In vivo PET imaging of cardiac presynaptic sympathoneuronal mechanisms in the rat.

The sympathetic nervous system of the heart plays a key role in the pathophysiology of various cardiac diseases. Small-animal models are valuable for obtaining further insight into mechanisms of cardiac disease and therapy. To determine the translational potential of cardiac neuronal imaging from rodents to humans, we characterized the rat sympathetic nervous system using 3 radiotracers that reflect different subcellular mechanisms: (11)C-meta-hydroxyephedrine (HED), a tracer of neuronal transport showing stable uptake and no washout in healthy humans; (11)C-phenylephrine (PHEN), a tracer of vesicular leakage and intraneuronal metabolic degradation with initial uptake and subsequent washout in humans; and (11)C-epinephrine (EPI), a tracer of vesicular storage with stable uptake and no washout in humans. METHODS: We used a small-animal PET system to study healthy male Wistar rats at baseline, after desipramine (DMI) pretreatment (DMI block), and with DMI injection 15 min after tracer delivery (DMI chase). The rats were kept under general isoflurane anesthesia while dynamic emission scans of the heart were recorded for 60 min after radiotracer injection. A myocardial retention index was determined by normalizing uptake at 40 min to the integral under the arterial input curve. Washout rates were determined by monoexponential fitting of myocardial time-activity curves. RESULTS: At baseline, HED showed high myocardial uptake and sustained retention, EPI showed moderate uptake and significant biphasic washout, and PHEN showed moderate uptake and monoexponential washout. The average (+/- SD) left ventricular retention index for HED, PHEN, and EPI was 7.38% +/- 0.82%/min, 3.43% +/- 0.45%/min, and 4.24% +/- 0.59%/min, respectively; the washout rate for HED, PHEN, and EPI was 0.13% +/- 0.23%/min, 1.13% +/- 0.35%/min, and 0.50% +/- 0.24%/min, respectively. The DMI chase resulted in increased washout only for HED. DMI block decreased myocardial uptake of all tracers by less than 90%. CONCLUSION: Kinetic profiles of HED in the rat myocardium were similar to those of HED in humans, suggesting comparable neuronal transport density. Unlike in humans, however, significant washout of EPI and faster washout of PHEN were encountered, consistent with high intraneuronal metabolic activity, high catecholamine turnover, and reduced vesicular storage. This evidence of increased neuronal activity in rodents has implications for translational studies of cardiac neuronal biology in humans.     

Synthesis and anti-tuberculous activity of diesters based on isosteviol and dicarboxylic acids

Diesters based on isosteviol and dicarboxylic acids were synthesized and tested for antituberculous activity. Isosteviol and some of its derivatives exhibit appreciable tuberculostatic properties in vitro, the activity being dependent on the length of the polymethylene spacer connecting two ent-beyeran fragments. The mechanism of the antituberculous action of isosteviol derivatives are discussed. __________ Translated from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 40, No. 9, pp. 12–13, September, 2006.     

卫生保健课程教学误区之我见

卫生保健课程是以贯彻＂预防为主＂的方针、实现＂健康为人人,人人为健康＂的一门重要学科。笔者根据数年的教学实践,结合学生的课堂调查结果,总结卫生保健课程教学中常见的误区,以期同行在教学中避免走进误区,更好地为教学服务。     

现代医学200词——138．黏附分子

所谓黏附分子是指存在于细胞表面，参与细胞间或细胞与细胞外基质的粘附的分子群的总称。广义来说，纤维连结蛋白、层粘连蛋白、透明质酸等细胞外基质的构成成分也是由细胞分泌并存在于细胞表面，也可归入黏附分子的范畴。但狭义所指的黏附分子是指贯通细胞膜的糖蛋白或构成细胞膜的糖脂质。膜贯通型糖蛋白黏附分子按其构造特征可分为若干家族。在免疫系统中的黏附分子主要分为整合素家族、免疫球蛋白超家族、选择素家族、钙粘素家族、连接蛋白家族以及唾液粘蛋白家族等。     

中风毒邪论与神经保护治疗的研究

中风毒邪论是一种与传统中医中风病理有所不同的理论 ,在中风毒邪论指导下形成解毒通络方是较为理想的神经保护剂 ,可解决目前神经保护治疗的主要障碍 ,有望成为提高中医治疗中风急性期疗效的关键