Separation of five antipyretic analgesics by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

The derivatives of antipyrine and phenylbutazone are important antipyretic analgesics commonly used in clinical medicine. Although high performance liquid chromatography has been the conventional method used for the analysis of these drugs, in recent years capillary electrophoresis was validated to be a useful method in the analysis of antipyretic analgesics. However, there has been no report on the separation of antipyrine (AP), 4-aminoantipyrine (4-AAP), aminopyrine (APY), dipyrone (DIP) and phenylbutazone (PHE) in the literature. In this paper, a micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatographic (MECC) separation method was described for the five antipyretic analgesics.     

Symptomatic renal metastasis from testicular cancer

The clinical course of a patient who presented with a massive left renal metastasis from testicular carcinoma is described. Treatment with cisplatin-based chemotherapy produced a dramatic response. Symptomatic renal metastases from testicular cancer are rare and may be reflective of a high tumor burden or refractory disease.     

Swelling-induced activation of Na+,K+,2Cl- cotransport in C6 glioma cells: kinetic properties and intracellular signalling mechanisms

Thirty-six children with autism, 24 children with learning difficulties (matched with the autistic group for sentence comprehension), and 41 normally-developing preschoolers were given two simple tasks: a hand-game requiring inhibitory control, and a delayed-reward situation tapping metacognitive awareness of strategies for coping with the delay period. For both clinical groups, performance on the two tasks was correlated, even when the effect of comprehension level was partialled out. However, no such correlation was observed for the preschoolers, once age was taken into account. The results are discussed in terms of potential links between executive-function and mental-state awareness.     

MUTZ-3, a monocytic model cell line for interleukin-4 and lipopolysaccharide studies

The afferent pathways of discogenic low-back pain have not been fully investigated. We hypothesised that this pain was transmitted mainly by sympathetic afferent fibres in the L2 nerve root, and in 33 patients we used selective local anaesthesia of this nerve. Low-back pain disappeared or significantly decreased in all patients after the injection. Needle insertion provoked pain which radiated to the low back in 23 patients and the area of skin hypoalgesia produced included the area of pre-existing pain in all but one. None of the nine patients with related sciatica had relief of that component of their symptoms. Our findings show that the main afferent pathways of pain from the lower intervertebral discs are through the L2 spinal nerve root, presumably via sympathetic afferents from the sinuvertebral nerves. Discogenic low-back pain should be regarded as a visceral pain in respect of its neural pathways. Infiltration of the L2 nerve is a useful diagnostic test and also has some therapeutic value.     

The empirical antibiotic therapy of patients with acute leukemias: the results of a multicenter study

AIM: To evaluate efficacy of ampicilline/sulbactame and fluconasole in the regimen of empirical antibiotic therapy in patients with acute leukemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The trial covered 14 hematological departments of Russia and 1 of Ukraine. Acute myeloid leukemia patients were included. 92 cases of fever in 56 patients with analysis of efficacy in 66 cases were considered. At the first stage of empirical antibiotic therapy, cefoperason (4 g/day) and gentamycin (240 mg/day) were administered. If no response was reached, ampicilline/sulbactam (7.5 g/day) was added. This was the second stage. If no response occurred for 5 days the three drugs were joined by fluconasol (400 mg followed by 200 mg). RESULTS: Fever of unclear genesis was cured in 82% (28 of 34), clinical infection--in 80% (20 of 25), microbiologically confirmed infection--in 4 of 7 cases. A complete response to the empirical antibiotic therapy was registered in 52 of 66 cases (79%). 7(10.5%) patients died of infectious complications. 7(10.5%) received other antibiotics.     

Electrical stimulation of the prefrontal cortex increases cholecystokinin, glutamate, and dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens: an in vivo microdialysis study in freely moving rats

In vivo microdialysis, radioimmunoassay, and HPLC with electrochemical or fluorometric detection were used to investigate the release of cholecystokinin (CCK), glutamate (Glu), and dopamine (DA) in nucleus accumbens septi (NAS) as a function of ipsilateral electrical stimulation of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). CCK was progressively elevated by mPFC stimulation at 50-200 Hz. Stimulation-induced CCK release was intensity-dependent at 250-700 microA. NAS Glu and DA levels were each elevated by stimulation at 25-400 Hz; the dopamine metabolites DOPAC and homovanillic acid were increased by stimulation at 100-400 Hz. When rats were trained to lever press for mPFC stimulation, the stimulation induced similar elevations of each of the three transmitters to those seen with experimenter-administered stimulation. Perfusion of 1 mM kynurenic acid (Kyn) into either the ventral tegmental area (VTA) or NAS blocked lever pressing for mPFC stimulation. VTA, but not NAS, perfusion of Kyn significantly attenuated the increases in NAS DA levels induced by mPFC stimulation. Kyn did not affect NAS CCK or Glu levels when perfused into either the VTA or NAS. The present results are consistent with histochemical evidence and provide the first in vivo evidence for the existence of a releasable pool of CCK in the NAS originating from the mPFC. Although dopamine is the transmitter most closely linked to reward function, it was CCK that showed frequency-dependent differences in release corresponding most closely to rewarding efficacy of the stimulation. Although not essential for the reward signal itself, coreleased CCK may modulate the impact of the glutamatergic action in this behavior.     

Human ZP3 restores fertility in Zp3 null mice without affecting order-specific sperm binding

The mammalian zona pellucida surrounding ovulated eggs mediates sperm binding at fertilization, provides a postfertilization block to polyspermy, and facilitates passage of pre-implantation embryos down the oviduct. Although the three zona proteins (ZP1, ZP2, ZP3) are well conserved, mammalian fertilization is relatively specific and human sperm do not bind to the mouse zona pellucida. There are considerable in vitro data that ZP3 acts as a primary sperm adhesion molecule in mice and, by analogy, a similar role has been postulated for human ZP3. Genetically altered mice lacking ZP3 (Zp3(tm/tm)) do not form a zona pellucida and are infertile. To rescue this phenotype, transgenic mice expressing human ZP3 (67% identical to mouse ZP3) were produced and bred with Zp3(tm/tm) null mice. The resultant human ZP3 rescue females had chimeric zonae pellucidae composed of mouse ZP1, mouse ZP2 and human ZP3. Human ZP3 expressed in mouse oocytes had an apparent mass (64 kDa) indistinguishable from native human ZP3 and distinct from mouse ZP3 (83 kDa). Despite the presence of human ZP3, human sperm did not bind to the chimeric zona pellucida, and notwithstanding the absence of mouse ZP3, mouse sperm bound to ovulated eggs in vitro and fertility was restored in vivo. These data have implications regarding the molecular basis of mouse and human sperm binding to their respective zonae pellucidae.     

Stenosis of Carpentier-Edwards pericardial bioprosthesis in the tricuspid position caused by adhesion of native valve cusps to the bioprosthesis

We experienced a case of dysfunction of Carpentier-Edwards pericardial bioprosthesis in the tricuspid position. Explanted bioprosthesis showed overgrowth of neointima from ring to cusps and adhesion to remnants of native cusps. This restricted the motion of the pericardial leaflets resulting in orifice stenosis. Care must be taken in such valve replacement by this prosthesis leaving native valve tissue.