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Biomedical subjects

F Farruggia

Publications and source records attributed to F Farruggia.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Reduced neutrophil superoxide generation and plasma lipoperoxide levels in pigs fed with cod liver oil.

Circulating neutrophils, isolated from pigs fed for 8 weeks with a diet supplemented with CLO, had an accentuated n-3 fatty acid incorporation into the plasma membrane, as evidenced by an approximately four-fold greater n-3/n-6 ratio as compared with the control diet group. Moreover, the neutrophils of the CLO fed pigs produced less superoxide when stimulated with PMA or f-MLP, as well as showing a more prolonged latency period before O2(-)-generation. In the plasma of pigs fed with CLO there were higher levels of thiobarbituric reactive material and lipofuscin, while the content of GSSG was similar in both dietary groups. The results of this study indicate that dietary supplementation with CLO reduces the activation of circulating neutrophils and favours the presence in the plasma of lipoperoxides.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Long-term patency of regenerated neoaortic wall following the implant of a fully biodegradable polyurethane prosthesis: experimental lipid diet model in pigs.

The degradation of a polyurethane vascular prosthesis, the time course and characteristics of tissue ingrowth and prosthesis replacement, and the incidence of thrombosis have been investigated in 50 young pigs. A 6-7 cm long cone-shaped prosthesis was implanted in the infrarenal aorta of 50 young growing pigs which were sacrificed at intervals from 60 to 365 days. Ten animals were controls, 25 were given aspirin 10 mg/kg of body weight/day, and 15 were fed with cod liver oil. Aortography, done at 30, 60, and 90 days, showed 100% of implants were thrombosed in the surviving controls, 55% of the aspirin group had patent grafts, and 100% of animals in the lipid diet group had patent grafts. At final graft retrieval, the aspirin group showed only three patencies, while in the lipid diet group seven out of nine animals were patent. The laboratory and morphological studies indicated that all patent prostheses were lined with tissue that resembled the intima of native aorta with a layer of smooth muscle cells which appeared complete at 180 days. From these data we conclude that the biodegradable polyurethane vascular prosthesis is reliable for experimental implants in a pig model. The lipid-rich diet of polyunsaturated fatty acids potentiates long-term patency, perhaps by preventing platelet aggregation and thrombosis, and allowing the growth of a neoendothelium and neomedia within the lumen of the prosthesis, which slowly degrade towards fatty tissue and form neoadventitia.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Prevention of platelet aggregation by dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids in the biodegradable polyurethane vascular prosthesis: an experimental model in pigs.

A 6-7 cm long degradable polyurethane vascular prosthesis was implanted in the infrarenal aorta of 25 young growing pigs, sacrificed from day 30 to 365 to study the processes of degradation and tissue growth, the characteristics of prosthetic substitutes and the incidence of thrombosis. Ten animals were used as controls and 15 were fed with cod liver oil (25 ml twice daily). Aortography performed at day 30, 60 and 90 showed 100% thrombosed implants in the controls, while in the lipid diet fed animals there was 100% patency. At graft retrieval, there were 7 patent grafts out of 9 in the cod liver oil fed animals. Laboratory tests indicated that the lipid diet rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids induces significant modifications of lipid metabolism preventing platelet aggregation. These data correlate well with findings of the morphological studies showing that all patent prostheses are lined with tissues similar to the endothelium of the native aorta with a mid layer made of circular and longitudinal smooth muscle cells well differentiated at day 180. These data show that the essential polyunsaturated fatty acid rich diet is able to prevent thrombosis of the biodegradable polyurethane vascular prosthesis. The combination of a synthetic material and the lipid diet experimental model, makes it possible to assess the long-term tissue-synthetic material interaction and the process of tissue growth.

Animals↗