Prenatal exposure to diclofenac sodium changes the morphology of the male rat cervical spinal cord: a stereological and histopathological study

Diclofenac sodium is one of the most commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. It may cause alteration in the nervous system during neuronal development. However, there is no investigation concerning its role in the cervical spinal cord. Pregnant rats were divided into two groups, namely drug-treated and control (saline-injected) groups. To obtain the offspring of the drug-treated group, a dose of 1 mg/kg daily diclofenac sodium (Voltaren, 75 mg/3 ml ampoule, Novartis) was injected into the pregnant rats beginning from the 5th day after mating to the 20th day of the pregnancy. To obtain the control group of offspring, serum physiological at a 1 ml/kg daily dose was injected into the pregnant control rats during the same period. Male offspring were obtained after delivery and each group was divided into two subgroups: 4-week-old and 20-week-old. The total neuron number in diclofenac sodium-treated rats was significantly lower than in the control group animals. The total volume of the cervical spinal cord segments (C1-C4) was also estimated. There was a significant difference between the volumes of the two groups, especially in the 20-week-old subgroup. This may suggest that development of neurons and volume of cervical spinal cord are affected in prenatal animals after administration of diclofenac sodium.     

如何治疗过敏性紫癜

过敏性紫癜是一种毛细血管变态反应性疾病.该病患者多为青少年,男性患者多于女性患者,常在春秋两季发病.近年来,过敏性紫癜的发病率有增高的趋势.一般认为,引起毛细血管变态反应的致敏原因可能有以下几种：①患者发生了细菌、病毒或寄生虫感染.     

Development of a multilocus sequence tool for typing Cryptosporidium muris and Cryptosporidium andersoni

Although widely used for the characterization of the transmission of intestinal Cryptosporidium spp., genotyping tools are not available for C. muris and C. andersoni, two of the most common gastric Cryptosporidium spp. infecting mammals. In this study, we screened the C. muris whole-genome sequencing data for microsatellite and minisatellite sequences. Among the 13 potential loci (6 microsatellite and 7 minisatellite loci) evaluated by PCR and DNA sequencing, 4 were eventually chosen. DNA sequence analyses of 27 C. muris and 17 C. andersoni DNA preparations showed the presence of 5 to 10 subtypes of C. muris and 1 to 4 subtypes of C. andersoni at each locus. Altogether, 11 C. muris and 7 C. andersoni multilocus sequence typing (MLST) subtypes were detected among the 16 C. muris and 12 C. andersoni specimens successfully sequenced at all four loci. In all analyses, the C. muris isolate (TS03) that originated from an East African mole rat differed significantly from other C. muris isolates, approaching the extent of genetic differences between C. muris and C. andersoni. Thus, an MLST technique was developed for the high-resolution typing of C. muris and C. andersoni. It should be useful for the characterization of the population genetics and transmission of gastric Cryptosporidium spp.     

Cavernoma of the trochlear nerve

Here we present the case of a 53-year old man with progressive double vision due to isolated left trochlear nerve palsy. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a small tumor within the left quadrigeminal cistern that did not increase in size after several months. Explorative neurosurgical intervention revealed a left trochlear nerve cavernoma. The lesion was microsurgically excised followed by end-to-end anastomosis of the trochlear nerve. After a one-year follow up, double vision totally disappeared and cranial MRI showed no recurrence. Cerebral cavernous malformations usually become symptomatic in seizures or focal neurological deficits after intracerebral hemorrhage. Rarely, cavernomas arise from cranial nerves. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report on a symptomatic cavernous malformation arising from the trochlear nerve and on its successful surgical management.     

Red cell shape--a biophysical analysis

Red cells have three main characteristics: specific shape--discoidal, deformability and aggregability. To give an explanation for his specific shape there are two ways: a) one, use hypothesis from mechanics, as: interfacial pressure, stress, deformability; b) the other way try to explain it by using data from molecular structure of biomembrane and cytoskeleton who are responsible of specific interactions between molecules. First direction was supported by many models, interesting but unrealized some of them because the theories from macroscopic mechanics wasn't well supported. The second direction, even more interesting then the first, was the subject of many studies but none of them gives a complete explanation for this particular shape of red cells. In present, there are many artificial data obtained experimental or in relation with pathological states. In our opinion, sustained also of literature data, the Helfrich's model is the most truth-like. After 1970, W. Helfrich tries to give an explanation of the particular shape of red cells, based on the curvature of elasticity and the grade of filled with hemoglobin. This model was proved also by experimental data, using "simplified red cells", and has also many others extensions. In the same direction are the studies of T.M. Fischer who describes a shape memory of human red blood cells, sustained experimental.