Sociodemographic factors and obesity in preadolescent black and white girls: NHLBI's Growth and Health Study.

The association of sociodemographic and family composition data with obesity was studied in 1213 black and 1166 white girls, ages 9 and 10, enrolled in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute''s Growth and Health Study. Obesity was defined as body mass index at or greater than age- and sex-specific 85th percentile as outlined in the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The prevalence of obesity was higher for pubertal girls than for prepubertal girls and for girls with older mothers/female guardians. As odds ratio of 1.14 was observed for each 5-year increase in maternal age. Obesity was less common for girls with more siblings; the odds for obesity decreased by 14% for each additional sibling in the household. In blacks, the prevalence of obesity was not related to parental employment or to parental education. In whites, the odds of obesity were higher for girls with no employed parent/guardian in the household and for girls with parents or guardians with lower levels of educational attainment. Examining the associations between sociodemographic factors and risk of childhood obesity provides important clues for understanding racial differences in obesity, a major risk factor for coronary heart disease.     

Effects of two benzodiazepine inverse agonists, RO 15-4513 and FG 7142, on recovery from pentobarbital and halothane anesthesia in the rat

A new class of drugs, the benzodiazepine inverse agonists, have recently been shown to antagonize some of the behavioral and sedative effects of benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and alcohol. Preliminary studies suggested that at least one of these drugs, RO 15-4513, may also be able to reverse the general anesthetic properties of volatile halogenated agents. Another inverse agonist, FG 7142, exhibits a similar ability to antagonize alcohol or benzodiazepines. However, FG 7142 is less potent than RO 15-4513 and has less affinity for the benzodiazepine receptor (BZR). The present studies were therefore undertaken to compare the analeptic effects and relative potencies of RO 15-4513 and FG 7142 on the anesthetic properties of pentobarbital compared with the general anesthetic agent halothane as measured by the time for recovery of the righting reflex in the rat. Three basic experimental paradigms were employed. Drug (FG or RO) or carrier was administered 5 minutes prior to the induction of pentobarbital anesthesia. Drug or carrier was administered to anesthetized animals 60 minutes after pentobarbital injection. Lastly, drug or carrier was administered 5 minutes prior to 15 minutes of halothane anesthesia. In addition, the selective benzodiazepine antagonist, flumazenil (RO 15-1788), was used to determine if the effects of the benzodiazepine inverse agonists on recovery from barbiturate or halothane anesthesia were due to activity at the BZR. The results revealed that RO was both more potent and more effective than FG at speeding recovery from barbiturate anesthesia in the rat. RO's effects appeared to be primarily due to BZR inverse agonist activity since it could be reversed by the BZR antagonist, flumazenil.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Lithium administered by eye drops: a better treatment for bipolar affective disorder?

1. Bipolar affective patients are supersensitive to light. 2. Lithium treatment decreases retinal sensitivity to light. 3. Recent findings concerning lithium perturbation of the function of various members of the G proteins family including transducin (G1), as well as findings of lithium sensitive hyperactive G proteins in mononuclear leukocytes of patients with mania led to the hypothesis that lithium sensitive hyperfunctional G1 is responsible for the supersensitivity to light in affective patients. 4. Thus, a change in the usual route of lithium administration into eye drops delivery is hypothesized to be more efficient clinically, with the advantages of shortening the time delay necessary to achieve therapeutic effects, and having less systemic side effects and reduced toxicity.     

Influence of ionic conductances on spike timing reliability of cortical neurons for suprathreshold rhythmic inputs

Spike timing reliability of neuronal responses depends on the frequency content of the input. We investigate how intrinsic properties of cortical neurons affect spike timing reliability in response to rhythmic inputs of suprathreshold mean. Analyzing reliability of conductance-based cortical model neurons on the basis of a correlation measure, we show two aspects of how ionic conductances influence spike timing reliability. First, they set the preferred frequency for spike timing reliability, which in accordance with the resonance effect of spike timing reliability is well approximated by the firing rate of a neuron in response to the DC component in the input. We demonstrate that a slow potassium current can modulate the spike timing frequency preference over a broad range of frequencies. This result is confirmed experimentally by dynamic-clamp recordings from rat prefrontal cortical neurons in vitro. Second, we provide evidence that ionic conductances also influence spike timing beyond changes in preferred frequency. Cells with the same DC firing rate exhibit more reliable spike timing at the preferred frequency and its harmonics if the slow potassium current is larger and its kinetics are faster, whereas a larger persistent sodium current impairs reliability. We predict that potassium channels are an efficient target for neuromodulators that can tune spike timing reliability to a given rhythmic input.     

Tumors of the rat kidney induced by nitrosourea compounds

Apart from other lesions, 51 renal neoplasms were induced in rats by administration of methylethy-, dimethyl- and phenylmethylnitrosourea. 3 tumors originated from the renal pelvis and were classified as transitional cell papilloma (1) or transitional cell carcinoma (2). 48 neoplasms were considered as "mesenchymal tumors". These growths were regarded as rat kidney specific tumors. They display a wide spectrum of histological structures: spindle cells which are capable to differentiate into smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, angioblasts, fat cells, and even into cartilage thus forming the typical microscopical features which are completed by the tendency of mesenchymal cells to swirl around preexisting renal tubules in several closely investing layers. As the cell of origin is not yet established the term "mesenchymal tumor" seems to be the most suitable one. There is no basis for classifying these tumor as nephroblastomas and the two entities should be strictly separated.     

Increased spontaneous secretion of rheumatoid factor by intestinal lamina propria mononuclear cells from Crohn's disease but not ulcerative colitis patients.

Increased levels of rheumatoid factors (RF) have been observed in the serum of Crohn's disease but not ulcerative colitis patients, and have been proposed to relate to an increased state of intestinal lymphocyte activation. We have therefore examined the spontaneous in vitro secretion of RF by intestinal lamina propria mononuclear cells (MNC) isolated from specimens from control and inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis) patients. Normal intestinal lamina propria MNC spontaneously secrete rheumatoid factors of different isotypes during 14 days of in vitro culture (9.7 ng/ml IgA RF, 11.6 ng/ml IgM RF and 64.6 ng/ml IgA anti-Fc (IgG)). In matched studies intestinal MNC isolated from normal large bowel exhibited significantly greater levels of RF synthesis and secretion in vitro than normal small bowel intestinal MNC. A large increase in spontaneous RF secretion was observed from Crohn's disease intestinal MNC (21.4 ng/ml IgA RF, 21.4 ng/ml IgM RF, and 108.15 ng/ml IgA anti-Fc (IgG)), when compared with normal controls. The amount of RF secreted was dependent on the amount of inflammatory activity of the bowel specimens, from which the MNC were isolated (198.3 ng/ml of IgA anti-Fc(IgG) from involved versus 50.0 ng/ml from matched non-involved tissue). Ulcerative colitis MNC released decreased amounts of RF (7.1 ng/ml IgA RF, 6.2 ng/ml IgM RF, and 42.3 ng/ml IgA anti-Fc(IgG)). These observations using isolated intestinal MNC may explain the findings of RF changes in the sera of inflammatory bowel disease patients. Our observations support the hypothesis of a heightened state of activation in normal intestinal lamina propria MNC, which is further increased in active Crohn's disease. The dissimilarities observed between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis may indicate fundamental differences in disease pathophysiology and will lead to further studies exploring intestinal immunoregulatory properties of RF.     

Clinical immunity in acute gastroenteritis caused by Norwalk agent.

To examine immunity in viral gastroenteritis, we challenged and then rechallenged 12 volunteers with Norwalk agent and evaluated symptoms, jejunal biopsies and serum antibody. With the first challenge, gastroenteritis developed in six volunteers but not in the others. When rechallenged 27 to 42 months later, the six who became ill initially again had gastroenteritis with jejunal lesions; in the six previously immune volunteers illness or jejunal lesions did not develop. Four of five ill volunteers had increases in serum antibody to Norwalk agent after both challenges. Serum antibody did not increase in three immune volunteers after either challenge. Four volunteers who had twice become ill underwent a third challenge four to eight weeks after their second illness. In one gastroenteritis developed; in three, it did not. These findings indicate two forms of immunity for viral gastroenteritis, one of short and the other of long duration. Factors other than serum antibody appear important in immunity to Norwalk gastroenteritis.     

A critical function for type I interferons in cancer immunoediting

'Cancer immunoediting' is a process wherein the immune system protects hosts against tumor development and facilitates outgrowth of tumors with reduced immunogenicity. Although interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) is known to be involved in this process, the involvement of type I interferons (IFN-alpha/beta) has not been elucidated. We now show that, like IFN-gamma, endogenously produced IFN-alpha/beta was required for the prevention of the growth of primary carcinogen-induced and transplantable tumors. Although tumor cells are important IFN-gamma targets, they are not functionally relevant sites of the actions of the type I interferons. Instead, host hematopoietic cells are critical IFN-alpha/beta targets during development of protective antitumor responses. Therefore, type I interferons are important components of the cancer immunoediting process and function in a way that does not completely overlap the functions of IFN-gamma.