Developmental data in preschool children born after prolonged pregnancy

Aim: To evaluate children born post-term (gestational age ≥42 weeks) with respect to developmental data obtained at the ages of 4 and 5.5 y. Methods: The study population included all children (n=354) born in 1991 at Huddinge University Hospital with a gestational age of ≥42 wk. The births were identified and perinatal data were collected through the Swedish National Birth Registry. Developmental assessments from the child health centres were analysed. Children born at term, but before a gestational age of 42 wk, served as controls. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Children born post-term had more developmental deviations than the controls (estimated odds ratio 2.20; 95% CI: 1.29-3.85). Boys had more deviations than girls (estimated odds ratio 1.92; 95% CI: 1.11-3.45).

Conclusion: Our results indicate that there might be an association between post-term birth and developmental deviations.     

(+)-MK-801 induced social withdrawal in rats; a model for negative symptoms of schizophrenia

Dopaminergic agonists and NMDA-receptor antagonists form the basis for the dopamine and glutamate models of schizophrenia, respectively. In human subjects dopaminergic agonists evoke a psychosis resembling positive symptoms of schizophrenia, while NMDA-receptor antagonists produce both positive and negative symptoms. Consequently, the glutamate model may be considered the most complete of the two models. Alterations in animal behaviour, in response to amphetamine or NMDA-receptor antagonists, are widely used to model schizophrenia. NMDA-receptor antagonist induced social withdrawal in rat is an established model for negative symptoms of schizophrenia. In this study we have set up an automated method, based on video tracking, to assess social behaviour, motor activity and movement pattern in rats. This method was then used to evaluate the effects of amphetamine and the NMDA-receptor antagonist (+)-MK-801, administered as single intraperitoneal injections, on rat behaviour. Amphetamine caused significantly increased motor activity and a tendency towards stimulation of social interactions. (+)-MK-801 also stimulated motor activity, but induced a significant inhibition of social interactions. These results indicate that a single injection of (+)-MK-801 to rats models both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Amphetamine, in contrast, reflects only the positive symptoms of schizophrenia in this model.     

Regional expression of 5-HT1B receptor mRNA in the human brain

The regional mRNA expression pattern of 5-HT(1B) receptors has been extensively characterized in the rodent and guinea pig brain, but a detailed mapping of the 5-HT(1B) receptor mRNA expression in the human brain has not previously been performed. In the present study, the mRNA expression of 5-HT(1B) receptors was analyzed using in situ hybridization histochemistry and whole hemisphere sections of the human postmortem brain. The mRNA expression was compared with the autoradiographic distribution of 5-HT(1B) receptors. High levels of mRNA expression were found in the striatum, cortex, lateral geniculate nucleus, and raphe nuclei. The expression was higher in ventral than in dorsal striatal regions and was absent from the substantia nigra and pallidum, where high levels of 5-HT(1B) receptors were found. A layer-specific expression pattern was observed in cortical regions. The results extend previous knowledge about the localization of the 5-HT(1B) receptor in the human brain. This study provides evidence of a mismatch of the regional expression of 5-HT(1B) receptor mRNA and the 5-HT(1B) receptor distribution in human brain, similar to what has been demonstrated in other species. This is in line with the localization of this receptor subtype in nerve terminals. The results give support to species differences in the cortical mRNA expression pattern of this receptor subtype.     

Comparison of two therapeutic protocols in patients with antiphospholipid antibodies and recurrent miscarriages

AIM: To compare the effects of two therapeutic protocols for the patients with recurrent miscarriages associated with the presence of antiphospholipid (anticardiolipin) antibodies. METHODS: A prospective observational study included 20 patients with antiphospholipid antibodies in the first group who received low-molecular heparin and aspirin. The second group of 20 patients, in addition to this therapy, received immunotherapy (intravenous immunoglobulin). Aspirin was administered at the time of a positive pregnancy test, and low-molecular heparin not before the fetal heart activity registration by ultrasound. Intravenous immunoglobulin was given prior to the conception or at the beginning of the pregnancy. We compared these groups according to the pregnancy outcomes and the occurrence of complications during pregnancy, using standard statistical tests. RESULTS: The rate of positive gestational outcome in the patients treated with aspirin and low-molecular heparin was 85% (17/20), and in the second group it was 90% (18/20). There was no significant difference in pregnancy outcomes between these groups (p > 0.05), except for the occurence of preeclampsia and thrombocytopenia, which were recorded only in the aspirin and low-molecular heparin group, but with no statistical significance (p > 0.05) compared to the second group, which received immunoglobulin additionally. CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in pregnancy outcomes between the two studied therapeutic protocols, but the therapy with aspirin and low-molecular heparin was cheaper and easier to apply than the therapy with immunoglobulins. The results of our study confirmed that the final pathogenic mechanisms in recurrent fetal miscarriages were inflammation and thrombosis of the uteroplacental blood vessels.     

Relationship between low glomerular filtration rate, hypertension, and microalbuminuria in type 1 diabetes mellitus

AIM: To investigate the influence of low glomerular filtration rate, as well as of systolic and diastolic hypertension, on microalbuminuria in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Twenty seven patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (18 males, 9 females) were studied. All of the patients were below 50 years of age. In 93% of the cases, the duration of diabetes was less than 15 years. GFR was determined, after intravenous injection in the lying position, by using a 99m-Tc-DTPA, while microalbuminuria was calculated for the 24-hour urine using the nephelometric immunoassay (30-300 mg/24 h). The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the value of GFR. The values ranged from 90 to 125 ml/min/1.73 m2 were considered normal (in 63% of the patients in group 1), those above that range were considered as hyperfiltration (in 22.2% of the patients in group 2), while those below that range were considered as hypofiltration (in 13.8% of the patient in group 3). RESULTS: Data analyzed with the one-way ANOVA, indicated a significant statistical difference between the 3 groups in the duration of diabetes (p < 0.05), micro-albuminuria (p < 0.01), systolic BP (p < 0.01), diastolic BP (p < 0.05), fructosamine (p = 0.50), urea (p < 0.05), creatinine (p = 0.05), and uric acid (p < 0.05). Microalbuminuria correlated with the age of patients (p <0.05) (Spearman's rho), diabetes mellitus duration (p < 0.01), systolic BP (p < 0.05), diastolic BP (p < 0.05), LDL-cholesterol (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant correlation between GFR and the other parameters. Hypertension, microalbuminuria, and the duration of diabetes correlated positively with the reduction of GFR, revealing the most frequent reduction of GFR in the patients with more than 15-year duration of diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Hypertension and low GFR were associated with microalbuminuria in type 1 diabetes, while the duration of diabetes was shown to be the independent risk factor for the development of microalbuminuria.     

Alcohol consumption, arterial blood pressure and general mortality rate--twenty-years follow-up study

BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption has both adverse and beneficial effects on health and survival. The aim of this prospective study was to examine the association between alcohol consumption and arterial hypertension as well as general mortality rate. METHODS: The study included 286 participants, middle-aged men and women examined in 1974, and again in 1994 during twenty years of follow-up (mean age at the beginning of the study 43.61 +/- 7.09 years). Alcohol consumption was assessed by the specific questionnaire. Consumption levels were grouped into three categories: rare drinkers (consuming less than 6 drinks a week), moderate drinkers, who consume 1-2 alcohol drinks a day and heavy drinkers (consumers of 3 or more drinks a day). RESULTS: In both phases of the follow-up the lowest values of systolic and diastolic pressure were recorded in the group with moderate alcohol consumption, and the highest values in the group with excessive consumption. The observed differences were statistically significant. The general mortality rates were the highest among participants reporting excessive alcohol consumption (relative risk 3.2; 95% confidence interval 1.84-5.62), and among the abstainers (relative risk 1.8; 95% confidence interval 0.99-3.36), compared to the moderate consumption group. CONCLUSION: Analysis of the obtained results suggested the protective effect of moderate alcohol consumption on cardiovascular system.     

Emery-Dreiffus muscular dystrophy: MR imaging and spectroscopy in the brain and skeletal muscle

Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy is a rare disorder characterized by childhood onset of contractures, humeroperoneal muscle atrophy, and cardiac conduction abnormalities. This report presents the cases of two brothers with this dystrophy in whom bilateral hypomyelination of the deep periatrial white matter was noted. In the hypomyelinated regions, a prominent peak centered at 1.5 parts per million was present on short-TE MR spectra likely representing prominence of proteolipids in the macromolecular region. Major peaks (N-acetyl-aspartate, creatine, choline, and myoinositol) were normal. With respect to muscle changes, atrophy of the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle was noted at MR imaging, and phosphorus spectroscopy of this muscle revealed decreased phosphocreatine and inorganic phosphate peaks.