Stereotaktische Laserablation für fokale Epilepsien

Clinical Epileptology - Die stereotaktische Laserablation (sLA) ist eine neue Therapieoption für pharmakorefraktäre Epilepsien. Aufgrund ihres minimalinvasiven Charakters ist sie in den...     

Lack of lithium-like behavioral and molecular effects in IMPA2 knockout mice.

Lithium is a potent mood-stabilizing medication in bipolar disorder. Despite 50 years of clinical use, the mechanism of action is unknown. Multiple effects have been attributed to lithium including the uncompetitive inhibition of inositol monophosphatase (IMPase). IMPA2, one of the genes that encode IMPase, is located in a region with linkage to bipolar disorder. Owing to the role of IMPase in cell signaling and the possibility that this enzyme is a target for mood-stabilizing drugs, we generated IMPA2(-/-) mice. Possible involvement of IMPase in complex behaviors related to affective disorders was assessed by monitoring the behavior of the IMPA2(-/-) mice in the forced swim test, the tail suspension test (TST), the elevated zero-maze and open field test. It has been described that chronically lithium-treated mice exhibit reduced immobility time in the forced swim test and decreased exploratory behavior. We found increased rearing of IMPA2(-/-) mice in the open field, suggesting an increased exploratory behavior. Although immobility time of IMPA2(-/-) female but not male mice in the forced swim test was reduced, no difference was found between male and female IMPA2(-/-) and IMPA2(+/+) mice in the TST and overall there was no clear effect of the deletion of IMPA2 on depression-like behavior. Frontal cortex IMPase activity and inositol levels in the IMPA2(-/-) mice did not differ from IMPA2(+/+) mice, but kidney inositol levels were reduced. In conclusion, phenotypic characterization of the IMPA2(-/-) mouse indicates that deleting IMPA2 does not mimic the effects of lithium treatment.     

Television viewing and exposure to food-related commercials among European school children, associations with fruit and vegetable intake: a cross sectional study

Background  

Fruit and vegetable intake is low among European children and exposure to TV is negatively associated with the intake of fruit and vegetables. The aim of the present study was to explore exposure to food commercials on TV in nine European countries. Associations between such exposure and intake of fruit and vegetables and possible mediating effects of attitudes toward and liking of fruit and vegetables were assessed.     

The application of a social cognition model in explaining fruit intake in Austrian, Norwegian and Spanish schoolchildren using structural equation modelling

Background  

The aim of this paper was to test the goodness of fit of the Attitude – Social influence – self-Efficacy (ASE) model in explaining schoolchildren's intentions to eat fruit and their actual fruit intake in Austria, Norway and Spain; to assess how well the model could explain the observed variance in intention to eat fruit and in reported fruit intake and to investigate whether the same model would fit data from all three countries.     

Impaired hemorheology in patients with postmastectomy lymphedema

Lymphedema of the arm is one of the most disabling and serious complications of breast cancer. Apart from tumor infiltration or fibrosis of lymphatic pathways, little is known about factors favoring the development of lymphedema. In the present study, we investigated the impact of rheologic parameters, e.g. red cell aggregation (EA) and plasma viscosity (PV), and of capillary morphology and capillary flow in patients with breast cancer with (n = 18) and without (n = 18) lymphedema. Patients with lymphedema showed a significant increase of red cell aggregation (p < 0.001) that indicates a systemic component of lymphedema and might offer a possibility of prevention and therapy of this condition. A hitherto unclassified protein factor favoring red cell aggregation and lymphedema might be postulated.     

Effects of morphine on oedema and tissue concentration of nerve growth factor in experimental inflammation of the rat paw

Injection of carrageenan (1 mg) into the rat hind paw caused a time-dependent increase in paw volume that was maximal 3 h after injection. At this time, the concentration of nerve growth factor (NGF) in the skin of the inflamed paw was more than twofold higher than in the contralateral, non-inflamed paw. Treatment of rats with indomethacin reduced inflammatory oedema by 57%, morphine treatment attenuated oedema by 62%. While indomethacin had no statistically significant effect on the concentration of NGF in the skin of inflamed paws, morphine attenuated the NGF response by 24.2% in a naloxone reversible manner. These data suggest that drug-induced inhibition of inflammatory oedema is not predictive of its effect on an inflammation-induced rise in tissue NGF. Furthermore, our results confirm and extend previous observations suggesting an anti-inflammatory activity of morphine.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of cycloalkylidene carboxylic acids as novel effectors of Ras/Raf interaction

The protooncogenes Ras and Raf play important roles in signal transduction pathways regulated by mitogen-activated protein kinases. Mutations of Ras that arrest the protein in its active state are frequently implicated in tumor formation. We used Ras and Raf proteins in the yeast two-hybrid system to search for natural or synthesized substances capable of modulating Ras/Raf interaction by specifically binding to one of the interacting partners. We found that cycloalkylidene carboxylic acids enhanced Ras/Raf interaction by acting on the cysteine-rich domain of Raf. Several analogues of the active substance 2-cyclohexylidene propanoic acid were synthesized and the importance of the semicyclic double bond in the stabilization of Ras/Raf interaction was demonstrated. Variation of the size and the substituents of the cyclic system as well as the length of the carboxylic acid resulted in enhanced Ras/Raf interaction.     

Computational flow modeling in hollow-fiber dialyzers

A three-dimensional finite volume model of the blood-dialysate interface over the complete length of the dialyzer was developed. Different equations govern dialyzer flow and pressure distribution (Navier-Stokes) and radial transport (Darcy). Blood was modeled as a non-Newtonian fluid with a viscosity varying in radial and axial direction determined by the local hematocrit, the diameter of the capillaries, and the local shear rate. The dialysate flow was assumed to be an incompressible, isothermal laminar Newtonian flow with a constant viscosity. The permeability characteristics of the membrane were calculated from laboratory tests for forward and backfiltration. The oncotic pressure induced by the plasma proteins was implemented as well as the reduction of the overall permeability caused by the adhesion of proteins to the membrane. From the calculated pressure distribution, the impact of flow, hematocrit, and capillary dimensions on the presence and localization of backfiltration can be investigated.