Application of electrolysis for detoxification of an antineoplastic in urine.

Antineoplastics in excreta from patients have been considered to be one of the origins of cytotoxic, carcinogenic, teratogenic, and mutagenic contaminants in surface water. Recent studies have demonstrated that antineoplastics in clinical wastewater can be detoxified by electrolysis. In this study, to develop a method for the detoxification of antineoplastics in excreta, methotrexate solution in the presence of human urine was electrolyzed and evaluated. We found that urine inhibits detoxification by electrolysis; however, this inhibition decreased by diluting urine. In urine samples, the concentrations of active chlorine generated by anodic oxidation from 0.9% NaCl solution for inactivation of antineoplastics increased in dilution-dependent and time-dependent manner. These results indicate that electrolysis with platinum-based iridium oxide composite electrode is a possible method for the detoxification of a certain antineoplastic in urine.

Effect of volcanic gas exposure on urine, blood, and serum chemistry.

AIMS: This pilot study tested the hypothesis that aluminium (Al), rubidium (Rb), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), fluorine (F), and chlorine (Cl), which are all known to be present in volcanic emissions, may be useful biological markers for occupational gas exposure in volcanologists. METHODS: Ten human subjects were exposed to fumarole gases on White Island, New Zealand, for approximately 20 minutes. Sulphur dioxide (SO2) exposure was recorded by personal monitoring tubes. Pre- and post-exposure urine, blood and serum samples (collected using standard protocols) were analysed in the pathology laboratory for trace element and halogen content. RESULTS: Average personal exposure was measured at <75 ppm SO2 and calculated at approximately 25 ppm HCl, approximately 8 ppm hydrogen fluoride (HF), approximately 1 ppm Al, approximately 0.1 ppb Rb and approximately 4 ppb Pb. These concentrations almost certainly exceed those usually found in occupational exposure settings. Advanced levels of urinary Al and Rb were found following gas exposure and were statistically significant in the population at p<0.005 and p<0.001, respectively. The other chemical elements that were analysed (urinary Cl, F, and Hg; blood Pb, and serum Al) did not show such patterns. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible that urinary Al and Rb may be useful markers for exposure, a hypothesis which should be followed up in future work.

Rapid natriuretic action of aldosterone in the rat.

Rapid, nongenomic actions of aldosterone have been demonstrated in a number of cell types in vitro, including renal cell lines, but there remains little direct evidence that it is able to exert rapid effects on the kidney in the whole animal. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to determine whether aldosterone induces rapid changes in the renal handling of electrolytes or acid-base balance in the anesthetized rat. With the use of a servo-controlled fluid replacement system, spontaneous urine output by anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats was replaced with 2.5% dextrose. After a 3-h equilibration and a 1-h control period, rats were infused with aldosterone (42 pmol/min) or vehicle for 1 h. Aldosterone infusion induced a rapid (within 15 min) increase in sodium excretion that peaked at 0.24 +/- 0.08 compared with 0.04 +/- 0.01 micromol x min(-1) 100 x body weight(-1) (P = 0.041) in the vehicle-infused rats. This natriuresis was not associated with changes in glomerular filtration rate; urine flow rate; potassium, chloride, or bicarbonate excretion; or urine pH. The mechanisms involved are unclear, but because we have previously shown that aldosterone stimulates a rapid (4 min) increase in cAMP generation in the rat inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) (Sheader EA, Wargent ET, Ashton N, and Balment RJ. J Endocrinol 175: 343-347, 2002), they could involve cAMP-mediated activation of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator chloride channel, which drives sodium secretion in the IMCD.

The pathogenesis of dysplastic kidney in a urinary tract obstruction in the female fetal lamb.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The type of renal dysplasia resulting from obstructive uropathy depends on the completeness of the obstruction and its timing with respect to the stage of glomerulogenesis at the time of the obstruction. The authors created a successful obstructive uropathy model in the female fetal lamb to demonstrate the differing pathogenesis of renal dysplasia. METHODS: Female fetal lambs at 60 and 90 days' gestation had their urethra and urachus ligated transabdominally and were delivered by cesarean section at 145 days (full term). Kidney length and cortical thickness were measured, and samples were examined histologically. In the lambs operated on at 90 days, the urine was collected at delivery and Na and CI were measured and compared with the results obtained from normal full-term lambs. RESULTS: Seven of 10 female lambs had hydronephrosis or dysplastic kidneys. The cortext to kidney length ratio was 10+/-3% in the 90-days hydronephrotic group versus 29+/-6% in the controls (P<.001). Morphologically, the 90-day model had dilatation of the collecting tubules with normal glomerular numbers. The 60-day model had tubular cysts with fibromuscular cuffing and reduced glomerular numbers. The fetal urine Na was 47+/-3.3 mmol/L in controls versus 78+/-24 mmol/L in the hydropnephrotic lambs (P<.05). The urine CI in these lambs was 38+/-8.6 mmol/L in controls versus 55+/-14.5 mmol/L in the hydronephrotic lambs (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: An obstructive uropathy model was created in female fetal lambs. There were no dysplastic changes in the kidneys in lambs operated on at 90 days' gestation, but there were definite dysplastic changes in those operated on at 60 days. Concentrations of Na and CI in the fetal urine are higher than normal in the 90-day model.

The effect of combined oestrogen and progesterone replacement on the renal responses to oxytocin and vasopressin in ovariectomized rats.

OBJECTIVE: Renal responsiveness to the neurohypophyseal hormones, oxytocin and vasopressin, has been shown in the rat to vary during pregnancy and lactation. A study was performed to determine whether ovarian steroids could contribute to the observed changes. DESIGN: Using a previously validated method, fluid excretion during infusion of oxytocin or vasopressin was monitored in ovariectomized animals with and without chronic administration of oestrogen and progesterone. METHODS: After 14 days treatment with vehicle or 12.5 mg hydroxyprogesterone caproate and 0.25 mg oestradiol valerate injected every 3 days, rats were infused with 0.077 mol/l NaCl for an equilibration period of approximately 2.5h. Timed urine collections for the determination of volume and electrolytes were then made during a control period of at least 45 min and for 60 min while the infusate was supplemented with vasopressin (40 fmol/min) or oxytocin (50 fmol/min). Further observations were made for a final 90 min of hypotonic saline infusion. In control infusions saline alone was given. RESULTS: Treatment with ovarian steroids did not affect the volume of urine excreted during hormone infusion. Electrolyte excretion, however, was affected with lower concentrations of sodium and chloride on oxytocin infusion being seen in the steroid-treated animals. During vasopressin infusion, peak electrolyte concentrations were also achieved later in this group of animals. CONCLUSION: The increased circulating concentrations of oestrogen and progesterone seen during pregnancy could contribute to variations in the natriuretic response to neurohypophyseal hormones observed in the rat.

Comportamiento endocrino-metabólico de las fracturas de tercio medio facial / Endocrine and metabolic behavior of the fractures of the medial facial third

Se valoran los resultados del comportamiento endocrino-metabólico en 40 pacientes con fracturas del tercio medio facial: 10 nasales, 20 maxilomalares, 2 Lefort I, 4 Lefort II y 4 Lefort III. Según el sexo, 34 pacientes correspondieron al sexo masculino y 6 al femenino. Cuantificamos en orina (muestras de 24 horas): cloruro, sodio, potasio, urea y creatinina; en el ionograma en sangre: cloro, sodio, y potasio; en la química sanguínea: glucosa, clacio, fósforo, urea y creatinina y hemograma con diferencial. Estas muestras se cuantificaron al llegar el paciente, a las 72 horas y a las 24 horas del posoperatorio inmediato. En todos los pacientes estudiados se mantuvo la estabilidad endocrino-metabólica, con excepción de aquéllos portadores de Lefort I, II y III, los cuales en la última muestra tomada presentaron alteraciones del sodio y potasio en el ionograma de orina y sangre

Measurement of bradykinin, protein Na+, CL-, K+, and Zn+ concentrations in rat urine after intraperitoneal injection of Tityus serrulatus venom

Experiments were carried out in vivo by injecting Tityus serrulatus crude venom in rats followed by biological assays on the isolated guinea-pig ileum, to show the effects of scorpion venom on kallikrein-kinin system. Our results showed effects such as significant decrease of total kinin rate and a decrease of total kinin rate and a decrease of Zn++, Na+, Cl- and K+ ions in rat urine 24 and 48 hours after the injection of Tityus serrulatus crude venom.

Kinetics of Cl02 and effects of Cl02, Cl02-, and Cl03- in drinking water on blood glutathione and hemolysis in rat and chicken.

Since chlorination of drinking water produces organochlorinated substances (some possibly carcinogenic), the use of chlorine dioxide disinfectant would avoid halogenation. There is scarcely any data published on the effects of ClO2 in drinking water on human or animal health. The kinetics of 36ClO2 was studied in rats. Radioactivity was rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract following the administration of (0.07 microCi) 36ClO2 orally. 36Cl in plasma reached at peak at 1 hr. The half life for the elimination of 36Cl from the rat was 44 hr, corresponding to a rate constant of 0.016 hr-1. After 72 hr radioactivity was highest in plasma, followed by kidney, lung, stomach, duodenum, ileum, liver, spleen, thymus, and bone marrow. 36Cl excretion was greatest at 24 and 48 hrs after the administration of 36 ClO2. Forty-three percent of the total initial dose was excreted at 72 hr in the urine and feces. No 36 Cl was detected in expired air throughout the 72 hr studied. ClO2, ClO2-, and ClO3- (1, 10, 100, 1000 ppm) given daily in drinking water decreased blood glutathione, decreased osmotic fragility, and changed the morphology of erythrocytes in both chicken and rat after two months. Methemoglobin was not detected throughout these studies.