N-Acetylaspartate reductions in brain injury: impact on post-injury neuroenergetics, lipid synthesis, and protein acetylation.

N-Acetylaspartate (NAA) is employed as a non-invasive marker for neuronal health using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). This utility is afforded by the fact that NAA is one of the most concentrated brain metabolites and that it produces the largest peak in MRS scans of the healthy human brain. NAA levels in the brain are reduced proportionately to the degree of tissue damage after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the reductions parallel the reductions in ATP levels.

Erratum: Dangerous liaisons: molecular basis for a syndemic relationship between Kaposi's sarcoma and malaria.

[This corrects the article on p. 35 in vol. 4, PMID: 23487416.

Spatial and temporal features of superordinate semantic processing studied with fMRI and EEG.

The relationships between the anatomical representation of semantic knowledge in the human brain and the timing of neurophysiological mechanisms involved in manipulating such information remain unclear. This is the case for superordinate semantic categorization-the extraction of general features shared by broad classes of exemplars (e.g.

Dangerous liaisons: molecular basis for a syndemic relationship between Kaposi's sarcoma and P. falciparum malaria.

The most severe manifestations of malaria (caused by Plasmodium falciparum) occur as a direct result of parasitemia following invasion of erythrocytes by post-liver blood-stage merozoites, and during subsequent cyto-adherence of infected erythrocytes to the vascular endothelium. However, the disproportionate epidemiologic clustering of severe malaria with aggressive forms of endemic diseases such as Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), a neoplasm that is etiologically linked to infection with KS-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), underscores the significance of previously unexplored co-pathogenetic interactions that have the potential to modify the overall disease burden in co-infected individuals. Based on recent studies of the mechanisms that P.

Functional MRI in the investigation of blast-related traumatic brain injury.

This review focuses on the application of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to the investigation of blast-related traumatic brain injury (bTBI). Relatively little is known about the exact mechanisms of neurophysiological injury and pathological and functional sequelae of bTBI. Furthermore, in mild bTBI, standard anatomical imaging techniques (MRI and computed tomography) generally fail to show focal lesions and most of the symptoms present as subjective clinical functional deficits.

Mechanism of H. pylori intracellular entry: an in vitro study.

The majority of Helicobacter pylori reside on gastric epithelial cell surfaces and in the overlying mucus, but a small fraction of H. pylori enter host epithelial and immune cells. To explore the role of the nudA invasin in host cell entry, a ΔnudA deletion derivative of strain J99 was constructed and transformants were verified by PCR and by fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Bench-to-bedside and bedside back to the bench; coordinating clinical and experimental traumatic brain injury studies.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading cause of death and long-term disability in virtually every country. Advances in neurointensive care have resulted in steadily decreasing morbidity, but the number of individuals with severe long-term disability have not changed significantly and the number of moderate disability has shown steady increase over the last 3 decades. Despite years of intensive preclinical research - and millions spent - there are virtually no drugs specifically developed to mitigate the consequences of TBI.

A Tale of Two Toxins: Helicobacter Pylori CagA and VacA Modulate Host Pathways that Impact Disease.

Helicobacter pylori is a pathogenic bacterium that colonizes more than 50% of the world's population, which leads to a tremendous medical burden. H. pylori infection is associated with such varied diseases as gastritis, peptic ulcers, and two forms of gastric cancer: gastric adenocarcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma.

Autoimmunity to GABAA-receptor-associated protein in stiff-person syndrome.

Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is an autoimmune neurological disorder characterized by autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. To search for biomarkers that distinguish SPS from other neurological disorders (OND), we used surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (SELDI-TOF) mass spectrometry to obtain proteomic profile of sera from 25 GAD-positive SPS patients and 25 controls. A significant decrease was found in the level of a protein corresponding to GABA(A)-receptor-associated protein (GABARAP), which is responsible for the stability and surface expression of the GABA(A)-receptor.

Perioperative complications of radical retropubic prostatectomy.

The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as reflective of the views of the US Army or the Department of Defense. Radical retropubic prostatectomy has long been considered one of the most difficult procedures in the urologist's armamentarium. Therefore, we performed a thorough review of recent literature regarding intraoperative and postoperative complications.

Changes in heart rate and heart rate variability before ambulatory ischemic events(1).

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the time course of autonomic nervous system activity preceding ambulatory ischemic events.

Background: Vagal withdrawal can produce myocardial ischemia and may be involved in the genesis of ambulatory ischemic events. We analyzed trajectories of heart rate variability (HRV) 1 h before and after ischemic events, and we examined the role of exercise and mental stress in preischemic autonomic changes.

Measurement of depression in a military sample.

Using the responses of 250 Navy health care providers, we considered the sensitivity and specificity of the SCL-90-R Depression subscale and the Global Severity Index in predicting mild, moderate, and severe depression in a deployed military sample. Using the 90th percentile norms to identify caseness for both measures, each performs with 100% certainty in ascertaining severe depression and with less certainty in pinpointing a nonevent (specificity). Results are further considered by sex.

Nucleosides as a carbon source in Bacillus subtilis: characterization of the drm-pupG operon.

In Bacillus subtilis, nucleosides are readily taken up from the growth medium and metabolized. The key enzymes in nucleoside catabolism are nucleoside phosphorylases, phosphopentomutase, and deoxyriboaldolase. The characterization of two closely linked loci, drm and pupG, which encode phosphopentomutase (Drm) and guanosine (inosine) phosphorylase (PupG), respectively, is reported here.

Traumatic stress--an overview of diagnostic evolution and clinical treatment.

This paper provides an overview of recent advances in the study of traumatic stress, with a special focus on the categorical and conceptual evolution in aetiological, diagnostic classification of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A review update on psychological and pharmacological therapies relevant to the management of PTSD, and the trend towards a multi-layered, biopsychosocial approach is discussed. This review also includes an update of the risk factors and mediating factors associated with post traumatic responses.

Nicotine increases sensory gating measured as inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex in rats.

Chronic nicotine administration has been reported to increase acoustic startle response (ASR) amplitude in rats, which has been offered as evidence that some dosages of nicotine can enhance attention. The present experiments examined effects of acutely administered nicotine on amplitude and pre-pulse inhibition (PPI) of acoustic startle in rats. PPI, the decrease in ASR amplitude by a stimulus preceding the startle-eliciting event, reflects pre-attentive neural processes underlying sensory gating.

Population variability in the pharmacokinetics of terfenadine: the case for a pseudo-polymorphism with clinical implications.

Terfenadine is nearly completely first pass biotransformed. Unmetabolized terfenadine plasma concentrations have been associated with altered cardiac repolarization. During previous drug interaction studies, 2 subjects were found to have quantifiable concentrations of unmetabolized terfenadine with accompanying electrocardiographic repolarization changes while on terfenadine alone.

Follicular fluid administration delayed, but did not prevent, the hemicastration-induced increase in follicle-stimulating hormone secretion and compensatory testicular hypertrophy in ram lambs.

To determine whether the post-hemicastration rise in serum FSH is related to compensatory testicular hypertrophy, 4-mo-old ram lambs were hemicastrated and injected s.c. with 5 ml of saline (HC; n = 5) or steroid-free follicular fluid (HC + FF; n = 5) twice daily for 28 days.

Constriction of perfused lymphatics by acetylcholine, bradykinin and histamine.

We have previously reported that perfused lymphatic vessels in the canine forelimb constrict in response to increased sympathetic nerve activity or local infusions of endogenous vasoconstrictor substances. In the present study we have assessed the effects of three endogenous vasodilators; acetylcholine, bradykinin and histamine on lymphatic vessel contractility. Each one of these agents, when infused intralymphatically, produced lymphatic constriction as evidenced by significant increases in lymphatic perfusion pressure.

The inflammatory actions of platelet activating factor are blocked by levorotatory terbutaline.

Platelet activating factor (PAF), a potent vasoactive lipid, may play an important role in the inflammatory process. In this study, we infused PAF intra-arterially to characterize its edematogenic potency in the canine forelimb. We have also assessed the ability of the beta 2-receptor agonist l-terbutaline to block PAF-mediated edema formation.

Extranuclear estrogen-regulated destabilization of Xenopus laevis serum albumin mRNA.

The present study examined 1) whether the estrogen-regulated destabilization of albumin mRNA occurs in the nuclear or extranuclear fraction of the liver cell, and 2) whether the selective posttranscriptional regulation of albumin mRNA stability might result from covalent changes introduced in the processing or polyadenylation of the primary transcript. The disappearance of albumin mRNA after estrogen is restricted to the extranuclear fraction of the cell. Transient changes in steady state levels of the mature nuclear transcript were observed that mirrored the transient estrogen-induced changes previously reported for albumin gene transcription.

Ovarian response to human chorionic gonadotropin or gonadotropin releasing hormone in cats in natural or induced estrus.

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hOG) or gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) was given alone or with repeated coital stimuli to study ovarian activity and ovulation in the domestic cat. Adult cats in natural estrus (NE) or treated with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH-P) to induce estrus (2.0 mg/d for 5 d; IE) were assigned to one of five treatments: I, mating (M) only (three times daily for the first 3 d of estrus); II, M + hOG (250 IU, i.