Search

BACKGROUND: Recently there are a number of reports on the cardiotoxicity of tacrolimus in post-transplant patients. There is no protocol for cardiovascular evaluation in these patients. This study was performed to evaluate the cardiotoxicity of tacrolimus in liver transplant recipients. METHODS: We evaluated 63 post-liver transplant patients who received tacrolimus. They were evaluated for cardiovascular complications by physical examination, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic examinations within three and six months following liver transplantation. Serum tacrolimus levels were checked by ELISA. For comparison, we selected 50 post-liver transplant patients who received no tacrolimus and evaluated them for cardiovascular function identically. RESULTS: Among 63 patients, 42 were male (66.7%) and 21 were female (33.3%); 70% of the patients were adults, and 19 (30%) were within the pediatric age group. The cardiovascular examinations, electrocardiogram and echocardiography of all patients three months post-transplantation were normal except for two children who developed tacrolimus related cardiac complications. Both had high serum tacrolimus levels. No adults developed cardiovascular complications. In the control group, the results of the cardiovascular evaluations were normal in all cases. CONCLUSION: The cardiovascular toxicity of tacrolimus, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, may be observed in pediatric patients. Therefore, we recommend routine regular cardiovascular evaluation of children after liver transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we present a highly efficient dual-functionalized acid-base nanocatalyst, denoted as Fe 3 O 4 @GLYMO-HEPES, featuring sulfuric acid and tertiary amines as its dual functional components. This catalyst is synthesized through the immobilization of 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) as the source of these functionalities onto magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) using 3-glycidoxypropyltriethoxysilane (GLYMO) as a linker. Characterization studies confirm the integrity of the Fe 3 O 4 core, with the GLYMO-HEPES coating exhibiting no phase changes. Furthermore, Fe 3 O 4 @GLYMO-HEPES nanoparticles demonstrate a uniform size distribution without aggregation. Notably, the catalyst exhibits remarkable stability up to 200 °C and possesses a saturation magnetization value of 31.5 emu/g, facilitating easy recovery via magnetic separation. These findings underscore the potential of Fe 3 O 4 @GLYMO-HEPES as a versatile and recyclable nanocatalyst for various applications. Its catalytic ability was evaluated in the synthesis of various pyrano[2,3- c ]pyrazoles and 2-amino-3-cyano-4 H -chromenes through a tandem Knorr-Knoevenagel-Michael-Thorpe-Ziegler-type heterocyclization mechanism, using different aldehydes. A wide range of fused heterocycles was synthesized having good to excellent yields. The process is cost-effective, safe, sustainable, and scalable, and the catalyst can be reused up to five times. The prepared catalyst was found to be highly stable and heterogeneous and showed good recyclability.

Hepatic artery aneurysm in children is a very unusual pathologic entity. As most patients with this anomaly are asymptomatic, the diagnosis is usually made as an incidental finding on imaging studies performed for other reasons. Here, we report a 35-day-old infant with hepatic artery aneurysm, which was diagnosed accidentally as a liver mass during echocardiography. Considering the age of diagnosis, she most likely had a congenital type of hepatic artery aneurysm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the youngest case to be reported in the literature.