Immunological characteristics of skin preparations

Effects of three preparations from porcine skin on the number of antibody-producing mouse splenocytes at the peak of primary immune response and on the restoration of the sensitivity of background rosette-forming splenocytes to inhibitory effect of azathioprine were studied in thymectomized mice. All three preparations were active in the first test, while in the second test only the preparation with molecular weight below 1.4 kD was active. The effects of preparations on B and T immunity have been demonstrated. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 129, No. 2, pp. 194–197, February, 2000     

Traumatic Brain Injury Models in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology - Current medicine has a high level of interest in studies of the pathogenesis of traumatic brain injury (TBI). This comes particularly from high levels of...     

Antibody microarray analysis of the serum proteome in primary breast cancer patients

Noninvasive biomarkers are urgently needed for detecting breast cancer as early as possible since the risk of recurrence, morbidity, and mortality is closely related to disease stage at the time of primary surgery. There are currently no such biomarkers in clinical use as a diagnostic tool. Proteomic analysis of protein expression patterns in body fluids has potential for use in identifying biomarkers of breast cancer. The aim of this study was to compare protein expression levels in the sera of primary breast cancer patients and healthy controls. An antibody microarray tool with 23 antibodies immobilized on nitrocellulose slides was used to determine the levels of acute phase proteins, interleukins, and complement factors in the sera of 101 study participants (49 women with primary breast cancer and 52 healthy age-matched controls). Statistical analysis of reaction intensities identified 6 proteins that showed significantly (p < 0.05) different levels in breast cancer patients vs. healthy subjects. The neural network distinguished cancer patients from controls with a sensitivity of 69% and a specificity of 76%. Thus, antibody microarray analysis could be used as a tool for the development of improved diagnostics and biomarker discovery for breast cancer patients. Further validation of the results and de novo screening of new biomarkers could facilitate the early diagnosis of breast cancer.     

Behavioral characterization of GLT1 (+/-) mice as a model of mild glutamatergic hyperfunction

GLT1 is one of the major transporters responsible for maintenance of glutamate homeostasis in the brain. In the present study, glutamate transporter 1-deficient GLT1 homozygous (-/-) and heterozygous (+/-) mice were investigated with the intention that they may provide a model of hyperglutamatergic state resulting in various behavioral alterations. The GLT1 (-/-) mice had lower body and brain weight, mild neuronal loss in CA1 hippocampal region as well as focal gliosis and severe focal neuronal paucity in layer II of the neocortex. The short life-span of GLT1 (-/-) precluded us from systematic behavioral studies in these mice. In contrast, GLT1 (+/-) mice exhibiting a 59% decrease in GLT1 immunoreactivity in their brain tissue, showed no apparent morphological brain abnormalities, and their life-span was not markedly different from controls. Behaviorally, GLT1 (+/-) presented moderate behavioral alterations compared to their wildtype littermates, such as: mild sensorimotor impairment, hyperlocomotion (at 3 month of age only), lower anxiety (at 6 months), better learning of cue-based fear conditioning but worse context-based fear conditioning. Our results suggest that GLT1 (+/-) mice may serve as a potentially useful model to study neurodegenerative disease conditions with mild hyperglutamatergic activity.     

Ethnic minority elders: are they neglected in published geriatric psychiatry literature?

ABSTRACTBackground: The population size of the elderly from ethnic minority groups in many developing countries is rapidly increasing. The authors perceived a paucity of publications in the geriatric psychiatry literature pertaining to ethnic minority elders.Methods: A study examining the proportion of research publications pertaining to ethnic minority elders in two leading geriatric psychiatry journals, International Psychogeriatrics and International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, was undertaken.Results: The main findings were: (1) overall only 7.6% of the publications examined ethnic minority elders; (2) only 5.1% of publications were exclusively of ethnic minority elderly groups; and, (3) only 2.5% of publications included ethnic minority elderly groups in their overall sample.Conclusions: Findings from studies, such as epidemiological studies of risk factors for mental disorders in old age and randomized controlled studies of treatment interventions, which exclude ethnic minority elders, cannot be assumed to apply to these groups. Researchers, research institutions, funding organizations and policy-makers should acknowledge the rising numbers of ethnic minority elders and recognize the importance of using ethnic minority-specific research data in the planning of culturally sensitive services and mental health promotion programs.     

Psychological personality traits and development of cardiovascular diseases in young men (results of a 10-year prospective study

Cardiovascular abnormalities developed in 7.3% among physically and mentally healthy males aged 20-29 years after 10 years of practical activities that made it necessary to take crucial decisions under conditions of time shortage and information gap, to show determination and courage. The incidence rate for cardiovascular diseases was 38.8% among males with asthenic personality traits and 6.9% in those with sthenic traits (p less than 0.001). In persons with well-balanced personality traits, cardiovascular diseases were ascertained not to develop. The disparity between the psychological traits and those demanded by occupational activities is the major pathogenic factor as considered by the authors.