Review of the use of high potencies in basic research on homeopathy

The HomBRex database includes details of about 1500 basic research experiments in homeopathy. A general overview on the experiments listed in the HomBRex database is presented, focusing on high dilutions and the different settings in which those were used. Though often criticised, many experiments with remedies diluted beyond Avogadro's number demonstrate specific effects. A total of 830 experiments employing high potencies was found; in 745 experiments of these (90%), at least one positive result was reported. Animals represent the most often used model system (n=371), followed by plants (n=201), human material (n=92), bacteria and viruses (n=37) and fungi (n=32). Arsenicum album (Ars.) is the substance most often applied (n=101), followed by Sulphur (Sulph.) and Thuja (Thuj.) (n=65 and 48, respectively). Proving, prophylactic and therapeutic study designs have all been used and appear appropriate for homeopathy basic research using high dilutions. The basic research data set to support specific effects unique to high dilutions and opposite to those observed with low dilutions is, to date, insufficient.     

Child and adolescent psychiatry training and mental health care in Southeast Europe

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry - There is very limited information available on child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) training in the Southeast European (SEE) region. The objective of...     

Utilization of Acetate in the Human Forearm during Exercise after Ethanol Ingestion

The uptake of acetate in the human forearm was studied in five fasting (14 h) subjects during 10-min periods of ergometer work at 7 and 10 kilopond-meters per minute (kpm/min). A constant arterial acetate concentration was established by administration of a small quantity of alcohol (25 g) to the subjects after a control work period. Blood flow was measured by an indicator dilution technique. Acetate uptake varied linearly with the product of arterial acetate concentration and blood flow. Acetate metabolism was calculated to account for about 6.5% of the energy metabolism, assuming complete combustion to carbon dioxide and water. Oxygen uptake and blood flow did not change in the presence of acetate and ethanol.After administration of ethanol the arterial concentrations of FFA and glycerol decreased to about half, whereas the lactate concentration increased to about twice the control values, confirming other reports.Glucose utilization was increased and lactate output decreased during the ethanol periods, presumably a consequence of the changing arterial concentrations and increased insulin level. Measurements of the arterial and venous lactate/pyruvate concentration ratios indicate that the NAD-mediated cytoplasmic redox state in the muscle is not changed in the presence of acetate and ethanol.     

Regulation of gluconeogenesis and ketogenesis during rest and exercise in diabetic subjects and normal men.

The splanchnic-hepatic metabolism of glucose, lactate, pyruvate, alanine, glycerol, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), ketone bodies and oxygen were investigated in five normal men and six juvenile diabetic subjects at rest and during exercise after an overnight fast. A linear relationship was found between load (arterial concentration multiplied by hepatic blood flow) and splanchnic-hepatic uptake of lactate, pyruvate, glycerol and NEFA. The uptake of alanine was highly sensitive to load, but was also regulated by the concentration of hepatic venous glucagon. The uptake of pyruvate was high in exercising diabetic subjects, who had a high lactate/pyruvate concentration ratio in hepatic venous blood. The rate of uptake of the total measured gluconeogenic precursors was significantly higher in the diabetic group at a given load. The rate of ketogenesis was linearly related to the NEFA load in both groups; however, the rate of ketogenesis was twofold at a given load in the diabetic group. The highest rates of ketogenesis were found coincident with the highest concentrations of glucagon in hepatic venous blood. The observed antiketogenic effect of exercise was due to a decreased load of NEFA, mainly caused by a decrease in the hepatic blood flow.     

Role of Na+,K+ pumps in restoring contractility following loss of cell membrane integrity in rat skeletal muscle

Background and aim: In skeletal muscles, electrical shocks may elicit acute loss of force, possibly related to increased plasma membrane permeability, induced by electroporation (EP). We explore the role of the Na⁺,K⁺ pumps in force recovery after EP. Methods: Isolated rat soleus or extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles were exposed to EP paradigms in the range 100–800 V cm^?1, and changes in tetanic force, Na⁺,K⁺ contents, membrane potential, ¹⁴C‐sucrose space and the release of the intracellular enzyme lactic acid dehydrogenase (LDH) were characterized. The effects of Na⁺,K⁺ pump stimulation or inhibition were followed. Results: Electroporation caused voltage‐dependent loss of force, followed by varying rates and degrees of recovery. EP induced a reversible loss of K⁺ and gain of Na⁺, which was not suppressed by tetrodotoxin, but associated with increased ¹⁴C‐sucrose space and release of LDH. In soleus, EP at 500 V cm^?1 induced complete loss of force, followed by a spontaneous, partial recovery. Stimulation of active Na⁺,K⁺ transport by adrenaline, the β₂‐agonist salbutamol, calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) and dibutyryl cyclic AMP increased initial rate of force recovery by 183–433% and steady‐state force level by 104–143%. These effects were blocked by ouabain (10^?3 m ), which also completely suppressed spontaneous force recovery. EP caused rapid and marked depolarization, followed by a repolarization, which was accelerated by salbutamol. Also in EDL, EP caused complete loss of force, followed by a spontaneous partial recovery, which was markedly stimulated by salbutamol. Conclusion: Electroporation induces reversible depolarization, partial rundown of Na⁺,K⁺ gradients, cell membrane leakage and loss of force. This may explain the paralysis elicited by electrical shocks. Na⁺,K⁺ pump stimulation promotes restoration of contractility, possibly via its electrogenic action. The major new information is that the Na⁺,K⁺ pumps are sufficient to compensate a simple mechanical leakage. This may be important for force recovery in leaky muscle fibres.     

A quantitative in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction study of microglial-macrophage expression of interleukin-1beta mRNA following permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion in mice

Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) is known to play a central role in ischemia-induced brain damage in rodents. In comparison to the rat, however, the available data on the cellular synthesis of IL-1beta mRNA and protein in the mouse are very limited. Here, we report on the time profile, the topography and the quantitative, cellular expression of IL-1beta mRNA in mice subjected to permanent occlusion of the distal middle cerebral artery (MCA). The in situ hybridization analysis showed that IL-1beta mRNA was expressed during the first post-surgical hour in a small number of high-expressing macrophage-like cells, located in cortical layers I and II of the future infarct. At 2 h, a significant number of faintly labeled IL-1beta mRNA-expressing cells had appeared in the developing peri-infarct, and the number remained constant at 4 h and 6 h, when the hybridization signal began to distribute to the cellular processes. Quantitative PCR performed on whole hemispheres showed a significant 20-fold increase in the relative level of IL-1beta mRNA at 12 h and a highly significant 42-fold increase at 24 h, at which time single IL-1beta mRNA-expressing cells were supplemented by aggregates and perivascular infiltrates of intensely labeled IL-1beta mRNA-expressing cells. Immunohistochemistry and double immunohistochemical stainings in addition to combined in situ hybridization, confirmed that the intensely labeled IL-1beta mRNA-expressing and IL-1beta protein synthesizing cells predominantly were glial fibrillary acidic protein-immunonegative, macrophage associated antigen-1-immunopositive microglia-macrophages. By day 5 there was a dramatic decline in the relative level of IL-1beta mRNA in the ischemic hemisphere. In summary, the data provide evidence that permanent occlusion of the distal MCA in mice results in expression of IL-1beta mRNA and IL-1beta synthesis in spatially and temporally segregated subpopulations of microglia and macrophages.     

Suppression of natural killer cells in the presence of CD34+ blood progenitor cells and peripheral blood lymphocytes.

Abstract Mobilization of CD34 + peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) with granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) may induce functional alterations in peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) subsets. We and others have shown that natural killer (NK) cells from PBPC collections are less expandable in vitro than those obtained during steady-state hematopoiesis. We show here that the extent of this proliferation deficit is related to the number of circulating CD34 + cells in vivo at the time of PBPC apheresis. Likewise, addition of autologous CD34 + cells to unseparated PBL reduced the expansion of the NK-cell subset by 22.2% +/- 6.0% (n = 10; P <.005). In contrast, when using purified NK cells, their proliferation remained unimpaired by autologous CD34 + cells. Supernatants from CD34 + cells cultured with autologous PBLs had an inhibitory effect on proliferation of purified NK cells (n = 16; P =.03), indicating that an interaction between CD34 + cells and lymphocytes is essential for the suppressive effect on NK cells. To investigate the role of T cells in this interaction, intracellular cytokines were determined in T cells cultured for 7 days with or without autologous CD34 + cells. When cultured with CD34 + cells, the frequency of IL-2-producing CD4 + and CD8 + T cells was reduced by 19% and 24%, respectively, compared with T cells cultured alone (n = 7; P =.016). Interferon-gamma-producing T cells were slightly reduced ( P = not statistically significant [ns]). Finally, the influence of T cells and NK cells on the recovery of myeloid colony-forming cells (CFU-GMs) from purified CD34 + cells was examined. In the presence of T cells, 16% +/- 6% of the input CFU-GM recovered after 7 days, compared with 5% +/- 4% in the presence of NK cells (n = 5; P = ns). Our findings point to an inhibition of NK-cell proliferation mediated by an interaction of CD34 + cells and T cells occurring during PBPC mobilization with G-CSF.     

社交性应激反应问卷中文版在大学生中应用的信效度初步评价

目的：建立社交性应激反应问卷（RSQ-SSV）中文版，并分析其信、效度。方法：按量表翻译程序将RSQ—SSV翻译成中文，整群分层选取409名大学生进行RSQ—SSV中文版的测量。随机抽取90名学生于初评后一个月进行重测，并与美国样本进行比较。结果：RSQ-SSV中文版整个问卷的Cronbach α系数为0．88，各因子仅系数在0．73～0．81之间；重测信度为0．70；全量表的条目间平均相关系数为0．11，5因子的条目间平均相关系数在0．19～0．29之间，因子间相关系数在0．12～0．76之间；条目对因子负荷系数在0．38—0．86之间，复相关系数在0．14—0．74之间；验证性因子分析的指标：IFI为0．93，CFI为0．93，TLI为0．92，RMSEA为0．06。中国大学生样本的不随意的逃避反应因子得分高于美国大学生样本[（0．97&#177;0．41）vs．（0．91&#177;0．48），P=0．002]，而初级亲近控制应对反应、次级亲近控制应对反应、不随意的亲近反应得分均低于美国大学生样本[（1．75&#177;0．49）vs．（2．12&#177;0．50）、（1．51&#177;0．43）vs．（1．80&#177;0．48）、（1．17&#177;0．44）vs．（1．36&#177;0．56），均P〈0．001]。结论：RSQ-SSV中文版具有良好的信、效度，可以试用于我国大学生社交性应激反应的测评。     

The intron 4c allele of the NOS3 gene is associated with ischemic stroke in African Americans

Background  

Ischemic stroke is the most common cause of disability in North America and in addition to the generally accepted risk factors, there is increasing evidence for the potential pathophysiological role of genes. One of these genes, the endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene (NOS3) has been reported as a genetic risk factor for ischemic stroke. To independently confirm and extend the results of these previous reports, we investigated this gene as a risk factor for stroke in an ethnically diverse study population.