Anatomical variations of the canine adrenal vessels.

The canine adrenal glands receive blood from the celiac artery, cranial mesenteric artery, caudal phrenic artery, cranial abdominal artery, phrenicoabdominal trunk, abdominal aorta, renal artery and lumbar artery. These are classified into three types: cranial, middle and caudal adrenal branches. It is also known that the adrenal vein flows into the phrenicoabdominal vein. However, individual differences in the branching pattern of adrenal vessels have not been systematically analysed. We evaluated adrenal vessels in dogs that underwent contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography (CT). There were 255 arteries travelling to the adrenal glands in 47 cases, with 1-6 arteries travelling per adrenal gland. The arteries included 67 caudal phrenic arteries, 62 aortic arteries, 60 cranial abdominal arteries, 39 renal arteries, 12 phrenicoabdominal trunks, 8 cranial mesenteric arteries, 6 celiac arteries and 1 lumbar artery. Most of the branches were from the aorta and caudal phrenic artery on the left side, and the cranial abdominal and caudal phrenic artery on the right side. A total of 110 adrenal veins were identified. Inflow into the phrenicoabdominal vein and into the right and left renal veins was observed, and we identified no inflow into other veins. This study demonstrated two points: laterality and individual differences in adrenal blood vessels. When evaluating adrenal blood vessels with abdominal contrast-enhanced CT, it is recommended to take images under general anaesthesia with breath-holding and observe them using multiplanar reconstruction.

Critical discrepancy in blood glucose control levels evaluated by glycated albumin and estimated hemoglobin A1c levels determined from a flash continuous glucose monitoring system in patients with type 2 diabetes on hemodialysis.

We aimed to investigate if estimated hemoglobin A1c (eHbA1c) levels determined using a flash continuous glucose monitoring system could be an indicator of glycemic control status in hemodialysis patients with diabetes. Hemodialysis patients with type 2 diabetes were recruited. eHbA1c levels were measured using the FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System® . A total of 18 hemodialysis patients with diabetes were included in the study. The eHbA1cGA - calculated based on glycated albumin level, and body mass index and serum hemoglobin concentration were also included in the formula - was higher than the eHbA1c in most patients. Furthermore, the eHbA1cGA  - eHbA1c values were >2% in all patients with body mass index <18.5 kg/m2 ; the maximal value was 4.1%. This study shows that eHbA1c can be used as a reliable indicator for evaluating glycemic control and avoiding hypoglycemia in hemodialysis patients with diabetes, particularly those with decreased body mass index.

Effects of supplemented diacylglycerol rich in docosahexaenoic acid on serum triacylglycerol in a diet-induced hyperlipidemic model of rats are essentially equivalent to those of triacylglycerol rich in docosahexaenoic acid.

Effects of supplemented docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), given as diacylglycerol (DG) rich in DHA (DHA-DG), triacylglycerol (TG) rich in DHA (DHA-TG) or fish oil concentrate (DHA-70), on the serum concentration of TG and its bioavailability in the rats with diet-induced hyperlipidemia were studied. Hypertriglyceridemia was induced by feeding male Wistar rats a semi-purified diet that contained 5% corn oil and 50% sucrose by weight. In addition to the feeding of dietary corn oil, the rats received DHA intragastrically at a dose of 500 mg/kg body weight once a day for 28 d and the control rats were given olive oil. The serum concentration of TG in the rats that received DHA-DG was significantly lower than in the control rats. However, there were no significant differences in diet intake, energy intake, body weight gain, visceral fat mass or fecal excretion of total fatty acids among the four groups. The amounts of DHA excreted into the feces of the three groups of rats that received DHA were approximately 0.4% of the DHA administered. The extent of the decreases induced by DHA-DG in the serum level of TG was almost the same as those induced by DHA-TG and DHA-70. The administration of DHA, regardless of the differences in molecular structure, did not affect the hepatic contents of TG or phospholipid. The administration of DHA-DG considerably increased the proportions of DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) while decreasing the proportion of arachidonic acid in hepatic lipids, and as a result in the lipids in serum and erythrocytes, to the same extents as did DHA-TG and DHA-70. These results suggest that the hypotriglyceridemic effects and bioavailability of DHA when supplemented in the form of DG are essentially equivalent to those of DHA-TG and DHA-70.