Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0019270 (hernia)
 15,856 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Protein C is a vitamin-K-dependent plasma glycoprotein that when activated inhibits coagulation by selectively inactivating the active forms of factor V and factor VIII. A specific antiserum to protein C has been raised, and plasma protein C levels have been measured by means of an electroimmunoassay in several physiological and pathological conditions. In 60 healthy adults there were no differences in protein C related to age or sex; protein C levels ranged from 72 to 139% of values in a normal plasma pool. Low levels were found in 12 healthy full-term newborn infants; the levels in 20 women in the last trimester of normal pregnancy were no different from those in healthy non-pregnant women. In 58 patients with chronic liver diseases protein C levels were lower than those in healthy subjects, in degrees roughly proportional to the severity of the disease. Protein C levels were very low in 21 patients with the disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome, particularly in those who had evidence of consumption coagulopathy. Very low levels were also found, however, in 20 patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome without consumption coagulopathy. Acquired defects of protein C developed after surgery in the patients operated on for malignancies, after major abdominal operations for benign conditions, and also after relatively minor procedures such as appendicectomy and hernia repair. These findings indicate that protein C deficiencies occur in several conditions associated with increased tendency to thrombosis.
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PMID:Deficiencies of protein C, an inhibitor of blood coagulation. 612 39

The potential widespread use of tissue-engineered matrices in soft-tissue reconstruction has been limited by the difficulty in fabricating and confirming a functional microcirculation. Acellular dermal matrix placed in a soft-tissue pocket acts as a scaffold to be incorporated by the host's fibrovascular tissue. A new method for noninvasive real-time observation of functional microvascular networks using orthogonal polarization spectral (OPS) imaging has recently been reported. Arterioles, venules, and capillaries can be directly visualized, and the movement of individual blood cells through them can be observed. The present study was performed to investigate the use of prefabricated acellular dermal matrix with an arteriovenous unit for the repair of abdominal muscle defects. OPS imaging was used to determine the presence of a functional microcirculation in the neovascularized matrix. In Sprague-Dawley rats, vascularized matrix was prefabricated by placing the superficial epigastric artery and vein on a 2-cm x 2-cm implant-type acellular dermal matrix in the thigh. Three weeks after implantation, the matrix-arteriovenous unit was elevated as an axial-type flap and a 2-cm x 2-cm full-thickness block of abdominal muscle immediately superior to the inguinal ligament was resected. Additional procedures were performed according to group: no repair (group 1, n = 20); repair with nonvascularized acellular dermal matrix (group 2, n = 20); repair with devascularized acellular dermal matrix (group 3, = 20); and repair with vascularized acellular dermal matrix (group 4, n = 20). OPS imaging (field of view, 1 mm in diameter; scan depth range, 0.2 mm) was performed on both sides of each flap on a total of 10 random distal regions before and after pedicle transection in group 3 and with the pedicle preserved in group 4. Hernia rate and duration of survival were compared for 21 days. OPS imaging showed directional blood cell movement through the capillary network in all areas scanned in group 4. No microvascular perfusion was observed after pedicle transection in group 3. Hernia rates of 100, 80, 90, and 0 percent were seen in groups 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Median survival times of 9, 11.5, 9, and 21 postoperative days were noted in groups 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Histopathologic analysis with factor VIII revealed full-thickness infiltration of the matrix by endothelial cells, signifying newly formed blood vessels. Repair of abdominal muscle defects using vascularized acellular dermal matrix resulted in no hernia and survival of all animals for the duration of study. However, repairs using avascular or devascularized matrix resulted in significant rates of hernia and decreased survival. Acellular dermal matrix can be prefabricated into vascularized tissue using an arteriovenous unit and used successfully to repair abdominal muscle defects. OPS imaging allowed for high-contrast direct visualization of microcirculation in previously acellular tissue following prefabrication with an arteriovenous unit.
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PMID:Vascularized acellular dermal matrix island flaps for the repair of abdominal muscle defects. 1249 83