The use of cyclic AMP efflux studies in attempts to determine the effects of morphine on cyclic AMP formation in striatal slices

The effect of morphine and naloxone on basal and forskolin-stimulated efflux of cyclic AMP from rat striatal slices was examined. Neither morphine nor naloxone had any consistent effect on the basal efflux of cyclic AMP. Forskolin produced a time and dose-dependent enhancement of cyclic AMP efflux. Neither morphine nor naloxone affected this forskolin-enhanced release. These results suggest that measurements of cyclic AMP released from brain slices do not accurately reflect effects on adenylate cyclase inhibition by opiates.     

Quantitative studies on competitive activities of skin bacteria growing on solid media.

Earlier quantitative investigations of antagonism between skin bacteria were based on the use of liquid cultures, but a more realistic model has now been devised, based on the use of the surfaces of solid media. Pure or mixed inocula were spread evenly over suitable agar media in Petri dishes marked out with a standard grid. Growth curves were constructed from viable counts of the surface bacteria after they had been removed from excised squares of the agar media and dispersed. The method was highly reproducible, and competitive interactions were revealed more clearly than in studies with liquid media. An antibiotic-producing strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis (S6+) readily suppressed strains of Micrococcus, Corynebacterium and Streptococcus species. However, a Staphylococcus aureus strain which was less sensitive to the antibiotic effect of S6+ interacted in a complex manner, depending on the absolute and relative size of the S6+ inoculum.     

Cutaneous myxosarcoma with pulmonary metastases in a dog

The pathological findings in a 13-year-old dog with cutaneous myxosarcoma with pulmonary metastases are described. Grossly, there was a large subcutaneous mass in the right scapular region, a smaller nodule in the caudal abdominal region and a fibrotic mass at a fracture site in the right hindlimb. Radiographic examination revealed several pulmonary nodules. Microscopical evaluation revealed a myxosarcoma characterized by the proliferation of spindle to stellate cells with multiple prominent nucleoli and vascular invasion. The neoplastic cells were haphazardly arranged in a mucopolysaccharide matrix. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells expressed vimentin, but not cytokeratin or glial fibrillary acidic protein. There was restricted expression of desmin, smooth muscle actin and S-100 protein.     

Change in Predicted 10-Year Cardiovascular Risk Following Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery

Background  Bariatric surgery is being conducted more often for morbid obesity, but little evidence exists about how it affects the risk of future cardiovascular events. The goal of this study was to quantify the change in predicted 10-year cardiovascular risk following laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGBP). Methods  We conducted a prospective clinical study of morbidly obese adults undergoing LRYGBP at a university hospital in the USA. Our primary outcome measure was mean change in 10-year cardiovascular risk at 12 months. We estimated cardiovascular risk by using the Framingham risk equation, which calculates the absolute risk of cardiovascular events for patients with no known history of heart disease, stroke, or peripheral vascular disease by using information on age, sex, blood pressure, total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, smoking status, and history of diabetes. Results  Ninety-two participants underwent LRYGBP between December 2004 and October 2005. Their predicted baseline 10-year cardiovascular risk was 6.7%. At 6 and 12 months, their predicted risk had decreased to 5.2% and 5.4%, respectively. Assuming no change in risk among untreated patients, this represents an absolute risk reduction of 1.3%; which suggests that 77 morbidly obese patients would have to undergo LRYGBP to avert one new case of cardiovascular disease over the ensuing 10 years (number needed to treat = 77). Conclusion  Our findings indicate that LRYGBP is associated with improvements in cardiovascular risk factors and a corresponding decrease in predicted 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease.