Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is associated with inflammation and oxidative stress, the latter of which contributes to activation of macrophages, a prominent cell type in AAA. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) have been reported to limit oxidative stress in animal models of AAA. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the n-3 PUFA docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on antioxidant defence in macrophages from patients with AAA. Cells were obtained from men with small AAA (diameter 3.0–4.5 cm, 75 ± 6 yr, n = 19) and age- matched male controls (72 ± 5 yr, n = 41) and incubated with DHA for 1 h before exposure to 0.1 µg/mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 24 h. DHA supplementation decreased the concentration of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α; control, 42.1 ± 13.6 to 5.1 ± 2.1 pg/ml, p < 0.01; AAA, 25.2 ± 9.8 to 1.9 ± 0.9 pg/ml, p < 0.01) and interleukin-6 (IL-6; control, 44.9 ± 7.7 to 5.9 ± 2.0 pg/ml, p < 0.001; AAA, 24.3 ± 5.2 to 0.5 ± 0.3 pg/ml, p < 0.001) in macrophage supernatants. DHA increased glutathione peroxidase activity (control, 3.2 ± 0.3 to 4.1 ± 0.2 nmol/min/ml/μg protein, p = 0.004; AAA, 2.3 ± 0.5 to 3.4 ± 0.5 nmol/min/ml/μg protein, p = 0.008) and heme oxygenase-1 mRNA expression (control, 1.5-fold increase, p < 0.001). The improvements in macrophage oxidative stress status serve as a stimulus for further investigation of DHA in patients with AAA.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is characterized by stenosis and occlusion of the lower limb arteries. While leg blood flow is limited in PAD, it remains unclear whether skeletal muscle microvascular perfusion is affected. We compared whole-leg blood flow and calf muscle microvascular perfusion following cuff occlusion and submaximal leg exercise between PAD patients (n=12, 69±9 years) and healthy age-matched control participants (n=12, 68±7 years). Microvascular blood flow (microvascular volume x flow velocity) of the medial gastrocnemius muscle was measured before and immediately after: 1) 5 min of thigh-cuff occlusion; and 2) a 5-min bout of intermittent isometric plantar-flexion exercise (400N) using real-time contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU). Whole-leg blood flow was measured after thigh-cuff occlusion and during submaximal plantar-flexion exercise using strain-gauge plethysmography. Post-occlusion whole-leg blood flow and calf muscle microvascular perfusion were lower in PAD patients than controls, and these parameters were strongly correlated (r=0.84; p<0.01). During submaximal exercise, total whole-leg blood flow and vascular conductance were not different between groups. There were also no group differences in post-exercise calf muscle microvascular perfusion, although microvascular blood volume was higher in PAD patients than control (12.41±6.98 vs 6.34±4.98 aU; p=0.03). This study demonstrates that the impaired muscle perfusion of PAD patients during post-occlusion hyperemia is strongly correlated with disease severity, and is likely mainly determined by the limited conduit artery flow. In response to submaximal leg exercise, microvascular flow volume was elevated in PAD patients, which may reflect a compensatory mechanism to maintain muscle perfusion and oxygen delivery during recovery from exercise.

Effects of acute exercise on endothelial function in abdominal aortic aneurysm patients.http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/7222/ Article LJMU has developed LJMU Research Online for users to access the research output of the University more effectively. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LJMU Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain.The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.

Expansion of ectatic popliteal arteries is typically slow but difficult to predict. Trends observed in this study suggest that patients with extra-popliteal aneurysms, patients with previously treated contralateral popliteal artery ectasia and those who are not diabetics may be more prone to significant expansion. Further studies are required to validate these potential growth predictors.

SUMMARY: Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is increasingly being used in the preoperative evaluation of pediatric patients with epilepsy. The ability to noninvasively localize ictal onset zones (IOZ) and their relationships to eloquent functional cortex allows the pediatric epilepsy team to more accurately assess the likelihood of postoperative seizure freedom, while more precisely prognosticating the potential functional deficits that may be expected from resective surgery. Confirmation of clinically suggested multifocality may result in a recommendation against resective surgery because the probability of seizure freedom will be low. Current paradigms for motor and somatosensory testing are robust. Paradigms allowing localization of those regions necessary for competent language function, though promising, are under continuous optimization. MR imaging white matter trajectory data, created from diffusion tensor imaging obtained in the same setting as the localization brain MR imaging, provide ancillary information regarding connectivity of the IOZ to sites of rapid secondary spread and the spatial relationship of the IOZ to functionally important white matter bundles, such as the corticospinal tracts. A collaborative effort between neuroradiology, neurology, neurosurgery, neuropsychology, technology, and physics ensures successful implementation of MEG within a pediatric epilepsy program.