Protective effect of erdosteine on erythrocyte deformability in a rat model of lower limb ischemia/reperfusion injury

Background/aim: The protective effect of erdosteine on local and distant organ injury due to ischemia/reperfusion has been well documented but its effect on erythrocyte deformability needs further investigation. Our aim was to investigate the effect of erdosteine on erythrocyte deformability in the infrarenal aorta of rats undergoing ischemia/reperfusion. Materials and methods: Our study was conducted with 18 Wistar albino rats. Rats were divided into 3 groups: a randomized control group (group 'control', n = 6), an ischemia/reperfusion group without erdosteine (group 'ischemia/reperfusion', n = 6), and an ischemia/reperfusion group with erdosteine at 150 mg kg−1, intraperitoneally (group 'ischemia/reperfusion - erdosteine', n = 6). Packs of erythrocytes were prepared from heparinized blood samples and deformability measurements were conducted. Results: Comparisons of the control and ischemia/reperfusion - erdosteine groups revealed similar results (P = 0.051). The values of the ischemia/reperfusion group were significantly higher than those of the control and ischemia/reperfusion - erdosteine groups (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.024, respectively). Relative resistance, a marker of erythrocyte deformability, was increased significantly by ischemia/reperfusion compared to the control and ischemia/reperfusion - erdosteine groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: We detected unfavorable effects of ischemia/reperfusion on erythrocyte deformability, which may lead to disturbance in blood flow and hence tissue perfusion in the infrarenal rat aorta. We also found that erdosteine had beneficial effects by reversing undesirable effects of ischemia/reperfusion. However, these promising results should be further supported by more detailed studies with larger volumes.

Endovascular stent-graft placement for the management of a traumatic axillary artery pseudoaneurysm-a case report.

A 24-year-old woman with a right infraclavicular gunshot wound developed an axillary artery pseudoaneurysm. She was successfully treated by using a 5 cm Hemobahn stent-graft with a diameter of 6 mm. Postimplantation arteriography revealed normal flow through the axillary artery without evidence of leakage of contrast medium. Five months after the procedure, stenoses developed within the stent-graft owing to intimal hyperplasia and were treated by balloon angioplasty. The patient has been followed up symptom-free for 6 months after the second procedure.

Bicuspid aortic valve.

The bicuspid aortic valve is a common congenital cardiac anomaly, having an incidence in the general population of 0.9% to 2.0% and a frequency of 54% in all patients aged >15 years with valvular aortic stenosis. In most cases it remains undetected until infective endocarditis or calcification supervenes. The bicuspid aortic valve may function normally throughout life, may develop progressive calcification and stenosis or may develop regurgitation with or without infection. The association of the bicuspid aortic valve with dissection of the aorta is also common. The recognition of the bicuspid valve in patients with aortic valve disease remains an important challenge to the clinician, whereas preoperative knowledge of valve morphology would be helpful in planning the surgery. Antibiotic prophylaxis is also recommended in such patients, since these valves are likely to become the most important intrinsic cardiac predisposition for infective endocarditis with the virtual disappearance of rheumatic fever in developed countries.