Gangliosides of cultured astroglia

Cultured astrocytes prepared from newborn rat brain and 13-day-old chick embryonic brain were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively for ganglioside content. All preparations contained approximately the same total level: 2.4-3.4 micrograms N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc)/mg protein. In contrast, the value for primary cultures of neurons from chick embryonic brain was 5.9. The non-hexosamine-containing species, GM3 and GD3, comprised 75-85% of the total in astroglial cultures, the remainder consisting mainly of structural types other than the gangliotetraose series; choleragenoid assay revealed the latter to be virtually absent or to comprise at most a few percent. Deficiency of gangliotetraose synthesizing ability was indicated by the very low level of UDP-GalNac:GM3 N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase detected in the cells. Treatment of cultured astrocytes with astroglial growth factor 2 or dibutyryl cyclic AMP caused little if any change in quantity or pattern of gangliosides. The large majority of cells stained in a manner characteristic of astrocytes: positive for glial fibrillary acidic protein, negative for galactosyl ceramides. Staining with cholera toxin and anti-GM1 antibody was essentially negative, as was that with tetanus toxin, A2B5 monoclonal antibody, and antibody to GD3. All evidence thus points to cultured astrocytes of rat and chick brain containing appreciable gangliosides, most of which are GM3 and GD3 with the majority of the remainder comprising structures other than the gangliotetraose type.     

Nosocomial viral infections in a pediatric service: example of rotaviral gastroenteritis and respiratory syncytial viral bronchiolitis]

Nosocomial infections are a preoccupation in a pediatric hospital mainly during the winter with bronchiolitis and gastroenteritis epidemics. We have examined the risk factors of nosocomial infections. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective study was conducted between November, 1999 and March, 2000 in the infants units of the Le Havre hospital. We systematically listed the admissions and contacted the family after their discharge by phone. A geographic information system was implemented to display the epidemiological data; this software is able to illustrate the sectors at risk. RESULTS: During the study, 687 infants were hospitalized of whom 458 for bronchiolitis and community-acquired gastroenteritis. Mean age was 5.4 months old. No nosocomial bronchiolitis occurred. Prevalence of nosocomial gastroenteritis was 10% (68 cases including nine after discharge). Infants with nosocomial infection were younger than those with community-acquired infection (6.6 months vs. 11.2 months, P < 0.01). The mean length of stay was longer in nosocomial infection (7.7 vs. 4.1 days, P < 0.05). Among the infants with bronchiolitis, 16% have developed nosocomial intestinal infections (RR = 2.65, IC: 1.59-4.4; P < 0.01). The geographic analysis pointed the area with nosocomial risk (bedroom without water, nearness of nurse office and games room). CONCLUSION: Geographic information system is a part of the quality control system and may have some interaction effect on final decision making. Incidence of nosocomial infections showed the need for a prevention strategy in a pediatric hospital.     

Age-related changes in centripetal ciliary body movement relative to centripetal lens movement in monkeys

The goal was to determine the age-related changes in accommodative movements of the lens and ciliary body in rhesus monkeys. Varying levels of accommodation were stimulated via the Edinger-Westphal (E-W) nucleus in 26 rhesus monkeys, aged 6–27 years, and the refractive changes were measured by coincidence refractometry. Centripetal ciliary process (CP) and lens movements were measured by computerized image analysis of goniovideographic images. Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) at 50 MHz was used to visualize and measure accommodative forward movements of the ciliary body in relation to age, accommodative amplitude, and centripetal CP and lens movements. At ～3 diopters of accommodation, the amount of centripetal lens movement required did not significantly change with age (p = 0.10; n = 18 monkeys); however, the amount of centripetal CP movement required significantly increased with age (p = 0.01; n = 18 monkeys), while the amount of forward ciliary body movement significantly decreased with age (p = 0.007; n = 11 monkeys). In the middle-aged animals (12–16.5 years), a greater amount of centripetal CP movement was required to induce a given level of lens movement and thereby a given level of accommodation (p = 0.01), compared to the young animals (6–10 yrs). Collectively, the data suggests that, with age, the accommodative system may be attempting to compensate for the loss of forward ciliary body movement by increasing the amount of centripetal CP movement. This, in turn, would allow enough zonular relaxation to achieve the magnitude of centripetal lens movement necessary for a given amplitude of accommodation.     

Concordance between routine interictal magnetoencephalography and simultaneous scalp electroencephalography in a sample of patients with epilepsy.

Both electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) localize epileptiform activity but may yield different results. This discordance may arise from different detection capabilities or from different data collection and interpretation techniques. Comparisons of MEG and EEG have focused on detection of individual spikes. However, side-by-side comparisons of results as used in the clinical setting is lacking. In this report, we present our empirical comparison. We reviewed 58 simultaneous MEG-EEG recordings (35 paired-sensors, 23 whole-head) from a diverse epilepsy population, comparing previous clinical MEG interpretations with new blinded EEG interpretations, noting lobar concordance of readers' judgments of regional abnormalities. A second-pass unblinded analysis, using all available clinical data, assessed the relative contribution and plausibility of the results of each technique. Concordance was high (85%) overall. Discordance was sometimes caused by constraints imposed by MEG dipole fitting techniques. Even when results of the techniques did not match, MEG often disambiguated the clinical scenario, especially when combined with imaging information. Thoughtful analysis of combined MEG-EEG datasets, beyond algorithm-based interictal spike detection, can help guide clinical decision-making even when concordance between techniques is imperfect. In some cases, EEG and MEG are synergistic and provide complementary information.     

Mechanisms of opioid-induced tolerance and hyperalgesia.

Opioid tolerance and opioid-induced hyperalgesia are conditions that negatively affect pain management. Tolerance is defined as a state of adaptation in which exposure to a drug induces changes that result in a decrease of the drug's effects over time. Opioid-induced hyperalgesia occurs when prolonged administration of opioids results in a paradoxic increase in atypical pain that appears to be unrelated to the original nociceptive stimulus. Complex intracellular neural mechanisms, including opioid receptor desensitization and down-regulation, are believed to be major mechanisms underlying opioid tolerance. Pain facilitatory mechanisms in the central nervous system are known to contribute to opioid-induced hyperalgesia. Recent research indicates that there may be overlap in the two conditions. This article reviews known and hypothesized pathophysiologic mechanisms surrounding these phenomena and the clinical implications for pain management nurses.