This study evaluated 102 randomly selected living-related kidney donors who were operated between November 1975 and December 1996 after a mean follow-up period of 10.2 years (range 8 months to 22 years). The donor male:female ratio was 45:57, and mean age was 41.0 years (range 21 to 65 years). The average preoperative and last follow-up blood creatinine levels were 73.37 micromol/l (range 44.2-106.8 micromol/l) and 78.67 micromol/l (range 8.84-318.2 micromol/l), respectively (p:NS), and the corresponding average creatinine clearance values were 108.4 ml/min (range 100-130 ml/min) and 96.8 ml/min (range 27 to 125 ml/min) (p: NS). Four donors had 24-hour urine protein excretion above 0.1 gram (2 G, 0.7 G, 0.2 G, and 0.14 G, specifically). The donors' mean systolic blood pressures before, and after the operation on the last follow-up were 131.7 +/- 21.2 mmHg and 139.6 +/- 20.9 mmHg, respectively (p:NS). Nine donors (8.8%) developed hypertension which required anti-hypertensive treatment. The mean age of the hypertensive group was 48.0 years (range 30 to 65 years), whereas that for the nonhypertensive group was 39.4 years (range 18 to 76 years) (p <0.02). Only one donor (0.9%), a 41 year-old female, was diagnosed with chronic renal disease related to pyelonephritis. These results support the utilization of living donors for kidney transplantation, an option which helps broaden a limited donor pool.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

An A to U transversion at position 1067 of 23 S rRNA from Escherichia coli impairs EF-Tu and EF-G function.

Escherichia coli ribosomes with an A to U transversion at nucleotide 1067 of their 23 S rRNA are impaired in their effective association rate constants (kcat/KM) for both EF-Tu and EF-G binding. In addition, the times that EF-G and EF-Tu spend on the ribosome during elongation are significantly increased by the A to U transversion. The U1067 mutation impairs EF-Tu function more than EF-G function. The increase in the time that EF-Tu remains bound to ribosome is caused, both by a slower rate of GTP-hydrolysis in ternary complex and by a slower EF-Tu.GDP release from the mutated ribosomes. There is, at the same time, no change in ribosomal accuracy for aminoacyl-tRNA recognition. With support from these new data we propose that nucleotide 1067 is part of the ribosomal A-site where it directly interacts with both EF-G and EF-Tu.

Adenine↗

PubMed1996

Visceral injuries, wound infection and sepsis following electrical injuries.

Visceral injuries, wound infection and sepsis were investigated in 226 inpatients who sustained electrical burns over a period of 15 years. Four patients who sustained thoracic and abdominal organ injuries were noted in this series. The patients had injuries of the small intestine, stomach, colon and the lung. All the patients received operative treatment. Two of them died of sepsis. Injuries to the internal organs should always be considered following high-voltage injuries, and they should be managed as early as possible. The data concerning wound infection and sepsis following electrical injuries were evaluated in three consecutive 5-year periods. Over this period of 15 years, different antibiotic regimens were used for prophylaxis and treatment. Most patients in the current series had been contaminated or infected by various pathogens prior to admission. Long-lasting administration of prophylactic antibiotics in these patients showed no improvement in controlling the sepsis. After 1987, most of the microorganisms were eliminated following more effective antimicrobial therapy. The progressive decrease in infection frequency of species such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis and Enterobacter cloacae, appeared to be causally related to the changes in the general therapeutic protocol which included new antibiotics. The infections caused by E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus showed a rather steady state. A marked increase in frequency of negative wound cultures was also noted between the years 1989 and 1993. A gradual decrease in mortality rates was observed from the first to the last 5-year period, whereas mortality rates due to sepsis showed a gradual but slower decline. Sepsis (142 patients comprising 62.8 per cent of the total mortality rate) was the most frequent complication resulting in death.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996