Comparative anorexigenic activity and other pharmacological properties of quipazine and its N-acyl derivatives

In experiments on mice and rats quipazine exerts a moderate and short-term anorexigenic activity. N-acyl quipazine derivatives are markedly less toxic, do not exert anorexigenic action and influence weakly the serotoninergic and adrenergic systems.     

Bone turnover in postmenopausal women after withdrawal of estrogen/gestagen replacement therapy

Bone turnover before and after withdrawal of estrogen/gestagen treatment was studied in a randomized trial with 110 healthy female volunteers, who had passed a natural menopause 6 months to 3 years before the start of the study. Urinary excretion of intravenously injected 99m-technetium diphosphonate was measured as an index of bone turnover; plasma bone Gla protein and serum alkaline phosphatase were measured as indices of bone formation; and fasting urinary excretion of hydroxyproline and calcium were measured as estimates of bone resorption. During 2 years of hormone treatment, all variables decreased highly significantly (p less than 0.001) to a constant low level. Three months after withdrawal all variables increased highly significantly (p less than 0.001) towards, but not above, pretreatment and placebo levels. We conclude that withdrawal of estrogen/gestagen replacement therapy in postmenopausal women increases bone turnover, but not in excess of pretreatment values. This indicates that bone loss (after withdrawal) is similar to that seen in the placebo group and that a rebound phenomenon is unlikely.     

Brachytherapy in France in 2002: results of the ESTRO-PCBE questionnaire]

The authors report the results of the Patterns of Care for Brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE) throughout France. Responses were obtained for 91% of the Radiation Oncology departments, which have declared using brachytherapy for 67, and gave detailed data for 49 ones. The equipments and treated tumours were recorded. LDR brachytherapy remained the most often used (53.5%), followed by HDR (28%). PDR represented 5.5% and permanent implants 11%. The authors discuss the development of new equipment, with an aggregation of the structures, and an increase of the PDR and prostate implants use.     

Spontan pulsierendes Auge

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Norepinephrine modulates glutamatergic transmission in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and its adrenergic input are key components in stress-induced reinstatement and maintenance of drug use. Intra-BNST injections of either beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) antagonists or alpha2-adrenergic receptor (alpha2-AR) agonists can inhibit footshock-induced reinstatement and maintenance of cocaine- and morphine-seeking. Using electrophysiological recording methods in an in vitro slice preparation from C57/Bl6j adult male mouse BNST, we have examined the effects of adrenergic receptor activation on excitatory synaptic transmission in the lateral dorsal supracommissural BNST (dBNST) and subcommissural BNST (vBNST). Alpha2-AR activation via UK-14,304 (10 microM) results in a decrease in excitatory transmission in both dBNST and vBNST, an effect predominantly dependent upon the alpha2A-AR subtype. Beta-AR activation via isoproterenol (1 microM) results in an increase in excitatory transmission in dBNST, but not in vBNST. Consistent with the work with receptor subtype specific agonists, application of the endogenous ligand norepinephrine (NE, 100 microM) elicits two distinct effects on glutamatergic transmission. In dBNST, NE elicits an increase in transmission (62% of dBNST NE experiments) or a decrease in transmission (38% of dBNST NE experiments). In vBNST, NE elicits a decrease in transmission in 100% of the experiments. In dBNST, the NE-induced increase in synaptic transmission is blocked by beta1/beta2- and beta2-, but not beta1-specific antagonists. In addition, this increase is also reduced by the alpha2-AR antagonist yohimbine and is absent in the alpha2A-AR knockout mouse. In vBNST, the NE-induced decrease in synaptic transmission is markedly reduced in the alpha2A-AR knockout mouse. Further experiments demonstrate that the actions of NE on glutamatergic transmission can be correlated with beta-AR function.