Fetal spinal cord transplants rescue some axotomized rubrospinal neurons from retrograde cell death in adult rats.

Intraspinal transplants of fetal spinal cord may contribute to recovery after spinal cord injury by keeping axotomized neurons alive. In this study we examined whether transplants rescued axotomized red nucleus (RN) neurons from retrograde cell death in adult rats. RN neurons were labeled by retrograde transport of Fluorogold (FG); 1 week later right-sided RN neurons were axotomized by left-sided hemisection at C3-4 vertebral level, and Embryonic Day 14 spinal cord or gelfoam was introduced into the cavity.

Adhesive proteins and the hematogenous spread of cancer.

The metastatic spread of cancer is a complex and multistep process characterized by a number of biological steps which include the hematogenous and lymphatic arrest and adhesion of circulating tumor cells in the vascular bed, invasion of tumor cells through the basement membrane, and growth of new tumor colonies in the organ parenchyma. In this brief review we describe the role of platelets, the hemostatic system, adhesive proteins and their putative receptors in the hematogenous dissemination of cancer. The major adhesive proteins postulated to play a role in tumor arrest in the vascular bed are thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), laminin, fibronectin and hyaluronan-proteoglycans.

History and current status of percutaneous arthroscopic disc surgery.

Study Design: The relevant literature and the author's experience with the management of lumbar disc herniation is reviewed.

Objectives: To describe the history of percutaneous arthroscopic discectomy, and to discuss the indications, the procedure's scientific validity, and its outcome.

Summary Of Background Data: In contrast to nuclear-debulking procedures, arthroscopic microdiscectomy is target-oriented and capable of retrieving the compressive elements in a carefully selected patient population.

Effects of vesnarinone, a novel orally active inotropic agent with an immunosuppressive action, on experimental cardiac transplantation in rats.

Background: Vesnarinone (VES) has been used for treatment of patients with congestive heart failure. In addition to inotropic effects, it seems to have immunosuppressive action. We tested the hypothesis that VES suppresses graft rejection, inotropic dysfunction caused by early rejection, and chronic coronary obstruction in a heterotopic rat cardiac transplantation model.

Purinergic modulation of neural control of cardiac function.

1. The purine nucleotide adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) and its related nucleoside, adenosine (Ado), exert pronounced electrophysiologic, inotropic, lusitropic and metabolic effects in the mammalian heart. 2.

Intrastriatal administration of an oligodeoxynucleotide antisense to the D2 dopamine receptor mRNA inhibits D2 dopamine receptor-mediated behavior and D2 dopamine receptors in normal mice and in mice lesioned with 6-hydroxydopamine.

Previous studies have shown that the intracerebroventricular injection of antisense oligodeoxynucleotides targeted to the mRNAs encoding the different subtypes of dopamine receptors inhibited behaviors mediated by these receptors. The present studies were designed to determine whether such antisense oligodeoxynucleotides could produce similar effects when injected into a discrete brain area. A D2 dopamine receptor antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (D2 antisense) was repeatedly injected into one corpus striatum of either normal mice or mice with unilateral lesions of the striatum induced by 6-hydroxydopamine.

Expression and distribution of the receptors for coxsackievirus B3 during fetal development of the Balb/c mouse and of their brain cells in culture.

This study was designed mainly to determine the relationships between the expression and distribution of the cellular receptor proteins for coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) and susceptibility of mouse brain cells during fetal development of Balb/c mice. Immunoblot analysis of fetal extracts demonstrated that the CVB3 receptor proteins were first expressed at day 14 of the fetal stage, and that maximal expression of the cellular receptor occurred at near term or newborn stage. Results also suggested that newborn mouse brain tissue expressed much larger quantities of viral receptor proteins, compared to other tissues.

Altered neuronal distribution of parvalbumin in anterior cingulate cortex of rabbits exposed in utero to cocaine.

Previous studies of rabbits exposed in utero to cocaine have revealed an increase in the number of neurons which are GABA immunoreactive in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), suggesting a cocaine-elicited modification in the balance of excitatory and inhibitory interactions. Of the major calcium binding proteins expressed by different subgroups of GABAergic neurons, parvalbumin has been observed in conditions involving excess excitation, and may serve to protect neurons from excitotoxicity. In the present study, we used immunocytochemistry to compare the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on the postnatal development of parvalbumin immunoreactivity in interneurons of the visual cortex (VC) and ACC.

Laboratory findings in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

This study sought to determine whether a normal platelet count is a reliable predictor of the absence of other coagulation abnormalities in patients with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. A retrospective review of laboratory data obtained from 80 patients with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy was carried out. Results of complete blood cell count, prothrombin time (PT), partial thromboplastin time (PTT), D-dimer, fibrin split products, and fibrinogen, bilirubin, and liver enzyme levels were reviewed.

Human ribosomal RNA variants from a single individual and their expression in different tissues.

We have investigated the extent of sequence variation in human ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes and the expression of specific rRNA gene variants in different tissues of an individual. Focusing on the fifth variable region (V5; nt 2065-2244) of the 28S rRNA gene, we find that sequence differences between rRNA genes of a single individual are characterized by differences in number of repeats of simple sequences at four specific sites. These data support and extend previous findings which show similar V5 sequence variation in rRNA genes from a group of individuals.

Pilon fractures treated with an articulated external fixator: a preliminary report.

Nine high-energy pilon fractures with severe soft tissue injuries were treated by a medial external fixator with an articulated ankle-hinge and limited internal fixation (1.7 screws per case). A 100% union rate was achieved; however, there was a 100% complication rate associated with the fixator.

Percutaneous drainage of recurrent pneumothoraces and pneumatoceles.

Thoracic trauma victims commonly sustain visceral pleural injury with resultant pneumothorax. These injuries usually respond to standard tube thoracostomy decompression and drainage. However, a subset of these patients develop recurrent and/or loculated pneumothoraces or pneumatoceles that are not readily accessible by tube thoracostomy.

Clock drawing in schizophrenia.

The Clock Drawing Test, a task sensitive to cognitive decline in neurological groups, was administered to 27 patients with schizophrenia. Clock drawings were scored for over-all global performance and the frequency of specific qualitative errors. Mean global performance scores indicated a small proportion of the sample was below the threshold typically used to identify dementia, and the patients displayed qualitative Clock Drawing deficits not fully represented in the global performance measure.

Multiple chemical sensitivities syndrome: a review.

Multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) syndrome is a controversial diagnosis that has arisen in the latter half of the 20th century. Clinical ecologists strongly believe that multiple common environmental chemicals assault the immune system in certain individuals, producing multisystem disease. Mainstream medicine, however, largely believes that the symptoms of MCS syndrome can be attributed to a conditioned response to the environment and psychiatric disease.

Is the incidence of hemorrhagic stress ulceration in surgical critically ill patients affected by modern antacid prophylaxis?

Hemorrhagic stress ulceration (HSU), a known complication in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) patient population, has a reported incidence rate of 25 to 75 per cent. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether the use of prophylactic antacid agents significantly reduced the frequency of HSU in critically ill patients, or whether improved care reflected the decrease in HSU. A total of 425 consecutive patients were reviewed for occurrence of HSU; of these, 304 were eligible for the study.

The in vivo effect of bilirubin on the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor/ion channel complex in the brains of newborn piglets.

Bilirubin neurotoxicity can be mediated by numerous mechanisms due to its increased permeability in neuronal membranes. The present study tests the hypothesis that a prolonged bilirubin infusion modifies the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor/ ion channel complex in the cerebral cortex of newborn piglets. Studies were performed in seven control and six bilirubin-exposed piglets, 2-4 d of age.

Hormonal responses to d- and d,l-fenfluramine in healthy human subjects.

Two different doses of d-fenfluramine HCl and d,l-fenfluramine HCl (0.5 mg/kg and 1.0 mg/kg) were administered to 11 healthy male volunteers to compare the neuroendocrine responses to these two forms of fenfluramine in human subjects.

A probable cis-regulatory element on yeast mitochondrial DNA responsible for cAMP-mediated transcription.

Studies from this laboratory have suggested that mitochondrial (mt) transcription in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is governed by changing cellular cAMP levels, and that the mechanism of such transcriptional regulation requires cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activity; these observations, in turn, suggest a trans-activation process for nucleotide-dependent mt transcriptional control. Here we demonstrate a sequence-specific mtDNA-phosphorylated protein interaction, a requisite part of such a control mechanism, using filter-binding and gel mobility shift assays with mt protein extracts and mtDNA from rho- strains whose retained mt genes show cAMP-sensitive expression. We demonstrate that the protein-mt DNA interaction depends on PKA activity, that it specifically involves a tripartite GC-rich sequence element on yeast mtDNA, and that it does not involve mt coding or promoter sequences.

Reduced level of calmodulin in PC12 cells induced by stable expression of calmodulin antisense RNA inhibits cell proliferation and induces neurite outgrowth.

The role calmodulin plays in the growth and differentiation of nerve cells was assessed by altering the levels of calmodulin in the PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cell line and determining the effects of altering these levels on cellular proliferation and differentiation. Calmodulin levels in the PC12 cells were increased or decreased by transfecting the cells with a mammalian expression vector into which the rat calmodulin gene I had been cloned in the sense or antisense orientation, respectively. The cells transfected with the calmodulin sense gene showed increased levels of calmodulin immunoreactivity and increased levels of calmodulin messenger RNA as ascertained by immunocytochemistry and slot-blot analysis, respectively.

A comparison of reading and demographic-based estimates of premorbid intelligence in schizophrenia.

Estimating premorbid intelligence in schizophrenia is difficult because the illness affects aspects of premorbid and postmorbid functioning. We evaluated two qualitatively different estimates of premorbid intelligence in a sample of schizophrenia patients and tested whether: (1) the two indices were related and produced similar IQ estimates, and (2) either index was related to a measure of cognitive deterioration. The Barona Index (BI, a demographically-based instrument) and the National Adult Reading Test (NART, a reading test of irregularly-spelled words) were utilized.

The non-healing leg ulcer: peripheral vascular disease, chronic venous insufficiency, and ischemic vasculitis.

The non-healing leg ulcer is examined by discussing three disease processes: peripheral vascular occlusive disease (PVOD), chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), and vasculitis. For PVOD, management decisions are based on risk factors and disease history. Comprehensive management includes the discontinuation of smoking, exercise conditioning and regulation of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and the appropriate application of anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs.

Similarities and differences in mechanisms of cardiotoxins, melittin and other myotoxins.

Myonecrosis induced in vivo by cardiotoxin, melittin, and Asp49 and Lys49 phospholipase A2 (PLA2) myotoxins involves rapid lysis of the sarcolemma, myofibril clumping, and hypercontraction of sarcomeres. In contrast, skeletal muscle necrosis induced by crotamine and myotoxin a is much slower, consisting of mitochondrial and sarcoplasmic reticulum swelling, myofibril degeneration, and lack of sarcolemma or transverse tubule damage. The mechanisms contributing to the myonecrosis induced by these peptides were evaluated.

Suppression of the emotional Stroop effect by increased anxiety in patients with social phobia.

Anxious individuals are slower at color-naming threat-related than nonthreat-related words in the emotional Stroop task. Recently, Mathews and Sebastian (1993, Cognition and Emotion, 7, 527-530) reported that this Stroop interference effect disappears when snake-fearful students are exposed to a snake while performing the color-naming task. In the present experiment, we had patients with social phobia and normal control subjects perform an emotional Stroop task under either low anxiety (i.