BACKGROUND Laparoscopic fundoplication is an accepted treatment for symptomatic gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. The aim of this study was to clarify whether total (Nissen) or partial (Toupet) fundoplication is preferable, and whether preoperative oesophageal manometry should be used to determine the degree of fundoplication performed. METHODS Preoperative oesophageal manometry was used to ...

Background and Purpose—Hypoxia preconditioning (HPC), rapid or delayed, has been reported to induce neuroprotection against subsequent severe stress. Because -opioid receptor (DOR) plays an important role in delayed HPC-induced neuroprotection against severe hypoxic injury, we asked whether DOR is also involved in the rapid HPC-induced neuroprotection. Methods—Cultured rat cortical neurons at c...

Background. Achalasia, a rare esophageal motility disorder that may cause malnutrition during pregnancy, can result in fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality. Many medical treatment regimens are contraindicated or not tolerated during pregnancy, and surgery is generally avoided due to potential risks to the fetus. Case Report. Severe, medically refractory achalasia in a 23-year-old pregnant...

N-Acetylation of the tetrahydroquinoline (THQ) core of a series of μ-opioid receptor (MOR) agonist/δ-opioid receptor (DOR) antagonist ligands increases DOR affinity, resulting in ligands with balanced MOR and DOR affinities. We report a series of N-substituted THQ analogues that incorporate various carbonyl-containing moieties to maintain DOR affinity and define the steric and electronic requir...

a Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA), Departamento de Anestesiologia, Dor e Cuidados Paliativos, São Luís, MA, Brasil b Instituto Oncológico Luis Razetti, Departamento de Medicina Paliativa, Caracas, Venezuela c Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Departamento de Anestesiologia e Cirurgia, Bahia, BA, Brasil d Hospital Zambrano-Hellion TEC Salud, Departamento de Anestesia/Tratamento da Do...

Context. AB Doradus is the main system of the AB Doradus moving group. It is a quadruple system formed by two widely separated binaries of pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars: AB Dor A/C and AB Dor Ba/Bb. The pair AB Dor A/C has been extensively studied and its dynamical masses have been determined with high precision, thus making AB Dor C a benchmark for calibrating PMS stellar models. If the orbit ...

Peripheral opioid analgesia is increased substantially after inflammation. We evaluated the hypothesis that an inflammatory mediator, bradykinin (BK), evokes functional competence of the delta-opioid receptor (DOR) for inhibiting trigeminal ganglia (TG) sensory neurons. We also evaluated whether BK evokes trafficking of the DOR to the plasma membrane. Rat TG cultures were pretreated with BK (10...

BACKGROUND Quality of life, poor in patients with reflux disease, improves significantly after an antireflux operation. The aim of this study was to determine the relative importance of the operative approach used for a fundoplication, as well as the successful elimination of reflux symptoms on long-term quality of life in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. METHODS A questionnaire...

BACKGROUND Achalasia is a relatively rare disorder with a variety of treatment options. Although laparoscopic Heller myotomy has become the surgical treatment of choice, little data exist on the overall quality of life of patients undergoing this technique versus standard open approaches. METHODS We prospectively evaluated all patients surgically treated for achalasia by a single surgeon. Lap...

Gastro-esophageal reflux (GER) is a physiological process characterized by the involuntary passage of gastric contents into the lower esophagus not induced by noxious stimuli. It represents a common condition in preterm infants and may occur in healthy neonates. The phenomenon is only considered as GER disease when it causes the patient to be symptomatic or results in pathological complications...