We investigated the ability of supraphysiological levels of CORT to cause hippocampal neuronal death, and to modulate the neurotoxicity of kainic acid (KA) in male C57BL/6J mice. Timed-release CORT pellets (10, 35, 100 mg/21 d) were implanted subcutaneously in the back of mice, and the sustained release
of glucocorticoid caused involution of the thymus and decreased the weight of the spleen. Kainic acid caused stage 1 seizures that were unaffected by CORT; however, steroid treatment decreased KA-associated mortality. Little neuronal damage was detected by the cupric-silver neurodegeneration stain. Neurotoxicity caused by an intraperitoneal injection of 25 mg/kg KA was attenuated by seven days of CORT pre-treatment. The KA-induced increase in cupric-silver staining, reactive gliosis, microglial activation, and blood-brain barrier disruption was attenuated indicating neuroprotection. Our data indicate supraphysiological levels Bafilomycin A1 of CORT do not cause neuronal death or injury in hippocampus of C57BL/6J mice and provide neuroprotection against KA-induced neural damage. Published by Elsevier Inc.”
“Objective: Congenital heart defects with a component of pulmonary stenosis are often
palliated LY2109761 research buy in childhood by disrupting the pulmonary valve, either by means of dilation or excision. It is unclear what factors affect a patient’s ability to tolerate long-term pulmonary insufficiency before requiring pulmonary valve replacement. We analyze potential factors that are related to the interval between pulmonary valve disruption and pulmonary valve replacement.
Methods: One hundred seven patients were analyzed. They had a congenital diagnosis of pulmonary stenosis or tetralogy LGX818 molecular weight of Fallot, had their first pulmonary valve replacement between 2002 and 2008, and had a known interval between pulmonary valve disruption and pulmonary valve replacement.
The median age at the time of surgical intervention was 2 years for pulmonary valve disruption (range, 0-56 years) and 26 years for pulmonary valve replacement (range, 1-72 years). The median interval was 23 years (range, 0-51 years). Potential related factors were sex, race, initial diagnosis and procedure, age at pulmonary valve disruption, prior shunt operation, presence of branch pulmonary artery stenosis, and degree of pulmonary regurgitation.
Results: As determined by using univariate analysis, male patients had a shorter interval than female patients (median, 16 vs 26 years; P = .01), and African American patients had a shorter interval than white patients (median, 16 vs 25 years; P = .049). A significant correlation was also identified between age at the time of pulmonary valve disruption and the subsequent interval to pulmonary valve replacement. Overall, the interval tended to increase as age at disruption increased (P < .0001).