Effect on manganese on the circulatory system

This review describe the effect of manganese on the heart and blood vessels. The interaction between manganese and redox systems and manganese contribution to atherosclerosis development were also investigated. The results of the experimental studies on animals, on isolated blood vessels in vitro and on people professionally exposed to manganese were presented.     

Norepinephrine transporter gene polymorphism is not associated with susceptibility to alcohol dependence

Abnormalities in monoamine neurotransmission have been implicated in the pathogenesis of alcoholism, mood disorders and schizophrenia. Murine norepinephrine transporter gene (NET) has been mapped to a region on chromosome 8 where a quantitative trait locus for ethanol sensitivity. Therefore we tested whether norepinephrine transporter (NET) gene variants confer susceptibility to either alcohol dependence or severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms. There is a highly polymorphic silent G1287A mutation in the NET gene. In our study 157 alcoholics and 185 healthy unrelated matched control subjects were analyzed for a silent G1287A mutation. No significant differences in allele and genotype distribution between control subjects f(A)=0.33 and alcoholics f(A)=0.29 were found. No significant results were found in more homogenous subgroups, i.e. alcoholics with severe alcohol withdrawal (seizures, delirium), early onset age<26 nor dependent patients with positive familial history of alcoholism. These results suggest that the NET gene polymorphism in exon 9 accession number: mRNA: NM_001043, genomic contig.: NT_019610, is unlikely to be involved in the susceptibility to alcoholism and severe alcohol withdrawal.     

SKI TRAINING FOR AMPUTEES

Rehabilitation by sport is of importance in regard to champions and also to the every-day life of ill and crippled people.

The value of sport, on the one hand, as a part of the rehabilitation of amputees and, on the other hand, in satisfying the need for movement in the blind has been repeatedly demonstrated. However, thorough study is required to improve training methods and to enable the disabled to practice the particular sport events.

Skiing is of special importance in the rehabilitation of disabled people.

In 1956 the first ski courses for amputees were organized in Poland and showed that those who had undergone a limb amputation are able to practice this event in rehabilitation.

     

pH dependence of extracellular calcium sensing receptor activity determined by a novel technique

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence points to the role of the extracellular Calcium Sensing Receptor (CaSR) as a multimodal receptor responding to diverse physiologic stimuli, such as extracellular divalent and polyvalent cations, amino acids, and ionic strength. Within the kidney, these stimuli converge on the CaSR to coordinate systemic calcium and water homeostasis. In this process, the impact of urinary pH changes on the activity of the CaSR has not yet been defined. We therefore performed the present study to analyze the pH sensitivity of the CaSR. METHODS: To assess the activation state of the CaSR, we developed a new method based on the functional coupling between CaSR activity and gating of calcium sensitive potassium currents mediated by SK4 potassium channels. Two-electrode voltage clamping was used to determine whole cell currents in Xenopus oocytes heterologously expressing rat CaSR and rat SK4 potassium channels. RESULTS: Coexpression of CaSR and SK4 gave rise to potassium currents that were dependent on CaSR-mediated intracellular calcium release, and thereby corresponded to the activation state of the CaSR. In presence of extracellular calcium, ambient alkalinization above pH 7.5 increased CaSR activity. Evaluation of the CaSR calcium sensitivity at various ambient proton concentrations revealed that this effect was due to a sensitization of the CaSR towards extracellular calcium. CONCLUSION: Coexpression with SK4 potassium channels provides a fast and sensitive approach to evaluate CaSR activity in Xenopus oocytes. As disclosed by this novel technique, CaSR activity is regulated by extracellular pH.     

Glutathione and glutathione peroxidase activities in blood of patients in early stages following kidney transplantation

This study focuses on glutathione (GSH) level in red blood cells, as well as on glutathione peroxidases (GSH-Px) activities in red blood cells and in plasma of chronic renal failure (CRF) patients following renal transplantation. We want to focus our main attention on plasma GSH-Px, the selenoenzyme that is synthesized primarily in the kidney. In CRF patients, activity of this enzyme is significantly reduced, and the reduction decreases with the progress of the disease, reaching in the end-stage 20% to 30% of the activity of healthy patients. We have shown that following renal transplantation the activity of plasma GSH-Px is restored very rapidly, and 2 weeks after surgery it reached the value of the control group. Red blood cell GSH level is significantly higher in CRF patients, and following transplantation, no significant changes were observed. Red blood cell GSH-Px activity before transplantation was the same as in healthy patients and did not change significantly after surgery.