Abstract-Cyclooxygenase-2 expression in the renal medulla is regulated by dietary salt intake. The present study was performed to determine the influence of chronic inhibition of medullary cyclooxygenase-2 on arterial blood pressure in conscious Sprague-Dawley rats maintained on a high-salt (4% NaCl) or a low-salt (0.4% NaCl) diet. Rats were uninephrectomized and instrumented with femoral arterial and femoral vein or renal medullary interstitial catheters. Each rat received a continuous medullary or intravenous infusion of saline (0.5 mL per hour) for 3 control days, followed by infusion of the cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor NS-398 (10 mg/kg per day) for 5 days. Medullary interstitial infusion of NS-398 significantly increased mean arterial pressure in the 4% NaCl group from 126Ϯ2 to 146Ϯ2 mm Hg (nϭ6) but did not alter blood pressure in the 0.4% NaCl group (nϭ6). Intravenous infusion of NS-398 to rats on the 4.0% NaCl diet also failed to alter mean arterial pressure (nϭ5). To test the blood pressure effect of a mechanistically different inhibitor of cyclooxygenase-2, an antisense oligonucleotide against cyclooxygenase-2 (18-mer; 8 nmol per hour) was infused into the renal medulla of rats maintained on a high-salt diet. Administration of the antisense oligonucleotide reduced cyclooxygenase-2 immunoreactive protein by 36% and significantly increased mean arterial pressure from 127Ϯ2 to 147Ϯ2 mm Hg (nϭ6). Renal medullary interstitial infusion of a scrambled oligonucleotide did not alter arterial pressure (nϭ5). These results demonstrate the importance of cyclooxygenase-2 in the renal medulla in maintaining blood pressure during high-salt intake.

Background: Anemia impairs cognitive development, reduces physical work capacity and in severe cases increases risk of mortality particularly during prenatal period. There are no previous studies done on anemia in pregnancy in the study area.

Renal function was examined in unrestrained conscious rats maintained on either a control diet or a low-potassium diet, then re-examined in the same animals after thiobutabarbital (Inactin) anaesthesia and preparation for micropuncture studies. In conscious rats, insulin clearance (CIn) was not significantly different in the two groups (control 1012 +/- 43, low-K 904 +/- 58 microliters/min per 100g body wt; mean +/- SE), but lithium clearance (CLi; used as an estimate of end-proximal fluid delivery) and fractional lithium excretion (FELi) were substantially reduced in the low-K group (CLi: 246 +/- 11 vs 126 +/- 8 microliters/min per 100g body wt, P less than 0.001; FELi: 0.245 +/- 0.009 vs 0.143 +/- 0.008, P less than 0.001). Following anaesthesia and preparation for micropuncture, there were significant reductions in urine flow rate and sodium excretion in the control group, but not in the low-K rats. Potassium excretion increased in both groups, but values in the potassium-depleted animals remained extremely low. In neither group of rats was preparation for micropuncture associated with significant changes in CIn, CLi or FELi. Thus, differences in tubular function between control and potassium-depleted rats were still apparent. The results suggest that preparation for micropuncture disturbs the function of the distal nephron, but that rates of glomerular filtration and proximal tubular reabsorption remain similar to values in conscious animals.

ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to determine level of anemia and other hematological profiles in pregnant women attending antenatal care clinic in Debre Berhan Referral Hospital, Ethiopia.ResultsPrevalence of anemia was 2.8% and that of thrombocytopenia was 10.2%. Out of the anemic pregnant mothers, 5 (62.5%) were mildly anemic and 2 (25%) were severely anemic. The factor age < 20 years of mothers was significantly associated with anemia (P < 0.05). In addition, the occurrence of anemia in mothers who visited antenatal clinic two times is two times higher than those mother who visited the antenatal clinic three times. Moreover, the prevalence of anemia is two times more likely to occur in pregnant mothers who did not take iron supplements as compared to their counter parts. According to pregnancy periods; mean white blood cells count was (8.48 ± 3.09, 8.83 ± 2.73, 8.86 ± 2.67) × 109/L for the first, second and third trimesters, respectively. Red blood cells and platelet counts in the first trimester were significantly higher than their corresponding values in third trimester (P < 0.01), whereas mean hemoglobin and hematocrit values were not statistically significant within trimesters (P > 0.05).Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3805-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

SUMMARY1. Inulin clearance and lithium clearance (used as a marker of end-proximal fluid delivery) were measured in unrestrained conscious rats without the use of catheters. Lithium was added to the food and [14C]inulin was administered via an osmotic minipump implanted in the peritoneal cavity; blood was sampled from the tail.2. Urinary excretion rates and body weight fell during the 24 h after implantation of the minipump. Within 4 days, however, excretion rates and the rate of gain of body weight were indistinguishable from pre-implantation values.3. During the rats' active period (i.e. the hours of darkness) urinary excretion rates of sodium, potassium and water were greater than during the inactive period. Inulin clearance, lithium clearance and fractional lithium excretion were also greater during the active period. Fractional distal reabsorptive rates of sodium and water (calculated using lithium clearance) did not differ significantly between the two phases of the light-dark cycle.4. The experimental procedures used in this study provide an assessment of renal function which involves minimal disturbance to the animal. The results suggest that circadian variations in urinary excretion are caused largely by variations in glomerular filtration rate, accompanied by minor changes in fractional proximal fluid reabsorption.