Search

Mauritia flexuosa, known as buriti in Brazil, is a widespread palm tree in Amazonia. It has many ethnobotanical uses, including food, oil, and medicine. The oil obtained from buriti's fruit pulp has high levels of monounsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids, and tocopherols, and is used in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries for its antioxidant properties. Many biological activities have been reported for buriti oil, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, chemopreventive, and immunomodulatory. Due to its high content of bioactive compounds, buriti oil is considered a functional ingredient with possible benefits in preventing oxidative stress and chronic diseases, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract. Peptic ulcer disease is a multifactorial disorder, involving lesions in the stomach and duodenum mucosa, which has a complex healing process. In this context, some nutrients and bioactive compounds help the maintenance of gastrointestinal mucosal integrity and function, such as carotenoids, tocopherols, and unsaturated fatty acids, which makes buriti oil an interesting candidate to be used in the prevention and management of gastrointestinal diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the gastroprotective and antiulcer effects of buriti oil and its possible mechanisms of action. Buriti oil reduced the ulcerative area and lipid peroxidation induced by ethanol. The gastroprotective activity of buriti oil partially depends on nitric oxide and sulfhydryl compounds. In acetic acid-induced gastric ulcers, buriti oil accelerated healing and stimulated the formation of new gastric glands. These results demonstrated the potential of buriti oil as a functional ingredient to promote health benefits in the gastrointestinal tract., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The removal of the zona pellucida has been used to improve the in vitro development of domestic cat embryos generated by IVF and SCNT. However, the in vivo development of domestic cat embryos generated without the zona pellucida has not been evaluated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of zona pellucida removal on the in vitro and in vivo development of domestic cat embryos generated by IVF. For this purpose, two experimental groups were created: 1) domestic cat embryos cultured in vitro (Zona-intact group, ZI) and 2) domestic cat embryos cultured in vitro without the zona pellucida (Zona-free group, ZF). Domestic cat embryos were generated by IVF and cultured in vitro for 8 days. In the ZF group, the zona pellucida was removed after IVF, and embryos were cultured using the well of the well system (WOW). Cleavage, morula and blastocyst rates were evaluated in both groups. The diameter and total cell number of blastocysts were assessed. Relative expression of pluripotency (OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG), differentiation (CDX2 and GATA6) and apoptotic markers (BAX and BCL2) was evaluated in blastocysts. Finally, to evaluate in vivo development, embryos at days 5, 6 and 7 of development were transferred into recipient domestic cats, and ultrasonography was performed to evaluate implantation. No differences were observed in the cleavage, morula or blastocyst rates between embryos from the ZI and ZF groups. The diameter (mean ± SD) of blastocysts from the ZF group was greater (253.4 ± 83.3 μm) than that from the ZI group (210.5 ± 78.5 μm). No differences were observed in the relative expression of OCT4, CDX2 or GATA6. However, the relative expression of SOX2 and NANOG was significantly reduced in ZF blastocysts compared to ZI blastocysts. Furthermore, the relative expression of BAX was higher in ZF blastocysts than in ZI blastocysts. Finally, four pregnancies were confirmed after the transfer of ZI embryos (n = 110). However, no pregnancies were observed after the transfer of ZF embryos at the morula or blastocyst stage (n = 56). In conclusion, domestic cat embryos cultured without the zona pellucida were able to develop in vitro until the blastocyst stage. However, the removal of the zona pellucida negatively affected the gene expression of pluripotency and apoptosis markers, and ZF embryos were unable to implant. This might indicate that the removal of the zona pellucida is detrimental for the implantation and in vivo development of domestic cat embryos., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest to report., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Nitric oxide has been involved in many key biological processes such as vasodilation, platelet aggregation, apoptosis, memory function, and this has drawn attention to the development of exogenous NO donors. Metallonitrosyl complexes are an important class of these compounds. Here, two new ruthenium nitrosyl complexes containing a thiocarbonyl ligand, with the formula cis-[Ru(phen) 2 (L)(NO)](PF 6 ) 3 (phen = phenantroline, L = thiourea or thiobenzamide), were synthesized and characterized by electronic spectroscopy, FTIR, NMR , mass spectrometry and voltammetric techniques. Theoretical calculations using Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT) were also used and further supported the characterizations of these complexes. An efficient release of nitric oxide by blue light was validated using a NO/HNO probe: 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide, known as cPTIO. Interestingly, the complex containing thiourea cleaved DNA even in the dark, while both complexes showed great DNA photocleavage activity in blue light. This process might work mainly through NO and hydroxyl radical production. Additionally, these complexes showed promising vasodilator activity, whose mechanism of action was investigated using N-Nitro-l-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) and 1H-[1,2,4]Oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ) and compared to sodium nitroprusside. Both compounds were indeed NO-mediated heme-dependent activators of soluble guanylate cyclase. Additionally, they did not show any significant cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines U87 and GBM02. Altogether, these results supported both complexes having potential pharmacological applications that deserve further studies., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Numerous case reports have highlighted the relationship between bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy and development of systemic mycotic aneurysms but none have established a management algorithm in patients with suspected vascular dissemination of Mycobacterium bovis. Delay in diagnosis of this disease process will lead to delays in initiation of antimycobacterium treatment to prevent dissemination into other arterial beds and potentially complicate effective surgical treatment leading to aneurysmal rupture and other devastating vascular consequences. Given the increasing number of reported cases in the literature and the ongoing, standard of care utilization of BCG for bladder cancer, we believe that a systematic approach to the management of patients with suspected BCG-related mycotic aneurysms should be set in place to prevent misdiagnosis and delays in treatment. In this report, we discuss the presentation, work-up, and report our treatment algorithm of a patient who developed diffuse peripheral mycotic aneurysms following BCG therapy for bladder cancer., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Shortage of organs for transplantation has led to the renewed interest in donation after circulatory-determination of death (DCDD). We conducted a retrospective analysis (2001-2009) and a subsequent prospective validation (2010) of liver Maastricht-Category-3-DCDD and donation-after-brain-death (DBD) offers to our program. Accepted and declined offers were compared. Accepted DCDD offers were divided into donors who went on to cardiac arrest and those who did not. Donors who arrested were divided into those producing grafts that were transplanted or remained unused. Descriptive comparisons and regression analyses were performed to assess predictor models of donor cardiac arrest and graft utilization. Variables from the multivariate analysis were prospectively validated. Of 1579 DCDD offers, 621 were accepted, and of these, 400 experienced cardiac arrest after withdrawal of support. Of these, 173 livers were transplanted. In the DCDD group, donor age < 40 years, use of inotropes and absence of gag/cough reflexes were predictors of cardiac arrest. Donor age >50 years, BMI >30, warm ischemia time >25 minutes, ITU stay >7 days and ALT ≥ 4× normal rates were risk factors for not using the graft. These variables had excellent sensitivity and specificity for the prediction of cardiac arrest (AUROC = 0.835) and graft use (AUROC = 0.748) in the 2010 prospective validation. These models can feasibly predict cardiac arrest in potential DCDDs and graft usability, helping to avoid unnecessary recoveries and healthcare expenditure., (© Copyright 2012 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.)

Chagasic patients with congestive heart failure are usually treated with digitalis and converting enzyme inhibitors. According to the neurogenic and dysautonomic theories, chagasic patients would not benefit from these drugs. To clarify this controversial issue, we have studied patients with congestive heart failure and suspected Chagas' heart disease. All patients received intravenous methyl-digoxin for 24 h and oral enalapril for 96 h. Blood samples for plasma norepinephrine, aldosterone and renin were taken at baseline, after acute digitalization and following enalapril. Based on the serology for Chagas' disease, the patients were divided into non-chagasic and chagasic patients. In the chagasic group three patients were in functional class III and 3 were in functional class IV. In the non-chagasic group five patients were in functional class III and 2 were in functional class IV. Both groups had a marked and quantitatively similar degree of neurohormonal activation. All patients improved at least one functional class and lost more than 5 kg of body weight with treatment. The chagasic patients had a statistically significant reduction in plasma norepinephrine (2262 +/- 1407 to 865 +/- 390, P < 0.008, pg/ml, M +/- S.D.), plasma aldosterone (330 +/- 168 to 155 +/- 75, P < 0.01, pg/ml, M +/- S.D.) and plasma renin activity (14 +/- 13 to 2 +/- 1.6 ng/ml per h, M +/- S.D., P < 0.05), with digitalis. Following enalapril, norepinephrine and aldosterone there was a further but non-significant reduction, when compared to postdigitalis values. These results indicated that chagasic patients do benefit from digitalis and enalapril. Furthermore, the prominent and significant reduction in all three neurohormones suggest that the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems of these chagasic and non-chagasic patients, are responding to the neuromodulatory effects of digitalis and enalapril.

The functional status of the sympathetic nervous system in Chagas' heart disease is still the subject of intense controversy. To determine the nature of the abnormalities of the sympathetic nervous system, we measured the plasma norepinephrine concentration of chagasic patients with varying degrees of myocardial damage. Thirty-six patients with positive serology for Chagas' disease were studied. Twenty patients were in Functional Class I (New York Heart Association), 10 were in Functional Class II and six were in Functional Classes III-IV. Cardiac catheterization was performed in 24 patients. The asymptomatic patients had a plasma norepinephrine concentration (121 +/- 37 pg/ml, mean +/- S.D.) not different from normal controls (103 +/- 59 pg/ml). The symptomatic patients, however, had a significantly elevated plasma norepinephrine concentration (665 +/- 354 pg/ml, P < 0.001). The baseline heart rate of the asymptomatic and symptomatic patients directly correlated with the plasma norepinephrine concentration (r = 0.69, P < 0.0001). The symptomatic patients had larger ventricular volumes, higher left ventricular end-diastolic pressures and lower ejection fractions than the asymptomatic patients and normal controls. The plasma norepinephrine concentration correlated linearly with the left ventricular end-diastolic volume (r = 0.77, P < 0.0001), and non-linearly with the ejection fraction (r = -0.70, P < 0.0001) and the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (r = 0.53, P < 0.007). These results indicate that, in Chagas' heart disease as in most other cardiac diseases, sympathetic nervous system activation is a late and compensatory phenomenon. In other words, sympathetic activation is very likely related to the progressive impairment of left ventricular function.

Chagasic patients with advanced heart disease have fluid retention-dependent symptoms. Since fluid retention is mostly dependent on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, chagasic patients with congestion related symptoms should have activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the plasma renin activity baseline values of chagasic patients with and without congestive heart failure. Twenty-eight patients with positive serology for Chagas' disease were studied. Nineteen patients were asymptomatic (functional class I New York Heart Association) and nine were symptomatic (functional classes II-IV). Cardiac catheterization and ventricular cineangiography were performed on 20 patients. The symptomatic patients had significantly higher plasma renin activity levels (4.11 +/- 1.03 ng/ml/h) than the asymptomatic patients (1.08 +/- 0.11 ng/ml/h, P < 0.001) and the normal sedentary controls (1.65 +/- 0.22 ng/ml/h, P < 0.05, mean +/- S.E.). The plasma renin activity baseline values of the asymptomatic and symptomatic patients correlated directly with the baseline heart rate (r = 0.77, P < 0.0001). The symptomatic patients had larger ventricular volumes, moderately depressed ejection fractions and increased left ventricular end-diastolic pressures. The plasma renin activity baseline values also correlated directly with the left ventricular diastolic pressures (r = 0.70, P < 0.0006) and with the left ventricular diastolic (r = 0.66, P < 0.001) and systolic volumes (r = 0.67, P < 0.001). These results indicate that chagasic patients with fluid retention-dependent symptoms and hemodynamic evidence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction have activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.

In chagasic patients, the electrocardiogram becomes abnormal very late in the course of the disease. Most clinical studies concerning cardiac autonomic function of chagasic patients have been carried out in this very late stage of the disease. The purpose of this study was to assess accurately the left ventricular systolic function of chagasic patients with abnormal electrocardiograms. We performed left ventricular contrast cineangiography in 44 patients with positive complement fixation test for Chagas' disease and abnormal electrocardiograms. On the basis of the electrocardiographic abnormalities found in the electrocardiogram taken the night before the hemodynamic procedure, we divided our patients into three subgroups; those with rhythm disturbances, those with ventricular conduction abnormalities, and those with rhythm disturbances plus ventricular conduction abnormalities. The chagasic patients with only cardiac rhythm disturbances, had left ventricular volumes and ejection fractions which were similar to those of controls. On the other hand, the left ventricular volumes of the chagasic patients with ventricular conduction defects, although slightly larger, were still not different from those of controls. Finally, the chagasic patients, with cardiac rhythm disturbances and left ventricular conduction defects, had the largest left ventricular volumes (P less than 0.05), and the lowest ejection fractions (P less than 0.001) of all three subgroups. These findings clearly indicate that chagasic patients, in this very late stage of the disease, have a very variable degree of left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Furthermore, our results show a distinct tendency for the left ventricular volumes to increase, and for the ejection fraction to decrease; when the electrocardiogram becomes progressively more abnormal, and "mixed" electrocardiographic abnormalities appear.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

To study right ventricular function, we performed cardiac catheterization, and right and left cineventriculograms in 60 chagasic patients and 15 non-chagasic, non-heart disease patients. Chagasic patients with normal electrocardiograms and left cineventriculograms also had normal right ventricular function. Nine of 14 chagasic patients with normal Ecg's and early left ventricular damage had right ventricular dilatation and/or segmental inferior-apical asynergy. Fourteen of 19 chagasic patients with abnormal Ecg's and advanced left ventricular damage, but without signs of congestive heart failure, and all chagasic patients with congestive heart failure, had marked right ventricular dilatation, severe right contractility depression and abnormal right apical or para-apical motion. These findings indicate that Chagas disease is a diffuse cardiomyopathy in which the left ventricle seems to be affected earlier and to a greater extent than the right ventricle. Since segmental abnormalities were predominantly observed in apical and para-apical areas of the ventricles, performance of right and left cineventriculograms is recommended before implantation of cardiac pacemakers.

Chagasic patients may have a normal or abnormal response of heart rate to atropine. To determine if this response to atropine is related to the degree of left ventricular dysfunction, we studied 33 patients with a positive complement fixation test for Chagas' disease. Eleven subjects, with atypical chest pain and negative complement fixation test, were used as controls (sero-negative). Left ventricular wall motion and the left ventricular volumes were determined by ventricular cineangiography. Coronary arteriography was also performed. The sero-negative subjects had normal left ventricular wall motion and the left ventricular diastolic volume was 88 +/- 24 ml/m2. The response of heart rate to atropine was 50 +/- 8 (mean +/- SD) (range 40-65 beats/min). On the basis of the response to atropine, the chagasic patients were divided into groups with a normal response (greater than 40 beats/min) and those with an abnormal response (less than 40 beats/min). Sixty five per cent of those with a normal response had left ventricular apical aneurysms. The left ventricular end-diastolic volume was not significantly different from the sero-negative subjects (96 +/- 26 ml/m2). Six patients (30%) had a left ventricular diastolic volume between 110 and 140 ml/m2. Sixty two per cent of those chagasic subjects with an abnormal response had diffuse left ventricular hypokinesis, and the left ventricular end-diastolic volume was 192 +/- 49 ml/m2 (P less than 0.01). The response of heart rate and the left ventricular diastolic volume were inversely correlated in the chagasic patients (r = -0.88, P less than 0.01). Our results indicate that myocardial damage and the degree of left ventricular dilatation are more severe in chagasic patients with an abnormal response of their heart rate to atropine. Furthermore, the inverse correlation between these two variables is highly indicative of a relationship between the response of heart rate to atropine and the degree of left ventricular dysfunction.