A drug that facilitates glutamatergic transmission reduces exploratory activity and improves performance in a learning-dependent task

A recently developed benzamide compound which facilitates glutamate receptor-mediated synaptic responses was used to test behavioral consequences of enhanced glutamatergic transmission. The drug was found to depress exploratory activity by rats in a novel environment. At a dose below threshold for causing such effects, drug-treated and control rats exhibited no evident behavioral differences during the acquisition phase of a radial maze experiment. Yet, when tested 2.5 h later, experimental animals were more likely than controls to choose maze arms that had not been entered during the acquisition session, suggesting that the drug enhanced retention of information about prior choices and the maze environment. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Sonographic dating of pregnancies conceived after contraceptive pill therapy.

A total of 358 women succeeded in conceiving in the first cycle after stopping oral contraception. The estimated day of delivery was calculated from both an ultrasonographically measured fetal biparietal diameter, in the second trimester, and from the date of the withdrawal bleed. According to the biparietal diameter measurement, the estimated day of delivery was postponed more than 1 week in 138 cases (38.5%). For 304 women who delivered after the spontaneous onset of labor, the biparietal diameter estimate gave the best prediction of the day of delivery in 175 cases (57.6%), the date of the withdrawal bleed gave the best estimate in 91 (29.9%) (p < 0.001) and they were equally good in 38 (12.5%). The estimated day of delivery using a biparietal diameter measurement was within +/- 14 days of the day of delivery for 267 of these 304 women (87.8%). The corresponding figure for the withdrawal bleed date was 218 (71.7%) (p 相似文献   

Pancreatic cancer in Sweden 1980–2000: A population-based study of hospitalized patients concerning time trends in curative surgery and other interventional therapies

Progress has been made during the last few decades in the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer. In this population-based study, the time trends in curative surgery and the choice of palliative invasive therapies in Sweden over two decades are analyzed. Patients treated for pancreatic carcinoma in Sweden during 1980–2000 were identified in the Swedish Hospital Discharge Register and the Cancer Register. These data were matched with those in the Register of Causes of Death in Sweden. Data were identified and analyzed for 16,758 patients for three periods: 1980–1986 (n=5775), 1987–1993 (n=6096), and 1994–2000 (n=4887). The rate of pancreatic resection increased 7.2%, 10.9%, and 15.1% (P<0.0001) during the three respective periods. Palliative interventions decreased from 46.8% in the first period to 41.7% in the last period. On comparing the first and the last periods, biliary bypass operations were found to decrease (from 45.9% to 18.1%), as well as gastric bypass procedures (from 33.8% to 22.8%; P<0.0001). Interventions by percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC) remained constant (10%–11%). Endoscopic therapy increased from 10.8% to 49.0%, as did the number of procedures per patient, from 1.3 to 1.7 (P<0.0001) in the first and last periods, respectively. In 1980, the mean hospital stay was 40 days after resection and 30 days after palliative intervention. In 2000, the corresponding numbers were 26 days and 18 days (P<0.001), respectively. During the past two decades, the rate of pancreatic resections in Sweden increased significantly. There was also a dramatic drop in palliative open surgery and a simultaneous increase in endoscopic interventions. Hospital stays decreased by more than a third.     

Acutely-dissociated Schwann cells used in tendon autografts for bridging nerve defects in rats: a new principle for tissue engineering in nerve reconstruction.

A new method of acute dissociation of Schwann cells was used to study the effect of addition of such cells to a tendon autograft--a recently-described graft material--on peripheral nerve regeneration in rats. Autologous Schwann cells were obtained from enzymatic dissociation of predegenerated nerves. The tendon autografts were supplied with Schwann cells through brief in vitro coincubation. Schwann cell-free tendon autografts were used as controls. Axonal outgrowth was measured immunohistochemically after four, seven, and 10 days. At seven days, outgrowth was significantly longer in the pretreated autografts. The use of acutely-dissociated Schwann cells is a new approach to tissue engineering in nerve reconstruction, and may abolish the need for time-consuming culture of Schwann cells.     

Thromboembolic disease--critical evaluation of laboratory investigation.

Previous studies of patients with thromboembolic disease have revealed an association either with hereditary anticoagulant protein deficiencies or with defects in the fibrinolytic system. To obtain a more comprehensive picture and to investigate which analyses are useful in the evaluation of such patients, we have performed an extensive laboratory investigation in 439 individuals with thromboembolic disease. Anticoagulant protein deficiencies were found in 24 patients. Deficiencies of protein C (n = 10) and protein S (n = 9) were most common followed by deficiencies of antithrombin III (n = 3) and plasminogen (n = 2). Six of the nine protein S deficient patients demonstrated a selective deficiency of free protein S with normal total protein S concentrations. To diagnose protein C and S deficiencies among the 201 patients receiving oral vitamin K antagonists, the concentrations of protein C and S were compared with the mean concentration of several other vitamin K-dependent proteins. One protein C and three protein S deficiencies were identified among the treated patients. The number of protein C deficiencies found in this group was significantly lower than the number found among untreated patients. Although fewer protein S deficiencies were also identified among the treated patients, than in the untreated group, the difference was not statistically significant. The results suggest that protein C deficiencies went undetected in the treated group and that oral anticoagulant therapy should be discontinued before efforts to diagnose protein C deficiency are made. We found no cases with heparin cofactor II deficiency. Lupus anticoagulant was present in 10 patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Tricuspid valve insufficiency as a complication of endomyocardial biopsy

The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence of major tricuspid insufficiency caused by endomyocardial biopsy in heart transplant recipients. Endomyocardial biopsy was used for the detection of rejection and Doppler echocardiography was performed at regular intervals. Six of 96 heart transplant patients (6.3%) had sudden appearance of large tricuspid regurgitation, all of which were directly related to a preceding biopsy. Chordal tissue was identified histologically in biopsy samples of all six patients. All patients developed symptoms of right ventricular failure which was confirmed by right heart catheterization. Three patients subsequently underwent valvuloplasty for ruptured chordae tendineae of either of the three leaflets. Two of these three patients were free from symptoms during follow-up, but the third patient developed moderate tricuspid regurgitation and clinical symptoms. It is concluded that endomyocardial biopsy, although it is the most useful tool for detection of rejection, should be used with caution with regard to anatomical structures and the risk of damage to the tricuspid valve must not be neglected. It is also concluded that valvuloplasty of the tricuspid valve can be successfully performed in a transplanted heart.     

Epstein-Barr Virus Infection, Salted Fish and Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A case-control study in Southern

Two hundred and five histologically confirmed cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in southern China, and an equal number of matched controls, were investigated for their dietary habits, occupational exposure, use of tobacco and alcohol, history of relatives with NPC, and IgA against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) capsid antigen (IgA/VCA). Positive IgA/VCA and intake of salted fish were associated with a strong excess risk of NPC. The association persisted after adjustment for other factors. The combination of salted fish and EBV was strongly associated with NPC, and more so than EBV or salted fish per se. Multivariate analyses showed that IgA/VCA was the most important predictor of NPC, and salted fish the second most important. These results suggest that EBV has a strong effect on the development of NPC. The exclusion of EBV and genetic factors in earlier epidemiological studies may have resulted in an overestimation of salted fish as important etiological factor causing NPC.