Effect of dietary hempseed intake on cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have significant, cardioprotective effects against ischemia. Hempseed contains a high proportion of the PUFAs linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which may have opposing effects on postischemic heart performance. There are no reported data concerning the cardiovascular effects of dietary hempseed intake. A group of 40 male Sprague-Dawley rats were distributed evenly into four groups that were fed for 12 wk a normal rat chow supplemented with hempseed (5% and 10%), palm oil (1%), or a 10% partially delipidated hempseed that served as a control. Plasma ALA and gamma-linolenic acid levels were significantly elevated in the rats that were fed a 5% or 10% hempseed-supplemented diet, but in heart tissue only ALA levels were significantly elevated in the rats fed these diets compared with control. After the dietary interventions were completed, postischemic heart performance was evaluated by measuring developed tension, resting tension, the rates of tension development and relaxation, and the number of extrasystoles. Hearts from rats fed a hempseed-supplemented diet exhibited significantly better postischemic recovery of maximal contractile function and enhanced rates of tension development and relaxation during reperfusion than hearts from the other groups. These hearts, however, were not protected from the occurrence of extrasystoles, nor were the increases in resting tension altered during ischemia or reperfusion as a function of any dietary intervention. Our data demonstrate that dietary hempseed can provide significant cardioprotective effects during postischemic reperfusion. This appears to be due to its highly enriched PUFA content.

Prophylaxis of radiation-associated mucositis in conventionally treated patients with head and neck cancer: a double-blind, phase III, randomized, controlled trial evaluating the clinical efficacy of an antimicrobial lozenge using a validated mucositis scoring system.

PURPOSE: Mucositis occurs in almost all patients treated with radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. The aim of this multicenter, double-blind, prospective, randomized trial was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of an economically viable antimicrobial lozenge (bacitracin, clotrimazole, and gentamicin [BcoG]) in the alleviation of radiation-induced mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred thirty-seven eligible patients were randomized to treatment with either antimicrobial lozenge (69 patients) or placebo lozenge (68 patients). The primary end point of the study was the time to development of severe mucositis from the start of radiotherapy. Secondary end points included severity and duration of mucositis, pain measurement, radiation therapy interruption, and quality of life. Mucositis was scored using a validated mucositis scoring system. RESULTS: Toxicity profiles were similar between the two arms of the study. The median time to development of severe mucositis from the start of radiotherapy was 3.61 weeks on BCoG and 3.96 weeks on placebo (P =.61). There were no statistically significant differences between the arms in the extent of severe mucositis as measured by physician, in oral toxicities as recorded by patients, or in radiotherapy delays. CONCLUSION: This study was conducted on the basis of a pilot study that demonstrated the BCoG lozenge to be tolerable and microbiologically efficacious. A validated mucositis scoring system was used. However, in this group of patients treated with conventional radiotherapy, the lozenge did not impact significantly on the severity of mucositis. Whether such a lozenge would be beneficial in treatment situations where rate of severe mucositis is higher (ie, in patients treated with unconventional fractionation or with concomitant chemotherapy) is unknown.

Topographical organization in the nucleus accumbens of afferents from the basolateral amygdala and efferents to the lateral hypothalamus.

The basolateral region of the amygdala and the lateral hypothalamic area are involved in cardiovascular regulation. The aim of the present investigation was to determine if the terminal field of afferent projections from the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala to the nucleus accumbens overlap with the origin of the efferent projections from the nucleus accumbens to the lateral hypothalamic area. Neurons projecting from the nucleus accumbens to the lateral hypothalamic area were labeled by injecting the retrograde tracer Fluoro-Gold in the lateral hypothalamus of rats. In the same rats, fiber terminals from the amygdala to the nucleus accumbens were labeled by injecting the anterograde tracer Fluoro-Ruby in the basolateral region of the amygdala. Injections of Fluoro-Gold in the lateral hypothalamus labeled neurons in the posteromedial portion of the nucleus accumbens. Injections of Fluoro-Ruby in the basolateral amygdala labeled fibers and terminals in all parts of the nucleus accumbens with the highest density being found in the posteromedial part of the nucleus accumbens where Fluoro-Gold-labeled neurons were located. When regions of the posteromedial nucleus accumbens were examined under high-magnification, Fluoro-Ruby-labeled terminals appeared to make contact on Fluoro-Gold-labeled dendrites and cell bodies. This investigation demonstrates that there is a distinct overlap in the posteromedial region of the nucleus accumbens between the terminal field from neurons originating in the amygdala and neurons which project to the lateral hypothalamus. In addition, neurons in the basolateral amygdala appear to make synaptic contact with neurons in the nucleus accumbens that project to the lateral hypothalamic area.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)