Cytokines and hormones, including interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor, growth hormone-releasing hormone, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and prolactin, are involved in sleep regulation. These substances enhance sleep, inhibition of them inhibits sleep, and their brain levels vary with sleep. This knowledge helps our understanding of the humoral regulation of sleep.

INTRODUCTION Patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure show an aggravated hyperdynamic circulation. We evaluated, in a controlled manner, potential changes in systemic haemodynamics induced by the molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) and the Prometheus system liver detoxification devices in a group of patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure. METHODS Eighteen patients (51.2 ...

J. M. RICE EDWARDS, BRIAN BULL, JOSEPH THOMPSON, and GEORGE AUSTIN (London) noted that the release of various vasoactive substances from platelets was thought to account for cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid haemorrhage. That this was so in acute experimental vasospasm was confirmed by experiments on the cat's basilar artery in vivo. It had been shown that agents inhibiting the release phen...

J. M. RICE EDWARDS, BRIAN BULL, JOSEPH THOMPSON, and GEORGE AUSTIN (London) noted that the release of various vasoactive substances from platelets was thought to account for cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid haemorrhage. That this was so in acute experimental vasospasm was confirmed by experiments on the cat's basilar artery in vivo. It had been shown that agents inhibiting the release phen...

The endothelium is more than just a passive interface between the blood and the vessel wall. Since the pioneering discovery of nitric oxide as an important endothelium-derived vasorelaxing molecule three decades ago, vascular research has developed exponentially and remains fascinating for the entire research community. Endothelial dysfunction is a pathological condition characterized by an imb...