Propofol and alfentanil prevent the increase in intraocular pressure caused by succinylcholine and endotracheal intubation during a rapid sequence induction of anesthesia.

The increase in intraocular pressure (IOP) associated with succinylcholine (Sch) has made its use in patients with open globe injuries controversial. Studies that have examined techniques to prevent the increase in IOP due to Sch have shown a larger increase in IOP from the stimulus of laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation. The purpose of our study was to examine whether the combination of propofol and alfentanil would prevent the increase in IOP due to Sch as well as endotracheal intubation during a rapid sequence induction of anesthesia.

The mouse thymosin beta 4 gene: structure, promoter identification, and chromosome localization.

Thymosin beta 4 (T beta 4) is an actin monomer sequestering protein that may have a critical role in modulating the dynamics of actin polymerization and depolymerization in nonmuscle cells. Its regulatory role is consistent with the many examples of transcriptional regulation of T beta 4 and of tissue-specific expression. Furthermore, lymphocytes have a unique T beta 4 transcript relative to the ubiquitous transcript found in many other tissues and cells.

Cannabinoid enantiomer action on the cytoarchitecture.

The negative and positive enantiomers of 7-hydroxy-delta 6-tetrahydrocannabinol-dimethylheptyl (designated HU-210 and HU-211 respectively) differentially affect undifferentiated and differentiating cultured pheochromocytoma cells (PC-12 cells). In general, cell viability and cell proliferation were suppressed to a much greater extent with HU-210 than with HU-211 in differentiating cells. The effects of these synthetic cannabinoids on the cytoskeleton of PC-12 cells were examined by epifluorescence and confocal microscopy.

Diacylglycerol analogs inhibit the rod cGMP-gated channel by a phosphorylation-independent mechanism.

The electrical response to light in retinal rods is mediated by cyclic nucleotide-gated, nonselective cation channels in the outer segment plasma membrane. Although cGMP appears to be the primary light-regulated second messenger, cellular levels of other substances, including Ca2+ and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate, are also sensitive to the level of illumination. We now show that diacylglycerol (DAG) analogs reversibly suppress the cGMP-activated conductance in excised patches from frog rod outer segments.

Modulation of the cGMP-gated ion channel in frog rods by calmodulin and an endogenous inhibitory factor.

1. Outer segment patches excised in the light were used to investigate the effects of exogenous calmodulin and an endogenous inhibitory factor on the cGMP-gated channel of frog rods. 2.

Cyclic nucleotide gated channels.

Recent studies have revealed that cyclic nucleotide gated channels have a variety of forms and functions. These channels are now thought to be heteromultimers of at least two kinds of subunits and to undergo functional modulation. Ion permeation involves at least two ion-binding sites, and recent work on the alpha subunit suggests that many structural regions are involved in the control of channel gating.

Molecular and clinical findings in a family with dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy.

Herein we describe the molecular and clinical findings in a North American Caucasian family with dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA). These patients all presented with an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a variable combination of clinical symptoms including seizures, ataxia, dementia, choreiform movements, mental retardation, and psychiatric disease. Neuroradiologic findings in the index case revealed deep subcortical white matter changes on magnetic resonance imaging.

Heat-shock 70 messenger RNA levels in human brain: correlation with agonal fever.

Systematic review of antemortem clinical information on randomly selected Alzheimer disease (AD) patients revealed that approximately 40% of the patients had a recorded fever of > or = 39.2 degrees C at or near death. Using isolation and quantitation techniques appropriate for analysis of human brain mRNAs, we found that low levels of inducible heat-shock protein 70 (hsp70) mRNAs were present in cerebellum of afebrile AD patients and that mRNA levels were usually lower in two brain regions affected in AD, i.

Anandamide (arachidonylethanolamide), a brain cannabinoid receptor agonist, reduces sperm fertilizing capacity in sea urchins by inhibiting the acrosome reaction.

Anandamide (arachidonylethanolamide) is an endogenous cannabinoid receptor agonist in mammalian brain. Sea urchin sperm contain a high-affinity cannabinoid receptor similar to the cannabinoid receptor in mammalian brain. (-)-delta 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive cannabinoid in marihuana, reduces the fertilizing capacity of sea urchin sperm by blocking the acrosome reaction that normally is stimulated by a specific ligand in the egg's jelly coat.

Selective postmortem degradation of inducible heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) mRNAs in rat brain.

1. Altered mRNA levels in postmortem brain tissue from persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or other neurological diseases are usually presumed to be characteristic of the disease state, even though both agonal state (the physiological state immediately premortem) and postmortem interval (PMI) (the time between death and harvesting the tissue) have the potential to affect levels of mRNAs measured in postmortem tissue. Although the possible effect of postmortem interval on mRNA levels has been more carefully evaluated than that of agonal state, many studies assume that all mRNAs have similar rates of degradation postmortem.

Effect of chronic ANG I-converting enzyme inhibition on aging processes. I. Kidney structure and function.

The effect of angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibition (ACEI) on the age-related changes in the kidney structure and function was investigated in rodents. Normotensive male Wistar (WAG)/Rij rats were treated with perindopril from the age of 6 mo to the day of killing at 12, 24, or 30 mo. Mean blood pressure, constant from 6 to 30 mo, was reduced by 19 mmHg in treated animals.

Evidence for a cannabinoid receptor in sea urchin sperm and its role in blockade of the acrosome reaction.

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol ((-)delta 9 THC), the primary psychoactive cannabinoid in marihuana, reduces the fertilizing capacity of sea urchin sperm by blocking the acrosome reaction that normally is stimulated by a specific ligand in the egg's jelly coat. The bicyclic synthetic cannabinoid [3H]CP-55,940 has been used as a ligand to demonstrate the presence of a cannabinoid receptor in mammalian brain. We now report that [3H]CP-55,940 binds to live sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) sperm in a concentration, sperm density, and time-dependent manner.

Environmental magnetic fields: influences on early embryogenesis.

A 10-mG, 50 to 60-Hz magnetic field is in the intensity and frequency range that people worldwide are often exposed to in homes and in the workplace. Studies about the effects of 50- to 100-Hz electromagnetic fields on various species of animal embryos (fish, chick, fly, sea urchin, rat, and mouse) indicate that early stages of embryonic development are responsive to fluctuating magnetic fields. Chick, sea urchin, and mouse embryos are responsive to magnetic field intensities of 10-100 mG.

The influence of hydrostatic pressure on the distribution of histone mRNA in HeLa cells.

Hydrostatic pressure and HeLa S3 cells were used (as a model system) to investigate the relationship of the cytoskeleton and histone gene expression. Exposure of HeLa S3 cells to hydrostatic pressure of 1000 - 10,000 psi (6.89 x 10(3) - 6.

The use of primidone in neonates with theophylline-resistant apnea.

Objective: To determine whether primidone reduced the occurrence of apnea of prematurity in neonates with apnea resistant to theophylline.

Design: Retrospective review.

Setting: Neonatal intensive care unit.

Orbital cellulitis caused by Eikenella corrodens.

Eikenella corrodens is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic bacillus with specific culture and growth requirements and unusual antibacterial susceptibilities. It has only recently been recognized as a human pathogen. Ocular and adnexal infections with this organism are rare especially in children.

Protein phosphatases modulate the apparent agonist affinity of the light-regulated ion channel in retinal rods.

Ion channels directly activated by cGMP mediate the light response in retinal rods. Several components of the enzyme cascade controlling cGMP concentration are regulated, but there are no accepted mechanisms for modulation of the response of the channel to cGMP. Here we report evidence that in excised patches an endogenous protein phosphatase converts the channel from a state with low cGMP sensitivity to a state with almost 3 orders of magnitude higher sensitivity in the predicted physiological range of cGMP concentration.

Cytoskeletal organization following cannabinoid treatment in undifferentiated and differentiated PC12 cells.

Confocal microscopy in association with three-dimensional reconstruction was used to examine the changes in the microtubules and microfilaments following cannabinoid treatment of PC12 cells. Microtubules and microfilaments were disrupted in a dose-dependent manner following treatment with 10-30 microM delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). A disruption of microtubules and microfilaments was observed following treatment with 30 microM cannabidiol and cannabinol.

Cation interactions within the cyclic GMP-activated channel of retinal rods from the tiger salamander.

1. The ionic dependence of current through the 3',5'-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cyclic GMP)-activated channels of salamander rods was studied in excised inside-out membrane patches from isolated outer segments. Voltage-clamp experiments on transducing rods were performed so that the channels in intact cells could be compared with those in excised patches.