Carbamazepine induced atrial tachycardia with complete AV block.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Carbamazepine, a widely used antiepileptic drug that has been used for the treatment of both partial and generalized seizures, for trigeminal neuralgia, as a mood stabilizer and for treatment of neuropathic pain syndromes, may have negative chronotropic and dromotropic effects on the cardiac conduction system. DESCRIPTION OF CASE: We report a case of cardiac syncope due to atrial tachycardia combined with complete atrioventricular block as a consequence of carbamazepine administration for trigeminal neuralgia. CONCLUSION: Although sinus tachycardia is the most frequently observed cardiac side effect of carbamazepine, sinus and nodal bradycardia, atrioventricular block, premature ventricular contractions, ventricular tachycardia and junctional escape rhythms have been reported in patients due to carbamazepine toxicity.

Seasonal changes in composition, fatty acid, cholesterol and mineral content of six highly commercial fish species of Greece.

Changes in lipid, protein, ash and moisture, quantitative distribution of fatty acids, cholesterol and mineral content (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni and Zn) of six common fish species from Greece were studied. The proximate composition of all samples was significantly influenced by the fishing period, even the cultured ones. The sum of C20:5ω-3 and C22:6ω-3 ranged from 1.18 to 2.76 for sardine, from 0.37 to 1.99 for bogue, from 1.1 to 1.52 for mackerel, from 1.23 to 1.46 for sea bass, from 1.00 to 1.24 for trout and from 0.26 to 0.45 g/100 g edible portion for hake samples. Besides the ratio of ω-3/ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids ranged from 6.80 to 19.00 for the wild fish samples and from 1.01 to 3.67 for the cultured ones. Cholesterol of sardine, bogue, mackerel, trout and sea bass ranged from 37 up to 76 mg/100 g edible flesh, while it was varied from 72 to 124 mg/100 g in the flesh of hake. The concentration of minerals was detected at acceptable levels. All fish samples seemed to be quite good sources of Mg, Zn and Fe. Co was not detected in the samples studied.

A morphological study of the effect of chlorambucil during the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle of synchronized HEp-2 cancer cell populations using computerized morphometry.

Chlorambucil, a bisalkylating agent, used extensively in the treatment of autoimmune and neoplastic diseases, is known to affect DNA synthesis. However recent studies have revealed that it also affects the synthesis of other nuclear protein constituents, especially histones. Since histones play a major role in both the structural and functional integrity of chromatin, we have analyzed the morphological effects of this agent, using low dose conditions and synchronized populations of HEp-2 cancer cells in the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle. Analyses at the light and electron microscopy levels were undertaken using synchronous image analysis techniques. Computerized morphometry was used so as to evaluate various nuclear and cytological morphological parameters. It was found that chlorambucil affects the organization of chromatin, as well as other cellular parameters in a manner characteristic of decreased tumor aggressiveness. A finding of significance in this study was that chlorambucil exerted its influence on all these morphological parameters only when treatment was initiated at the beginning of the S phase and not during the second half of the S phase or the G2 phase.

Retinoic acid affects basement membrane formation of the seminiferous cords in 14-day male rat gonads in vitro.

The vitamin A derivative retinoic acid (RA) has been previously shown to have teratogenic effects and an ability to modulate cell differentiation in vivo and in vitro. In this study bilateral testicular primordia with the mesonephroi attached were isolated from rat fetuses at 14.5 days of gestation. The gonads were cultured on agar-coated grids in a synthetic medium. RA was added to male rat embryonic gonad cultures at a final concentration of 10(-6) M for 3 h. Two types of controls were prepared: (1) by omitting RA from the culture medium (alcohol controls) and (2) by using plain medium (untreated controls). When applied to gonad cultures RA was found to affect basement membrane development and disturb the general appearance of the tissue. All controls exhibited normal morphology. In order to evaluate the morphological changes observed due to the RA treatment, constituents of the basement membrane, laminin and collagen IV, were localized immunohistochemically at the light microscope level. Basement membrane was also studied at the electron microscope level in control and RA-treated cultures. We propose that one of the effects RA has on rat testicular morphogenesis is the irreversible suppression of seminiferous cord basement membrane formation and the disruption of normal testicular morphogenesis.