Portopulmonary hypertension (PPHTN) is pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with portal hypertension. It is a common condition among liver transplantation candidates; however, its association with congenital absence of the portal vein (CAPV) has not yet been established. CAPV is a very (Fig. 1) (Fig. 2). Based on these findings, we diagnosed congenital absence of the portal vein (CAPV).

The annual incidence of stroke is in the USA 795,000, and the annual incidence of traumatic brain injury is 1.7 million [1,2]. With an expected increase in the aged population during the next decade, we can foresee an increased number of stroke and traumatic head and neck injuries. Stroke, head, and neck injuries leave the affected person with various sensory, motor, and/or autonomic defects [3,4]. These diseases affect the activities of daily living as well as occupational activities later in life. Upper limb and hand function plays an important role in our daily life. In particular, functional disorders of the hands are directly linked to the

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The effect of xamoterol on ischemic myocardial pH was examined in dogs. Partial occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) decreased myocardial pH from 7.52–7.63 to 6.80–6.85. Xamoterol was injected intravenously 30 min after LAD occlusion that lasted for 90 min. Xamoterol (30 or 70 μg/kg) increased the myocardial pH that had been decreased by partial occlusion, the degree of pH increase being greater with 30 μg/kg than with 70 μg/kg, but at the dose of 200 μg/kg it did not increase. In the nonischemic normal heart, xamoterol (30 or 70 μg/kg, i.v.) had no marked effect on hemodynamic parameters, but the drug (200 μg/kg, i.v.) increased contractile force and heart rate with a transient decrease of myocardial pH. It is concluded that only the small dose (30 or 70 μg/kg) of xamoterol is effective in restoring the myocardial pH that has been decreased by partial occlusion of the LAD.

In dogs anaesthetized with pentobarbital, the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) was occluded for 90 min. so that about 1/2 of the original flow was allowed to flow (partial occlusion). Bevantolol (a beta 1-adrenoceptor antagonist) or propranolol (a reference drug) was injected intravenously 30 min. after partial occlusion. Regional myocardial pH was measured by a micro glass pH electrode inserted in the LAD area. Partial occlusion decreased myocardial pH by 0.62 to 0.74. Bevantolol (1.0 mg/kg) or propranolol (1.0 mg/kg) significantly increased myocardial pH, that had been decreased by partial occlusion, within 60 min. after the injection. Restoration of myocardial [H+] (defined as return towards a lower [H+] to the preocclusion level) (calculated from the pH data) induced by bevantolol and that induced by propranolol were 64.0 and 66.4% (measured 60 min. after the injection), respectively. Bevantolol or propranolol decreased heart rate also. Even in the paced heart, bevantolol restored the myocardial [H+] that had been increased by partial occlusion. These results suggest that bevantolol has a favorable effect on the ischaemic myocardium as has propranolol, and that the pH effect of bevantolol is not primarily due to a decrease in heart rate.