Gut
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
A population-based comparison of the survival of patients with colorectal cancer in England, Norway and Sweden between 1996 and 2004.
To examine differences in the relative survival and excess death rates of patients with colorectal cancer in Norway, Sweden and England. ⋯ There was significant variation in survival between the countries, with the English population experiencing a poorer outcome, primarily due to a relatively higher number of excess deaths in older patients in the short term after diagnosis. It seems likely, therefore, that in England a greater proportion of the population present with more rapidly fatal disease (especially in the older age groups) than in Norway or Sweden.
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Comparative Study
Amelioration of portal hypertension and the hyperdynamic circulatory syndrome in cirrhotic rats by neuropeptide Y via pronounced splanchnic vasoaction.
Splanchnic vasodilation triggers the development of the hyperdynamic circulatory syndrome in portal hypertension. Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a sympathetic co-transmitter of norepinephrine, improves contractility in mesenteric arteries of pre-hepatic portal hypertensive rats. Therefore, we investigated the effect of NPY on mesenteric arterial contractility in vitro and in vivo in cirrhotic ascitic rats, as well as the vasoactive pathways involved. ⋯ NPY exerts marked portal hypotensive effects and ameliorates the hyperdynamic circulation in cirrhotic ascitic rats. This is mediated mainly by a pronounced splanchnic vasoconstriction and reduction in splanchnic blood flow due to enhanced Rho-kinase expression and activity, as well as reduced NOS activation and NO effect.