Here, we studied the effects of tacrolimus and sirolimus on lymph

Here, we studied the effects of tacrolimus and sirolimus on lymphocyte subpopulations in an I/R rat model. The animals were treated with tacrolimus, sirolimus or vehicle, before undergoing a 60-min ischemia event of the right hepatic lobe, followed by excision of the remaining liver. After 2 h, I/R rats showed increased mortality, plasma lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, hepatocyte apoptosis, liver histological STI571 cell line injury and parenchymal infiltration by neutrophils, macrophages, NK cells and T lymphocytes.

Most of the changes were antagonized by both immunosuppressants. Tacrolimus augmented the proportion of cycling cells in I/R rats, whereas sirolimus showed the opposite effect. The increased Th1/Th2 ratio found in I/R livers after 2 h was reverted by immunosuppressants, which also amplified the proportion of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T lymphocytes at 24 h. The protective effects of both tacrolimus and sirolimus correlated well with a decreased ratio of proinflammatory to anti-inflammatory T lymphocytes, and with an increase in the Treg proportion. This suggests a new mechanism to explain the known beneficial effect selleck products shown by immunosuppressants early after I/R.”
“OBJECTIVE: We present a case of syringomyelia attributed to a transverse

thoracic arachnoid web at T4. The cerebrospinal fluid pressure caudal to the web was higher than the cerebrospinal fluid pressure rostral to the web, causing a syrinx in the thoracic and cervical spinal cord above the web.

CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 43-year-old man presented with numbness and a burning pain in his left upper back and extremities. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a cervical-thoracic syrinx that terminated relatively abruptly at T4. Because of the abrupt termination of the syrinx at T4 and the slight ventral displacement of the spinal cord at this level, a dorsal arachnoid web was suspected.

INTERVENTION: A T4 laminectomy was performed. Intraoperative ultrasound before opening of the thecal

sac showed a pulsating transverse dorsal arachnoid web. The dura was 4-Aminobutyrate aminotransferase opened and the web resected, thus widely communicating the dorsal subarachnoid space. The syrinx dramatically decreased in size and the patient’s pain improved but did not resolve completely.

CONCLUSION: In patients with presumed idiopathic syringomyelia, imaging studies should be closely inspected for the presence of a transverse arachnoid web. Surgical resection of a transverse thoracic arachnoid web with syringomyelia can result in resolution of the syringomyelia and improvement in neurological function. Syrinx formation in patients with these webs may occur in the area of the spinal cord where there is lower cerebrospinal fluid pressure, which may be either rostral or caudal to the arachnoid web. We evaluate this hypothesis by comparing our case with other published cases.

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