Laser enhancement in hepatic regeneration for partially hepatectomized rats.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The bio-stimulation effect of laser has been observed in many areas of Medicine. However, there are a few works which investigate its use for liver regeneration. Most of their results were inconclusive due to the use of high power lasers. This work was carried out to investigate the bio-stimulation effect of laser in liver regeneration using low power lasers. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used Wistar male rats, which were irradiated with laser light (wavelength 590 nm and intensity of 50 mW/cm(2)) for 5 minutes after 70% hepatectomy. The respiratory mitochondrial activity, the serum level of aminotransferase and the PCNA were measured. RESULTS: Our results show a dramatic increase in the mitochondrial activity for the laser treated group at 24 hours after the hepatectomy. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the laser promotes a bio-stimulation effect on the early stages of liver regeneration without any detectable damage of the cells.

Lack of control of liver gluconeogenesis in cholestatic rats with reduced portal blood flow.

Previous studies indicated a role for ischemia in the metabolic changes induced by cholestasis. Liver pyruvate kinase is a key enzyme for the concurrent control of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. In this experiment the control of pyruvate kinase activity was investigated in cholestatic rats. Pyruvate kinase kinetics changed from a sigmoidal type in sham-operated rats to a hyperbolic type in obstructed rats. The change in the enzymatic kinetics paralleled the reduction in the portal blood flow, which reached 50% of the control value 7 days after obstruction. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP (5 mumol/kg body wt) plus theophylline 0.1 mmol/L failed to inactivate the enzyme when injected into the portal veins of rats whose livers were obstructed 7 days before. Both the kinetics changes and the lack of phosphorylation control are compatible with ischemia.

Hepatic regeneration after hepatectomy in schistosomatic fibrosis.

After partial hepatectomy (approximately 30%), the labelled hepatocyte index (LHI) of the normal mouse is increased and reaches its highest value 48 h after surgery. In mice with schistosomatic fibrosis (SF), the LHI was lower than in the controls at 24, 48 and 72 h after hepatectomy.

Simple suture with or without proximal gastric vagotomy for perforated duodenal ulcer.

To assess the results of proximal gastric vagotomy (PGV) in the definitive treatment of perforated duodenal ulcers, a prospective study was carried out comparing PGV in association with omental patch suture (PGV + S) with the simple omental patch suture procedure (S). The PGV + S series consisted of 38 consecutive patients with perforated duodenal ulcer and the S series consisted of 38 survivors of a similar series of 41 consecutive patients. Surgical mortality was zero in the PGV + S series. The patients were followed up for 1 to 7 years. No cases of dumping or diarrhoea were observed. Thirty-three patients in the PGV + S series (87 per cent) were classified as Visick grade I and only two (5 per cent) as Visick grade IV. In contrast, 11 patients (29 per cent) were Visick grade I and 22 (58 per cent) were Visick grade IV in the S series. Recurrent ulcer was detected endoscopically in 58 per cent of the patients who had been treated with simple suture and in only 5 per cent after suture plus PGV. PGV is a safe operation with a negligible morbidity rate and with a significant rate of effective control of ulcer disease. Depending on the general condition of the patient and on the surgeon's skill, it appears preferable to treat not only the acute perforation but also the ulcer disease by PGV.