Effects of ethyl alcohol administration to rat dams during the gestation period on learning behavior and on levels of monoamines and metabolites in rat pup brain after birth

Pregnant rats were given 0%-, 5%-, 10%- and 20% ethyl alcohol in drinking water during the gestation period.We evaluated the brain function of pups born of alcohol-administered dams. Learning ability (Sidman avoidance behavior), the amounts of monoamines (noradrenalin, dopamine, serotonin) and metabolites (3,4-dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid [DOPAC], homovanillic acid [HVA] and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid [5-HIAA])in whole brain were examined for neurobehavioral and neurochemical effects.There was no effect on Sidman avoidance behavior in 56-day-old offspring, but alterations of the amounts of monoamines and their metabolites were observed even in 66-day-old offspring as a result of the dams' exposure to ethanol during pregnancy.     

Oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide elimination during epinephrine-induced arrhythmias in humans

Key words  cardiac arrhythmias - oxygen uptake - carbon dioxide elimination     

Changes in proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and Wechsler adult intelligence scale revised after clipping of unruptured aneurysms

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of surgery for unruptured aneurysms on neuropsychological status and cerebral metabolism. We studied 21 patients with unruptured aneurysms treated with direct surgery accompanied by craniotomy, rather than by the endovascular method. Patients were evaluated before and after surgery, using the Wechsler adult intelligence scale revised (WAIS-R) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy which measured the ratio of N-acetyl-aspartate to creatine (NAA/Cr). Although the results of WAIS-R (total IQ, verbal IQ and performance IQ) was not significantly different after surgery in any of the patients, the total IQ of the patients with anterior communicating artery aneurysms (AcoA) showed a significant decline compared with patients with other aneurysms after surgery. Five of eight AcoA patients showed a specific reduction in verbal IQ, suggesting deterioration of recent memory. The NAA/Cr remained within the normal range and was not significantly different before and after surgery. However, the NAA/Cr in the white matter of the frontal lobe of AcoA patients showed a significant reduction compared with that of non-AcoA patients. All three elderly patients older than 70 showed a reduction in NAA/Cr of more than one standard deviation from normal subjects in their frontal or parietal lobes. These results indicated that operation for unruptured aneurysms is reliable and well established but they also show that careful consideration should be given to possible deterioration in neuropsychological status and cerebral metabolism after operation in AcoA and elderly patients.     

Thiamin is decomposed due to Anaphe spp. entomophagy in seasonal ataxia patients in Nigeria

A fairly high activity of a relatively heat-resistant thiaminase was detected and characterized from the pupae of an African silkworm Anaphe spp. which had been the putative cause of a seasonal ataxia and impaired consciousness in Nigerians. The thiaminase in the buffer extract of Anaphe pupae was type I (thiamin: base 2-methyl-4-aminopyrimidine methyl transferase EC 2.5.1.2), and the optimal temperature and pH were 70 degrees C and 8.0-8.5, respectively. Based on gel filtration chromatography, the molecules were estimated to be 200 kDa. Second substrates which could be utilized by the thiaminase were pyridoxine, amino acids, glutathione, taurine and 4-aminopyridine. Thiamin phosphate esters were inactive as substrates. This is the first report describing an insect thiaminase. Our results indicate the necessity of thorough heat treatment for the detoxification of the African silkworm, making the worm a safe source of high-quality protein.     

A study in cases of Brugada-type electrocardiogram and its management proposals in health examination]

In 1992, Brugada et al. reported a characteristic electrocardiogram (ECG) pattern and ST-segment elevation in leads V1 to V3 associated with sudden death in patients without demonstrable structural heart disease. That disease is now called Brugada Syndrome. The diagnostic criteria for the Brugada Syndrome have still not been decided on, and the prevalence of Brugada type ECG (B-ECG) varies widely in Japan. Therefore, we should consider B-ECG according to the consensus statement from the European Society of Cardiology and we proposed its management in health examinations. There were 35 B-ECG cases (0.9%), all male out of 3,875 Postal Service Trainees. There were 5 cases of Type I (Coved) (0.13%), 21 cases of Type II (0.54%), and 9 cases of Type III (0.23%), Only one case (0.026%) of Brugada Syndrome was found, and eventually, he received an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). Type I (Coved) may be a more important electrocardiographic factor having a stronger causal relation to Ventricular Arrhythmia. Therefore, in management of health examinations, Type I patients with syncope or a family history of sudden cardiac death should visit a cardiologist for ICD-implantation, and even without any cardiac symptoms (syncope and a family history of sudden death), they are advised to visit a cardiologist for a program electrical stimulation (PES). Type II and III patients with any cardiac symptoms are advised to visit a cardiologist for PES or a drug challenge.     

Pronounced synergistic promotion of N-bis(2-hydroxypropyl)nitrosamine-initiated thyroid tumorigenesis in rats treated with excess soybean and iodine-deficient diets.

We have reported that excess soybean treatment and iodine deficiency synergistically interact, resulting in remarkable induction of thyroid hyperplasias in rats. In the present study, modifying effects of excess soybean and iodine-deficient diets were investigated in the post-initiation phase of N-bis(2-hydroxypropyl)nitrosamine [DHPN]-initiated thyroid tumorigenesis in rats. AIN-93G in which casein was replaced with gluten was used as a basal diet to avoid possible iodine contamination. In Experiment 1, F-344 rats of both sexes were sc injected with DHPN at a dose of 2800 mg/kg body weight and then fed a diet containing 0%, 0.8%, 4%, or 20% defatted soybean for 12 weeks, with proportional replacement of gluten by soybean flour. Although no thyroid proliferative lesions were found in any group, the absolute thyroid weights were significantly (p < 0.01) elevated with the 20% soybean treatment. In Experiment 2, after similar sc injection of DHPN, rats were fed a basal diet or a diet containing 20% soybean under iodine normal or deficient conditions for 12 weeks. Soybean feeding to both sexes under iodine deficient but not normal conditions dramatically enhanced the development of thyroid follicular adenomas (p < 0.01) and adenocarcinomas (p < 0.05), in good agreement with decrease in thyroxine and increase in thyroid-stimulating hormone. Thus co-exposure to excess soybean and iodine deficiency results in synergistic promotion of DHPN-initiated thyroid tumorigenesis in rats, of which mechanisms appear to primarily involve effects on serum hormone levels.