D2-dopamine receptor specific brain uptake of carbon-11-labeled YM-09151-2

The in vivo D2-receptor specific brain uptake of N-[(2RS,3RS)-1-benzyl-2- methyl-3-pyrrolidinyl]-5-chloro-2-methoxy-4-[11C]methylaminobenzamide ([11C]YM-09151-2), was investigated. In rat brain the high uptake of [11C]YM-09151-2 in striatum was displaced with sulpiride, spiroperidol, and YM-09151-2. SCH-23390 and ritanserin, D1-dopamine and S2-serotonin antagonists, showed no effect on the distribution of [11C]YM-09151-2. In the striatum at 60 min, 95% of the radioactivity was detected as [11C]YM-09151-2 by high performance liquid chromatography. On the other hand, 41% of 11C in the plasma at 60 min was observed as metabolites. In vivo autoradiography showed a high uptake of [11C]YM-09151-2 in the striatum and in the nucleus accumbens of rat brain. A high uptake of radioactivity was also found in the canine basal ganglia with positron emission tomography. The uptake was reduced by pretreatment with spiroperidol. The present results demonstrate that [11C]YM-09151-2 is a D2 receptor specific compound and is a potential in vivo tracer for measuring D2 receptors.     

Impaired cell-mediated immunity in focal glomerular sclerosis

Cell-mediated immunity (CMI) was evaluated in 8 patients with focal glomerular sclerosis (FGS), 50 patients suffering from chronic mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis without renal insufficiency and 24 healthy controls. The following parameters were measured: delayed skin reactivity to purified protein derivative, circulating lymphocytes, lymphocyte cell-surface markers (neuraminidase-treated sheep erythrocyte and erythrocyte-antibody-complement rosettes) and functional markers (mitogenic responses to concanavalin A and phytohemagglutinin). The FGS patients with nephrotic syndrome (NS) had a significant depression in CMI, characterized by decreased responses of the lymphocytes to both concanavalin A and phytohemagglutinin, impaired delayed hypersensitivity to purified protein derivative and a decreased proportion of T lymphocytes as compared with normal subjects. In contrast, the levels of all CMI parameters studied in FGS patients in remission and in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis with or without NS did not differ from normal subjects. Thus, the majority of FGS patients with NS demonstrated an impaired response in a CMI assay system. The possible significance of these phenomena in the pathophysiology of FGS is discussed.     

The self-measurement of blood pressure: an experiment with office workers at their place of work

One hundred office workers measured their own blood pressure at their place of work twice a day for 3 weeks. No technical difficulties or adverse psychological reactions were observed. Of 85 answers to a questionnaire, 64 indicated a preference for self-measurement to measurements made by a physician or nurse. Variations of blood pressure showed no relationship to the actual pressure. A preference for the digits 0 and 5 was observed.     

Immature renal tissue in inguinal canal

A 3-year-old boy underwent an operation for a right undescended testis. A small, elastic, hard mass attached loosely to the spermatic cord was noted in the inguinal canal away from the testis and epididymis. Pathological examination of this mass revealed mesonephric remnant tissue.     

Effects of halothane on the efflux of [3H]D asprtate from rat brain slices

The in vitro effects of halothane on the potassium-stimulation-induced efflux of [3H]D-aspartate in rat cerebral cortex slices were studied. The slices were initially incubated with Krebs-Ringer's solution containing [3H]D-aspartate, a putative excitatory transmitter. The slices were then stimulated with high concentrations of K+ in the presence and absence of halothane, and the efflux was measured using a scintillation counter. Halothane, 1% and 2%, had little effect on the potassium-stimulation-induced efflux, but that of 4 and 8% increased the efflux significantly. The spontaneous efflux was unaffected by all concentrations of halothane studied. The control study of pentobarbital, in the concentration of 0.05 to 1.00 mmol/l, reduced the efflux in a dose-related manner. These findings indicate that the release of an excitatory transmitter, aspartate, may not be involved in the mechanism of halothane anaesthesia.