Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0729233 (Thoracic)
 6,478 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This study was undertaken to examine the alterations in vascular relaxation responsiveness to endothelium-dependent or -independent vasodilators, including atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and acetylcholine, in aortas of Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits during the progression of the atherosclerotic plaque. WHHL rabbits were divided into two groups according to age: group 1, 6-11 months, and group 2, 12-18 months. The isolated thoracic aortas obtained from both normal (control) and WHHL rabbits were suspended in a bath containing oxygenated Krebs' buffer for recording of isometric force. The endothelium-dependent relaxation evoked by acetylcholine was reduced in group 1 WHHL rabbits and decreased progressively in proportion to the degree of atherosclerosis progression when compared with age-matched control rabbits. ANP-induced relaxation was not significantly decreased in group 1 WHHL rabbits. However, ANP-induced relaxation was markedly impaired in group 2 WHHL rabbits. Thoracic aortas with severe atherosclerosis were less sensitive to ANP, with a significant increase in the median effective dose, although maximum relaxation induced by ANP was not reduced. Accumulation of cyclic GMP induced by ANP and acetylcholine was markedly reduced in atherosclerotic arteries obtained from group 2 WHHL rabbits compared with control rabbits. Vascular relaxation elicited by nitroglycerin or isoproterenol was not significantly impaired in atherosclerotic arteries from either group 1 or group 2 WHHL rabbits. From these results, we suggest that ANP-induced cyclic GMP formation and vascular relaxation via particulate guanylate cyclase in vascular smooth muscle cells are impaired in severely atherosclerotic arteries.
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PMID:Impaired vasodilatory response to atrial natriuretic peptide during atherosclerosis progression. 131 25

Rates of arterial collagen and noncollagen protein synthesis were quantified in vivo in rabbits maintained for 4 months on a control diet or the same diet supplemented with 2% peanut oil and 0.25% cholesterol. Thoracic aortas from animals fed the atherogenic diet exhibited raised lesions covering 75% to 100% of the surface. The dry delipidated weight and collagen content of these arterial segments both were significantly increased. The rates of protein synthesis were determined in rabbits given a bolus intravenous injection of 3H-L-proline (1.0 mCi/kg) and unlabelled proline (7 mmol/kg) to attain steady-state levels of specific radioactivity of free proline in plasma and tissues. Plasma proline specific activity decreased only 20% over a 5-hour period and was similar to free proline in arterial tissue, skin, and lung. Collagen synthesis rates (ng/mg dry delipidated weight per hour) were increased 10-fold in the intima plus inner media of atherosclerotic thoracic aortas compared with controls. Rates of collagen synthesis were also increased in the abdominal aortas, whereas protein synthesis in lung and skin was unaffected by diet. Increased rates of collagen synthesis in atherosclerotic arteries significantly exceeded the increases in noncollagen protein synthesis. In addition, collagen synthesis rates in vivo were 12 to 20 times greater than previously measured in vitro. These results demonstrate for the first time in vivo that collagen accumulation in the developing atherosclerotic plaque is in part due to accelerated rates of collagen synthesis by intimal smooth muscle cells.
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PMID:Accelerated rates of collagen synthesis in atherosclerotic arteries quantified in vivo. 367 6

Thoracic duct lymphocytes (TDL) from C3H/Tif and BALB/c mice were studied for their in vitro reactivity to the B cell mitogens lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and lipoprotein (LP). Roughly 4% and 10% of the surface immunoglobulin (Ig)-positive cells in these populations could be stimulated by LPS and LP, respectively, to generate clones of IgM-secreting cells. Among LPS-reactive B cells, roughly 30% developed into clones which also produced IgG3 or IgG2, while only a very small fraction (1-2%) of all precursors could give rise to clones secreting IgG1 and IgA. Freshly collected TDL from some batches of C3H/HeJ mice displayed a high proportion of Ig-containing B cell blasts (5-10%), which did not secrete enough Ig to be detected as plaque-forming cells (PFC). These cells, however, under appropriate culture conditions and stimulated by LP (but not by Nocardia mitogen), differentiated to PFC of the various Ig classes without dividing.
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PMID:Characterization of mouse thoracic duct B lymphocytes. I. Evidence of functional heterogeneity. 700 May 21

A technique of coronary surgical angioplasty is described. The long arteriotomy of the coronary artery over the stenosis is closed with the Internal Thoracic Artery (ITA) giving an enlargement patch effect. The majority of the atheromatous plaque is excluded from the lumen of the anastomosis and placed outside the suture line. The origin of the collateral arteries is preserved in the vascular lumen. The remodeled coronary artery is composed of a small gutter of native coronary artery and the whole surface of the ITA wall. In some cases, it is useful to associate a limited endarterectomy with the angioplasty. 66 surgical angioplasties have been performed in extensive coronary disease. Operative mortality was 5.4% with a myocardial infarction rate of 5.4%.
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PMID:[Complex coronary reconstructions using the internal mammary artery. Technique of surgical angioplasty, preliminary results]. 855 77

Knowledge of common and uncommon thoracic pathologic conditions in children with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) can expedite disease management. Chest radiography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are useful in cases involving possible complications of thoracic AIDS. Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis (LIP) is generally seen on plain radiographs and CT scans as a diffuse, symmetric, reticulonodular or nodular pattern, occasionally associated with mediastinal or hilar adenopathy. Chronic consolidations and bronchiectasis may be observed in pediatric AIDS patients with no evidence of previous LIP. Bacterial pneumonia, a frequent initial manifestation of AIDS, appears as lobar or segmental consolidations on radiographs. Radiographic findings of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, the most common infection, include rapidly progressive increased air-space opacity with air bronchograms. Lymphoma often appears as a mediastinal or hilar mass, often without involvement of the lung parenchyma. Thoracic smooth muscle tumors have also been observed in children with AIDS. Multilocular thymic cysts have low attenuation on CT scans and increased signal intensity on T2-weighted MR images. Most pediatric AIDS patients with cardiac disease have cardiomegaly, often associated with pulmonary edema, at chest radiography. An esophagogram may show ulceration, plaque formation, mucosal edema, and dysmotility in patients with candidal esophagitis.
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PMID:Thoracic disease in children with AIDS. 894 40

This experiment was designed to study the antiatherogenesis action of angelica injection and its mechanisms on classic atherosclerotic rabbit model. Eighteen Japanese rabbits were divided randomly into three groups: a control group, a high-lipid group and an angelica group; and common forage, high lipid forage and high lipid adding angelica injection were given to each group accordingly. At the end of the tenth week, blood samples were obtained through carotid artery intubation for evidence of serum lipids and hemorheology. Thoracic aorta were prepared for measurement of the plaque area. The results showed that (1) the plaque area in the high-lipid group was larger than in the angelica group: (35.58+/-7.25% vs 63.31+/-7.46%); (2) serum lipids level in the high-lipid group and angelica group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.01). Apart from triglyceride (TG), there was no difference of total cholesterol (Tch), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-ch), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-ch) between the high-lipid group and the angelica group; (3) angelica increased whole blood viscosity, hematocrit and fibrinogen under hyperlipidemic conditions. We concluded that angelica can inhibit rabbit aorta atherogenesis through decreasing the serum triglyceride concentration and its effects on hemorheology.
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PMID:Experimental study of the antiatherogenesis effect of Chinese medicine angelica and its mechanisms. 1108 67

A 30-year-old woman consulted for recent repeated episodes of hemoptysis occurring at the onset of the menses a few months after interruption of estrogen-progesterone treatment. This patient's only surgical history involved uterine curetage. She was a smoker and had cumulated 10 pack-years. Physical examination and chest x-rays were normal. Bronchial endoscopy and cytological examination of the bronchial aspiration were normal. Thoracic CT demonstrated an alveolar image in the right lower lobe. A second CT performed later after resolution of the episode of hemoptysis was normal. Laparoscopy was performed and visualized an endometrial nodule in the pelvis which was removed. The patient's clinical signs disappeared after treatment with triptoreline. Bronchopulmonary endometriosis is an uncommon condition. The main manifestations are catamenial hemoptysis during the first days of the menses. Chest pain is exceptional. Diagnosis may result from an incidental discovery. A traumatic intervention on the uterus is often found in the patient's history. The most commonly proposed pathogenic mechanism involves hematogenic migration following a uterine procedure. Imaging does not disclose specific signs and bronchial endoscopy is often normal but may demonstrate a tracheal or bronchial plaque of endometriosis, or exceptionally endometrial tissue in the endoscopy biopsies. LH-RH agonists remain the current treatment.
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PMID:[A patient with pulmonary endometriosis]. 1240 88

Thoracic aortic atherosclerosis has been shown to be an important cause of severe morbidity and mortality. At the present time, the case of performance, detailed information obtainable, and availability make TEE the procedure of choice for the imaging of thoracic aortic atherosclerosis; however, further technical advances in MR and CT, particularly in MR plaque characterization and the use of plaque specific contrast agents, may allow for a less invasive and more complete evaluation of thoracic aortic atherosclerosis in the near future. Gadolinium-enhanced 3DMRA is the procedure of choice for the noninvasive detection of plaque in the proximal aortic arch vessels. Furthermore, both CT and MRI are better suited to evaluate penetrating atherosclerotic ulcers and their complications such as intramural hematoma, pseudoaneurysm formation, and aortic rupture.
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PMID:Diagnostic imaging of aortic atherosclerosis and its complications. 1248 31

Purpose of this study was the evaluation of the thoracic aortic wall thickness as a potential identifier of patients at increased risk for future cardiac events. Thoracic aortic wall thickness was measured with MDCT in 160 patients. The CT-scans were implemented as non-invasive coronary angiography studies. Relationships between aortic wall thickness, sex, age, major risk factors and atherosclerotic plaque burden of the coronary arteries were explored. Higher values of maximum aortic wall thickness of the descending aorta (women P = 0.02, men P = 0.01) were found in patients with coronary atherosclerosis, compared to patients with same gender but excluded atherosclerosis. Aortic wall thickness of the mid-portion of the descending aorta of 3.0 mm is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) with a specificity of 96.6% (sensitivity 27.5%) and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 93.3%. For patients with two or more major risk factors and a maximum wall thickness of equal or more than 2.6 mm we found a PPV of 100%. We conclude that measurements of maximum wall thickness of the descending aorta are a potential tool for detecting patients with coronary atherosclerosis. The potential effect of combining measurements of aortic wall thickness at routine chest CT studies with a possible cardiovascular screening is substantial and merits further study.
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PMID:Aortic wall thickness assessed by multidetector computed tomography as a predictor of coronary atherosclerosis. 1903 49

The degree to which mechanical ventilation induces ventilator-associated lung injury is dependent on the initial acute lung injury (ALI). Viral-induced ALI is poorly studied, and this study aimed to determine whether ALI induced by a clinically relevant infection is exacerbated by protective mechanical ventilation. Adult female BALB/c mice were inoculated with 10(4.5) plaque-forming units of influenza A/Mem/1/71 in 50 microl of medium or medium alone. This study used a protective ventilation strategy, whereby mice were anesthetized, tracheostomized, and mechanically ventilated for 2 h. Lung mechanics were measured periodically throughout the ventilation period using a modification of the forced oscillation technique to obtain measures of airway resistance and coefficients of tissue damping and tissue elastance. Thoracic gas volume was measured and used to obtain specific airway resistance, tissue damping, and tissue elastance. At the end of the ventilation period, a bronchoalveolar lavage sample was collected to measure inflammatory cells, macrophage inflammatory protein-2, IL-6, TNF-alpha, and protein leak. Influenza infection caused significant increases in inflammatory cells, protein leak, and deterioration in lung mechanics that were not exacerbated by mechanical ventilation, in contrast to previous studies using bacterial and mouse-specific viral infection. This study highlighted the importance of type and severity of lung injury in determining outcome following mechanical ventilation.
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PMID:Protective mechanical ventilation does not exacerbate lung function impairment or lung inflammation following influenza A infection. 1974 94


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