Amantadine as an additive treatment in patients suffering from drug-resistant unipolar depression

The paper describes the effect of amantadine addition to imipramine therapy in patients suffering from treatment-resistant unipolar depression who fulfilled DSM IV criteria for major (unipolar) depression. Fifty patients were enrolled in the study on the basis of their histories of illness and therapy. After a 2-week drug-free period, 25 subjects belonging to the first group were treated only with imipramine twice daily (100 mg/day) for 12 weeks, and 25 subjects belonging to the second group were treated with imipramine twice daily (100 mg/day) for 6 weeks and then amantadine was introduced (150 mg/day, twice daily) and administered jointly with imipramine for the successive 6 weeks. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) was used to assess the efficacy of antidepressant therapy. Imipramine did not change the HDRS score after 3, 6 or 12 weeks of treatment when compared with the washout (before treatment). The addition of amantadine to the classic antidepressant reduced HDRS scores after 6-week joint treatment. Moreover, the obtained pharmacokinetic data indicated that amantadine did not significantly influence the plasma concentration of imipramine and its metabolite desipramine in patients treated jointly with imipramine and amantadine, which suggests lack of a pharmacokinetic interaction. The obtained results indicate that joint therapy with an antidepressant and amantadine may be effective in treatment-resistant unipolar depression.     

Antidepressant-like effect of combined treatment with selective sigma receptor agonists and a 5-HT1A receptor agonist in the forced swimming test in rats

The interaction between the selective sigma (sigma) receptor agonists and 8-OH-DPAT, a serotonin (5-HT)(1A) receptor agonist, was examined in the forced swimming test in rats. The results indicate that joint administration of DTG (5 mg/kg) or SA4503 (3 mg/kg), the selective sigma(1)/sigma(2)- or sigma(1)-receptor agonists, respectively, and 8-OH-DPAT (0.1 or 0.3 mg/kg) induces an antidepressant-like effect. The doses of sigma agonists and 8-OH-DPAT used in the study were inactive per se in this model. The effect of DTG and 8-OH-DPAT co-administration was partly counteracted by WAY 100635 (0.1 mg/kg) as well as by BD 1047 (3 mg/kg), a 5-HT(1A) and sigma(1) receptor antagonists, respectively, suggesting the involvement of both receptor types in the anti-immobility effect in rats.     

Antichlamydial antibodies and citric acid in patients with chronic prostatitis

Introduction The aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation between the presence of anti-C. trachomatis (C.t.) antibodies in serum and expressed prostatic secretions (EPS) and the concentration of citric acid in patients with chronic prostatitis. Materials and Methods The study involved 34 men with chronic prostatitis. The leukocyte count, presence of anti-C.t. antibodies (IgA, IgG), and citric acid concentration were determined in the EPS. The serum was examined for IgM, IgA, and IgG anti-C.t. antibodies. Specific antibodies were determined using the EIA method. The concentration of citric acid was measured using the ultraviolet method. Results Inflammation of the prostate ( ≥ 10 PMN) was found in 61.8% of the patients. A reduction in citric acid concentration in the EPS was detected in 58.8% of the men. Specific serum antibodies were detected in 58.8% of the patients, including 23.5% with IgM, 32.4% with IgA, and 44.1% with IgG. In all patients, serum IgM and IgA antibody titers were low, while those of IgG antibodies were strongly positive in 46.7% of the patients. Anti-C.t. antibodies in the EPS were detected in 44.1% of the patients, including 32.4% with IgA and 35.3% with IgG. In contrast to serum, the titers of IgG antibodies in the EPS were low in all the patients, while those of IgA were strongly positive in 54.5% of cases. In patients with positive serological outcomes, 85% had reduced concentrations of citric acid. Conclusions The occurrence of anti-C.t. antibodies is usually accompanied by a decrease in the concentration of citric acid in the prostatic secretion.     

Cytomegalovirus Isolation from a Chimpanzee with Acute Demyelinating Disease After Inoculation of Multiple Sclerosis Brain Cells

A strain of cytomegalovirus (CMV) was isolated during the third subcultivation of explants from the left frontal lobe of a chimpanzee that developed paralysis more than 3 years after intracerebral inoculation at birth with brain cell cultures derived from a patient with multiple sclerosis. Another strain of CMV was also isolated from a lymph node culture taken from the same chimp. The isolates, designated MZM-13 and MZM-14, produced a cytopathic effect characteristic for CMV when inoculated into brain, ganglion, or fibroblast cultures of human or simian origin. Infected cells contained characteristic Cowdry A intranuclear as well as intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies, and 100-nm spherical herpes-like virus particles were detected by electron microscopy in the nucleus and cytoplasm of infected cells. Virus was further identified as CMV with convalescent human anti-CMV serum. Complement-fixing antibody to CMV was present at a titer of 1:32 when the acutely ill chimpanzee was sacrificed. No antibody was detected at birth or at 1 or 2 years of age. A newborn chimpanzee inoculated intracerebrally with MZM-13 developed clinically asymptomatic lesions in the central nervous system characterized by acute and chronic inflammation and degeneration of myelin in cranial and spinal nerve roots. Restriction endonuclease analysis of viral deoxyribonucleic acid isolated from these two viruses indicated that MZM-13 and MZM-14 are identical and are closely related to chimpanzee CMV. No similarity in restriction endonuclease fragment patterns was found between MZM virus and the Towne and Clegg strains of human CMV.     

Retinal Vessel Functionality Is Linked With ARMS2 A69S and CFH Y402H Polymorphisms and Choroidal Status in AMD Patients

PurposeWe aimed to investigate the reactivity of retinal vessels to a flickering stimulus in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and healthy participants. We also assessed whether the parameters of retinal vessels are dependent on genetic predisposition.MethodsA total of 354 patients with AMD and 121 controls were recruited for the study. All participants underwent thorough ophthalmologic examination and static and dynamic retinal vessel analysis. AMD risk polymorphisms were genotyped in the CFH and ARMS2 genes.ResultsWe found no differences between the AMD group and controls in central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE), central retinal venular equivalent (CRVE), arteriovenous ratio (AVR), dynamic analysis of arteries (DAAs), or dynamic analysis of veins (DAVs). Eyes with early AMD presented with significantly higher AVR values than eyes with late AMD. In the AMD group, DAA correlated positively with both choroidal thickness (Rs = 0.14, P = 0.00096) and choroidal volume (Rs = 0.23, P < 0.0001), and no such associations were observed in the controls. We found significantly lower DAA (1.47 ± 1.50) in TT homozygotes for the ARMS2 A69S polymorphism in comparison with GG homozygotes (2.38 ± 1.79) and patients with GG + GT genotypes (2.28 ± 1.84). We also observed less prominent DAV (3.24 ± 1.71) in patients with TC + CC genotypes in the CFH Y402H polymorphism compared with TT homozygotes (3.83 ± 1.68).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that retinal microcirculation appears to be associated with the genetic background, choroidal parameters, and clinical features of the patients with AMD.     

Application of Color Doppler ultrasonography in the evaluation of the blood flow in the ocular vessels in patients with anterior ischemic optic neuropathy--the preliminary report

PURPOSE: Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) is one of the most common causes of acute loss vision in the middle-aged and elderly persons. It occurs due to hypoperfusion in the short posterior ciliary arteries supplying the optic nerve head. The aim of our study was evaluation of the usefulness of colour Doppler ultrasonography in diagnostics of AION. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Color Doppler imaging of the ophthalmic artery, central retinal artery and posterior ciliary arteries were performed in 10 patients with clinically evident AION. The peak-systolic velocity (PSV), end-systolic velocity (EDV) and resistance index (RI) were measured. RESULTS: No significant differences in the mean values of PSV, EDV and RI of ophthalmic arteries and posterior ciliary arteries between the affected and non-affected eyes were found. Reduction of mean flow velocities as well as significantly increased resistance index were observed in the central retinal artery in eyes with AION. CONCLUSIONS: The Color Doppler findings in the ciliary arteries do not reflect the ischemic changes in patients with AION. It is probably due to anatomical limitation of this method in evaluation of the blood flow in posterior ciliary arteries supplying the optic nerve head. Abnormal blood flow parameters in the central retinal artery are secondary changes due to optic disc oedema.     

Elastase deposits in the kidney and urinary elastase excretion in patients with glomerulonephritis--evidence for neutrophil involvement in renal injury

OBJECTIVE: Elastase is a key proteolytic enzyme released during polymorphonuclear leukocyte degranulation. There are abundant data of elastase involvement in the development of injury in experimental models of glomerulonephritis (GN), but scant direct evidence of its involvement in human primary GN. The aims of this study were to determine the immunolocalization of elastase deposits in kidney biopsy specimens from patients with primary idiopathic GN, to attempt to correlate the distribution and intensity of deposits with urinary elastase excretion, and to determine clinical markers of renal injury in several types of primary idiopathic GN. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The immunohistochemical localization and intensity of elastase deposits in kidney biopsies, the urinary excretion of leukocyte elastase, and proteinuria and serum creatinine levels were evaluated in 23 patients with primary GN and the associations between these factors were sought. RESULTS: Patients with crescentic proliferative GN had the highest intensity of elastase deposits. In this group of patients, elastase was present in the glomerular endothelium, as well as in the tubular epithelium and interstitium. Patients with a high intensity of elastase deposits within the glomerular endothelium and Bowman's capsule had significantly higher urinary excretion of elastase. Patients with interstitial, mesangial and perivascular elastase deposits had significantly higher serum creatinine than those without. Patients with elastase deposits in the glomerular endothelium and in the interstitium had insignificantly higher proteinuria than those without. CONCLUSION: Our data provide morphological evidence of leukocyte elastase involvement in renal injury occurring in the course of primary idiopathic GN, in particular in the proliferative types.     

Correlation between foveal structure and visual outcome following macular hole surgery: a spectral optical coherence tomography study

PURPOSE: The aim of this paper is to evaluate the retinal structure after macular hole surgery and to study the correlation of structural findings with final functional outcomes, using high-speed, high-resolution spectral optical coherence tomography (SOCT). METHODS: Sixty-eight eyes of 60 patients with full-thickness macular holes were included in the study. All patients underwent pars plana vitrectomy with trypan blue staining and internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling. Patients were evaluated by SOCT, with 6 mum axial and 12-18 mum transverse resolution and three-dimensional images of the retina. RESULTS: There were four different types of macular hole closure: U-shape, V-shape, irregular and flat/open. The following retinal abnormalities were observed in postoperative scans: photoreceptor irregularities, lack of photoreceptors (photoreceptor defect), cysts in outer retinal layers, nerve fiber layer defects, lesion of all retinal layers, and RPE defects. It was possible to evaluate photoreceptor defects on a three-dimensional image. Retinal thickness in the fovea was also measured. CONCLUSIONS: Because of excellent resolution, SOCT is capable of visualization of retinal defects after macular hole surgery. Three-dimensional examination is adequate for evaluation of photoreceptor defects. Good postoperative visual acuity is correlated with U-shape closure, normal foveal thickness and absence of photoreceptor layer defects.     

Y-STR variation among Slavs: evidence for the Slavic homeland in the middle Dnieper basin

A set of 18 Y-chromosomal microsatellite loci was analysed in 568 males from Poland, Slovakia and three regions of Belarus. The results were compared to data available for 2,937 Y chromosome samples from 20 other Slavic populations. Lack of relationship between linguistic, geographic and historical relations between Slavic populations and Y-short tandem repeat (STR) haplotype distribution was observed. Two genetically distant groups of Slavic populations were revealed: one encompassing all Western-Slavic, Eastern-Slavic, and two Southern-Slavic populations, and one encompassing all remaining Southern Slavs. An analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) based on Y-chromosomal STRs showed that the variation observed between the two population groups was 4.3%, and was higher than the level of genetic variance among populations within the groups (1.2%). Homogeneity of northern Slavic paternal lineages in Europe was shown to stretch from the Alps to the upper Volga and involve ethnicities speaking completely different branches of Slavic languages. The central position of the population of Ukraine in the network of insignificant AMOVA comparisons, and the lack of traces of significant contribution of ancient tribes inhabiting present-day Poland to the gene pool of Eastern and Southern Slavs, support hypothesis placing the earliest known homeland of Slavs in the middle Dnieper basin.     

Acid-catalyzed synthesis of oxathiolone fused chalcones. Comparison of their activity toward various microorganisms and human cancer cells line

Substituted oxathiolone fused chalcones were prepared by condensation of 4-acetyl-5-methoxy-2-oxo-benz[1,3]oxathiole with benzaldehydes under acidic conditions. The compounds were tested for cytotoxic, antibacterial, antifungal and tuberculostatic activity. Three derivatives demonstrated weak activity against HeLa cells, two were slightly active against Micrococcus luteus and Staphylococcus aureus, and one was active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H(37)Rv.