Kidneys, Hearts, Hormones and Immunomodulators: Integrated Understandings

Incretin hormones as immunomodulators of atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis results from endothelial cell dysfunction and inflammatory processes affecting both macro- and microvasculature which are involved in vascular diabetic complications. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an incretin hormone responsible for amplification of insulin secretion when nutrients are given orally as opposed to intravenously and it retains its insulinotropic activity in pa...

Plastic Hearts, Membrane Lungs, and Artificial Kidneys

Why arc engineers taking more and more interest in problen~s of health and medicine? In part, perhaps, it is a question of a guilty conscience. After all, engineers have seen the destructive power of their inventiveness in the effects of air and water pollution, weapons for the military, and biological and chemical warfare. Can they have as much impact, of a positive sort, in such fields as hea...

Immunomodulatory and Natural Immunomodulators

The immune system is a remarkably developed defense system inside vertebrates which guards against attacking factors. It is capable of producing diverse molecules and cells able to distinguish and reduce unlimited changes from external and unwanted agents. Modulation of the immune system refers to some alteration in the immune response which includes stimulation, amplification, expression or in...

Natural Immunomodulators

Techniques for combined procurement of hearts and kidneys with satisfactory early function of renal allografts.

Methods for combination of donor nephrectomy with donor cardiectomy are outlined. The satisfactory early function of 29 of 34 transplanted kidneys harvested with these techniques supports their wider application and should encourage their wider acceptance.