rhodanine and Acute-Disease

We surveyed histochemically detectable copper in various liver diseases with emphasis on chronic biliary disease (CBD) and venous outflow impairment. Using rhodanine, we graded copper accumulation in 298 liver specimens: venous outflow impairment (n = 64), CBD (n = 123), Wilson disease (WD) (n = 12), chronic hepatitis C (n = 32), steatohepatitis (n = 28), sarcoidosis (n = 15), cholestatic hepatitis (n = 12), and acute large bile duct obstruction (n = 12). Copper was detected in 39% of specimens; all had chronic liver disease. Copper increased with increasing fibrosis. CBD accumulated copper more frequently than other chronic diseases (except WD), both in early (61% vs 3%) and late (94% vs 59%) stages and in larger amounts. Rhodanine was positive in 73% of livers with CBD, 20% with sarcoidosis, 9% with chronic hepatitis C, and 7% with steatohepatitis. Copper was detected in 14% of chronic venous outflow impairment specimens; with 1 exception, stainable copper was absent in early stages but detected in 38% of cirrhotic livers. In conclusion, rhodanine helps differentiate CBD from other conditions, including venous outflow impairment; in the absence of advanced fibrosis, rhodanine positivity strongly favors CBD. In contrast, rhodanine positivity is nonspecific in cirrhosis, but the absence of copper in that setting excludes CBD.

Topics: Acute Disease; Adult; Aged; Biliary Tract Diseases; Chronic Disease; Copper; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Hepatic Veins; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Liver Diseases; Male; Middle Aged; Peripheral Vascular Diseases; Regional Blood Flow; Rhodanine; Staining and Labeling; Young Adult

The relation between ventricular histamine concentrations and the occurrence of early ventricular arrhythmias during acute myocardial ischaemia was investigated in pentobarbitone-anaesthetized rats. There was significant decrease in the left, but not the right, ventricular histamine level at 5 min following acute left coronary artery ligation. Pretreatment with rhodanine caused remarkable reduction in ventricular histamine concentrations as well as significantly lower incidence and slower onset of ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation resulting from acute myocardial ischaemia. On the contrary, aminoguanidine pretreatment did not significantly alter ventricular histamine levels nor did it influence the occurrence of early ventricular arrhythmias induced by coronary artery ligation. The responses of blood pressure and heart rate to acute coronary artery ligation were not noticeably affected by rhodanine or aminoguanidine pretreatment. These findings support the hypothesis that histamine release from cardiac tissues may contribute to the genesis of early ventricular arrhythmias, but not to the changes in blood pressure and heart rate, during acute myocardial ischaemia.

Topics: Acute Disease; Animals; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Blood Pressure; Coronary Disease; Guanidines; Heart Rate; Heart Ventricles; Histamine; Histamine Release; Male; Myocardium; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Rhodanine; Thiazoles