A trial of deglycyrrhizinated liquorice in the treatment of duodenal ulcer

A double-blind trial of deglycyrrhizinated liquorice was performed in 47 patients with active duodenal ulcer. Twenty-four patients received a placebo and 23 the trial medication (Caved-S) for one month. Both groups were clinically similar. No advantage of deglycyrrhizinated liquorice over placebo was found.

Sex chromatin, body-masculinity and smoking behavior

An hypothesized relationship between smoking behavior, body masculinity ( Masc), and amount of sex chromatin was investigated using 6 samples of California college students ( n = 437) and 1 of 80 Indiana adults. Ratings of Masc were positively correlated with the amount smoked by smokers of both sexes in all samples. Amount of chromatin in both buccal smears and blood neutrophils was higher for smokers in all samples tested. The amount smoked was negatively correlated for male and positively correlated for female smokers with amount of chromatin. Amount of chromatin is related to Masc in females but not in males.

A clinical description of death in rats and the effect of various conditions on the time untile cessation of ventricular contraction following section between the brain and spinal cord

Clinical death has been examined in rats. The time between severing the brain and spinal cord, and the disappearance of the ventricular complex on the electrocardiogram, has been measured. It is much longer in 1 week-old rats than in rats aged 4-56 weeks; it is also prolonged in bilateral pneumothorax and by artificial respiration (particularly if it is started before the animal stops breathing). It is also lengthened by intraperitoneal pentobarbitone, and by keeping the rats in an ambient temperature of 36°. The relevance of these findings to resuscitation of patients is discussed.

Renal transplantation at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center: an update of results in the cyclosporine era

This chapter presents a summary of living-related, living-unrelated, and cadaver renal transplantation performed at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center between January 1984 and October 1992. Over the past 9 years, 895 patients (557 males, 338 females, mean age 42 yrs) received 942 renal transplants; 599 patients received kidneys from cadaver donors (n = 627) and 296 patients received kidneys (n = 315) from living donors of all types. During this period, 151 patients were retransplanted, sometimes more than once (159 total retransplants, 124 secondary grafts, and 35 third or more transplants). An analysis of patient ant graft survival rates (calculated by actuarial methods) for different categories of transplant recipients was performed. Black recipients, as a racial subcategory, had the poorest graft outcome, especially when followed over the long term. Graft survival rates for Black recipients who were retransplanted with cadaver grafts were even worse and were noted to be similar to the diabetic population that received cadaver retransplants (66% vs 62% at 1 yr and 32% vs 25% at 5 yrs). Diabetic recipients of living-donor transplants had excellent graft survival results, similar to nondiabetic, living-donor recipients (patient survival rates 98% and 92% vs 97% and 92% at 1 and 5 yrs; graft survival rates 92% and 82% vs 92% and 82% at 1 and 5 yrs). HLA-identical recipients of first cadaver grafts demonstrated the best outcome in the entire cadaver series (graft survival rates 91% and 83% at 1 and 5 yrs, respectively). HLA-identical recipients of second or more cadaver grafts had poorer results than expected (50% graft survival at 1 yr) despite a 100% patient survival rate. HLA-identical recipients of living-related grafts had the best graft survival rates (96% at 1 yr and 94% at 5 yrs) and superior graft survival rates for retransplanted grafts as well (100% at 1 and 5 yrs). We conclude that in the last decade, patient and graft survival rates for cadaveric and living-donor renal transplants have improved dramatically relative to the results obtained in the pre-CsA era. Long-term graft survival in Black recipients remains lower than in other races, suggesting the need to analyze other factors to explain poorer graft survival in this recipient population. Results in diabetic recipients continue to be excellent at our center, encouraging the continuation of our aggressive approach to try to transplant diabetics as early as possible, particularly when a living donor is available.