Characterization of sensory deficits in TrkB knockout mice.

The sensory deficit in TrkB deficient mice was evaluated by counting the neuronal loss in lumbar dorsal root ganglia (DRG), the absence of sensory receptors (cutaneous--associated to the hairy and glabrous skin - muscular and articular), and the percentage and size of the neurocalcin-positive DRG neurons (a calcium-binding protein which labels proprioceptive and mechanoceptive neurons). Mice lacking TrkB lost 32% of neurons, corresponding to the intermediate-sized and neurocalcin-positive ones. This neuronal lost was accomplished by the absence of Meissner corpuscles, and reduction of hair follicle-associated sensory nerve endings and Merkel cells.

Postnatal developmental changes in the expression of ErbB receptors in murine Pacinian cospucles.

Neuregulins and their signaling ErbB receptors play a critical role during the development of the mammalian peripheral nervous system, including some kinds of mechanoreceptors such as the Pacinian corpuscles which become structurally and functionally mature postnatally. In this study, we investigated whether or not ErbBs in Pacinian corpuscles undergoes developmental changes, as well as if their expression depends on the innervation. Pacinian corpuscles from 7-day- and 3-month-old mice were assessed for the immunohistochemical detection of EGFR or ErbB1, ErbB2, ErbB3 and ErbB4.

Orthodontic tooth movement after inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a conventional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, diclofenac (Voltaren [Novartis, Barcelona, Spain]), and a specific cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, rofecoxib (Vioxx [MSD, Madrid, Spain]), on the inhibition of dental movement induced with a coil-spring orthodontic apparatus in rats.

Methods: Tooth movement was measured on the lateral cranial teleradiographs of 42 male Wistar rats in 6 experimental groups: (1) 50-g coil spring and 2 rofecoxib injections of 1 mg per kilogram of body weight; (2) similar orthodontic procedure and 2 diclofenac injections of 10 mg per kilogram of body weight; (3) the same orthodontic treatment and 0.9% saline-solution injections; and (4), (5), and (6) 100-g coil appliance and the same pharmacological treatment as 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

[Chronic snoring and obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome in children].

The problems children have in sleeping are manifold; the gamut of disorders that have been described ranges from simple, occasional snoring with no accompanying complications, through the syndrome of increased blockage of the upper airways to the obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) where respiratory difficulties accompanied by hypoxemia, hypercapnia and structural sleep difficulties. Mouth breathing and chronic snoring occur frequently in children, with the incidence of snoring, identical for both sexes, varying between 3.2 and 27%.

Age-dependent changes in the nervous and endocrine control of the thymus.

The immune system, especially the thymus, undergoes age-related modifications leading to structural and functional changes in the lymphoid organs and immunocompetent cells. Nevertheless, the consequences of thymic involution in the peripheral pool of T-cells are still a matter of controversy. The control of the thymic function is very complex and involves intrathymic signals, the autonomic nervous system, and the endocrine system.