A clinical study of lupron depot in the treatment of women with Alzheimer's disease: preservation of cognitive function in patients taking an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and treated with high dose lupron over 48 weeks.

To test the efficacy and safety of leuprolide acetate (Lupron Depot) in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD), we conducted a 48-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study in women aged 65 years or older with mild to moderate AD. A total of 109 women with mild to moderate AD and a Mini-Mental State Examination score between 12 and 24 inclusive were randomized to low dose Lupron Depot (11.25 mg leuprolide acetate), high dose Lupron Depot (22.

Pendrin as a novel target for diuretic therapy.

The Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchanger pendrin (SLC26A4, PDS) and the thiazide-sensitive NaCl cotransporter NCC (SLC12A3) are expressed on the apical membranes of distal nephron segments and mediate salt absorption, with pendrin working in tandem with the epithelial Na channel (ENaC) and NCC working by itself. Pendrin is expressed on the apical membrane of intercalated cells in late distal convoluted tubule (DCT), connecting tubule (CNT) and the cortical collecting duct (CCD) whereas the thiazide-sensitive NaCl cotransporter NCC is primarily detected on the apical membrane of DCT cells. Recent studies indicate that pendrin expression is increased in kidneys of NCC knockout mice, raising the possibility that pendrin and NCC can compensate for loss of the other by increasing their expression and activity.

Development of a four-day service-learning rotation for third-year medical students.

Background: Despite the proven benefits of service-learning, its use in medical school curricula has been inconsistent. The effect of service-learning on students' primary care residency choices is largely unknown.

Description: Fifty-three students completed a 4-day service-learning experience, which included homeless clinics, homeless shelter, and street outreach, then completed surveys and wrote reflection essays.

Stimulating multiple respiratory muscles with intramuscular Permaloc electrodes.

Objective: To test the feasibility of implanting intramuscular electrodes (Permaloc, Synapse Biomedical Inc, Oberlin OH) with self-securing polypropylene anchors to stimulate upper-intercostal and abdominal muscles plus the diaphragm.

Methods/results: In 6 anesthetized dogs, 12 Permaloc electrodes were implanted in the 3 respiratory muscles (4 in each muscle group). Tidal volume with diaphragmatic stimulation was 310 +/- 38 mL (mean +/- SE); with upper intercostal stimulation, it was 68 +/- 18 mL; and with combined diaphragm intercostal stimulation, it was 438 +/- 78 mL.

Annexin II increases osteoclast formation by stimulating the proliferation of osteoclast precursors in human marrow cultures.

Annexin II (AXII), a calcium-dependent phospholipid-binding protein, has been recently found to be an osteoclast (OCL) stimulatory factor that is also secreted by OCLs. In vitro studies showed that AXII induced OCL formation and bone resorption. However, the mechanism of action by which AXII acts as a soluble extracellular protein to induce OCL formation is unknown.

Mechanisms of bone lesions in multiple myeloma and lymphoma.

Background: Bone lesions and hypercalcemia occur rarely in patients with hematologic malignancies, except those patients with multiple myeloma and adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) associated with the human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus-1 (HTLV-1) virus. The primary mechanism for bone destruction in patients with myeloma and lymphoma is increased osteoclastic bone resorption. In patients with multiple myeloma, new bone formation is also inhibited.

Effects of stem cell factor on osteoclast-like cell formation in long-term human marrow cultures.

Stem cell factor (SCF) is a newly described hematopoietic growth factor that stimulates the growth of primitive hematopoietic progenitors and mast cells. Since the osteoclast precursor is hematopoietic in origin, we tested SCF for its capacity to stimulate the formation of osteoclast-like multinucleated cells (MNC) in long-term human marrow cultures. These MNC express an osteoclast phenotype and form resorption lacunae on calcified matrices.

Atypical multinucleated cells form in long-term marrow cultures from patients with Paget's disease.

Although Paget's disease is the most flagrant example of a primary osteoclast disorder, little is known of osteoclast biology in this disease. In this report we have studied the formation of cells with the osteoclast phenotype in long-term cultures of marrow mononuclear cells derived from patients with Paget's disease, and compared these with similar cells formed in long-term marrow cultures from normal individuals, and with osteoclasts present in pagetic bone. Osteoclasts formed in pagetic marrow cultures resembled osteoclasts present in pagetic bone, but were distinctly different from osteoclasts formed in normal marrow cultures.

Renal and systemic effects of short-term high protein feeding in normal rats.

Various studies have shown that a high protein (HP) diet, compared to a low protein (LP) diet, leads to hypercalciuria and alterations in renal and systemic hemodynamics. The authors compared the effects of HP diet to those of normal protein diet (NP) to determine the possible mechanisms by which changes in systemic hemodynamics and hypercalciuria occurred. The studies were conducted in awake rats; the effects of dietary sodium content on the changes induced by HP also were evaluated.

Ten-year-replicated circadian profiles for 36 physiological, serological and urinary variables in healthy men.

At 3-hr intervals over a 24-hr span, 36 systemic, serologic and urinary variables were examined in 7 men in their mid 20's in the Spring of 1969, and again in the same 7 men in the Spring of 1979 under a similar chronobiologic protocol, using the same chemical and numerical analytical procedures. The variables examined for rhythms by cosinor were: vital signs--blood pressure (systolic, diastolic, pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure), heart rate, intraocular pressure (left and right), oral temperature; serum components--albumin, albumin/globulin ratio, total bilirubin, calcium, carbon dioxide, chlorides, bilirubin, cholesterol, globulin, glucose, potassium, sodium, sodium/potassium ratio, transaminase, triglycerides, total protein, urea nitrogen; and urine components--calcium, calcium/magnesium ratio, creatinine, magnesium, pH, potassium, sodium, sodium/potassium ratio, urea clearance, urea nitrogen, volume and zinc. Although all subjects appeared clinically healthy in 1969 and in 1979, certain inter-study differences were observed in a number of rhythm parameters of different variables.

Acyl-CoA dehydrogenase activity in the riboflavin-deficient rat. Effects of starvation.

Riboflavin deficiency in weanling rats causes a metabolic disorder characterized by failure to oxidize fatty acids. The disorder is similar to that seen in several human diseases, some of which are responsive to pharmacological doses of riboflavin. Previous analysis of the riboflavin-deficient rat has shown that the failure of fatty acid oxidation is due to a decrease in the activity of the acyl-CoA dehydrogenases of beta-oxidation.

Comparison between slow sodium channel inactivation in rat slow- and fast-twitch muscle.

1. Voltage-clamp Na+ currents (INa) were studied in rat soleus slow-twitch muscle fibres at about 18 degrees C using the loose-patch-clamp technique. The maximum inward current density was produced by depolarizations to about -19 mV.

Effects of human recombinant CSF-GM and highly purified CSF-1 on the formation of multinucleated cells with osteoclast characteristics in long-term bone marrow cultures.

Several studies have suggested that the osteoclast is derived from a mononuclear precursor which is found in bone marrow. We have developed a system for studying the formation of osteoclast-like multinucleated cells in long-term bone marrow culture of baboon cells. Recombinant human CSF-GM and highly purified CSF-1, both of which stimulate the proliferation of monocyte/macrophage precursors, were found to increase the number of osteoclast-like cells formed in long-term bone marrow culture.