Effect of a few histamine1-antagonists on blood glucose in patients of allergic rhinitis

Histamine₁, receptor antagonists are being prescribed frequently in ENT practice. However, previously we found a fall of blood glucose with terfenadine and astemizole. Present study (double blind, randomized, single dummy and placebo controlled) evaluated the chronic effect (7 days of use) of clemastine, Loratidine and Certrizine on blood glucose level in patient of allergic rhinitis. Cetrizine produced a significant increase in post-prandial blood glucose (P<0.02) and a little rise in fasting blood glucose. Clamastine caused a little fall of fasting and a little rite of post-prandial blood glucose levels. The exact mechanisms involved in the effect of these drugs on blood glucose remain to be elucidated.     

Management of ventricular septal defect: a survey of practice in the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: A survey of pediatric cardiac surgeons was performed to establish current opinions in the United Kingdom concerning closure of ventricular septal defect. METHODS: Questionnaires were sent to 14 pediatric cardiac centers in 1995 (16 surgeons, 100% response), and again in 1997 (20 surgeons, 100% response). RESULTS: Results are presented for 1997, with findings from 1995 shown in parentheses. Eleven (6) surgeons used bypass exclusively, 9 (10) sometimes used circulatory arrest. Operative techniques were similar, although the material used for the patch varied. Multiple defects were approached via the transatrial route by 18 (15), right ventriculotomy by 11 (7) and left ventriculotomy by 7 (6). The juxta-arterial defect was approached via the transpulmonary route by 16 (13), a combination by 9 (11), transatrial by 10 (6), and transventricular by 9 (5). The most common indications for pulmonary arterial banding were "Swiss cheese" defect for 13 (13), and functionally single ventricle for 5 (6). Ventricular septal defect associated with coarctation was repaired in two stages by 13 (10), a single stage by 5 (3), or either by 1 (3). CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric cardiac surgeons in the United Kingdom demonstrate a uniform, evidence-based approach to the management of ventricular septal defect.     

Carcinoma of the penis metastasizing to the dorsal spine. A case report

Carcinoma of the penis tends to have a predictable route of spread by direct invasion and by regional lymphatic involvement to the inguinal group of lymph nodes. Blood-borne distant spread is rare, last to occur, and is seen in 1-3% of cases. Metastasis to the spine is even rarer. We encountered one such case who presented with spinal metastasis, as documented by the whole body bone scan, and this was later followed by involvement of the inguinal nodes. This case is unique in its site of metastatic presentation as well as its pattern of presentation.     

Chronic hypoxia differentially alters the responses of pulmonary arteries and veins to endothelin-1 and other agents.

The effects of chronic hypoxia on the responses of rat large pulmonary arteries and veins to vasoactive agents have been examined. Endothelin-1-induced contractions of pulmonary arteries and pulmonary veins were reduced by chronic hypoxia. In contrast, chronic hypoxia augmented sarafotoxin 6c-induced contractile responses in pulmonary veins but not in pulmonary arteries. Chronic hypoxia augmented the constrictor effect of phenylephrine in pulmonary arteries, but not in pulmonary veins. The thromboxane receptor agonist, U46619 (9,11-dideoxy-9alpha,11alpha-epoxy-methanoprostaglandin++ + f2alpha) contracted pulmonary arteries and pulmonary veins, and although maximal responses were not altered in chronically hypoxic preparations, the EC50 value in pulmonary arteries was increased following chronic hypoxia. The relaxant effects of acetylcholine and isoprenaline on pulmonary arteries were potentiated by chronic hypoxia. In contrast, ionomycin-mediated relaxations of pulmonary arteries and pulmonary veins were reduced, while sodium nitroprusside-induced relaxation of pulmonary arteries and veins were not altered by chronic hypoxia. Previous studied have looked primarily at the effects of chronic hypoxia on pulmonary arteries. This data provides evidence that chronic hypoxia also causes selective changes in the reactivity of large pulmonary veins.     

Genetics of Alkaloids in Papaver somniferum

Based on numerical and graphic analyses of 6 x 6 diallele cross progenies (n (2) = 36) over two environments, dominance was found to be most prevalent (in overdominance range without being inflated by non-allelic interactions) in parents for latex yield, and morphine, codeine, thebaine, and narcotine contents. However, the additive component was also significant for the former three traits. Dominant alleles mostly with positive effects were, by and large, asymmetrically distributed in parents except for narcotine content. Heritability estimates were moderate and corresponded with low genetic advance estimates for morphine, codeine, and thebaine contents. Ample genetic diversity among parents was reflected for all traits except narcotine content. On an overall basis, heterosis breeding was suggested to be a rewarding proposition for genetic improvement of the opium poppy ( PAPAVER SOMNIFERUM L.).     

Learning and memory-enhancing effects of Ro 15-4513: a comparison with flumazenil.

Synthetic benzodiazepines produce an anterograde amnesia, which can be reversed by selective benzodiazepine antagonists or inverse agonists. It has therefore been suggested that the memory-enhancing effects of the antagonists are due to antagonism of an endogenous "benzodiazepine-like" endocoid. If the memory-enhancing effects of the benzodiazepine antagonists are determined predominantly by the antagonism of such endogenous benzodiazepine-ligands, then it could be hypothesized that administration of an inverse agonist, which produces effects functionally opposite to those of benzodiazepine agonists, may also mimic the effects of benzodiazepine antagonists but not produce effects greater than those of the pure antagonists. The purpose of the present study was therefore to investigate the memory-enhancing effects of the benzodiazepine inverse agonist, ethyl-8-amido-5,6-dihydro-5-methyl-6-oxo-4H-imidazo [1,5a] [1,4] benzodiazepine-3-carboxylate (Ro 15-4513) in young HSD:(ICR)BR mice and to compare these effects with those of the benzodiazepine antagonist, flumazenil. Pretraining injections of flumazenil and Ro 15-4513 (2.5 and 10.0 mg/kg) enhanced equally, both the acquisition and the retention of a task for 1 week requiring mice to discriminate the correct arm of a T-maze, to avoid a mild electric shock. Pretreatment with Ro 15-4513 also dose-dependently protected the animals from experimental amnesia, induced by the cholinergic receptor antagonist, scopolamine in a second model of memory, in which mice were required to passively avoid a dark chamber after shock. In contrast, Ro 15-4513, injected prior to daily active avoidance sessions, failed to significantly improve either the acquisition or retention performance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Inheritance of Biomass Yield and Tropane Alkaloid Content in Hyoscyamus muticus

The nature of gene action for biomass yield and tropane alkaloid content was ascertained through diallel analysis in Egyptian henbane, HYOSCYAMUS MUTICUS L. Dominance variation was preponderant over additive genetic variance, dominance being in the overdominance range for both traits. On an overall basis, recessive alleles had a positive (i.e. increasing) effect on both the characters. However, the positive or negative effects of recessive or dominant alleles were genotype-specific. Hence, transgressive breeding was suggested for isolating segregants with dominant alleles for herb yield and with recessives for alkaloid content so as to achieve overall high yields of tropane alkaloid per unit area.     

Within-subject behavioral analysis of recent memory in aging mice

Two experiments addressed the utility of a T-maze, delayed reversal paradigm for assessment of recent memory impairment in aging C57BL/6NNia mice. This paradigm involved acquisition of a learning set for identification of the correct arm choice in a daily multiple-trial discriminated avoidance session. During each session, the correct arm was always opposite that entered on an initial "information trial" and maximal performance thus required a reversal (or "lose-shift") strategy. Once the learning set had been acquired, retention performance was examined following delays of varying length which were introduced following the information trial during each session. In the first experiment, acquisition and retention components of delayed reversal were considered in a cross-sectional study involving separate groups of mice aged 7, 10, 15, or 27 months. Analysis of acquisition components suggested that relative to young mice, the old mice were slower to acquire both the first reversal and the learning set. Analysis of the retention phase suggested that memory decay gradients for goal arm discrimination became more pronounced with increasing age, whereas decay gradients for the avoidance response were similar among the age groups. Correlational analysis of data for the old mice suggested independence of age-related deficits in the acquisition and recent memory components of the delayed reversal paradigm. In the second experiment, survivors from the previous 7- and 10-month-old groups were retested when 27 months of age. The cross-sectional and longitudinal data led to the same conclusions with regard to the effect of age on recent memory function. Overall, these results suggest that the delayed reversal paradigm will be a valuable tool in the analysis and evaluation of interventions potentially affecting age-related cognitive impairment.     

Neurobehavioral biomarkers of aging: influence of genotype and dietary restriction

Because of the importance of central nervous system (CNS) functions to productive capacity and quality of life, biomarkers of these functions will play a key role in evaluating the success of interventions targeting aging processes. The CNS biomarkers may also be useful for predicting aging in other systems and in the organism as a whole. Age-related behavioral changes, the products of CNS aging, have content and predictive validity with respect to human functional capacities and may, therefore, represent important "neurobehavioral" markers of functional aging. This article presents a discussion of some behavioral paradigms which are currently being considered as neurobehavioral biomarkers of aging in mice and the experimental approaches being employed in the assessment of their validity. Studies conducted in the authors' laboratory using dietary restriction and genetic comparisons to evaluate the validity of neurobehavioral biomarkers have revealed several methodological concerns, and hypothetical and empirical examples of these pitfalls are described and discussed. In spite of those concerns, it is concluded that approaches to validity using genetic comparisons and dietary restriction can be successfully implemented and should ultimately lead to identification of valid and useful neurobehavioral biomarkers of aging.