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Five patients had amiodarone hepatotoxicity detected on routine biochemical monitoring. Symptoms attributable to hepatotoxicity were minimal or absent; reversible hepatomegaly was seen in two patients, whereas three patients had signs of nonhepatic amiodarone toxicity before or with hepatotoxicity. Serum aminotransferase levels were elevated in all patients and alkaline phosphatase levels in four; no patient had hyperbilirubinemia or prolongation of the prothrombin time. Light microscopy showed steatosis, cellular degeneration, and cellular necrosis in the biopsy samples of four patients, whereas the fifth patient's sample had a granulomatous injury pattern. Electron microscopic study of liver tissue done in two patients showed phospholipid-laden lysosomal lamellar bodies. These findings suggest that both toxic and hypersensitivity liver injury can occur in response to amiodarone. The presence of phospholipid-laden lysosomal lamellar bodies may help differentiate amiodarone hepatotoxicity from alcoholic liver disease or other causes of hepatic steatosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dogs were submitted to cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) carried out under conditions calculated to generate large numbers of microbubbles and microemboli. On the day following the procedure the dogs showed evidence of neurological damage including impaired consciousness and ataxia. These abnormalities largely cleared within a week. When the animals were sacrificed at intervals after the procedure, the cerebral microvasculature was demonstrated by injecting a suspension a lamp black into the carotid artery. This revealed that multiple filling defects were present in the microcirculation of the brain immmediately after CPB and for two days thereafter. However, by seven days the microvascular blockade had disappeared, and the vascular blockade had disappeared, and the vascular pattern of the brain had returned to normal. Neuropathological findings were sparse and restricted to the cerebellum. This study suggests that the transient neurological syndromes that sometimes follow cardiopulmonary bypass for heart surgery may be due to a transient microvascular blockade, perhaps by microbubbles and microparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Copyright of Zeitschrift für Physik is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)