Fluctuations in internal cerebral vein and central side veins of preterm infants.

BACKGROUND: Studies on the acute management of extremely low birthweight (ELBW) infants reveal a high incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in infants with high-grade internal cerebral vein perfusion waveform fluctuations. In this prospective observational study we investigated the Doppler perfusion waveform fluctuations in the great cerebral vein, straight sinus, and internal cerebral veins of ELBW infants. METHODS: We evaluated perfusion waveforms after birth every 12 h until 120 h in 73 ELBW infants (<1,000 g) at our hospital. Fluctuations were categorized into four patterns of increasing magnitude, Grades 0-3. RESULTS: The maximum grades of perfusion waveform fluctuations of the internal cerebral veins were 0, 1, 2, and 3 detected in 12, 38, 13, and 10 infants, respectively; those of the great cerebral vein were 0, 1, 2, and 3 detected in 5, 17, 20, and 31 infants, respectively; and those of the straight sinus were 0, 1, 2, and 3 detected in 1, 5, 17, and 50 infants, respectively. Only one of 803 simultaneous measurements of the Doppler perfusion waveforms showed stronger fluctuations of the peripheral vein than those of the central side veins. Intraventricular hemorrhage was associated with high-grade fluctuations in the internal cerebral veins but not in the great cerebral vein or straight sinus. CONCLUSIONS: Most infants had high-grade fluctuations in the great cerebral vein and straight sinus, with lower grade fluctuations in the internal cerebral vein, but IVH was not associated with those markers. Intraventricular hemorrhage was correlated with high-grade fluctuations only in the internal cerebral veins.

Hemodynamics of infants with strong fluctuations of internal cerebral vein.

BACKGROUND: There is a high incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage in extremely low-birthweight (ELBW) infants of low gestational age with high-grade fluctuations in the perfusion waveform of the internal cerebral vein. This study investigated changes in the hemodynamic status of ELBW infants during initial strong fluctuations in the perfusion waveform of the internal cerebral vein. METHODS: We evaluated the perfusion waveform of the internal cerebral vein in 192 ELBW infants from birth, every 8 h for a total of 120 h. Sixty-seven infants had high-grade fluctuations. On the basis of the presence of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), patients were subdivided into PDA(-) (n = 32) and PDA(+) (n = 35) groups. RESULTS: During the first high-grade fluctuation, the PDA(-) group had significant increases in systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure (P < 0.001 for all). The PDA(+) group did not have significant changes in blood pressure but did have significant increases in the number of interruptions or regurgitations of diastolic renal arterial blood flow (P = 0.04) and end-diastolic left pulmonary arterial flow velocity (P < 0.001), indicating increased left-to-right shunt. CONCLUSIONS: Blood pressure elevation may underlie fluctuations in the perfusion waveform of the internal cerebral vein and lead to the first high-grade increases during acute management of ELBW infants. When no elevation in blood pressure occurred, hemodynamically significant PDA was considered a potential underlying factor.

Changes in the perfusion waveform of the internal cerebral vein and intraventricular hemorrhage in the acute management of extremely low-birth-weight infants.

UNLABELLED: This prospective observational study aimed to investigate the association between changes in the Doppler perfusion waveform of the internal cerebral vein and risk of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in extremely low-birth-weight (ELBW) infants. We evaluated the perfusion waveform of the internal cerebral vein every 8 h from immediately after birth to 144 h post-birth in 80 ELBW infants (<1,000 g) in our hospital. Fluctuations in the measured perfusion waveform were categorized into four patterns according to their increasing magnitude, from grade 0 (steady flow waveform) to grade 3; the IVH rate was investigated. Infants with grades 0-1 fluctuations of the perfusion waveform were classified as low grade (n = 55), and those with grades 2-3 fluctuations were classified as high grade (n = 25). The IVH rate was significantly higher in the high-grade group than the low-grade group (28 vs. 1%, p < 0.001). The IVH group (n = 8) showed a significantly greater rate of high-grade perfusion waveform than the non-IVH group (n = 72) (87 vs. 25%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Changes in the perfusion waveform of the internal cerebral vein during the acute management of ELBW infants may be associated with IVH.

Development of an analytical chip for colorimetric detection of medium-chain aldehydes by reaction with pararosaniline in porous glass.

Medium-chain aldehydes are common human biogases that can be detected in the breath of patients with lung diseases. As such, the measurement of medium-chain aldehyde gases in human breath can provide significant, noninvasive, and diagnostic information related to the potential presence of such diseases. In this study, an analytical chip is developed for the detection of medium-chain aldehydes without interference from short-chain aldehydes. This analytical chip is composed of porous glass impregnated with pararosaniline and an acid (i.e., acetic acid with small amount of phosphoric acid). After exposure to medium-chain aldehydes, the red analytical chip became violet in color, and an absorption peak was observed at 620 nm. It was found that a non-reversible reaction occurred in the porous glass, therefore, the analytical chip functions in a cumulative manner. A linear relationship was determined between the absorbance change of the analytical chip at 620 nm and the nonanal exposure concentration. Importantly, the developed analytical chip successfully detected nonanal at concentrations of 8-270 ppb as calculated from the absorbance change at 620 nm after a 24 h exposure time. In addition, nonanal concentration was estimated using the change in the R value of the analytical chip photograph. This method is suitable for point-of-care breath analysis. Finally, the analytical chip was also found to be active toward octanal and decanal with a relative sensitivity of 0.7 compared to that of nonanal; it was not active toward short-chain aldehydes.

New naphthoquinones, f13102A and B, from a fungus strain F-13102.

Deficiency of Fas-mediated apoptosis is one of the mechanisms involved in the immune evasion by tumors. Thus, it might be a practical approach for cancer treatment that Fas-mediated apoptosis in tumor cells is modified by drugs. In the course of screening, we have isolated two new naphthoquinones, f13102A and B, from the culture broth of fungus strain F-13102. Coumpound f13102A sensitizes Fas-resistant human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells to apoptosis.

Pladienolides, new substances from culture of Streptomyces platensis Mer-11107. II. Physico-chemical properties and structure elucidation.

In the course of our screening using fermented broth from soil microorganisms, novel metabolites (pladienolides), possessing inhibitory activity against vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and cancer cell proliferation, were isolated from Streptomyces platensis Mer-11107. Pladienolides A (1), B (2), C (3), D (4), E (5), F (6), and G (7) were found to be novel 12-membered macrolides by spectroscopic studies including 1H, 13C NMR, HMQC, HMBC, and NOE experiments. Pladienolides are unusual 12-membered macrolides having a long side chain at the carbon that bears a lactone oxygen.

Pladienolides, new substances from culture of Streptomyces platensis Mer-11107. I. Taxonomy, fermentation, isolation and screening.

Seven new macrolides having a 12-membered ring, which we termed pladienolides, were isolated from the fermentation broth of Streptomyces platensis Mer-11107. Six of the seven pladienolides inhibited hypoxia-induced reporter gene expression controlled by human VEGF promoter with IC50 values of 0.0018-2.89 microM. They also demonstrated growth-inhibitory activity against U251 human glioma cells in vitro. Pladienolides are highly potent inhibitors of both hypoxia signals and cancer cell proliferation, and thus may be useful as antitumor agents.

ICM0201, a new inhibitor of osteoclastogenesis from Cunninghamella sp. F-1490. I. Taxonomy, fermentation, isolation and biological activities.

In the course of screening for inhibitors of osteoclastogenesis, a new substance designated as ICM0201 was isolated from a fermentation broth of Cunninghamella sp. F-1490. ICM0201 inhibited the formation of osteoclasts in mouse bone marrow cells with an IC50 value of 0.78 microg/ml and showed weak cytotoxicity against bone marrow cells.