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Biomedical subjects

W Chin

Publications and source records attributed to W Chin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[The effects of intracoronary injection of nitroglycerin on the coronary circulation: evaluation using a Doppler catheter].

To evaluate the effects of intracoronary injection of nitroglycerin (NTG) on the coronary circulation, we measured the flow velocity of the coronary artery using a Doppler catheter. The Doppler catheter was introduced into the region proximal to the left anterior descending artery (LAD) via an 8F guide catheter positioned at the orifice of the left coronary artery. We measured the flow velocity at a point of 3 mm distal to the catheter tip. One mg (2 ml) of NTG was injected via the 8F guide catheter for 10 sec, followed by injection of 3 ml of normal saline. Then the increasing rate of the diastolic coronary flow velocity in the LAD was calculated. Five ml of iopamidol (dye) was also injected for comparison. The subjects consisted of 14 normal persons (G-N), and 12 patients with angina pectoris accompanying critical stenoses of the LAD, who had no ECG changes or no abnormalities by left ventriculography. The subjects with angina pectoris were subclassified as 90% stenoses (G-A: 5 patients), and 99% stenoses (G-B: 7 patients) in the LAD. 1. After intracoronary injection of NTG, the aortic pressure dropped to various degrees in G-N. In 7 of the normal subjects, who had less than a 20% aortic pressure drop, the increased diastolic flow velocity was more rapid than the control diastolic flow velocity 30 sec after the peak velocity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Angina Pectoris

Lymphatic removal of dialysate from the peritoneal cavity of anesthetized sheep.

Several investigators have suggested that the lymphatic circulation reduces ultrafiltration in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The purpose of this study was to assess lymphatic drainage of the peritoneal cavity directly in anesthetized sheep under dialysis conditions. Lymph was collected from the caudal mediastinal lymph node and the thoracic duct, both of which are involved in the lymphatic drainage of the ovine peritoneal cavity, and from the prescapular lymph node, which is not involved in peritoneal lymphatic drainage. Fifty ml/kg volumes of a mildly hypertonic dialysis solution (Dianeal 1.5%) containing 25 microCi 125I-human serum albumin were instilled into the peritoneal cavity, and lymph flows and the appearance of labeled protein in the lymphatic and vascular compartments were monitored for six hours. Following the instillation of dialysis fluid there was a tendency for lymph flow rates from the thoracic duct to increase but these changes were not significant. However, flow rates from the caudal lymphatic demonstrated significant increases, especially in the final three hours of the monitoring period. Only about 8% of the radiolabeled albumin was removed from the peritoneal cavity over six hours (that is, 92% was left in the peritoneal space). Of the albumin removed, approximately 17% of this was drained by abdominal visceral lymphatics into the thoracic duct. About 25% passed through the diaphragm into the caudal mediastinal lymph node and into efferent lymph. Since the efferent lymphatic duct of the caudal mediastinal node empties directly into the thoracic duct, about 42% of all protein removed from the peritoneal cavity of the sheep was ultimately transported to the thoracic duct.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals

DNA methylation in specific cells of rat liver by N-nitrosodimethylamine and N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine.

Dose-response curves for the O6-methylation of guanine in the hepatic DNA of Wistar and Sprague-Dawley rats were determined after administration of N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBzA) or N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). Similar results were obtained for both rat strains but methylation of hepatic DNA by NDMA was approximately 9-fold more efficient than with NMBzA when doses were compared on a molar basis. Comparison by immunohistochemical analysis of the distribution of nuclei containing O6-methylguanine within the liver lobules showed that both agents tended to alkylate cells close to the central veins at the lower doses. With increasing doses, the band width of alkylated cells around the central vein increased, spreading in the case of NDMA virtually into the portal zones, whereas with NMBzA the zone of alkylated nuclei reached little more than halfway from the central vein to the portal zone. These differences in the distribution of alkylated cells may explain the differing hepatic responses to these two nitrosamines.

Animals

Lymphatic drainage of the peritoneal cavity in sheep.

Lymphatic drainage of the peritoneal cavity has been investigated in anesthetized sheep. Studies involving intraperitoneal administration of a complex of Evans blue dye and bovine serum albumin demonstrated the existence of three anatomically distinct pathways. In the first pathway, dye is removed from the peritoneal cavity by diaphragmatic lymphatics that pass into caudal sternal lymph nodes. Efferent lymphatics from these nodes transport the material to cranial sternal lymph nodes. Efferent cranial sternal lymphatics then convey the material either directly or indirectly, via tracheal lymphatic trunks, to the right lymph duct. In the second pathway, the complex is transported from the peritoneal cavity by diaphragmatic lymphatics that pass into the caudal mediastinal lymph node. Efferent lymphatic ducts from this node transport the material to the thoracic duct. The third pathway appears to involve transport of the dye across the mesothelial lining of the abdominal viscera and removal from the interstitium by afferent visceral lymphatics. Material taken up in this manner is ultimately transported to the thoracic duct by efferent visceral lymphatics. Experiments involving measurements of lymphatic absorption of 125I-labeled human serum albumin from the peritoneal cavity indicated that, over the 6-h period studied, 4.55 +/- 1.20 and 1.43 +/- 0.56% of the injected tracer could be recovered in thoracic duct lymph and caudal mediastinal efferent lymph, respectively, and the sum of these values represented 26% of the recovered radioactivity. On the other hand, 16.95 +/- 6.93% of the injected radioactivity could be found in the blood over the same period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals

Toxicity of N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine, and 1,2-dimethylhydrazine in isolated rat hepatocytes.

N-Nitrosodimethylamine and 1,2-dimethylhydrazine were shown to injure lethally primary monolayer cultures of rat hepatocytes only after incubation periods in excess of 24 hr. The toxic action of these agents, therefore, mimics the time dependency of their hepatoxicity in vivo. The viability of hepatocytes treated with N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine was not different from controls at times up to 54 hr following treatment, a result which is also consistent with the inability of this compound to produce hepatotoxicity in vivo.

1,2-Dimethylhydrazine

[Tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy: a case report].

A 30-year-old man with chronic sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) lasting more than seven years was treated with propranolol, 30 mg/day. This resulted in controlled cardiac rates of 90 to 130/min during sleep, and 100 to 195/min while awake. However, he experienced Adams-Stokes attacks twice, in September and December, 1986. During the second attack, ambulatory heart monitoring showed his VT rate of 212/min. An electrophysiological study revealed that the VT focal point was in the lower-mid region of the interventricular septum in the right ventricle. The VT was characterized by abnormal enhanced automaticity. This VT could not be interrupted either by single or multiple combinations of antiarrhythmic drugs. Cardiac catheterization revealed a diffusely enlarged hypokinetic left ventricle, even at the rate of 120/min VT (EF 27%, C.I. 2.3 l/min/m2). Because of his severe hemodynamic state, we performed electrical catheter ablation successfully. After the ablation, his left ventricular wall motion gradually improved. Nine months after the ablation, his left ventricular diastolic dimension decreased from 64 to 48 mm and the left ventricular systolic dimension decreased from 57 to 28 mm on M-mode echocardiography, while ejection fraction increased from 27 to 73% on the left ventriculography. Bi-ventricular myocardial biopsy specimens obtained prior to the ablation revealed only cellular hypertrophy of varying degrees, and vacuole degeneration consistent with non-specific cardiomyopathy. However, nine months after the ablation, these findings were no longer present. Thus, this case was considered tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy initiated by VT, lasting many years.

Adult

Chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum from East Africa: cultivation and drug sensitivity of the Tanzanian I/CDC strain from an American tourist.

A strain of Plasmodium falciparum, designated Tanzanian I/CDC, from an American tourist returning from Tanzania, was isolated in vitro and in the Aotus monkey. Clinically, the infection showed a late recrudescent pattern of chloroquine resistance. In 2 inoculated Aotus monkeys, the infection recrudesced after a dose of chloroquine (40 mg/kg) curative for sensitive P. falciparum strains in the Aotus monkey. In 4 ,dditional monkeys two primary infections and one of the recrudescent parasitaemias were cured with a 100 mg/kg dose of chloroquine; the second recrudescent parasitaemia was cured with an additional 40 mg/kg dose of chloroquine. The 48 h in-vitro chloroquine-sensitivity test demonstrated that the Tanzanian I/CDC strain had a pattern of chloroquine resistance similar to a reference resistant strain, the Vietnam-Oak Knoll (FVO). These studies reinforce reports which suggest that chloroquine-resistant malaria is being transmitted in East Africa.

Blood

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for malaria. I. The use of in vitro-cultured Plasmodium falciparum as antigen.

Using the Panama II strain of Plasmodium falciparum obtained from continuous in vitro culture as antigen, the micro enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to test serum samples from 50 persons from the southeastern United States and serum specimens collected weekly from four non-immune and nine semi-immune patients infected with P. falciparum. None of the 50 sera from the United States had ELISA antibody titers greater than 1:80. The nine semi-immune patients had rapid ELISA antibody responses (titers greater than 1:2560) following patent parasitemia. ELISA titers remained elevated despite disappearance of patent parasitemia, and declined gradually following curative antimalarial therapy. The ELISA responses observed in the four non-immune patients were more variable, though positive titers appeared rapidly with patent parasitemia. Maximum titers were lower than those observed in semi-immune patients. These results demonstrate that P. falciparum obtained from continuous in vitro culture is an excellent antigen for the micro-ELISA test for malaria. However, further assessments of the ELISA are needed to identify the conditions associated with positive responses.

Adolescent

Plasmodium fragile and Macaca mulatta monkeys as a model system for the study of malaria vaccines.

Pladmodium fragile and the Macaca mulatta monkey are presented as a model system for the study of malarial vaccines. Four animals were immunized with culture-grown P. fragile merozoites and subsequently challenged with culture-produced parasites. One animal failed to develop a detectable parasitemia following primary challenge. Two other immunized animals had primary infections which were short-term. the parasitemias in these three monkeys following secondary challenge were short-term and the immunity was apparently sterilizing. The fourth immunized monkeys had recrudescences of the primary and secondary infection but differed markedly from the four control animals. Indirect fluorescent antibody titers increased as a result of the immunization and were indicative of the level of immunity. Because of the many similarities to the human-P. falciparum model system, the P. fragile-M. mulatta system appears to be particularly well suited for a number of malaria vaccine studies.

Animals

The continuous cultivation of Plasmodium fragile by the method of Trager-Jensen.

Using the Trager-Jensen method, a second malaria species, Plasmodium fragile, a simian counterpart to the human malaria P. falciparum, has been cultivated successfully. The average growth rate every 3--4 days was 5-fold and the average number of merozoites observed was 14. To date, only rhesus monkey red blood cells (RBC) would support the long-term cultivation of this parasite. Short-term observations indicate that RBC from the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) may support growth but human RBC of each of the four major AB-O types failed to support growth of the parasite. Availability of the P. fragile-rhesus monkey model would allow for a second parasite-host system for the in vitro and in vivo study of the immunologic responses of the falciparum-like parasite in a more natural host.

Animals

Studies on the West African I strain of Plasmodium falciparum in Aotus trivirgatus monkeys.

The West African I strain of Plasmodium falciparum was isolated from a commercial airline pilot who had an overnight stay in Nigeria. Once established in the Aotus trivirgatus griseimembra monkey, the parasite produced high parasitemias and readily infected mosquitoes. Anopheles freeborni and An. maculatus mosquitoes transmitted the infection to additional animals. Infected salivary glands were also seen in An. culcifacies. Comparative infectivity studies indicated the most susceptible mosquito to be An. freeborni, followed by An. culicifacies, An. maculatus, and An. balabacensis balabacensis. Only 2 An. albimanus mosquitoes were infected out of 450 examined. The one A. t. trivirgatus monkey inoculated with this strain had very low levels of parasitemia.

Animals

Protein bound carboxyl-methyl ester as a precursor of methanol formation during oxidation of dimethylnitrosamine in vitro.

Protein modification with dimethylnitrosamine was studied in vitro in the presence of hamster liver microsomal fraction. Incorporation of radioactive methyl groups from dimethylnitrosamine into the exogenously added protein was dependent on the microsomal mixed function oxidase system. The methylation yielded chemically labile and stable products. The former was completely hydrolyzed by the mild alkaline treatment, pH 7.4, 100 degrees C, for 5 min and the hydrolytic product was identified as methanol indicating that the activated methyl groups from dimethylnitrosamine were incorporated into a protein as a carboxyl-methyl ester. Thus, it is suggested that methanol, recovered as one of the products during the biodegradation of dimethylnitrosamine [8], is derived, at least in part, from protein carboxyl-methyl ester which is unstable under physiological conditions.

Animals

Studies on the Santa Lucia (El Salvador) strain of Plasmodium falciparum in Aotus trivirgatus monkeys.

The Santa Lucia strain of Plasmodium falciparum was isolated from El Salvador, Central America, and established in Aotus trivirgatus monkeys. Transmission from monkey to monkey via the bites of infected Anopheles freeborni, A. maculatus, and A, albimanus mosquitoes was obtained in 20 of 27 attempts. Prepatent periods in the monkeys ranged from 17 to 46 days with a mean of 24.3 days. Parasitemias and mortality were higher following sporozoite inoculation into animals which had been previously infected with P. vivax than in those with no previous malaria experience. Monkeys previously infected with P. vivax and P. cynomolgi had lower maximum parasitemias than those previously infected with P. vivax only.

Animals

Reduced antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity in systemic lupus erythematosus.

The peripheral blood mononuclear cells from twenty-three patients with SLE were studied. They showed a reduction in antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. This reduction was significantly related to disease activity. No correlations were found with other clinical features. Some of the possible explanations for this finding are discussed.

Adult