Ligustrazine inhibits high voltage-gated Ca~(2+) and TTX-resistant Na~+ channels of primary sensory neuron and thermal nociception in the rat:a study on peripheral mechanism

Objective Ligustrazine, also named as tetramethylpyrazine, is a compound purified from Ligusticum chuanxiong hort and has ever been testified to be a calcium antagonist. The present investigation was to determine the antinoci-ceptive effect of ligustrazine and, if any, the peripheral ionic mechanism involved. Methods Paw withdrawal Latency ( PWL) to noxious heating was measured in vivo and whole-cell patch recording was performed on small dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Results Intraplantar injection of ligustrazine (0.5 mg in 25μl) significantly prolonged the withdrawal latency of ipsilateral hindpaw to noxious heating in the rat. Ligustrazine not only reversibly inhibited high-voltage gated calcium current of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neuron in dose-dependent manner with IC50 of 1.89 mmol/L, but also decreased tetrodotoxin (TTX) -resistant sodium current in relatively selective and dose-dependent manner with IC50 of 2.49 mmol/L. Conclusion The results suggested that ligustrazine could elevate the threshold of thermal nociception through inhibiting the high-voltage gated calcium current and TTX-resistant sodium current of DRG neuron in the rat.     

Trigeminal amyloidoma: case report and review of the literature.

The authors present a case of amyloid infiltration involving the trigeminal nerve that mimicked a malignant cavernous sinus tumor with perineural tumor infiltration. A 64-year-old man presented with trigeminal nerve numbness. Imaging revealed a plaque-like enhancing lesion along the right lateral cavernous sinus extending anteriorly into Meckel's cave and involving the proximal V2 and V3 branches of the trigeminal nerve. The patient underwent an extradural frontotemporal craniotomy with middle fossa exposure of the cavernous sinus to diagnose and treat the presumed malignant cavernous sinus tumor. A reddish mass involving the lateral dural wall of the cavernous sinus was resected. The gasserian ganglion, V2, and V3, the latter of which was biopsied, were enlarged. Permanent histopathological studies showed microscopic eosinophilic, amorphous material, which stained positive for Congo red, and an absence of neoplastic cells. The final diagnosis was amyloidoma. Thus, amyloidomas can involve the trigeminal nerve or ganglia and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a cavernous sinus lesion mimicking a tumor. Patients may have symptomatic improvement of trigeminal neuropathy with resection of the amyloidoma outside the nerve capsule that is compressing the nerve, while resection of the lesion from within the capsule may result in permanent trigeminal nerve dysfunction.     

Somatosensory nuclei in the brainstem of the rat: independent projections to the thalamus and cerebellum

The dorsal column nuclei and the sensory trigeminal nuclei project not only to the ventrobasal thalamus but also to the cerebellum. In this study the numbers and distribution of neurones projecting to these two regions were examined for the following nuclei: the rostral part of the main cuneate nucleus, the external cuneate nucleus, nucleus x, the principal sensory nucleus of the trigeminal nerve, and the oral, interpolar, and caudal subnuclei of the spinal nucleus of the trigeminal nerve. A thalamic projection from nucleus x and from the external cuneate nucleus was confirmed, and a distinct group of neurones projecting to the ventroposteromedial thalamus was distinguished near the ventromedial aspect of the principal sensory nucleus. Of the 165,000 neurones examined, only one was found to be double labelled. It was concluded that the populations of neurones that project to the ventrobasal thalamus and to the cerebellum are separate, and that somatosensory neurones in the brainstem do not send axon collaterals to both regions.     

背根神经节内P物质、降钙素基因相关肽免疫阳性神经元与阴茎包皮系带感觉信息的传递

目的:探讨背根神经节(DRG)内P物质(SP)、降钙素基因相关肽(CGRP)免疫阳性神经元与阴茎包皮系带感觉信息传递之间的关系。方法:通过荧光金(FG)逆行标记对大鼠阴茎包皮系带内神经末梢的来源作追踪定位,并结合SP、CGRP免疫荧光标记法,研究大鼠DRG内FG标记阳性神经元中SP、CGRP免疫阳性神经元的形态和分布。结果:FG逆行标记结果发现,大鼠阴茎包皮系带内的神经末梢起源于第6腰髓对应的背根神经节(L6-DRG)和第1骶髓对应的背根神经节(S1-DRG)的神经元。对这些神经元分别作SP、CGRP免疫荧光标记后发现,标记细胞大小不等,分别呈深红色和深绿色,沿神经束成行排列或散在分布。FG/SP、FG/CGRP双标记阳性细胞均为中小型,其数量分别占FG逆行标记阳性细胞总数的1/3和1/2,FG/SP/CGRP三标记阳性细胞占FG逆行标记阳性细胞总数的1/5。结论:大鼠L6-DRG和S1-DRG内的SP、CGRP免疫阳性神经元可能参与阴茎包皮系带感觉信息的传递。     

A Complication of Stellate Ganglion Block?

Abstract: Stellate ganglion block is commonly used to treat the sympathetically maintained pain which may occur in one‐third of patients with complex regional pain syndrome type 1. A complication that followed a single block and presented a diagnostic dilemma for the ophthalmologist is reported.     

Chronic opioid treatment of neuroblastoma X dorsal root ganglion neuron hybrid F11 cells results in elevated GM1 ganglioside and cyclic adenosine monophosphate levels and onset of naloxone-evoked decreases in membrane K+ currents

Prolongation of the action potential duration of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons by low (nM) concentrations of opioids occurs through activation of excitatory opioid receptors that are positively coupled via G_s regulatory protein to adenylate cyclase. Previous results suggested GM1 ganglioside to have an essential role in regulating this excitatory response, but not the inhibitory (APD-shortening) response to higher (μM) opioid concentrations. Furthermore, it was proposed that synthesis of GM1 is upregulated by prolonged activation of excitatory opioid receptor functions. To explore this possibility we have utilized cultures of hybrid F11 cells to carry out closely correlated electrophysiological and biochemical analyses of the effects of chronic opioid treatment on a homogeneous population of clonal cells which express many functions characteristic of DRG neurons. We show that chronic opioid exposure of F11 cells does, in fact, result in elevated levels of GM1 as well as cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP), concomitant with the onset of opioid excitatory supersensitivity as manifested by naloxone-evoked decreases in voltage-dependent membrane K⁺ currents. Such elevation of GM1 would be expected to enhance the efficacy of excitatory opioid receptor activation of the G_s/adenylate cyclase/cyclic AMP system, thereby providing a positive feedback mechanism that may account for the remarkable supersensitivity of chronic opioid-treated neurons to the excitatory effects of opioid agonists as well as antagonists. These in vitro findings may provide novel insights into the mechanisms underlying naloxone-precipitated withdrawal syndromes and opioid-induced hyperalgesia after chronic opiatf addiction in vivo. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Development of neurochemical separation of ON and OFF channels at retinal ganglion cells

Anatomical and physiological segregation of neurons into ON (brightening detector) and OFF (darkening detector) channels in the retina and subsequent visual system ensure the high sensitivity required for contrast detection and spatial discrimination. This segregation is finest at the visual axis. Neurochemically, ON and OFF ganglion cells at the visual axis seem to be distinguished by different inhibitory transmitters but not excitatory transmitters. Microiontophoretic studies of inhibitory transmitters on the retinal ganglion cells in kittens and adult cats suggest that this neurochemical distinction is poor in immature ganglion cells at the visual axis. Initially both ON and OFF cells seem to be supplied by GABAergic, glycinergic, and catecholaminergic amacrine cells, but in adults, ON cells remain supplied only by GABAergic amacrines, while OFF cells are supplied by glycinergic amacrines. Postnatal elimination of multiple inputs and strengthening of the appropriate inputs, as seen in the central nervous system, also seem to occur at the retinal neurotransmitter synapses during development.     

Daily changes in presynaptic cholinergic activity of rat sympathetic superior cervical ganglion

The in vitro capacity of sympathetic superior cervical ganglia (SCG) to take up [³H]choline from the extracellular medium, to synthesize acetylcholine from [³H]choline, and to release [³H]acetylcholine in response to a high K⁺ concentration, were examined in rats throughout a 24-h cycle. Both the release of [³H]acetylcholine and the synthesis of [³H]acetylcholine from [³H]choline exhibited significant diurnal variations, showing maxima during the first half of the night. After these maxima, nocturnal acetylcholine release and synthesis decayed to daytime levels and remained low until the end of the night. [³H]Choline uptake by rat SCG did not vary significantly throughout a 24-h period. A 1.5-h exposure of rats to darkness at the 5th hour of light phase of the daily photoperiod did not change significantly any parameter studied. A 20-min, 5-Hz, electrical stimulation of the preganglionic trunk of SCG excised from rats at noon increased significantly subsequent K⁺-induced [³H]acetylcholine release but did not change [³H]acetylcholine synthesis. In decentralized SCG of rats subjected to a unilateral SCG decentralization and a contralateral sham-operation 7 days earlier, [³H]acetylcholine release and synthesis were highly reduced or abolished at the decentralized side, while [³H]choline uptake remained unaltered. The present results suggest that an activation of preganglionic rat SCG neurons takes place during the first half of the scotophase.     

脑干、三叉神经及大脑动脉环的可视化研究

目的 建立人体脑干、三叉神经及大脑动脉环的可视化数字模型。方法 采用首例中国数字化可视人体数据集，在SGI工作站上对脑干及其周围毗邻结构进行计算机三维重建并立体显示。结果 获得人体脑干、三叉神经及大脑动脉环等器官组织的三维重建结构，可对其进行任意径线和角度的适时三维测量。结论 首例中国数字化可视人体数据集能够提供完整而精确的解剖断面数据，脑干及其毗邻的三叉神经、大脑动脉环的可视化模型准确反映出该区域复杂的解剖学结构特点及其相邻器官间的空间毗邻关系，可为该区域的疾病的影像诊断和外科治疗提供形态学依据。     

实验性糖尿病早期大鼠背根神经节一氧化氮合酶基因表达的变化

目的：观察糖尿病早期(2周)大鼠背根神经节(DRG)中一氧化氮合酶(nNOS、iNOS、eNOS)的表达变化以及胰岛素对其的影响。方法：按60mg／kg一次性腹腔注射链脲佐菌素(STZ)制备胰岛素依赖性糖尿病大鼠模型(16只)，造模成功后随机分成2组(模型组和治疗组)，治疗组于造模成功后第2天开始给予胰岛素治疗，正常对照组(8只)与模型组予皮下注射同样体积的生理盐水。2周后取各组大鼠背根神经节，Trizol法提取总RNA，应用RT—PCR法测定3种NOS mRNA的表达。结果：在糖尿病早期大鼠DRG中，iNOS表达明显上调，胰岛素能有效逆转此变化。而nNOS和eNOS的表达无明显变化。结论：在早期糖尿病DRG中iNOS基因表达异常，可能与糖尿病外周神经病变的发生发展有关。