Biomedical subjects

C P Lai

Publications and source records attributed to C P Lai.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Constrictive pericarditis associated with Marlex mesh. Two case reports.

Two patients were referred to our hospital with constrictive pericarditis approximately 1 year after undergoing mitral valve repair at another institution. Both repairs had included the use of a pericardial substitute, Marlex mesh, to prevent adhesion and to facilitate possible reoperations. Computed tomography and cardiac catheterization were used to establish the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis. During surgery, dense, thickened fibrous tissue, the result of a Marlex mesh-related reaction, was found tightly adhered to the epicardium in each of the patients. It appeared that the Marlex mesh, which had been inserted to facilitate reoperation, had contributed to the development of constrictive pericarditis.

Female↗

PubMed2000

Non-competitive inhibition of 5-HT3 receptor-mediated currents by progesterone in rat nodose ganglion neurons.

The effect of progesterone on the serotonin type 3 (5-HT3) receptor-mediated response was studied in acutely dissociated rat nodose ganglion neurons by using the whole-cell voltage-clamp technique. Progesterone rapidly and reversibly inhibited 5-HT-induced currents in a dose-dependent manner, with an EC50 of 31 microM and a maximal inhibition of 75%. Neither the 5-HT response nor inhibition of the 5-HT response by extracellularly applied progesterone was significantly affected by inclusion of a saturating concentration of progesterone in the electrode buffer, arguing that progesterone acted at the extracellular surface of the membrane. Progesterone also inhibited the 5-HT response non-competitively by a voltage- and agonist-independent mechanism that was distinct from that of open-channel blockers.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Delayed onset of amaurosis fugax in a patient with type A aortic dissection post surgical repair.

Stroke is an important complication for the surgical treatment of type A aortic dissection and it occurs immediately post operation. Many surgical techniques such as deep hypothermic circulatory arrest and retrograde cerebral perfusion have been reported to ameliorate this complication. We report here a male Taiwanese patient with type A aortic dissection involving the arch who underwent surgical repair. Amaurosis fugax appeared on the 4th day post operation. Funduscopic findings demonstrated multi focal embolization and carotid sonography revealed normal carotid arteries. The symptoms and signs improved after anticoagulation therapy. This is a rare case of delayed onset of amaurosis fugax in a patient with type A aortic dissection post surgical repair. The thromboemboli might have originated from the internal surface of the sawing area.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Cardiogenic shock in a patient with glyphosate-surfactant poisoning.

We present a case of glyphosate-induced cardiogenic shock in a young man. The patient a 26-year-old man, presented with nausea and vomiting 4 hours after attempting suicide by drinking 150 mL of glyphosate surfactant. Cardiogenic shock with accelerated idio-ventricular rhythm on electrocardiography developed after admission. Intravenous injection of epinephrine, atropine, and calcium failed to improve the condition. Over the next 16 hours, the QRS complex gradually narrowed, sinus rhythm returned, and the hemodynamic status improved. Echocardiograms revealed diffuse left ventricular hypokinesis with markedly reduced ejection fraction while the patient was in shock; normal left ventricular function resumed the next day. In this case, the glyphosate surfactant poisoning-induced shock may have been due to transient suppression of the cardiac conduction system and contractility, rather than intravascular hypovolemia.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Evaluation of the early stage of carotid atherosclerosis using the vascular response to nitroglycerin and high-resolution ultrasonography.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the early stages of arterial atherosclerosis could be evaluated by the vascular response to nitroglycerin (NTG). The vascular elasticity of the common carotid artery (CCA) was evaluated at sites without atheromatous plaque using high-resolution ultrasonography before and after sublingular NTG administration. The vascular elasticity was expressed by vascular strain (VS) and pressure-strain elastic modulus (Ep). The study was performed in 9 normal young males (group N) and 52 patients who were suspected to have coronary artery disease (CAD). In group N, VS of the CCA increased from 9+/-2 to 13+/-4%, Ep decreased from 80+/-18 to 42+/-14 kPa (p<0.01) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased from 116+/-8 to 109+/-8 mmHg (p<0.05) after NTG administration. Two different responses were observed in the patients. One group of patients (group A, n=27) showed similar responses to NTG as those of group N; that is, VS increased from 8+/-4 to 14+/-8%, Ep decreased from 115+/-64 to 57+/-31 kPa (p<0.01) and SBP decreased from 121+/-15 to 110+/-16 mmHg (p<0.05). In the other group (group B, n=25), in spite of SBP decreasing from 124+/-21 to 111+/-21 mmHg (p<0.05), VS decreased from 11+/-4 to 7+/-3% and Ep increased from 76+/-29 to 113+/-53 kPa (p<0.01). The prevalence and severity of CAD were lower in group A than in group B (33 vs 80%, 11 vs 60%, p<0.01, respectively). The prevalence of atheromatous plaque of the CCA was also lower in group A than in group B (4 vs 22%, p<0.01). These results revealed that the prevalence of carotid atheromatous plaque was highly correlated with that of CAD (p=0.001) and suggested that the vascular elasticity response of the CCA to NTG is highly associated with atherosclerotic changes of the artery and may be a useful method for detecting the early stages of atherosclerosis.

Administration, Sublingual↗

PubMed1997

Risk factors associated with coronary artery stenosis among patients with chest pain in eastern Taiwan.

To analyze the risk factors for coronary artery stenosis among patients who were admitted to the hospital with chest pain in eastern Taiwan, we retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 444 patients who received coronary arteriography, including 62 aborigines. Results indicated that there were 268 patients (64%) with coronary stenosis. Male to female ratio, mean age, pack-years of cigarette smoking, and hypertension were significantly higher in patients with coronary stenosis (CS group) than in patients without coronary stenosis (control group). There were also significant differences in the serum levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol between the CS and control groups. The total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of both the CS and control groups were lower than those reported in western Taiwan. The prevalence of coronary stenosis among Taiwanese patients who presented with chest pain was significantly higher than in aborigines (64% vs 38%), although there were no significant differences in common risk factors between these two ethnic groups. These results revealed that the common risk factors in eastern Taiwan were the same as those reported here and suggest that race may be an important risk factor for coronary stenosis.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1996

Klebsiella pneumoniae-induced mycotic aneurysm of the abdominal aorta complicated by bloody pleural effusion--a case report.

A 68-year-old diabetic male who suffered from recurrent severe lumbago and high fever was found to have mycotic abdominal aneurysm. His symptoms did not improve after maximum-dose antibiotic therapy. Bloody pleural effusion on the left side was noticed hours before he expired. Klebsiella pneumoniae alone was isolated from blood from cellulitis-related bacteremia, when aneurysm formation was complete and later from bloody pleural effusion. To our knowledge, this is the first report of mycotic abdominal aneurysm of solely Klebsiella pneumoniae complicated by bloody pleural effusion.

Aged↗

PubMed1993

Beneficial effects of atrial natriuretic peptide on exercise-induced myocardial ischemia in patients with stable effort angina pectoris.

BACKGROUND: It has been shown that atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), an endogenous vasodilator, dilates coronary arteries and decreases coronary vascular resistance. The purpose of this study was to determine whether an intravenous administration of ANP attenuated exercise-induced myocardial ischemia in 14 patients with stable effort angina pectoris. METHODS AND RESULTS: The first 12 patients (patients 1-12) who had exercise-induced ST segment depression underwent treadmill exercise testing and the last seven patients (patients 8-14) underwent the exercise 201Tl-single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) study while synthetic 28-amino acid alpha-human ANP (0.1 micrograms/kg per minute) or saline was intravenously infused in a double-blind, cross-over manner. The duration of exercise testing was the same during ANP and saline infusion, which was determined in preliminary exercise testings in each patient to cause a transient perfusion defect and/or ischemic ST segment depression. During saline infusion, all 12 patients developed exercise-induced ischemic ST segment depression, whereas no significant ST segment depression appeared during ANP infusion. Average ST segment depression during ANP infusion was significantly less (p < 0.01) than that during saline infusion (0.0 +/- 0.0 versus 0.2 +/- 0.1 mV, mean +/- SD). The averaged extent and severity scores assessed by 201Tl-SPECT were smaller (p < 0.05) during ANP infusion than during saline infusion (extent score: 0.22 +/- 0.20 versus 0.42 +/- 0.20; severity score: 18.77 +/- 23.45 versus 38.24 +/- 24.04, respectively). ANP decreased resting systolic blood pressure from 125 +/- 15 to 110 +/- 15 mm Hg (p < 0.01) but did not alter resting heart rate. At peak exercise, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and the rate-pressure products did not differ during ANP and saline infusion. At peak exercise, plasma ANP increased from 98 +/- 45 to 4,383 +/- 2,782 pg/ml and cGMP increased from 3.6 +/- 1.7 to 34.5 +/- 16.1 pmol/ml during ANP infusion; values were significantly higher than those during saline infusion (from 96 +/- 42 to 133 +/- 66 pg/ml and from 3.4 +/- 1.8 to 4.6 +/- 1.8 pmol/ml, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: An intravenous administration of ANP attenuated exercise-induced myocardial ischemia in patients with stable effort angina pectoris. Although the mechanism by which ANP attenuated myocardial ischemia was not defined, increased myocardial perfusion to the ischemic region might be an important factor.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Transesophageal echocardiographic findings of quadricuspid aortic valve.

We report a case of a 40-year-old man who had a quadricuspid aortic valve associated with aortic regurgitation. The anomaly was revealed by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), and confirmed by cardiac surgery. TEE is a useful noninvasive method for identifying the quadricuspid aortic valve.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of morphology variety of EVAL membranes on the behavior of myoblasts in vitro.

Not only the surface morphology but also the surface chemistry can be changed during the fabrication of biomaterials. Therefore, the result of a biocompatibility test of one material may alter to a great extent, dependent on the fabrication process. In this paper, the in vitro interaction of myoblasts and EVAL membranes with different surface properties was investigated. It was observed that moderate contact angle and porous structure are favourable for the cell adhesion and growth. However, cell adhesion and growth were decreased on a porous structure with particulate morphology and higher contact angle.

Animals↗