A 4-year-old female French bulldog presented with a 6-month history of right-sided head tilt and acute onset ataxia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a large mass lesion at the cerebellomedullary pontine angle. The dog was able to stand and walk after beginning symptomatic therapy with prednisolone, acetazolamide and glycerin. Magnetic resonance imaging 10 months after the first examination indicated slight expansion of the tumor. The dog was able to walk with continuous symptomatic therapy for 15 months until death, although the head tilt persisted. On postmortem examination, the gross tumor was slightly larger than when seen on the second MRI scan and was histopathologically diagnosed as a choroid plexus papilloma.

AIMS:A novel blood purification material that we previously reported as a superantigen- and cytokine-adsorbing device (SCAD) was evaluated for its ability to adsorb unbound, unconjugated bilirubin (UUBil) in vitro and in vivo. METHODS:In albumin-containing buffer, UUBil was dissolved and circulated through the SCAD column. Also, bilirubin was infused into low-body weight newborn piglets and hemoperfused for 3 h over SCAD columns. RESULTS:In albumin-containing buffer, concentration of bilirubin decreased from 34 to 0.6 mg/dL within 5 h and the SCAD fiber turned brown, indicating that bilirubin was adsorbed onto the surface of the adsorbent and was not degraded during the circulation. Using the hyperbilirubinemia swine, clearances of total bilirubin (TBil), direct bilirubin (DBil), and indirect bilirubin (IdBil) were significantly higher (P<0.01) in the SCAD group compared with the control group. The clearances of TBil, DBil, and IdBil at 3 h after the initiation of the bilirubin infusion were 0.47, 0.53, and 0.45 mL/min, respectively, at a blood flow rate of 2.5 mL/min, and this result indicates that almost 20% of bilirubins were adsorbed to the SCAD column in a single passage. CONCLUSION:These results provide initial evidence that SCAD treatment is effective in the removal of UUBil and can be performed safely in newborn animals.

This study was designed to elucidate the effects of meluadrine tartrate on oxytocin-induced uterine contraction and maternal hemodynamics in unanesthetized, chronically instrumented pregnant goats. After the administration of meluadrine tartrate or ritodrine hydrochloride to pregnant goats, changes in heart rate (HR), arterial blood pressure (AOP), and arterial blood pH and gasses (P(O2) and P(CO2)) in the mother, as well as changes in intrauterine pressure (IUP) and uterine arterial blood flow (UBF), were measured. The escalating administration of meluadrine tartrate (0.03, 0.1, 0.3 and 1 micro g. kg(-)(1). min(-)(1)) or ritodrine hydrochloride (1, 3, 10 and 30 microg. kg(-)(1). min(-)(1)) to the maternal femoral vein caused a marked and similar inhibition in oxytocin-induced uterine contraction (a rise in IUP). By these escalating dosings, maternal HR was increased dose-dependently in both treatment groups; however, the degree of the HR increase in the meluadrine tartrate-treatment group was significantly less than that in the ritodrine hydrochloride-treatment group. Furthermore, the degree of the UBF decrease in the meluadrine tartrate-treatment group was significantly less than that in the ritodrine hydrochloride-treatment group. The present study suggests that meluadrine tartrate has a mild influence on the maternal cardiovascular function relative to the effects of ritodrine taking the potent efficacy on oxytocin-induced uterine contraction into account.

. Abstract. Purpose: To investigate changes in atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and angiotensin II (AT-II) levels in a canine model of pulmonary embolism (PE), created by embolizing the left posterior pulmonary artery with gelatin powder. Methods: Pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) was measured before, immediately after, and 1 day after pulmonary artery embolization. Plasma ANP and AT-II levels were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) before and 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after embolization. ANP and AT-II levels were also measured by RIA in both embolized and nonembolized lung tissue 28 days after embolization. Results: No changes in plasma ANP or AT-II were seen within 28 days after embolization. Although the ANP level in the nonembolized lung tissue was significantly increased, the level in the embolized lung tissue was significantly decreased compared with that of sham-operated control lung tissue. The AT-II level in the nonembolized lung tissue was significantly decreased compared with that of the control lung tissue, but the level in the embolized lung tissue did not change. Conclusion: Both ANP and AT-II in the nonembolized lung tissue reacted to compensate for vasoconstriction caused by the PE in this model.

Effects of magnesium sulfate were investigated on fetal heart rate (FHR) baseline, variability, and reactivity in goats. Six chronically catheterized fetuses of Japanese Saanen goat at 125 to 130 days' gestation (term = 147 days) were used. Magnesium sulfate was directly infused to the fetuses. Short-term variability and long-term variability were obtained according to Huey et al. The baseline, reactivity, short-term variability and long-term variability of the FHR were compared between those receiving magnesium sulfate infusions and those receiving vehicle infusions without magnesium sulfate for 4 hr. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan's multiple range test was applied for statistical significance. Four hours magnesium sulfate infusion significantly increased fetal plasma concentration of magnesium from 2.4-6.6 mg/dL, without significant changes in fetal respiratory gases and pH values. The baseline FHR was significantly decreased by magnesium infusion compared with that receiving vehicle infusion. The incidence of acceleration, short-term variability, and long-term variability during the fourth hour of magnesium infusion was also significantly decreased compared to a controlled infusion. The time spent by high amplitude phase of short-term variability and that of long-term variability were also significantly reduced. Significant correlation was obtained between the magnesium concentration and incidence of acceleration at fourth hour of magnesium infusion. Four hours infusion of magnesium sulfate significantly decreases baseline FHR, short-term variability, long-term variability, and reactivity in fetal goats at 0.85 gestation.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of prolonged hypoxemia without acidemia on fetal stress hormones. Twenty-four-hour hypoxemia was conducted in nine chronically catheterized pregnant goats to determine fetal plasma concentrations of arginine vasopressin (AVP), epinephrine (E), and norepinephrine (NE). Nine experiments were performed. Six resulted in nonacidemic, steady-state hypoxemia, and three incidentally resulted in hypoxemia with progressive acidemia. In steady-state hypoxemia, fetal PO2 decreased significantly from 28.1 +/- 2.4 Torr to 18.8 +/- 2.5 Torr, fetal PCO2 also decreased significantly by about 5 Torr, and pH values did not change significantly. Fetal plasma concentrations of AVP, E, and NE were significantly increased at 1 h of hypoxemia. As hypoxemia continued, AVP returned to control level by 24 h, while E and NE remained elevated throughout the hypoxemic period. In the three experiments with progressive acidemia, AVP, E, and NE increased further as fetal acidosis progressed. We conclude that fetal AVP acts as a shorter-term stress hormone than E and NE in steady-state hypoxemia. This adaptive response is present without progressive acidosis. We also conclude that accompanying acidemia is a more potent stimulus for AVP, E, and NE than isolated hypoxemia during longer-term studies.