We investigated the effects of isosorbide dinitrate (IDN) on gastric blood flow (GBF), portal venous pressure (PVP) and blood gas of rats with liver cirrhosis (LC) accompanied by portal hypertension. Thirty male Wistar rats (LC in 17 and normal in 13) were used. Before and after IDN administration, GBF, PVP and blood gas in the femoral artery and portal vein were measured. Portal blood oxygen c...

OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of pentoxiphylline (a potent inhibitor of tumor necrosis factor alpha) on survival, on systemic and portal hemodynamics, and on cardiac function in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. DESIGN A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. SETTING A single center using parallel groups of patients to compare pentoxiphylline with placebo. PATIENTS We recruit...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS To test the contribution of portal pressure gradient (PPG) and neurohumoral factors to sodium handling in cirrhotic patients without ascites, by comparing preascitic cirrhotic patients with patients with transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent shunt (TIPSS) and previous ascites. PATIENTS Ten patients with TIPSS and 10 preascitic cirrhotic patients. METHODS Changes ...

Portosystemic shunts are enlarged vessels that form collateral pathological pathways between the splanchnic circulation and the systemic circulation. Although their causes are multifactorial, portosystemic shunts all have one mechanism in common-increased portal venous pressure, which diverts the blood flow from the gastrointestinal tract to the systemic circulation. Congenital and acquired col...

A 37-year-old male, who at the age of 8 years had been treated for right-sided Wilms' tumor with nephrectomy, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, presented with noncirrhotic portal hypertension (NCPH), grade 2 esophageal varices, and ascites. A CT scan demonstrated hypoplasia of liver segments 2 and 3. A liver biopsy showed portal tract fibrosis without cirrhosis, with histological features of NCPH...

We investigated the haemodynamic response to volume depletion and subsequent repletion in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Twelve patients with compensated cirrhosis and portal hypertension were included in the study. The haemodynamic changes occurring after removal of approx. 15% of the blood volume, and subsequently after isovolume repletion with colloid, were assessed. Baseli...

A study of the estimated hepatic blood flow (EHBF) using a colloidal gold technique in 28 patients undergoing saphenous vein stripping, showed that the EHBF decreased to 68% of its initial value during the period of halothane anaeshtesia and operation. When enteral oxygen was added EHBF increased to 82% of its initial value. An investigation in 14 other patients under going upper abdominal oper...

It is well known that portal hypertension is associated with a hyperdynamic systemic circulatory state. This study measures systemic and splanchnic haemodynamics in an experimental rat model of hepatic cirrhosis. It also investigates the association between haemodynamic changes in cirrhotic animals and circulating levels of the vasoactive hormones glucagon and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide ...

BACKGROUND Hemodynamics during anaphylactic shock remain unclear. We determined hepatic and splanchnic responses to anaphylactic hypotension, compared with hemorrhage or sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-induced hypotension, in anesthetized rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Portal pressure, systemic arterial pressure (SAP), central venous pressure, portal and hepatic arterial blood flow were measured. Spl...

The development of varices in the esophagus and the gastrointestinal tract is only one of the 3 complications caused by increased pressure within the portal system, the others being ascites and hepatic encephalopathy. All of these conditions are essentially brought about by diseases that impair the flow of blood through the liver such as in liver cirrhosis. The presence of collateral blood vess...