Dopamine neurons from transgenic mice with a knockout of the p53 gene resist MPTP neurotoxicity

Haemagglutination activity (HA) was found and characterized in a midgut homogenate of Ixodes ricinus (L.). HA was induced by tick feeding; it was not detected in starved ticks. In a haemagglutination inhibition test, HA showed an affinity for some carbohydrates (N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, rhamnose, and dulcit) and glycoconjugates (especially lipopolysaccharides). Midgut protein components of 37, 60, 65, and 73 kDa were identified by immunoblotting as potential structural subunits of the new agglutinin.     

Clinical discrepancy between Schi?tz and Perkins Tonometry in juvenile glaucoma

BACKGROUND: In infantile glaucoma Schiotz and Perkins tonometry are often divergent. However, empirical data about the quantitative relation of Schiotz' and Perkins' measurements are lacking for this group of patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 363 comparative IOP measurements by applanantion and indentation tonometry under general anesthesia were performed in 51 children (0-10 years) with infantile glaucoma during 01/01/88 and 30/06/95 at the University Eye Clinic Cologne. RESULTS: Correlation coefficient of both methods was 0.75 (p < 0.001). Schiotz tonometry surmounted Perkins tonometry in 78.8% of measurements. Differences of Schiotz and Perkins IOP measurements showed a normal distribution with mean value 4.37 +/- 5.8 mm Hg. Discrepancy between both methods increased significantly (p < 0.001) in eyes with corneal opacities (5.29 +/-6.35 mm Hg) compared with clear cornea (3.40 +/- 4.98 mm Hg). Discrepancy of Schiotz-Perkins tonometry was not influenced by axial length of the eye, corneal diameter and age of the patient. DISCUSSION: Marked discrepancy of applanation and indentation tonometry in infantile glaucoma is frequent. Decision for surgery should not base on tonometry alone, but on evaluation of additional clinical criteria like optic disc cup, corneal morphology and individual anamnesis.     

Studies on transdermal delivery system of dihydroetorphine hydrochloride

A transdermal delivery system of dihydroetorphine hydrochloride (DHE-TDS) was developed. The DHE-TDS mainly composed of polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone and lactose. Tests on rabbits showed only slight skin irritation according to federal hazardous substances act. By giving DHE-TDS to rabbits, DHE release was shown to be governed by first-order mechanism. When DHE-TDS was given to Wistar rats, a relatively stable blood drug concentration was observed from 4-32 h after drug administration. Writhing tests showed that one dose of DHE-TDS would maintain the narcotic action on rats for at least 48 h.     

Reducing the influence of the partial volume effect on SPECT activity quantitation with 3D modelling of spatial resolution in iterative reconstruction

Quantitative parameters such as the maximum and total counts in a volume are influenced by the partial volume effect. The magnitude of this effect varies with the non-stationary and anisotropic spatial resolution in SPECT slices. The objective of this investigation was to determine whether iterative reconstruction which includes modelling of the three-dimensional (3D) spatial resolution of SPECT imaging can reduce the impact of the partial volume effect on the quantitation of activity compared with filtered backprojection (FBP) techniques which include low-pass, and linear restoration filtering using the frequency distance relationship (FDR). The iterative reconstruction algorithms investigated were maximum-likelihood expectation-maximization (MLEM), MLEM with ordered subset acceleration (ML-OS), and MLEM with acceleration by the rescaled-block-iterative technique (ML-RBI). The SIMIND Monte Carlo code was used to simulate small hot spherical objects in an elliptical cylinder with and without uniform background activity as imaged by a low-energy ultra-high-resolution (LEUHR) collimator. Centre count ratios (CCRs) and total count ratios (TCRs) were determined as the observed counts over true counts. CCRs were unstable while TCRs had a bias of approximately 10% for all iterative techniques. The variance in the TCRs for ML-OS and ML-RBI was clearly elevated over that of MLEM, with ML-RBI having the smaller elevation. TCRs obtained with FDR-Wiener filtering had a larger bias (approximately 30%) than any of the iterative reconstruction methods but near stationarity is also reached. Butterworth filtered results varied by 9.7% from the centre to the edge. The addition of background has an influence on the convergence rate and noise properties of iterative techniques.     

Role of DNA definite structural elements in interaction with repair enzyme uracil-DNA glycosylase

Interaction of different oligodeoxyribonucleotides (oligos), their analogs and oligonucleopeptide with uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG) from human placenta was investigated. It is shown that there is no considerable contribution of heterocyclic bases of DNA to UDG-substrate binding but the UDG interaction with some DNA phosphate groups is necessary for enzyme-substrate recognition. However the phosphate group adjacent to single dU from the 3'-end in oligo is not involved into the electrostatic contact with UDG. It is found that UDG has the high affinity to its reaction product. An oligonucleotide containing a single 2'-deoxy-2'-aminouridine is a non-hydrolyzable substrate analog for UDG.     

Spatial learning and hippocampal volume in male deer mice: relations to age, testosterone and adrenal gland weight

Endoscopic carpal tunnel release is a controversial procedure used in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. Although endoscopic carpal tunnel release is associated with less incisional pain and faster recovery time than the open carpal tunnel release, opponents of endoscopic carpal tunnel release suggest that its benefits are outweighed by its higher complication rates from median nerve transection and transient numbness of the fingers. Because of the huge economic and social impact of carpal tunnel syndrome in this country, we performed a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing endoscopic carpal tunnel release and open carpal tunnel release using guidelines established by the Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine of the U.S. Public Health Service. A decision analytic model was used to measure differences in cost and effectiveness--expressed as quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs)--between endoscopic carpal tunnel release and open carpal tunnel release. The societal perspective was chosen, and probabilities for various outcomes for the two procedures were obtained from published randomized-controlled trials. Cost data were derived from the Medicare Resource-Based Relative Value Units published in the Federal Register. QALYs were obtained from two groups of health care providers using a utility-assessment questionnaire. Using probabilities for various outcomes from the two published randomized-controlled trials comparing endoscopic carpal tunnel release and open carpal tunnel release, we constructed a decision tree to derive both the cost and the QALYs for the two procedures. The incremental cost difference between endoscopic carpal tunnel release and open carpal tunnel release was $46, using Medicare cost and probabilities of various outcomes derived from a study by Brown et al. in 1993. We calculated QALYs for five age groups--25, 35, 45, 55, 65--assuming a life expectancy of 75 years. The marginal effectiveness (QALY of endoscopic carpal tunnel release minus QALY of open carpal tunnel release) ranged from 0.235 QALY for the 25-year-old age group to 0.066 QALY for the 65-year-old age group, giving a cost-effectiveness ratio of $195/QALY and $693/QALY, respectively. When compared with other accepted medical interventions such as breast cancer screening ($4836/QALY) and exercise to prevent coronary heart disease ($13,508/QALY), endoscopic carpal tunnel release seems to be cost-effective. However, our sensitivity analysis indicated that the cost-effectiveness ratio was very sensitive to a major complication such as median nerve injury. For endoscopic carpal tunnel release to be a cost-effective procedure, the incidence of median nerve injury must be one percentage point less for endoscopic carpal tunnel release than for open carpal tunnel release. Based on the data from the randomized-controlled trials, endoscopic carpal tunnel release seems to be a cost-effective procedure; however, before it can be recommended, greater emphasis must be given to the training of surgeons in this new technique, so that major complications such as median nerve injuries can be avoided. In addition, future studies must better define the actual incidence of nerve injuries for both endoscopic carpal tunnel release and open carpal tunnel release in the community setting.