Excretory urography in the emergency department: utility of teleradiology

To test the feasibility of teleradiology for use with excretory urograms obtained in the emergency department in cases for suspected renal colic, radiographs from 43 patients were digitized, transmitted via standard phone lines, and viewed on a video monitor 2 miles distant. Diagnostic interpretations of the video image and the original radiograph were reviewed for degree of concordance. The video and film images of the 27 examinations showing obstruction were interpreted with 100% correlation. Agreement as to the site of obstruction was present in 93% of cases. Only two-thirds of renal and ureteral calculi seen on the radiographs were discerned on the video images, however. Teleradiology proved as useful for ongoing monitoring and modification of these examinations as for initial interpretation.     

In vivo effects of 3-iodocytisine: Pharmacological and genetic analysis of hypothermia and evaluation of chronic treatment on nicotinic binding sites

Several cytisine derivatives have been developed in the search for more selective drugs at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR). Binding experiments in transfected cell lines showed that the iodination of cytisine in the position 3 of the pyridone ring increased potency at α7-nAChR and to a lesser extent at the α4β2 subtypes, both of which are widely expressed in the brain. However, no in vivo studies have been published on this compound. Inhibition curves presented here using wild type, β2, and β4-null mutant mice confirm that 3-IC binds to α4β2∗, α7∗ and α3β4∗ receptors with higher affinity than cytisine (asterisk indicates the receptor may contain additional subunits, Lukas et al., 1999). Intraperitoneal injection of 3-iodocytisine (3-IC) induced considerable dose-dependent hypothermia in DBA/2J and C57BL/6J mice. This response was blocked by mecamylamine and partially inhibited by hexamethonium. β4-null mice displayed significantly less 3-IC-induced hypothermia than wild-type mice, β2-null mice were somewhat less affected than wild types, while responses of α7∗-null mice were similar to wild types. Mice treated chronically with 3-IC display a marked increase in α7∗ and α4β2∗ binding sites determined by radioligand binding in membrane preparations from cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Quantitative autoradiographic analysis of 28 brain regions of mice treated with 3-IC was consistent with the membrane binding, detecting an increase of cytisine-sensitive [¹²⁵I]epibatidine binding sites, while cytisine-resistant [¹²⁵I]epibatidine sites were unchanged. [¹²⁵I]α-Bungarotoxin binding sites also exhibited up-regulation. These results give a first evaluation of in vivo consequences of 3-IC as a potent agonist with marked effects on mice.