Monoamine metabolism in the rat striatum during actions on the nucleus accumbens

In vivo microdialysis in conscious rats combined with HPLC-EC analysis was used to monitor extracellular levels of 3, 4-dihydroxyphenilacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in the dorsal striatum (STR) during infusions of procain and apomorphine into the nucleus accumbens (N.acc). It was shown that apomorphine infused into the N.acc (2 x 10(-5) M) caused a decrease in striatal extracellular levels of DOPAC, HVA, and 5-HIAA. Infusions of procain into the N.acc (10(-5) M) produced an increase in extracellular DOPAC, and HVA in the STR. Data indicated that the N.acc exerts an inhibitory influence on the metabolism of dopamine in the STR, the influence being under control of dopaminergic system of the N.acc.     

Pharmacological treatment of paraphilias with a focus on antidepressants

This article reviews the advances in pharmacotherapy of paraphilias. Antiandrogen hormones, phenothiazines, and lithium therapy of paraphilias is briefly reviewed. Pharmacotherapy of paraphilias with serotonergic drugs such as fluoxetine, clomipramine, sertraline, and fluvoxamine is reviewed in detail. In addition, the use of buspirone hydrochloride in paraphilias is discussed. The final focus of the article is on the etiologic theories of paraphilias and some practical advice for the pharmacotherapy and management of paraphilias.     

Pelvic ultrasound findings in different forms of sexual precocity

Recently produced reference curves for various ultrasound dimensions were used to retrospectively assess 67 pelvic ultrasound scans carried out at the initial presentation in girls with sexual precocity. At presentation the group with precocious puberty had significantly increased uterine lengths and ovarian volumes compared with the normal population, and a significantly increased fundal-cervical ratio. Ovarian volume was also significantly increased in therlarche and thelarche variant. The fundal-cervical ratio was significantly increased in thelarche variant. There was considerable overlap between individuals with sexual precocity and normal subjects. The ultrasound findings that best discriminated early or precocious puberty from other forms of sexual precocity were the presence of a midline endometrial echo, and a uterine length above the 97th centile for age. An entirely normal pelvic ultrasound at presentation did not rule out the possibility of precocious puberty.     

Two different forms of long-term potentiation in the hippocampus

Several forms of long-term potentiation (LTP), a putative cellular mechanism for memory storage, have been described in the hippocampus. In this review, I discuss the mechanisms of induction and expression of LTP at the Schaffer collateral synapses and at the mossy fiber pathway. The early biochemical steps responsible for LTP at these two pathways are well understood. However, future studies should transcend the study of signal transduction systems and focus on the identification of the synaptic proteins that experience activity-dependent modifications, ultimate effectors of the plastic changes.     

Cytotoxicity in patients with different clinical forms of Chagas' disease

There are few studies on cell-mediated cytotoxicity in human Chagas' disease. In the present study, we evaluated peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cytotoxicity activity from chagasic patients with different clinical forms of disease. To verify the cytotoxic response, we performed cell lysis assays using 51Cr-labelled K562 cells as targets. Results are reported as lytic units (LU = number of cells required for 30% lysis) per million PBMC. Exposure of patients' PBMC to Trypanosoma cruzi antigen led to an increase in cytotoxic activity compared with unstimulated patient cells against K562. Asymptomatic cardiomyopathy patients had higher responses (37.8 +/- 5.0 LU/10(6) PBMC; mean +/- s.d.) than indeterminate (11.5 +/- 3.6 LU/10(6) and symptomatic cardiomyopathy (7.8 +/- 2.5 LU/10(6)). Normal control PBMC stimulated with T. cruzi antigen had 4.36 +/- 1.31 LU/10(6)) PBMC against K562. Addition of recombinant interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) did not lead to significant increase in cytotoxicity in any group of patients. On the other hand, recombinant human IL-12 significantly increased cytotoxic responses from symptomatic cardiomyopathy patients and normal controls who presented low levels of cytotoxicity induced by T. cruzi antigen. The combined use of IL-12 and a neutralizing anti-IFN-gamma antibody did not change IL-12-induced cytotoxic responses, showing the direct role of this cytokine on natural killer (NK) cells. NK cells were the main cells responsible for the lysis of K562 target cells as evidenced by testing cell subsets following magnetic cell sorting. These data demonstrate that chagasic patients with different clinical forms of disease have PBMC which respond to T. cruzi antigen with a cytotoxic response, and this response is up-regulated by IL-12.     

Moebius syndrome. Three different forms of presentation

INTRODUCTION: Moebius's syndrome is an entity present at birth, characterized by oculofacial paralysis and external ophthalmoplegia. Other cranial nerves can also be affected and associated to skeletal abnormalities and neurologic symptoms. It appears sporadically, sometimes of familiar nature, presenting special facies with total absence of facial expression and severe strabismus. The pathogenesis of the syndrome still remains unknown, being the transitory situation of fetal hypoxia/ischemic the most accepted theory. In some cases chromosomal abnormalities have been detected. CLINICAL CASE: We reported three children with different symptoms, two of them are siblings whose father is affected, but he was not diagnosed until adult age. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude pointing out the different presentation of the disease, the appearance in several members of a family and its chronically evolution.     

Certain features of carbohydrate metabolism in phosphomycin-resistant avirulent forms of group A streptococci

A model of acute spinal and phantom pain syndromes caused by the formation of an abnormally increased excitation generator (AIEG) in the system of dorsal horns of the spine was used to study the effects of sodium valproate when used chronically in the phantom pain syndrome, when given in a single dose in the acute pain syndrome and when applied to the spine with disinhibitors inducing the pain syndrome. It was shown that during chronic administration sodium valproate produced a stress-preventive action, but failed to affect pain sensation and to prevent the development of the pain syndrome. When used in the acute pain syndrome, sodium valproate had a marked analgesic effect, and when applied to the spine it substantially reduced the manifestations of the pain syndrome. The action of sodium valproate on the AIEG can be accounted for by the higher GABA level that results in the hyperpolarization of neurons which are a part of AIEG. When the latter is formed and operates in acute and chronic pain syndromes there are differences in the functional activity of the neurochemical structures responsible for the realization of pain reaction components. This is suggested by varying effects of sodium valproate on pain sensation during acute and chronic experiments.     

Distribution of plasminogen activator forms in different fractions of buffalo milk

Neuronal growth cones, the sensory-motile structures at the tips of developing axons, navigate to their targets over distances that can be many times greater than their diameter. They may accomplish this impressive task by following spatial gradients of axon guidance molecules in their environment (Bonhoeffer & Gierer, 1984; Tessier-Lavigne & Placzek, 1991; Baier & Bonhoeffer, 1994). We calculate the optimal shape of a gradient and the distance over which it can be detected by a growth cone for two competing mechanistic models of axon guidance. The results are surprisingly simple: Regardless of the mechanism, the maximum distance is about 1 cm. Since gradients and growth cones have coevolved, we suggest that the shape of the gradient in situ will predict the mechanism of gradient detection. In addition, we show that the experimentally determined dissociation constants for receptor-ligand complexes implicated in axon guidance are about optimal with respect to maximizing guidance distance. The relevance of these results to the retinotectal system is discussed.     

Silent myocardial ischemia in patients with different clinical forms of IHD

70 IHD patients underwent ambulatory Holter ECG monitoring two times. Out of 357 episodes of transitory ischemia registered in the course of exercise and presenting primarily as ST depression the proportion of silent episodes reached 75.6%. The number of episodes, their duration and mean value of ST depression were significantly greater in subjects 1 year after myocardial infarction. These patients more frequently developed ventricular arrhythmia and had ejection fraction below 50%. The findings evidence a significant clinical value of silent myocardial ischemia. It may serve a predictor of repeated acute coronary accidents in postmyocardial infarction patients.     

The surgical results in patients with different forms of torsion dystonia

The paper describes stereotactic operations made in 278 patients with different forms of torsion dystonia during 20 years. Late outcomes were studied and assessed in 130 patients. The duration of follow-ups was 3 to 23 years. The patients' mean age at surgery was 30.5 years. The indications for surgical treatment were ineffective medical treatment and progressive disease. Positive early and late postoperative outcomes were achieved in 93 and 70% of patients, respectively. Complications developed in 3.2 and 12.3% of patients after the first and second operations, respectively. The positive outcome depends on the form, etiology, the destructible structure or a complex of structures. Surgical treatment of patients with torsion dystonia by stereotactic operations on basal ganglia is an effective treatment that provides a steady-state positive result in 70% of patients in the late period.     

Monoamine oxidase in developing chick retina

The developmental changes in monoamine oxidase (MAO) activities towards 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and beta-phenylethylamine (PEA) in chick retina were investigated. The whole pattern of the developmental changes in MAO activity towards 5-HT was similar to that towards PEA, even though the activity towards 5-HT was much lower than that towards PEA during the period from the 12th day of incubation to the 14th day after hatching. The MAO activities on the 12th day of incubation were low and increased remarkably until the 18th day of incubation. Then they remained unchanged until the 7th day after hatching; therefore, they decreased. The activities measured on the 14th day after hatching are on the same level as those of an adult. The multiplicity of MAO in the retinae of a chick on the 12th day of incubation and of an adult was also studied with specific inhibitors. The result showed that the major part of MAO in chick retina is type B enzyme; that type A MAO in the retina of an adult is, however, relatively higher than that in the retina of the embryo on the 12th day of incubation. It was found that an appreciable amount of MAO activity towards 5-HT in chick retina is due to type B MAO.     

Molecular turnover numbers of different forms of mitochondrial monoamine oxidase in rat

Molecular turnover numbers of the different forms of monoamine oxidase in rat liver were estimated for serotonin, tyramine and beta-phenylethylamine by titration with irreversible inhibitors. The 'A' form was found to have a much higher turnover number for serotonin and a lower turnover number for beta-phenylethylamine than the 'B' form, while the turnover numbers for tyramine were in the same order of magnitude for both forms. The monoamine oxidase in the liver was found to have a significantly higher molecular turnover for tyramine and beta-phenylethylamine than that in the brain, heart and kidney. It was calculated that the 'A' form of monoamine oxidase amounted to about 20% and the 'B' form to about 80% of the total amount of monoamine oxidase in the rat liver mitochondrial preparation. The number of molecules per mitochondrion was also calculated.     

Bronchoalveolar lavage findings suggest two different forms of childhood asthma

The biochemical basis for the functional heterogeneity of human blood platelets was investigated in terms of protein phosphorylation, cytoplasmic calcium ([Ca2+]i), the ratio of 46 and 50 kDa vasodilator-stimulated protein (VASP), and GTP-binding proteins (G-proteins). Platelets were fractionated by density. Comparing resting low-density platelets (LDP) to high-density platelets (HDP) revealed higher phosphorylation of proteins in the 47, 31, and 24 kDa ranges. A higher phosphorylation of the 20 kDa protein in LDP compared to HDP was related to an enhanced [Ca2+]i, an increased ADP-ribosylation of the inhibitory G-protein (G(i alpha1-3)) and rhoA, and a decreased ADP-ribosylation of the stimulatory G-protein (G(s alpha)). The differences in the ribosylation patterns of the subpopulations were not influenced by thrombin stimulation or exposure to prostaglandin E1 (PGE1). An 18 kDa phosphoprotein was more highly phosphorylated in resting HDP than in LDP. Thrombin exposure caused dephosphorylation of the 18 kDa phosphoprotein in the HDP, but generally increased phosphorylation of both HDP and LDP in the 47, 31, 24, and 20 kDa bands. Preincubation with prostaglandin E1 or sodium nitroprusside diminished the subsequent thrombin-induced increase in phosphorylation, particularly in HDP. In unstimulated HDP, the 50 kDa VASP phospho form was enhanced, whereas in unstimulated LDP the 46 kDa VASP dephospho form was increased. Our findings suggest that the functional heterogeneity of platelets is partly derived from differences in signal transduction mechanisms reflected in varying phosphoprotein patterns and G-protein properties of platelet stimulatory and inhibitory pathways.     

Just how many different forms of culture are there?

Responds to comments by H. Takooshian (see record 2009-24989-012) and J. K. Tebes (see record 2009-24989-013) on the current author's original article, "Many forms of culture" (see record 2009-04471-003). The current author argued that psychologists tend to focus on too narrow a set of cultures (ethnic and national cultures) and some dimensions of those cultures (individualism–collectivism, independence–interdependence). He then argued that there are a number of ways in which it would be important for psychologists to expand how we theorize about culture, do research on culture, and integrate culture into clinical practice and applied settings. He discussed religion, social class, and within-country region as three examples of under-explored types of culture (Cohen, 2009). Takooshian (2010) and Tebes (2010) pointed to a potentially expanded set of cultures beyond the three examples the current author focused most on (religion, socioeconomic status/social class, region) to include age, sex, sexual orientation, physical and mental challenges, and others. The current author agrees that these are good candidates to be considered cultures as well. Even within the same household (with people sharing ethnicity, nationality, religion, social class, and region of origin), adolescent teenagers hold certain cultural outlooks different from those of their middle-aged parents. This raises the questions of just how limitless the set of cultures is and whether every group is a culture. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

NK cells can recognize different forms of class I MHC

NK recognition and lysis of targets are mediated by activation receptor(s) whose effects may be over-ridden by inhibitory receptors recognizing class I MHC on the target. Incubation of normal lymphoblasts with a peptide that can bind to their class I MHC renders them sensitive to lysis by syngeneic NK cells. By binding to class I MHC, the peptide alters or masks the target structure recognized by an inhibitory NK receptor(s). This target structure is most likely an "empty" dimer of class I heavy chain and beta2m as opposed to a "full" class I trimer formed by binding of specific peptide that is recognized by CTL.