OBJECTIVE Isolated limb perfusion combined with melphalan is an accepted treatment for obtaining locoregional control in advanced melanoma of the extremities and other malignant neoplasias restricted to the limb. This study aims to examine the factors associated with toxicity caused by the regional method. We considered the technical aspects of severe complications associated with the procedure...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the utility of urine dipstick test (UDT) for detecting rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney injury (AKI) due to crush injury. METHODS All the rescued victims of the Bam earthquake who had a documented urine analysis and serum creatine phosphokinase and creatinine levels during their hospitalization period were eligible to enter the study. The sensitivity and the specificity,...

BACKGROUND Many patients taking statins often complain of muscle pain and weakness. The extent to which muscle pain reflects muscle injury is unknown. METHODS We obtained biopsy samples from the vastus lateralis muscle of 83 patients. Of the 44 patients with clinically diagnosed statin-associated myopathy, 29 were currently taking a statin, and 15 had discontinued statin therapy before the bi...

The dependence of PC(1) and ATP(1) dephosphorylation on the number of isometric twitches in the iodoacetate-nitrogen-poisoned muscle has been examined. There is no net dephosphorylation of adenosinetriphosphate. PC dephosphorylation varies linearly with the number of twitches and produces equivalent amounts of C(1) and P(1i).(1) Iodoacetate concentrations which block the enzyme, creatine phosph...

Alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy including fibrosis has been recognized clinically for a long time, but its pathogenesis is incompletely understood. Studies using experimental animals have not fully duplicated the pathological changes in humans, and animal models of alcoholic cardiac fibrosis are not available. In the present study, we have developed a mouse model in which cardiac hypertrophy and...

In the present study, the antioxidant activity of the polysaccharides from aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller) gel was evaluated, in vitro by five established methods, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH(-)) radical scavenging, nitric oxide (NO) scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, superoxide radical (O(-2)) scavenging and reducing power assay, and in vivo against doxorubicin (DOX)-induced...

Acute exercise is known to activate the immune system and thus could lead to increased human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication. We sought to determine whether a single acute bout of exercise, similar to what people experience when starting an intensive exercise program, has a detrimental effect on plasma HIV RNA levels. Twenty-five patients with HIV infection performed one 15-min bout of...

Purpose: To evaluate the protective action of alpha-tocopherol in ischemia/reperfusion injuries of pelvic member of rats. Methods: Thirty adult male rats of the Wistar strain were randomized into three experimental groups of 10: Group I – control group with no ischemia or reperfusion. Groups II and III – four hours of ischemia and of hours of reperfusion by means of clamping of the infrarenal a...

White and red muscles of normal and genetically dystrophic chickens were compared with regards to activity levels of three soluble enzymes, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, creatine phosphokinase, and acetyl phosphatase. In dystrophic white muscle (pectoral), activity of the two sulfhydryl enzymes, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and creatine phosphokinase, was preferentially ...

INTRODUCTION Short-term administration of diosmin is usually considered safe, with only minor side effects (stomach and abdominal pain, diarrhea, dermatological disorders, and headache) occasionally observed. Within a 4-year period, a general practitioner noticed 17 cases of mild, diosmin-induced side effects, two of which showed particular interest. CASES PRESENTATION Case 1: A 55-year-old C...