Indirect evidence suggests accelerated degradation of endothelium-derived nitric oxide (ENDO) by superoxide anion (O2-) in hypercholesterolemic vessels (HV). To directly measure O2- production by normal vessels (NV) and HV, we used an assay for O2- based on the chemiluminescence (CL) of lucigenin (L). HV (1 mo cholesterol-fed rabbits) produced threefold more O2- than NV (1.47 +/- 0.20 nM/mg tis...

Fetal brain hypoxic injury remains a concern in high-risk delivery. There is significant clinical interest in agents that may diminish neuronal damage during birth asphyxia, such as in allopurinol, an inhibitor of the prooxidant enzyme xanthine oxidase. Here, we established in a rodent model the capacity of allopurinol to be taken up by the mother, cross the placenta, rise to therapeutic levels...

post endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ercp) pancreatitis is a frequent complication either for diagnosis or treatment of pancreatobiliary diseases. a number of pharmacological agents have been tried for prevention or alleviation of the complication. allopurinol with free radical scavenger property has been considered as an effective prophylactic agent in some clinical trials. adm...

The role of angiotensin II and reactive oxygen species in the exacerbation of diastolic heart failure is unknown. We examined the therapeutic effect of angiotensin blockade on hypertensive diastolic heart failure, focusing on the role of xanthine oxidoreductase and reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase, major enzymes producing reactive oxygen species. Dahl salt-sensitive h...

Hyperuricemia is present in approximately 5% of the population, the vast majority of whom are asymptomatic and at no clinical risk. Complications, including renal calculi, uric acid nephropathy and gout, occur in a small proportion of patients. Allopurinol, an analog of hypoxanthine, has been widely used in clinical practice for over 30 years for the treatment of hyperuricemia and gout. Two per...

In their article entitled ‘Insights into the poor prognosis of allopurinol-induced severe cutaneous adverse reactions: the impact of renal insufficiency, high plasma levels of oxypurinol and granulysin’, Chung and colleagues elegantly investigated the factors associated with severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCAR) in patients taking allopurinol as antihyperuricaemic agent and found that impai...

̈ See article by Kogler et al. [1] (pages 582–592) in tion for terminal heart failure, the protein expression of XO this issue. was increased compared to control samples [3]. In isolated cardiac muscles from rat, allopurinol and oxypurinol 21 Heart failure has a high and increasing prevalence due to increased developed tension at constant intracellular Ca the aging population and the better surv...

Skeletal muscle contractions increase superoxide anion in skeletal muscle extracellular space. We tested the hypotheses that 1) after an isometric contraction protocol, xanthine oxidase (XO) activity is a source of superoxide anion in the extracellular space of skeletal muscle and 2) the increase in XO-derived extracellular superoxide anion during contractions affects skeletal muscle contractil...