Spontaneous cerebral gas embolism and pulmonary arteriovenous malformation: a case report.

Pulmonary barotrauma can cause cerebral arterial gas embolism (CAGE) from pulmonary overdistension of alveoli forcing gas into the pulmonary vasculature. We report a case of CAGE in a man found to have occult pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (PAVM) and undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). A 46-year-old man was admitted to the hospital for an acute seizure and left-sided weakness, with telangiectasias on his lower lip and tongue. Brain-computed tomography (CT) showed gas emboli in the right hemisphere. Chest CT revealed a 1.8-cm PAVM in the posterior right costophrenic sulcus. A transthoracic echocardiogram showed no intracardiac shunt or patent foramen ovale. He was treated with phenytoin, lidocaine and hyperbaric oxygen. The PAVM was occluded with a detachable balloon followed by coil embolization. Polysomnography revealed severe obstructive sleep apnea, which was treated with CPAP. Seven years later, the patient was functioning at his pre-event baseline. We propose the CAGE was caused by high negative intrathoracic pressures while breathing against an obstructed upper airway, with air entrainment into the PAVM and subsequent arterialization.

Air-stable, highly fluorescent primary phosphanes.

Light without fright: a synthetic route to fluorescent primary phosphanes (RPH(2)) that are resistant to air oxidation both in the solid state and in chloroform solution is described. These versatile precursors undergo hydrophosphination to give tripodal ligands and subsequently fluorescent transition-metal complexes.

Structurally optimised BODIPY derivatives for imaging of mitochondrial dysfunction in cancer and heart cells.

The structural features required for mitochondrial uptake of BODIPY-based optical imaging agents have been explored. The first derivatives of this class of dyes shown to have mitochondrial membrane potential-dependent uptake in both cancer and heart cells have been developed.

Effects of caffeine on performance and mood depend on the level of caffeine abstinence.

RATIONALE: Most studies of the effects of caffeine on performance have used regular caffeine consumers who are deprived at test. Thus the reported effects of caffeine could be explained through reversal of caffeine withdrawal. OBJECTIVES: To test how preloading deprived caffeine consumers with 0, 1 or 2 mg/kg caffeine altered the subsequent ability of caffeine to modify mood and performance. METHODS: Thirty moderate caffeine consumers were given a drink containing 0, 1 or 2 mg/kg caffeine at breakfast followed 60 min later by a second drink containing either 0 or 1 mg/kg caffeine. Performance on a measure of sustained attention and mood were measured before and after each drink. RESULTS: Administration of both 1 and 2 mg/kg caffeine at breakfast decreased reaction time and 1 mg/kg caffeine also increased performance accuracy on the sustained attention (RVIP) task relative to placebo. Both breakfast doses of caffeine also improved rated mental alertness. Similarly, 1 mg/kg caffeine administered 60 min after breakfast decreased reaction time and increased rated mental alertness in the group who had not been given caffeine at breakfast. However, this second dose of caffeine had no effect on subsequent performance or mood in the two groups who had received caffeine at breakfast. CONCLUSIONS: Caffeine reliably improved performance on a sustained attention task, and increased rated mental alertness, in moderate caffeine consumers who were tested when caffeine-deprived. However, caffeine had no such effects when consumers were no longer caffeine deprived. These data are consistent with the view that reversal of caffeine withdrawal is a major component of the effects of caffeine on mood and performance.

BR2BodPR2: highly fluorescent alternatives to PPh3 and PhPCy2.

The syntheses of highly fluorescent analogues of PPh3 and PhPCy2 based on the Bodipy chromophore are described. The ligands have been incorporated into two- to four-coordinate group 11 metal complexes. The synthesis, characterisation and photophysical properties of the novel ligands and their metal complexes are reported; many of these compounds have also been characterised by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Incorporation of the phosphino group and complexation to the group 11 metal centre has little effect on the absorption and emission profiles; high molar extinction coefficients and fluorescence quantum yields were still obtained. In particular, incorporation of the dicyclohexylphosphino substituent significantly increases the quantum yields relative to the parent dyes.

Re and (99m)Tc complexes of BodP3--multi-modality imaging probes.

A fluorescent tridentate phosphine, BodP3 (2), forms rhenium complexes which effectively image cancer cells. Related technetium analogues are also readily prepared and have potential as dual SPECT/fluorescent biological probes.