Enhanced striatal glutamate release after the administration of rimonabant to 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats

While recent studies have shown that the blockade of cannabinoid CB(1) receptors might be beneficial to alleviate the motor inhibition typical of Parkinson's disease (PD), the neurochemical substrates for this effect remain elusive. Here we have carried out microdialysis experiments to determine whether the effects of rimonabant, a selective antagonist of CB(1) receptors, might be associated with changes in striatal glutamate release in a rat model of PD generated by intracerebroventricular injection of 6-hydroxydopamine. Our data demonstrate that the treatment with rimonabant slightly increased striatal glutamate release in control rats, although this effect was only evident with the highest dose of rimonabant tested (1mg/kg). However, the increase in glutamate release was much more marked in the parkinsonian rats where similar changes were observed at a dose of 1 and 0.1mg/kg, exactly the same dose that relieved motor inhibition in previous behavioral studies. In summary, the potential of rimonabant to act as a possible antihypokinetic agent in parkinsonian rats seems to be related to enhanced glutamate release from excitatory afferents to the striatum. This observation is of potential clinical interest, particularly for those parkinsonian patients that exhibit a poor response to classic levodopa treatment.     

Multiple-allergen and single-allergen immunotherapy strategies in polysensitized patients: looking at the published evidence

In allergen immunotherapy there is debate as to whether polysensitized patients are best treated with many allergens simultaneously (chosen according to the sensitization profile, a predominantly North American approach) or a single allergen (chosen according to the most clinically problematic allergy, a predominantly European approach). In patients seeking treatment for moderate-to-severe respiratory allergies, polysensitization is more prevalent (range, 50% to 80%) than monosensitization in both the United States and Europe. Safe, effective, single-allergen preparations will most likely have been tested in polysensitized patients. In robust, large-scale clinical trials of grass pollen sublingual tablets, polysensitized patients benefited at least as much from allergen immunotherapy as monosensitized patients. A recent review of multiallergen immunotherapy concluded that simultaneous delivery of multiple unrelated allergens can be clinically effective but that there was a need for additional investigation of therapy with more than 2 allergen extracts (particularly in sublingual allergen immunotherapy). More work is also required to determine whether single-allergen and multiallergen immunotherapy protocols elicit distinct immune responses in monosensitized and polysensitized patients. Sublingual and subcutaneous multiallergen immunotherapy in polysensitized patients requires more supporting data to validate its efficacy in practice.     

Factors associated with prostate cancer screening: a population-based study

The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of prostate cancer screening among men aged 50 years or older based on socioeconomic, demographic, and health-related behavioral variables and the presence of morbidity. A population-based cross-sectional study was performed. The following factors were associated with failure to undergo screening: age under 70 years; less than eight years of schooling; per capita household income less than one-half the minimum wage; not having diabetes; lack of visual impairment; and lack of visit to the dentist in the previous year. The Brazilian public healthcare system accounted for 41% of the reported prostate cancer screening tests. According to the present study, despite controversy over the effectiveness of digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen for detecting prostate cancer, a significant portion of the male population has been undergoing these tests, the access to which displays significant socioeconomic inequalities.     

Characterization of senescence biomarkers in rheumatoid arthritis: relevance to disease progression

Clinical Rheumatology - Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been associated with early senescent features. However, the effects of disease progression on senescence markers are largely unknown. Here, we...     

Prevalence and outcomes of atrial fibrillation in a European healthcare area gained through the processing of a health information technology system

Introduction

Today's healthcare policies rely heavily on data that has been gathered from multiple small studies in intrinsically varied populations. We sought to describe the prevalence, comorbidities and outcomes of atrial fibrillation (AF) in the population of a specific region where all healthcare centers have implemented a common information technology (IT) structure.