Divergent signaling pathways mediate induction of Na,K-ATPase alpha1 and beta1 subunit gene transcription by low potassium.

Prolonged inhibition of Na,K-ATPase enzymatic activity by exposure of a variety of mammalian cells to low external K+ yields a subsequent adaptive up-regulation of Na,K-ATPase expression. The aim of this study was to examine the intracellular signal transduction system that is responsible for mediating increased Na,K-ATPase subunit gene expression in primary cultures of neonatal rat cardiac myocytes. In this work, we show long-term inhibition of Na,K-ATPase function with 0.

Anemia and cardiovascular disease in diabetic nephropathy.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in people with diabetes and in those with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Diabetes, occurring in epidemic proportions in the United States and worldwide, is also the leading cause of CKD and kidney failure. Identification of modifiable risk factors for CVD in patients with diabetes and CKD is thus of paramount importance.

Risperidone-induced hyperprolactinemia in adolescents: A case series.

Objective: To study the effect of risperidone on prolactin levels in 3 adolescent patients.

Method: This is a case study of 3 adolescent patients with DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophreni-form disorder, major depressive disorder with psychotic features, or chronic undifferentiated schizophrenia who were treated in inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings with risperidone. Patients developed hyperprolactinemia with clinical symptoms.

Diverse immunoglobulin light chain organizations in fish retain potential to revise B cell receptor specificities.

We have characterized the genomic organization of the three zebrafish L chain isotypes and found they all differed from those reported in other teleost fishes. Two of the zebrafish L chain isotypes are encoded by two loci, each carrying multiple V gene segments. To understand the derivation of these L chain genes and their organizations, we performed phylogenetic analyses and show that IgL organization can diverge considerably among closely related species.

Evoked gamma band response in male adolescent subjects at high risk for alcoholism during a visual oddball task.

This study investigates early evoked gamma band activity in male adolescent subjects at high risk for alcoholism (HR; n=68) and normal controls (LR; n=27) during a visual oddball task. A time-frequency representation method was applied to EEG data in order to obtain stimulus related early evoked (phase-locked) gamma band activity (29-45 Hz) and was analyzed within a 0-150 ms time window range. Significant reduction of the early evoked gamma band response in the frontal and parietal regions during target stimulus processing was observed in HR subjects compared to LR subjects.

Bronchodilator effect of infused B-type natriuretic peptide in asthma.

Study Objective: To determine the bronchodilator effect of recombinant human B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP; nesiritide) on patients with asthma.

Design: A prospective, open-label study.

Setting: Outpatient setting.

Quality improvement in acute stroke: the New York State Stroke Center Designation Project.

Background: Many hospitals lack the infrastructure required to treat patients with acute stroke. The Brain Attack Coalition (BAC) published guidelines for the establishment of primary stroke centers.

Objective: To determine if stroke center designation and selective triage of acute stroke patients improve quality of care.

Treating recurrence after a totally extraperitoneal approach.

Background: One of today's most highly regarded procedures for treating inguinal hernia is the totally extraperitoneal approach (TEP), but it can on occasion lead to recurrence. This is commonly managed with an open repair, a transabdominal preperitoneal procedure (TAPP), or another TEP. We report here on our years of experience with the latter.

Attention to Maternal Multimodal Naming by 6- to 8-Month-Old Infants and Learning of Word-Object Relations.

We examined whether mothers' use of temporal synchrony between spoken words and moving objects, and infants' attention to object naming, predict infants' learning of word-object relations. Following 5 min of free play, 24 mothers taught their 6- to 8-month-olds the names of 2 toy objects, Gow and Chi, during a 3-min play episode. Infants were then tested for their word mapping.

Therapeutic options in development for management of diabetes: pharmacologic agents and new technologies.

Objective: To review new pharmacologic therapies and technologies relevant to the management of diabetes and its complications.

Methods: New treatment options for diabetes, made available through research efforts during the past 2 decades, are discussed.

Results: Several new drugs and drug classes for the management of diabetes are under development, including the incretin mimetic agents (exenatide, dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors, and glucagon-like peptide 1 analogues), the amylin analogue pramlintide, the cannabinoid-1 receptor antagonist rimonabant, the mixed peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonists muraglitazar and tesaglitazar, the inhaled insulin preparation Exubera, and the insulin analogues (insulin glulisine and insulin detemir).

The plasticity of immunoglobulin gene systems in evolution.

The mechanism of recombination-activating gene (RAG)-mediated rearrangement exists in all jawed vertebrates, but the organization and structure of immunoglobulin (Ig) genes, as they differ in fish and among fish species, reveal their capability for rapid evolution. In systems where there can exist 100 Ig loci, exon restructuring and sequence changes of the constant regions led to divergence of effector functions. Recombination among these loci created hybrid genes, the strangest of which encode variable (V) regions that function as part of secreted molecules and, as the result of an ancient translocation, are also grafted onto the T-cell receptor.

Radiological and pathological changes in hemiballism-hemichorea with striatal hyperintensity.

We report CT and MRI findings in a 50-year-old African-American woman with hemichorea-hemiballism (HCHB) and hyperglycemia with striatal hyperintensity. Histopathologic findings following autopsy are also described, and possible explanations for the MR findings of this unique syndrome are presented.

Diabetes: assessing the pipeline.

Type 2 diabetes is recognised as a major cardiovascular risk factor, and future therapies must therefore address more than just blood glucose levels. Novel approaches to the treatment of type 2 diabetes are now at various stages of development or regulatory approval. Exenatide and pramlintide, analogues of gut-derived hormones glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and amylin, respectively, have demonstrated improvements in glycaemic control and bodyweight in clinical studies and have been recently approved for treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Neuronal BC1 RNA: microtubule-dependent dendritic delivery.

RNA localization is an important means of post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in many eukaryotic cell types. In neurons, select RNAs are delivered to postsynaptic dendritic microdomains, a mechanism that is considered a key underpinning in the administration of long-term synaptic plasticity. BC1 RNA is a small untranslated RNA that interacts with translation initiation factors and functions as a translational repressor by targeting assembly of 48S initiation complexes.

Dendritic BC1 RNA in translational control mechanisms.

Translational control at the synapse is thought to be a key determinant of neuronal plasticity. How is such control implemented? We report that small untranslated BC1 RNA is a specific effector of translational control both in vitro and in vivo. BC1 RNA, expressed in neurons and germ cells, inhibits a rate-limiting step in the assembly of translation initiation complexes.

Skin dimpling as a delayed manifestation of traumatic amniocentesis.

A 2-month-old infant girl was seen for marks on her abdomen. Born after a 39-week, 2-day normal twin gestation to a 37-year-old healthy multiparous mother, the prepartum history for "Baby B" was significant only for amniocentesis at 17 weeks' gestation, where three needle insertions were required for obtaining amniotic fluid from "Baby B." During amniocentesis, performed under ultrasound guidance by an experienced obstetrician, the amniocentesis needle was misplaced in the fetal abdomen in one of the failed attempts.

Group I mGluR-induced epileptogenesis: distinct and overlapping roles of mGluR1 and mGluR5 and implications for antiepileptic drug design.

The group I metabotropic glutamate receptor subtypes, mGluR1 and mGluR5, have both distinct and overlapping actions in epileptogenesis. Data are reviewed revealing how activation of these receptor subtypes participates in the induction and maintenance of the long-lasting epileptiform discharges elicited in the hippocampal circuit. Differences in the cellular actions and regional distributions of mGluR1 and mGluR5 provide hints regarding the potential usefulness and limitations of subtype-specific antagonists as antiepileptic agents.

Best clinical practice with ziprasidone: update after one year of experience.

This article presents clinical recommendations for using ziprasidone based on information from a year of post-marketing experience. The recommendations are based on the clinical literature, the package insert, presentations at recent meetings, data on file with the manufacturer, and the consensus of a panel of expert psychiatrists. The article provides updates on efficacy and safety data and gives recommendations for dosing and switching strategies.

Peroxynitrite-induced relaxation in isolated rat aortic rings and mechanisms of action.

The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of peroxynitrite (ONOO-), the product of superoxide and nitric oxide, on isolated segments of rat aorta. In the absence of any vasoactive agent, ONOO- (from 10(-8) to 10(-4) M) failed to alter the basal tension. In phenylephrine (PE; 5 x 10(-7) M)-precontracted rat aortic rings (RAR), ONOO- elicited concentration-dependent relaxation at concentrations of from 10(-8) to 10(-4) M.

Hypertension in patients with Cushing's disease: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management.

Hypertension is a very common comorbidity in patients with Cushing's disease/syndrome, resulting from the interplay of several pathophysiologic mechanisms, including stimulation of mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors as well as the associated insulin resistance, sleep apnea, and overexpression of renin-angiotensin system. Although treatment of Cushing's disease results in resolution or amelioration of hypertension in these patients, a significant proportion of patients do not achieve complete cure or require a prolonged period of time for complete response to therapy. Therefore, therapeutic strategies for Cushing's-specific hypertension are necessary to decrease morbidity and mortality associated with this disease.

Case study: delicate skin cutting: management beyond the skin and implications of superficial habitual self-mutilation.

A 16-year-old girl accompanied by her mother was noted to have several thin, well healed brown lines on the distal third of her left flexural forearm (Figure). She admits to having recently made these marks by skin cutting. She feels depressed and at times feels life "is not worth living.