survival and disease-free survival were 15 and 10 months, respectively. The five-year overall survival, disease-free survival, and local control rates for group A and group B were 15.9% and 16.4%, 13.5% and 9.1%, and 76.3% and 69.6%, respectively. No statistically significant difference in terms of overall survival, disease-free survival, and local control (p=0.295, p=0.209, and p=0.731, respectively) was observed between group A and group B. Seven patients experienced toxicity of grade 3 or higher. CONCLUSION: A significant portion of patients with margin involvement reached long term survival after addition of postoperative radiotherapy. These results suggest a potential role of postoperative radiotherapy, especially for patients with margin involvement.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Disease-Free Survival ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; Esophagus ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Medical Records ; ortho-Aminobenzoates

PURPOSE: The lung is the second most common site of metastasis from colorectal cancer. Of all patients who undergo a curative resection for colorectal cancer, 10% to 15% will develop lung metastasis. As a hepatic resection of colorectal liver metastases results in improved survival, many reports have suggested that a pulmonary resection of a colorectal lung metastasis would also improve survival. The aim of this study was to analyze the postoperative outcomes of and the prognostic factors for a surgical resection of a lung metastasis. METHODS: Between August 1997 and March 2006, 27 patients underwent surgical resections for colorectal lung metastases at Seoul St. Mary's hospital. A retrospective review of patients' characteristics and various tumor factors was performed. RESULTS: The mean interval between colorectal resection and lung metastasis was 24.0 +/- 15.1 months. The overall 3- and 5-year survival rates were 76.5% and 22.2%, respectively. The mean follow-up after pulmonary resection was 39.5 +/- 21.6 months (range, 3.3 to 115 months). Except for the existence of hilar-lymph-node metastasis (P < 0.001), no risk factors that we studied were statistically significant. Two patients had hilar-lymph-node metastasis. They survived for only for 3.3- and 11.6-months, respectively. CONCLUSION: In our study, we found that a pulmonary resection for metastases from colorectal cancer may improve survival in selected patients.
Colorectal Neoplasms ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Liver ; Lung ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; ortho-Aminobenzoates ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: Hernia repairs are the most common elective abdominal wall procedures performed by general surgeons. The use of a mesh has become the standard for hernia repair surgery. Herein, we discuss a management strategy for chronic mesh infections following open inguinal hernia repair with onlay prosthetic mesh. METHODS: In this study, 15 patients with chronic mesh infections following open inguinal hernia repairs were included. The medical records of these patients were retrospectively reviewed and information regarding presentation, type of previous hernia repair, type of mesh, operative findings and bacteriological examination results were obtained. In all cases, the infected mesh was removed completely and the patients were treated with antibiotic regimens and local wound care. RESULTS: Fifteen mesh removals due to chronic infection were performed between January 2000 and March 2012. The mean interval of hernia repair to mesh removal was 49 months. All patients were followed up for a median period of 62 months (range, 16 to 115 months). In all patients, the infections were resolved successfully and none were persistent or recurrent. However, one patient developed recurrent hernia and one developed nerve injury. CONCLUSION: Chronic mesh infection following hernia repair mandates removal of the infected mesh, which rarely results in hernia recurrence.
Abdominal Wall ; Device Removal ; Hernia ; Hernia, Inguinal ; Herniorrhaphy ; Humans ; Inlays ; Medical Records ; ortho-Aminobenzoates ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies

Preparation for colonoscopy involves a thorough cleansing of the large bowel. Cleansing is performed using several methods, including ingestion of 4 liters of polyethylene glycol solution. However, these methods can induce hyponatremia by various mechanisms. Severe or rapidly progressing hyponatremia can result in the swelling of the brain, and the symptoms of hyponatremia are mainly neurological. Recently, we encountered a 41-year-old woman who developed acute hyponatremia with encephalopathy after undergoing bowel preparation for colonoscopy. She presented with general weakness, nausea, headache, agitation, delusions, and slurred speech one day after the ingestion of polyethylene glycol solution. Her serum sodium level was very low (110 to 115 mEq/L). Her symptoms pertaining to hyponatremia continued to persist for more than 2 days despite continuous intravenous administration of hypertonic saline for the correction of hyponatremia.
Administration, Intravenous ; Adult ; Brain ; Colonoscopy ; Delusions ; Dihydroergotamine ; Eating ; Female ; Headache ; Humans ; Hyponatremia ; Nausea ; ortho-Aminobenzoates ; Polyethylene ; Polyethylene Glycols ; Sodium

OBJECTIVETo develop a simple and rapid capillary electrophoresis (CE) method for the separation and determination of four active organic acids including salicylic acid, syringic acid, benzoic acid, and anthranilic acid in Radix Isatidis.

METHODThe HPCE system consisted of a fused-silica capillary column of 47.3 cm (38.3 cm to the detector) x50 microm i.d. and a mixture ofacetonitrile-borate buffer (15% acetonitrile, 25 mmol L(-1) borate, 15 mmol L(-1) beta-CD, pH 9.10) solution as the operating buffer. The applied voltage was 11.5 kV and the UV detection was set at 220 nm. The effects of the applied voltage, detection wavelength, and the pH of buffer, the concentration of buffer, acetonitrile and beta-CD were investigated.

RESULTThe linear calibration rang was 3.0-90 mg L(-1) (r=0.9994) for salylic acid, 4.0-120 mg L(-1) (r=0.9995) for syringic acid, 2.0-60 mg L(-1) (r=0.9998) for benzoic acid and 5.0-100 mg L(-1) (r=0.9992) for anthranilic acid. The recoveries of salylic acid, syringic acid, benzoic acid and anthranilic acid were 95.9%-102.6%, 98.6%-103.4%, 98.7%-104.1%, 96.1%-104.3% respectively. The detection limits of salylic acid, syringic acid, benzoic acid and anthranilic acid were 0.7, 1.1, 1.2 and 1.5 mg L(-1), respectively.

Benzoic Acid ; analysis ; Electrophoresis, Capillary ; Gallic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; analysis ; Isatis ; chemistry ; Linear Models ; Reproducibility of Results ; Salicylic Acid ; analysis ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; ortho-Aminobenzoates ; analysis

Whether tranilast had antagonistic effect on proliferation inhibition and collagen synthesis promotion induced by TGF-beta2 in cultured human trabecular meshwork cells was investigated. Suspension of 1 x 10(4) cultured human trabecular meshwork cells of 3-5 passage was distributed in each well of a 96-well disk and divided into control group and experimental group. After 24 h, 0 microg/ml (control), 12.5 microg/ml, 25 microg/ml, 50 microg/ml tranilast with 3.2 ng/ml TGF-beta2 were added into the incubation medium. Another 24 h later, proliferation and collagen synthesis in cultured human trabecular meshwork cells were examined respectively by using tetrazolium-based semiautomated colormetric (MTT) assay and 3H-proline incorporation with liquid scintillation technique. The results showed absorbance (A) values of the experimental groups were 0.9036 +/- 0.3017, 1.1361 +/-0.1352, 1.2457 +/- 0.1524 according to the different concentrations of tranilast, and 0.8956 +/-0.1903 of the control group. In comparison with the control group, 25 microg/ml (q'= 3.23, P< 0.05), 50 microg/ml (q'=4.70, P<0.01) tranilast significantly antagonized the decrease of the A values induced by TGF-beta2 in the cultured human trabecular meshwork cells. In comparison with the control group [817.37+/-124.21 cpm/10(4) cells], 12.5 microg/ml (620.33+/-80.46 cpm/10(4) cells, q'= 4.26, P<0.05), 25 microg/ml (594.58+/-88.13 cpm/10(4) cells, q'=4.81, P<0.01), 50 microg/ml (418.64+/-67.90 cpm/10(4) cells, q'=8.62, P<0.01) tranilast significantly inhibited the incorporation of 3H-proline into the cultured human trabecular meshwork cells promoted by TGF-beta2 in a dose-dependent manner. It was concluded that tranilast had the antagonistic effect on the proliferation inhibition and collagen synthesis promotion induced by TGF-alpha2 in the cultured human trabecular meshwork cells.
Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Collagen ; biosynthesis ; Humans ; Trabecular Meshwork ; cytology ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Transforming Growth Factor beta2 ; ortho-Aminobenzoates ; pharmacology

PURPOSE: To evaluate the inhibitory effect of tranilast on the formation of posterior capsular opacity (PCO) after a cataract operation ex vivo and in a rabbit model. METHODS: A human lens epithelial cell line (B3) was treated with 0.005-0.1 mM tranilast. Cytotoxicity assessment and effective dosage determination of tranilast were performed using MTT assays. B3 cell lines were cultured in Eagle's minimal essential medium (EMEM) containing 20% FBS with different concentrationsof tranilast, and morphological differences were observed. To investigate the effect of tranilast on cytokine production in B3 cell lines, cells were treated with 0.01 mM tranilast and expression profiles of cytokines were analyzed by RT-PCR. After performing phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation in 10 white rabbits, 0.5% tranilast eye drops were given 4 times per day, and the severity of PCO was evaluated bi-weekly using POCOman for 8 weeks after the operation. RESULTS: Cell death was observed in the 0.05 mM tranilast-treated B3 cell lines, and inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was also observed in the 0.01 mM tranilast-treated B3 cell lines. TGF-beta1/2, IL-18, and CDK7 mRNA expression decreased in the 0.01 mM tranilast-treated B3 cell lines. Significant suppression of PCO formation was observed in rabbits treated with 0.5% tranilast eye drops 5 weeks post operative (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study show that tranilast suppresses EMT through inhibition of TGF-beta, IL-18,and CDK7 expression. The results suggest that tranilast can be used toprevent PCO formation after cataract surgery.
Cataract ; Cell Death ; Cell Line ; Cytokines ; Epithelial Cells ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Humans ; Interleukin-18 ; Lens Implantation, Intraocular ; Ophthalmic Solutions ; ortho-Aminobenzoates ; Phacoemulsification ; Rabbits ; RNA, Messenger ; Transforming Growth Factor beta

PURPOSE: To evaluate the inhibitory effect of tranilast on the formation of posterior capsular opacity (PCO) after a cataract operation ex vivo and in a rabbit model. METHODS: A human lens epithelial cell line (B3) was treated with 0.005-0.1 mM tranilast. Cytotoxicity assessment and effective dosage determination of tranilast were performed using MTT assays. B3 cell lines were cultured in Eagle's minimal essential medium (EMEM) containing 20% FBS with different concentrationsof tranilast, and morphological differences were observed. To investigate the effect of tranilast on cytokine production in B3 cell lines, cells were treated with 0.01 mM tranilast and expression profiles of cytokines were analyzed by RT-PCR. After performing phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation in 10 white rabbits, 0.5% tranilast eye drops were given 4 times per day, and the severity of PCO was evaluated bi-weekly using POCOman for 8 weeks after the operation. RESULTS: Cell death was observed in the 0.05 mM tranilast-treated B3 cell lines, and inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was also observed in the 0.01 mM tranilast-treated B3 cell lines. TGF-beta1/2, IL-18, and CDK7 mRNA expression decreased in the 0.01 mM tranilast-treated B3 cell lines. Significant suppression of PCO formation was observed in rabbits treated with 0.5% tranilast eye drops 5 weeks post operative (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study show that tranilast suppresses EMT through inhibition of TGF-beta, IL-18,and CDK7 expression. The results suggest that tranilast can be used toprevent PCO formation after cataract surgery.
Cataract ; Cell Death ; Cell Line ; Cytokines ; Epithelial Cells ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Humans ; Interleukin-18 ; Lens Implantation, Intraocular ; Ophthalmic Solutions ; ortho-Aminobenzoates ; Phacoemulsification ; Rabbits ; RNA, Messenger ; Transforming Growth Factor beta

OBJECTIVETo study the role of tranilast in the pathogenesis of myocardiac fibrosis in viral myocarditis.

METHODSSeventy-two BALB/C mice were randomly divided into control, model and intervention groups (n=24 each). Mice in the model and intervention groups were infected with Coxsackievirus B3 to induce viral myocarditis. The intervention group was given with tranilast (200 mg/kg) by gavage until sacrifice for sampling, while the other two groups were administered with the same volume of normal saline. Cardiac tissues were obtained from 8 mice on 7, 14 and 28 days after modeling. The mast cell number was observed by toluidine blue staining and thionine staining. The cardiac tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin as well as masson trichrome to observe the pathological changes in cardiac tissues. The mRNA and protein expression of osteopontin and transforming growth factor-β1 was measured by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry respectively.

RESULTSIn the model group, the mRNA and protein expression of osteopontin reached the highest level on the 7th day, decreasing from the 14th day, and became to the least on the 28th day; while the expression of TGF-β1 increased from the 7th day, reaching a peak on the 14th day, and decreased slightly on the 28th day. The mRNA and protein expression of TGF-β1 and OPN was lower in the intervention group than the model group (P<0.05), but higher than the control group (P<0.05). The expression of OPN mRNA was positively correlated to the number of mast cells.

CONCLUSIONSTranilast can reduce myocardial fibrosis by decreasing the number of mast cells, inhibiting the expression of TGF-β1 and OPN.

Animals ; Fibrosis ; Male ; Mast Cells ; drug effects ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Myocarditis ; complications ; Myocardium ; pathology ; Osteopontin ; analysis ; genetics ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; analysis ; genetics ; ortho-Aminobenzoates ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use