Características estruturais da parede das artérias renal e femoral de coelho (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

In the renal and femoral arteries of rabbit was verified that both vessels had walls structured by myostromal components, despite of their different distributive of blood, being the renal artery a visceral blood vessel and the femoral artery a parietal vessel. This wall pattern in these vessels concerned to presence of connective stromal elements (collagen and elastic fibres and lamellae) and smooth muscle cells coexisting with some equilibrium in the wall structure of the renal and femoral arteries, mainly in the medial layer architecture. An intimal folding pattern was verified around the vascular lumen, possibly related to capacitance of the both arteries regarding to variability of pressure levels in cardiac cycle. Furthermore, myostromal relations of connective elements and smooth muscle cells verified in the medial layer and the network formed by connective elements in the adventitial layer of these arteries contributed to maintenance of wall viscoelasticity properties of the vessels.

The role of myofibroblasts and interstitial fibrosis in the progression of membranous nephropathy

Renal interstitial fibrosis has been observed in a large number of nephropathies and contributes to the progressive deterioration of renal function. Myofibroblasts have been implicated in the reparative process of tissue injury, including renal scarring secondary to glomerular diseases. We performed a retrospective study on 28 patients with biopsy-proven primary membranous nephropathy, to determine whether interstitial myofibroblasts and tubulointerstitial lesions correlated with renal function at follow-up. Tubulointerstitial pathology was evaluated by morphometric and semiquantitative methods. Interstitial myofibroblasts were counted; 24-hour urinary protein and serum creatinine at the time of diagnosis and at the end of follow-up were available for all the patients. There were 20 males and 8 females, age 2-67 years (mean 42.3±153), most of them with nephrotic syndrome (78.6%). The final renal function had deteriorated in 16 patients (57.1%) and in 5 patients (17.8%) reached end-stage. The renal outcome was correlated with histological changes. We found a positive correlation between the severity of tubulointerstitial damage and the deterioration of the final serum creatinine (r 2=0.185; p=0.016). Myofibroblasts did not predict impaired renal function at the final follow-up. The current data do not support previous suggestions that myofibroblasts are a useful a predictor of end-stage renal disease.

Acute and short-term insulin-induced molecular adaptations of GLUT2 gene expression in the renal cortex of diabetic rats

Increased GLUT2 gene expression in the renal proximal tubule of diabetic rats is an adaptive condition, which may be important in the diabetic nephropathy development. We investigated the effects of insulin treatment upon the renal GLUT2 overexpression of diabetic rats. Acute treatment, surprisingly, induced a rapid further increase in GLUT2 mRNA content. Twelve hours after insulin injection, GLUT2 mRNA was twice the value of saline-injected rats (P < 0.001), when GLUT2 protein remained unchanged. In response to short-term treatment, both GLUT2 mRNA and protein were increased in 1-day treated rats (P < 0.05 versus saline-injected), decreasing after that, and reaching, within 6 days, values close to those of non-diabetic rats. Concluding, insulin treatment induced: initially, an additional upregulation of GLUT2 gene expression, involving posttranscriptional modulation; thereafter, downregulation of GLUT2 expression, which returns to non-diabetic levels. The former may be related to increased insulin concentration, the latter may be due to glycemic control. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of xylazine and medotomidine as premedicants for cats being anaesthetised with propofol-sevoflurane

The effects of premedicating cats with saline, xylazine or medetomidine before anaesthetising them with propofol-sevoflurane were compared. Twenty-four cats were randomly assigned to three groups of eight to receive either 0.25 ml of saline, 0.50 mg/kg of xylazine or 0.02 mg/kg of medetomidine intravenously, and anaesthesia was induced with propofol and maintained with sevoflurane. Medetomidine produced a greater reduction in the induction dose of propofol and fewer adverse postoperative effects than saline or xylazine. Hypoxaemia was observed after induction with propofol in the cats premedicated with saline and xylazine, but not in the cats given medetomidine. The cats treated with medetomidine and xylazine developed profound bradycardia. The blood pressure of the cats premedicated with saline and xylazine decreased, but the blood pressure of the cats premedicated with medetomidine was maintained. The cats premedicated with saline took longer to recover from anaesthesia than the other two groups.

Efeitos do extrato aquoso de cebola (Allium cepa L.) sobre a função renal e a pressão arterial em ratos Wistar

The vegetal species, Allium cepa, known as onion, is widely used in the folk medicine as diuretic, besides it has been used on the bronchitis, cough, cardiovascular diseases and hypertension treatment. In this study we evaluate the onion aqueous extract (AE) effect on water flow and electrolytes in anesthetized Wistar rats, besides we also evaluate arterial pressure alterations. Two groups were studied: Group 1 (control) - oral tratment with 1.0 mL of distilled water, and Group 2 (experimental) - oral treatment with 1.0 mL of AE 20%. The rats were anesthetized and we canulate the trachea, left carotide artery (for arterial pressure measurement and blood collecting), jugular vein (to execute inulin perfusion - to register glomerular filtration), and urinary bladder (to collect urine). The Group 1 results had shown that the animals had not presented significant alterations (p>0.05) in the analyzed parameters. The animals of Group 2 had a significant reduction (p<0.05) in the arterial pressure (22.0%). However, there were not significant alterations in renal parameters (p>0.05). These results show that the treatment with the AE lead a hypotensor effect in anesthetized Wistar rats, but not followed by renal parameters alterations.

Action of anti-bothropic factor isolated from Didelphis marsupialis on renal effects of Bothrops erythromelas venom

Acute renal failure is the most common complication in the lethal cases caused by snakebites in Brazil. Among the Brazilian venom snakes, Bothrops erythromelas is responsible for the majority of accidents in Northeastern Brazil. Didelphis marsupialis serum could inhibit myonecrotic, hemorrhagic, edematogenic hyperalgesic and lethal effects of envenomation determined by ophidian bites. In the present study, we evaluated the action of the anti-bothropic factor isolated from D. marsupialis on the renal effects promoted by B. erythromelas venom without systemic interference. Isolated kidneys from Wistar rats were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit solution containing 6% bovine serum albumin. We analyzed renal perfusion pressure (PP), renal vascular resistance (RVR), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), urinary flow (UF), and the percentages of sodium and potassium tubular transport (%TNa +, %TK +). The B. erythromelas venom (10 μg mL -1) decreased the PP (ct=108.71±5.09 mmHg; BE=65.21±5.6 mmHg*) and RVR (ct=5.76±0.65 mmHg mL -1 g -1 min -1; BE=3.10±0.45 mmHg mL -1 g -1 min -1*) . On the other hand, the GFR decreased at 60 min (ct 60=0.76±0. 07 mL g -1 min -1; BE 60=0.42±0.12 mL g -1 min -1*) and increased at 120 min (ct 120=0.72±0.01 mL g -1 min -1; BE 120=1.24±0.26 mL g -1 min -1*). The UF increased significantly when compared with the control group (ct=0.14±0.01 mL g -1 min -1; BE=0.47±0.08 mL g -1 min -1*). The venom reduced the %TNa + (ct 90=79.18±0.88%; BE 90=58.35±4.86%*) and %TK + (ct 90=67.20±4.04%; BE 90=57. 32±5.26%*) The anti-bothropic factor from D. marsupialis (10 μg mL -1) incubated with B. erythromelas venom (10 μg mL -1) blocked the effects on PP, RVR, %TNa +, and %TK +, but was not able to reverse the effects in UF and GFR promoted by venom alone. However, the highest concentration of D. marsupialis serum (30 μg mL -1) reversed all the renal effects induced by the venom. In conclusion, B. erythromelas venom altered all the renal functional parameters evaluated and the anti-bothropic factor from D. marsupialis was able to inhibit the effects induced by the venom in isolated kidney. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mortalidade e prognóstico específico em pacientes com insuficiência renal aguda

A variety of systems of risk factor stratification have been studied to predict the outcome in acute renal failure (ARF). OBJECTIVES. Assess and compare mortality and the Acute Tubular Necrosis Individual Severity Score (ATN-ISS) in patients with AFR treated in a university hospital. METHODS. A prospective analysis was made of 103 patients with a diagnosis of intrinsic ARF admitted to the Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, UNESP. Patients were followed up until recovery of renal function or death. The Score ATN-ISS was recorded during the first hours of the assessment by a nephrologist. Results were reported as median or mean ± SD, with statistical significance of p<0.05. RESULTS. Fifty-one percent of patients were male with a mean age of 58 ± 36 years. Forty-four percent died in the hospital. Mortality was higher in patients from the surgical wards (52.7%) and in patients who were treated with dialysis (63.8%). The score ATN-ISS showed a good confidence level, with high discriminatory power (area under the curve of 0.95) and good accuracy. CONCLUSIONS. Mortality in this study was comparable to that found in literature. The ATN-ISS was shown to be a prognostic index with a high confidence level that could be routinely applied by nephrologists to patients with AFR.

Fine needle aspiration biopsy of gastrointestinal stromal tumor presenting as an umbilical mass (Sister Mary Joseph's nodule)

The Sister Mary Joseph (SMJ) nodule is a clinical sign of metastatic cancer involving the umbilicus. The vast majority of these instances represent adenocarcinomas arising from ovarian or colorectal primaries. We present a patient who presented with ascites and the SMJ lesion that turned out to be a metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor after fine needle aspiration biopsy was performed. The lesion was subsequently histologically confirmed. Gastrointestinal stroma tumor involving the umbilicus is exceedingly uncommon and only rarely presents in this fashion. The cytomorphological features, differential diagnosis, and comparison with the tissue specimen are made. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of protein intake on weight loss in obese cats

The effects of two hypocaloric diets were evaluated, one with 29% and the other with 42% crude protein, on the body composition, nitrogen balance (NB), and some biochemical parameters of obese cats. A total of 16 castrated adult cats were used and divided into two groups of eight animals each. Body composition, determined by dual-energy x-ray absortiometry scanning, and biochemical examinations, were performed at the onset of the experiment (M0), at 10% of weight loss (M10), and at 20% of weight loss (M20) for each cat. The weekly weight loss (0.98 ± 0.37% for group 1; 0.94 ± 0.31% for group 2) and the ingestion of metabolizable energy (33.7 ±3.3 kcal/kg/day for group 1; 35.1 ±3.20 kcal/kg/day for group 2) did not differ between the groups. The NB was different at M0 (-70 ±110 mg/kg/day for group 1 ; 340 ±110 mg/kg/day for group 2) but roughly similar at M20 (140 ±170 mg/kg/day for group 1; 330 ± 410 mg/kg/day for group 2). The lean body mass (LM) loss was significant for group 1 (P < .05) in that it decreased from 2.789 ±198 g at M0 to 2.563 ±188 g at M20; for group 2, the changes in LM were not significant (P > .05). Reduction in body fat was significant between M0 and M20 for both diets (P < .05), without differences between treatments. The ingestion of digestible protein was greater (P < .05) for group 2 (3.20 ±0.29 g/kg/day) than for group 1 (2.21 ± 0.22 g/kg/day). There was a significant correlation between NB and ingestion of digestible protein at M0 (P < .05; r = 0.65), but this correlation was not observed at M20 (P > .05; r = 0.31). A significant reduction in plasma urea was observed for group 1 and in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol for group 2, but the other biochemical parameters did not change. The diet with higher protein content prevented LM loss. However, the lower-protein diet seems to maintain animal health and improve the cats' NB after weight loss.

Nutritional support and outcome in hospitalized dogs and cats

This study investigated the effect of assisted nutritional support on the outcome and time of hospitalization (TH) of dogs and cats. The study compared two groups of 400 hospitalized animals. The animals in group 1 did not receive assisted nutritional support because they were hospitalized before the clinical nutrition service was implemented; animals in group 2 were nutritionally managed. Animals in group 1 received a low-cost diet with no consumption control. Group 2 animals had their maintenance energy requirement (MER) calculated, received a high-protein and high-energy super-premium diet, had their caloric intake (CI) monitored, and received enteral and parenteral nutritional support when necessary. The statistical analysis of the results included the standard T test (group 1 versus group 2) and chisquare and Spearman's correlation to evaluate group 2 (CI and outcome, body condition score (BCS) and outcome, BCS and CI). For group 2, favorable outcome (FO), defined as the percent responding to therapy and dis-charged from the hospital, was 83%, and the TH was 8.59 days. These values were lower (P < .001) for group 1 (63.2% FO and TH of 5.7 days). For group 2, 65.5% of the animals received voluntary consumption (93.1% outcome), 14.5% received enterai support (67.9% FO), 6.5% received parenteral support (68% FO), and 6.17% did not eat (38.5% FO), demonstrating an association between the type of nutritional support and outcome (P < .01). Group 2 animals that received 0% to 33% of their MER had 62.9% FO, and those receiving more than 67% had 94.3% FO, which shows that lower mortality rates are associated with higher CI (P < .001). TH was higher for animals with higher CI (P < .001). The BCS did not correlate with Cl (P > .05) but did correlate with outcome (P < .01). FO was 68.7% for animals with low BCS, 85.7% for animals with ideal BCS, and 86.6% for overweight animals. Nutritional support could allow for longer therapies, thus increasing the TH and FO rate.

Peritoneal dialysis in acute renal failure

The definition of adequate dialysis in acute renal failure (ARF) is complex and involves the time of referral to dialysis, dose, and dialytic method. Nephrologist experience with a specific procedure and the availability of different dialysis modalities play an important role in these choices. There is no consensus in literature on the best method or ideal dialysis dose in ARF. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is used less and less in ARF patients, and is being replaced by continuous venovenous therapies. However, it should not be discarded as a worthless therapeutic option for ARF patients. PD offers several advantages over hemodialysis, such as its technical simplicity, excellent cardiovascular tolerance, absence of an extracorporeal circuit, lack of bleeding risk, and low risk of hydro-electrolyte imbalance. PD also has some limitations, though: it needs an intact peritoneal cavity, carries risks of peritoneal infection and protein losses, and has an overall lower effectiveness. Because daily solute clearance is lower with PD than with daily HD, there have been concerns that PD cannot control uremia in ARF patients. Controversies exist concerning its use in patients with severe hypercatabolism; in these cases, daily hemodialysis or continuous venovenous therapy have been preferred. There is little literature on PD in ARF patients, and what exists does not address fundamental parameters such as adequate quantification of dialysis and patient catabolism. Given these limitations, there is a pressing need to re-evaluate the adequacy of PD in ARF using accepted standards. Therefore, new studies should be undertaken to resolve these problems. Copyright © Informa Healthcare.

Feline cholangitis/ chonlangiohepatitis complex secondary to Platynosomum fastosum infection in a cat.

Platynosomiasis has been associated with cholangitis/cholangiohepatitis complex in domestic cats. Despite being typically asymptomatic, some individuals may develop severe disease resulting in hepatic cirrhosis. Definitive diagnosis by means of parasite eggs direct visualization is not always possible and complementary tests should be associated. This paper reports a case of a three-year-old female cat with anorexia and jaundice. Ultrasound and biochemistry laboratory findings as well as liver biopsy were not conclusive. Definitive diagnosis of intense Platynosomum fastosum infestation was only possible through direct examination of biliary fluid at necropsy, stressing the importance of including platynosomiasis, commonly an underdiagnosed disease, among differential diagnoses of feline liver diseases.

Efeitos da ciclosporina a sobre a função renal de cães da raça Golden Retriever normais ou afetados pela distrofia muscular

The muscular dystrophy of Golden Retriever is a degenerative miopaty caused by the absence of dystrophy and it is genetically homologue of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy in humans, so, these dogs are considerably experimental models for studies on cellular therapy. Their successful depends of the adequate immunosuppression. Cyclosporin A is indicated for that and the monitoring of blood concentration and adverse effects are essential to viabilise the therapy. It was studied GRMD dogs, and normal dogs from the same breed, submitted for therapy with CsA, associated, on GRMD, of cell transplantation. It was evaluated the possible effects of the drug on renal functions. It has been considerate the clinic manifestations, urinalisis, testis of glomerular function and blood concentrations of urea, cretinine, sodium and potassium. In our results we found a discrete increase of blood urea on booth groups; increased levels of urine's cylinders and protein and also increase of urinary density on GRMD group. CsA therapy could make acute lesions on renal tubules, especially on GRMD. These dogs also have different reactions than normal dogs on relation of ions homeostasis and renal function. However, earlier diagnosis and adequate treatment could prevent the development of renal diseases.