Canine, but not rat bladder contracts to serotonin via activation of 5HT2 receptors

Serotonin is a biogenic amine that can exert multiple effects on smooth muscle, including smooth muscle of the genitourinary tract; effects that may be species dependent. The present study using isolated tissues documents potent contractile responses to serotonin in canine bladder smooth muscle. Contractile responses to serotonin in canine bladder could be mimicked by alpha-methyl serotonin, a selective 5HT2 receptor agonist. In fact, although alpha-methyl serotonin was slightly less potent as a contractile agonist relative to serotonin, the contractile response to alpha-methyl serotonin was more persistent as evidenced by a greater recovery time to resting force following washout. In contrast, the 5HT1A receptor agonist, 8-OH-DPAT and the 5HT3 selective agonist, 2-methyl serotonin, did not markedly contract canine bladder. These data establish that contractile responses to serotonin in the canine bladder are mediated by activation of 5HT2 receptors. We further demonstrated that the 5HT2 receptor antagonist, LY53857, potently inhibited the contractile response to both serotonin and alpha-methyl serotonin in the canine bladder consistent with agonist activation of 5HT2 receptors. In contrast to the potent response to serotonin observed in the canine bladder, rat bladder preparations did not markedly contract in response to serotonin, alpha-methyl serotonin, 8-OH-DPAT, or 2-methyl serotonin. Thus, these studies reinforce the marked species variability in responsiveness to serotonin and indicate that contraction to serotonin in the canine bladder is mediated by activation of the 5HT2 receptor.     

Peripheral retinal neovascularization and rubeosis iridis after a bilateral circular buckling operation

This report describes a young high-myopic patient who developed rubeosis iridis with peripheral retinal neovascularization one year after a circular buckling operation. Subsequently, vitreous bleeding and exudation led to traction retinal detachment which was treated successfully by anterior vitrectomy and cryopexy. It is suggested that this case represents a mild form of anterior-segment ischemia, combined with peripheral retinal ischemia.     

Detection of Bacteroides fragilis Enterotoxin Gene by PCR

Bacteroides fragilis constitutes about 1% of the bacterial flora in intestines of normal humans. Enterotoxigenic strains of B. fragilis have been associated with diarrheal diseases in humans and animals. The enterotoxin produced by these isolates induces fluid changes in ligated intestinal loops and an in vitro cytotoxic response in HT-29 cells. We developed a nested PCR to detect the enterotoxin gene of B. fragilis in stool specimens. After DNA extraction, a 367-bp fragment was amplified with two outer primers. The amplicon from this reaction was subjected to a second round of amplification with a set of internal primers. With these inner primers, a 290-bp DNA fragment was obtained which was confirmed as part of the B. fragilis enterotoxin gene by Southern blotting with a nonradioactive internal probe and a chemiluminescence system. By this approach, B. fragilis enterotoxin gene sequences were detected in eight known enterotoxigenic human isolates and nine enterotoxigenic horse isolates. No amplification products were obtained from DNA extracted from 28 nonenterotoxigenic B. fragilis isolates or B. distasonis, B. thetaiotaomicron, B. uniformis, B. ovatus, Escherichia coli, or Clostridium difficile. The sensitivity of this assay allowed us to detect as little as 1 pg of enterotoxin DNA sequences or 100 to 1,000 cells of enterotoxigenic B. fragilis/g of stool. Enterotoxin production of all isolates was confirmed in vitro in HT-29 cells. A 100% correlation was obtained between enterotoxin detection by cytotoxin assay and the nested PCR assay. This rapid and sensitive assay can be used to identify enterotoxigenic B. fragilis and may be used clinically to determine the role of B. fragilis in diarrheal diseases.     

Magnetization transfer effects in MR-detected multiple sclerosis lesions: comparison with gadolinium-enhanced spin-echo images and nonenhanced T1-weighted images.

PURPOSETo define the relationship between magnetization transfer and blood-brain-barrier breakdown in multiple sclerosis lesions using gadolinium enhancement as an index of the latter.METHODSTwo hundred twenty lesions (high-signal abnormalities on T2-weighted images) in 35 multiple sclerosis patients were studied with gadolinium-enhanced spin-echo imaging and magnetization transfer. Lesions were divided into groups having nodular or uniform enhancement, ring enhancement, or no enhancement after gadolinium administration. For 133 lesions, T1-weighted images without contrast enhancement were also analyzed. These lesions were categorized as isointense or hypointense based on their appearance on the unenhanced T1-weighted images.RESULTSThere was no difference between the magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) of lesions as a function of enhancement. MTR of hypointense lesions on unenhanced T1-weighted images was, however, lower than the MTR of isointense lesions.CONCLUSIONWe speculate that diminished MTR may reflect diminished myelin content and that hypointensity on T1-weighted images corresponds to demyelination. Central regions of ring-enhancing lesions had a lower MTR than the periphery, suggesting that demyelination in multiple sclerosis lesions occurs centrifugally. In addition, the short-repetition-time pulse sequence seems useful in the evaluation of myelin loss in patients with multiple sclerosis.     

Physical status score and trends in anesthetic complications

Since deaths due to anesthesia have now become rare, emphasis in quality assurance of anesthetic care must focus on morbidity rather than only on mortality. To facilitate comparisons of outcomes, data from a large anesthesia follow-up program (N = 112,000 anesthetics) were used to evaluate the usefulness of the American Society of Anesthesiologists' Physical Status score (PS) as an independent predictor of nonfatal adverse anesthetic complications. For each patient, the anesthesiologist filled out a form containing information about the patient, the anesthetic, the operative procedure, and outcomes in the operating and recovery rooms. Postoperative complications were assessed by a designated anesthesia follow-up nurse. We calculated the PS-specific complication rate by dividing the number of complications to patients in each PS category by the number of anesthetics given to patients in the same category. We found that PS-specific complication rates increased with increasing PS scores for most complications sought. For intraoperative and recovery room complications, the PS-specific rates increased from 1978-80 and 1981-83 as compared to 1975-77. However, there was no increase over time in the rate of postoperative major complications. After adjusting for patient, anesthesia, and surgery-related variables by multiple logistic regression, the relative odds of having an intraoperative or postoperative major complication were increased for patients classified PS2, PS3 and PS4 & 5 as compared to PS1. However, those in higher PS categories were less likely to have a recovery room complication than PS1 patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Age-related alterations of NMDA-receptor properties in the mouse forebrain: partial restoration by chronic phosphatidylserine treatment.

The effect of aging on the properties of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the forebrain of female NMRI mice was investigated using the antagonist [3H]MK-801 as radioligand. Compared to young (3 months) mice, aged (20 months) mice showed changes of the properties of the NMDA receptor at three different levels: (1) the density was reduced by about 35%; (2) the efficacy of L-glutamate and glycine for stimulating specific [3H]MK-801 binding was enhanced, probably because more NMDA receptor-associated ion channels are closed under baseline conditions in the aged brain; (3) the affinity of L-glutamate and glycine to its binding sites at the NMDA receptor complex was also enhanced. Chronic treatment of aged mice with phosphatidylserine (20 mg/kg, i.p., once daily) for three weeks completely normalized enhanced efficacy and affinity of L-glutamate and glycine and elevated NMDA receptor density by approximately 25%. These findings are consistent with the assumptions that deficits of the NMDA receptor are one of the mechanisms of age-related cognitive impairment and that the beneficial effects of phosphatidylserine treatment on cognitive deficits of aged individuals might be partially due to the effects of this drug on age-related NMDA receptor deficits.