The aim of this study was to examine the effects of both angiotensin II type I receptor antagonism using losartan (LOS) and beta-receptor blockade by metoprolol (MP) in isoproterenol-induced cardiac injury in the rat. Two weeks after isoproterenol (ISO) application, 90 ISO and 30 control (CTRL) rats were examined. ISO rats were treated for two weeks with either LOS, MP, or vehicle (n = 30 each group). Compared to CTRL, ISO induced left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), fibrosis, and overexpression of extracellular matrix proteins. LOS significantly attenuated these changes. MP only reduced LVH, but exerted no effect on structural alterations. LV end-diastolic and mean right atrial pressures were significantly increased in the ISO group and normalized in the LOS and MP group. Mean aortic blood flow velocity was significantly decreased in the ISO group and unaltered in the LOS and MP group versus CTRL. Blood pressure was decreased in ISO and LOS rats. MP treatment had no effect on blood pressure, but significantly lowered heart rate. Isoproterenol induced mild heart failure. Losartan and metoprolol applications in ISO-treated rats were highly effective in attenuating hemodynamic alterations and LVH. Early application of losartan 24 hours after isoproterenol-induced cardiac injury revealed significant beneficial effects on myocardial structure.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Techniques for studies on growth characteristics of human prostatic cancer cells.

The methods described in this article seem to be useful for studies on the growth characteristics of malignant epithelial prostate cells which are still under the influence of healthy cells. Before establishing primary cultures, pieces of tissue were sectioned in such a way that they could be unfolded to obtain a large surface. These pieces were treated enzymatically and then incubated for at least 4-6 weeks. In this time, cells grew or migrated out of the tissue and spread over the surface of the culture flasks. The viable single cells harvested from these primary cultures were characterized flow cytometrically, fractionated by countercurrent centrifugal elutriation, or further incubated above agarose so that they formed three-dimensional spheroids. Cytometric determinations of cellular cytokeratin, vimentin, and DNA were performed before and after incubation. They suggested that the percentages of cytokeratin-positive (epithelial) cells, vimentin-positive cells (fibroblasts), and aneuploid cells remained at levels (in vitro) similar to those within the pieces of tissue used for the culturing experiments, respectively. Since our culture technique allows the propagation of human epithelial prostate cells in vitro as they would grow in vivo under the control of the surrounding tissue, the method should help to investigate which particular treatment of the cells influences the growth of the malignant cells, while they are still surrounded by other cells of the same prostatic organ.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Most comfortable listening level presentation versus maximum discrimination for word discrimination material.

The purpose of the present study was to determine if most comfortable listening level (MCL) presentation of word discrimination material would yield maximum discrimination for normal and sensorineural hearing loss subjects. The results of the study indicated that normally hearing listeners do obtain maximum discrimination at MCL, while presentation of word discrimination material at MCL to sensorineural hearing loss listeners does not yield maximum discrimination. Further examination of the results would also contraindicate the use of any other method which incorporates single or dual presentation levels as a means of determining maximum discrimination for the sensorineural hearing loss listener.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Metoclopramide-induced hypertensive crisis.

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Cisplatin↗