Responses evoked by electrical stimulation of the brainstem reticular formation in the jaw-opening and hypoglossal motor nerves of an arterially perfused rat preparation.

The interneuronal system in the brainstem reticular formation plays an important role in elaborate muscle coordination during various orofacial motor behaviors. In this study, we examined the distribution in the brainstem reticular formation of the sites that induce monosynaptic motor activity in the mylohyoid (jaw-opening) and hypoglossal nerves using an arterially perfused rat preparation. Electrical stimulation applied to 286 and 247 of the 309 sites in the brainstem evoked neural activity in the mylohyoid and hypoglossal nerves, respectively.

Enhancement of swallowing motor activity by the ACE inhibitor imidapril in an arterially perfused rat preparation.

Pharmacological agents that elevate dopamine and substance P concentrations have been suggested to prevent aspiration pneumonia and improve impaired swallowing processes. However, little is known about the effects of such agents on swallowing activities induced in motor nerves innervating the pharyngeal and laryngeal muscles. In this study, we examined the effects of imidapril, cilostazol, and amantadine, which are often prescribed for swallowing disorders, on swallowing motor activity.

Neural activity in the dorsal medial superior temporal area of monkeys represents retinal error during adaptive motor learning.

To adapt to variable environments, humans regulate their behavior by modulating gains in sensory-to-motor processing. In this study, we measured a simple eye movement, the ocular following response (OFR), in monkeys to study the neuronal basis of adaptive motor learning in the visuomotor processing stream. The medial superior temporal (MST) area of the cerebral cortex is a critical site for contextual gain modulation of the OFR.

Organic transdermal iontophoresis patch with built-in biofuel cell.

A completely organic iontophoresis patch is reported. A built-in biofuel cell is mounted on the patch that generates transdermal iontophoretic administration of compounds into the skin. The amplitude of transdermal current is tuned by integrating a conducting polymer-based stretchable resistor of predetermined resistance.

A multicenter double-blind controlled study of lobenzarit, a novel immunomodulator, in rheumatoid arthritis.

A multicenter double-blind study was carried out in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by comparing treatment with a novel immunomodulator, lobenzarit, disodium 4-chloro-2, 2'-iminodibenzoate, with an inert placebo. Both groups of patients received 75 mg/day of indomethacin as a basal regimen during the study period of 16 weeks. Group 1 (115 patients) received 240 mg/day lobenzarit, 80 mg TID, and Group 2 (115 patients) received placebo TID orally.

Simultaneous determination of glucuronides of trimetozine in human urine by gas chromatography.

A gas chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of four glucuronides (metabolites) of trimetozine excreted in human urine is described. The method involves pretreatment of the urine specimen [i.e.

A cerebellar ataxic rat produced by kainic acid and changes in concentration and turnover rates of catecholamines in discrete brain regions.

We made an animal model of cerebellar ataxia by injections of kainic acid into the cerebellar hemispheres on both sides of male rats. The histological and behavioral changes were observed at 4 weeks following the injections. The concentrations of catecholamines and the disappearance rates of alpha-MPT-induced catecholamines were measured in discrete regions of the brain of sham-operated and kainic acid-lesioned rats.

[The separation of neuropeptides by high performance liquid chromatography and its application to the analysis of peptides in the rat pituitary neurointermediate lobe (author's transl)].

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for the separation of many neuropeptides. Chromatography was carried out using a Hitachi Model 638 high performance liquid chromatograph. Peptides and samples from tissue dissolved in an aqueous buffer were injected into a stainless-steel column (4 X 250mm) packed with Hitachi #3053 (octadecylsilane).

Cerebrospinal fluid GABA levels in various neurological and psychiatric diseases.

Cerebrospinal fluid gamma-aminobutyric acid (CSF-GABA) was analysed by radioreceptor assay in 16 normal controls and 84 patients with various neurological and psychiatric diseases. In patients with spinocerebellar degeneration, neuro-Behçet's syndrome and Parkinson's disease, CSF-GABA levels were decreased. On the other hand, increased CSF-GABA levels were detected in patients with meningitis.