This study aims to investigate the role of Rho-kinase in phenotype switching and proliferation of bovine tracheal smooth muscle. To induce different phenotypic states, bovine tracheal smooth muscle strips were cultured (8 days) in 10% foetal bovine serum (foetal bovine serum, less contractile phenotype) or insulin (1 microM, hypercontractile phenotype) and compared to strips cultured in serum-f...

Previous studies have described the antispasmodic effect of mangiferin, a natural glucoside xanthone (2-C-β-Dgluco-pyranosyl-1,3,6,7-tetrahydroxyxanthone) that is present in mango trees and other plants, but its mechanism of action remains unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the potential contribution of the nitric oxide-cyclic GMP pathway to the antispasmodic effect of mangiferin on ...

Methods Confluent NCI-H292 cells were pretreated for 30 min in the presence of MMT and treated with ATP (200μM) or PMA (10ng/ml) or EGF (25ng/ml) or TNF-alpha (0.2nM) for 24 hours, to assess the effect of MMT both on ATPor PMAor EGFor TNF-alpha-induced MUC5AC mucin production using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and on gene expression by the same inducers using reverse transcription-...

The principal aim of the study was to determine the influence of influenza A virus infection on capsaicin-induced relaxation responses in mouse isolated tracheal segments and clarify the underlying mechanisms. Anesthetized mice were intranasally inoculated with influenza A/PR-8/34 virus (VIRUS) or vehicle (SHAM), and 4 days later tracheal segments were harvested for isometric tension recording ...

Despite recent advances in airway management, perianesthetic dental injury remains one of the most common anesthesia-related adverse events and cause for malpractice litigation against anesthesia providers. Recommended precautions for prevention of dental damage may not always be effective because these techniques involve contact and pressure exerted on vulnerable teeth. We describe a novel app...

Tracheal rupture is a rare complication of endotracheal intubation. Risk factors include short neck, repeated attempts due to failed intubation, inappropriate stylus, over-inflation of the cuff, poor positioning of the tube, inappropriate tube size, weakened membrane structure due to steroid use, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tracheomalacia, kyphosis, and use of nitric oxide during the...

Radiation to the head and neck is commonly used in the treatment of cancers. A side effect in some patients is the development of pharyngeal and or esophageal strictures. Hypopharyngeal strictures can resemble edematous larynges. If mistakenly so identified, tracheal tubes placed through these structures are unlikely to result in tracheal intubation and more likely to cause obstruction, esophag...

Mounier Kuhn syndrome, or congenital tracheobronchomegaly, is an under diagnosed clinical entity with peculiar anatomical and physiological features making anesthetic care challenging. A 58-year-old chronic smoker with history of recurrent pneumonia and bronchiectasis presented for septoplasty. Thoracic imaging revealed a dilated trachea and main bronchi, tracheal and bronchial diverticuli, and...

PURPOSE Using the conventional method of determining the end-tidal concentration of inhalational anaesthetic for tracheal intubation, a constant end-tidal anaesthetic concentration is maintained for at least 15 min. As sevoflurane has a low tissue/gas partition coefficient, it seems possible in paediatric patients to determine end-tidal concentrations for tracheal intubation more rapidly by usi...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES To describe the main causes of hoarseness after undergoing tracheal intubation. CONTENTS Hoarseness is one of the most common postoperatory symptoms after tracheal intubation and the effects vary in terms of duration, depending on the factors that caused it and on how severe the damage to the laryngeal structures. This study performed a brief check-up of the anatomic...