Prescribing and regulating exercise with RPE after heart transplant: a pilot study

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of fipronil on energy metabolism in the perfused rat liver

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Exercise training improves ambulatory blood pressure but not arterial stiffness in heart transplant recipients

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is the most prevalent comorbidity after heart transplantation (HT). Exercise training (ET) is widely recommended as a key non-pharmacologic intervention for the prevention and management of hypertension, but its effects on ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and some mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of hypertension have not been studied in this population. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of ET on ABP and arterial stiffness of HT recipients.METHODS: 40 HT patients, randomized to ET (n = 31) or a control group (n = 9) underwent a maximal graded exercise test, 24-hour ABP monitoring, and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) assessment before the intervention and at a 12-week follow-up assessment. The ET program was performed thrice-weekly and consisted primarily of endurance exercise (40 minutes) at similar to 70% of maximum oxygen uptake (Vo(2MAX))RESULTS: The ET group had reduced 24-hour (4.0 +/- 1.4 mm Hg, p < 0.01) and daytime (4.8 +/- 1.6 mm Hg, p < 0.01) systolic ABP, and 24-hour (7.0 +/- 1.4 mm Hg, p < 0.001) daytime (7.5 +/- 1.6 mm Hg, p < 0.001) and nighttime (5.9 +/- 1.5 mm Hg, p < 0.001) diastolic ABP after the intervention. The ET group also had improved Vo(2MAX) (9.7% +/- 2.6%, p < 0.001) after the intervention. However, PWV did not change after ET. No variable was changed in the control group after the intervention.CONCLUSIONS: The 12-week ET program was effective for reducing ABP but not PWV in heart transplant recipients. This result suggesfs that endurance ET may be a tool to counteract hypertension in this high-risk population. (C) 2015 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. All rights reserved.

Safety of kidney transplantation using anti-HBc-positive donors

Background. Prospective studies evaluating the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission in transplants of kidneys from hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc)-positive/ hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) negative donors are still lacking. The objective of this study was to assess the safety of kidney transplantation with the use of anti-HBc positive donors.Methods. This prospective case series study included 50 kidney transplant recipients from anti-HBc positive donors with or without anti-HBs positivity. Recipients were required to test positive for anti-HBs (titers >10 mUI/mL), regardless of anti-HBc status, and negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Recipient and donor data were retrieved from medical records, databases, and organ procurement organization sheets. Liver function tests were performed at progressively increasing post-transplantation intervals. Complete serologic tests for HBV were performed before transplantation, 3 and 6 months after transplantation, and annually thereafter.Results. Six months after transplantation, all recipients were negative for HBsAg, HBeAg, anti-HBe, and anti-HBcIgM. No seroconversion was observed among the 20 patients who received kidneys from anti-HBc positive/anti-HBs negative donors. No patient showed elevated liver enzymes during follow-up.Conclusions. Kidney transplantation using organs from anti-HBeIgG positive donors (even when they are concurrently anti-HBs negative) in anti-HBs positive recipients is a safe procedure and may be considered as a way to expand the donor pool.

Morphology and Histochemistry of the Liver of Carnivorous Fish Hemisorubim platyrhynchos

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of chronic fluoride intake on the antioxidant systems of the liver and kidney in rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of biodegradable detergents in the accumulation of lipofuscin (age pigment) in gill and liver of two neotropical fish species

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy associated with severe acute pancreatitis: a case report

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy is a rare disease that affects women in the third trimester of pregnancy. Although infrequent, the disease can cause maternal mortality. The diagnosis is not always clear until the pregnancy is terminated, and significant complications, such as acute pancreatitis, can occur. Pancreatic involvement typically only occurs in severe cases after the development of hepatic and renal impairment. To date, little knowledge is available regarding how the disease causes pancreatitis. Treatment involves supportive measures and pregnancy interruption. In this report, we describe a case of a previously healthy 26-year-old woman at a gestational age of 27 wk and 6 d who was admitted with severe abdominal pain and vomiting. This case illustrates the clinical and laboratory overlap between acute fatty liver of pregnancy and pancreatitis, highlighting the difficulties in differentiating each disease. Furthermore, the hypothesis for this overlapping is presented, and the therapeutic options are discussed.

Behavioral measures to reduce non-adherence in renal transplant recipients: a prospective randomized controlled trial

Solid-organ transplant recipients present a high rate of non-adherence to drug treatment. Few interventional studies have included approaches aimed at increasing adherence. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of an educational and behavioral strategy on treatment adherence of kidney transplant recipients. In a randomized prospective study, incident renal transplant patients (n = 111) were divided into two groups: control group (received usual transplant patient education) and treatment group (usual transplant patient education plus ten additional weekly 30-min education/counseling sessions about immunosuppressive drugs and behavioral changes). Treatment adherence was assessed using ITAS adherence questionnaire after 3 months. Renal function at 3, 6, and 12 months, and the incidence of transplant rejection were evaluated. The non-adherence rates were 46.4 and 14.5 % in the control and treatment groups (p = 0.001), respectively. The relative risk for non-adherence was 2.59 times (CI 1.38-4.88) higher in the control group. Multivariate analysis demonstrated a 5.84 times (CI 1.8-18.8, p = 0.003) higher risk of non-adherence in the control group. There were no differences in renal function and rejection rates between groups. A behavioral and educational strategy addressing the patient's perceptions and knowledge about the anti-rejection drugs significantly improved the short-term adherence to immunosuppressive therapy.

Maternal separation on the ethanol-preferring adult rat liver structure

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Determination of the mercury fraction linked to protein of muscle and liver tissue of Tucunaré (Cichla spp.) from the Amazon Region of Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Green tea extract rich in epigallocatechin-3-gallate prevents fatty liver by ampk activation via lkb1 in mice fed a high-fat diet

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Comparative effects of fipronil and its metabolites sulfone and desulfinyl on the isolated rat liver mitochondria

Fipronil is an insecticide extensively used to control pests in crops and animals. There are relates of poisoning due to exposure of fipronil in mammals and the liver has been suggested as potential target. In this study, we evaluated the effects of fipronil and its metabolites sulfone and desulfinyl on the bioenergetics, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and calcium efflux from mitochondria isolated from rat liver. Fipronil (5-25 μM) inhibited state-3 respiration in mitochondria energized with glutamate plus malate, substrates of complex I of the respiratory chain and decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential resulting in inhibition of ATP synthesis. Fipronil also caused uncoupling in succinate-energized mitochondria and calcium efflux. The metabolites sulfone and desulfinyl also acted as mitochondrial inhibitors and uncouplers and caused calcium efflux, but with different potencies, being the sulfone the more potent one. These effects of fipronil and its metabolites on mitochondrial bioenergetics and calcium homeostasis may be related to toxic effects of the insecticide in the liver.

Assessment of health-related quality of life and related factors in patients with chronic liver disease

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Effect of biotransformation by liver S9 enzymes on the mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of melanin extracted from Aspergillus nidulans

A mutant that exhibited increased melanin pigment production was isolated from Aspergillus nidulans fungus. This pigment has aroused biotechnological interest due to its photoprotector and antioxidant properties. In a recent study, we showed that melanin from A. nidulans also inhibits NO and TNF-α production. The present study evaluates the mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of melanin extracted from A. nidulans after its exposure to liver S9 enzymes. The cytotoxicity of multiple concentrations of melanin (31.2-500 μg/mL) against the McCoy cell line was evaluated using the Neutral Red assay, after incubation for 24 h. Mutagenicity was assessed using the Ames test with the Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98, TA97a, TA100, and TA102 at concentrations ranging from 125 μg/plate to 1 mg/plate after incubation for 48 h. The cytotoxicity of A. nidulans melanin after incubation with S9 enzymes was less than (CI50 value= 413.4 ± 3.1 μg/mL) that of other toxins, such as cyclophosphamide (CI50 value = 15 ± 1.2 μg/mL), suggesting that even the metabolised pigment does not cause significant damage to cellular components at concentrations up to 100 μg/mL. In addition, melanin did not exhibit mutagenic properties against the TA 97a, TA 98, TA 100, or TA 102 strains of S. typhimurium, as shown by a mutagenic index (MI)  <2 in all assays. The significance of these results supports the use of melanin as a therapeutic reagent because it possesses low cytotoxicity and mutagenic potential, even when processed through an external metabolising system.