Catabolic effects and the influence on hormonal variables under treatment with gynodian-depot® or dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) oenanthate

53 patients from a mainly climacteric population were treated monthly with 200 mg dehydro-epiandrosterone (DHEA) oenanthate or with 1 ampoule Gynodian-Depot®. Pronounced adiposity was present in 15 of these cases. Hormonal variables were determined before the treatment and during the depot effect of the preparations in order to study the principle which supports the oestrogenic influence and any weight-reducing influence under administration of DHEA. The elimination of lowpolar oestrogens increased considerably in 4 out of 13 post-menopausal cases treated with DHEA. This effect is probably indirect and presupposes intact ovaries. The incorporation of exogenous DHEA into the excretion of 17-ketosteroids and of 17-ketogenic steroids, such as those of androsterone + aethiocholanolone, depends on the size of the initial pool inasmuch as it is higher in small initial pools than in saturated pools - the size of the pool being age-dependent.

An average weight loss of >1 kg/mth was observed under DHEA treatment in 7 out 15 adipose cases. In comparison to the other 8 adipose cases, these 7 were younger and therefore also displayed higher values for 17-ketosteroids and their individual fractions. These circumstances appeared to explain why the administration of DHEA resulted in higher levels of free plasma DHEA which, in contrast to the cases without loss of weight, also resulted in an increase of renal DHEA-sulphate clearance. It was concluded from the findings that this is the explanation for the catabolic effect of exogenous DHEA.

Post-menopausally increased FSH and LH fractions were markedly suppressed in about half of the determinations after Gynodian-Depot administration, the findings indicating that DHEA is probably involved in suppression of the LH fraction.     

Motivated behavior and the estrous cycle in rats

(1) The estrous cycle in the rat may be used to study recurrent changes in motor behaviors and motivation which are strongly related to cyclic hormonal and CNS changes. (2) The peak in motivated behaviors occurs during a sharply defined period on the night between proestrus and estrus and is evident in facilitated wheel-running, lordosis, and intracranial self-stimulation. (3) Behaviors without a clearly motivated character do not show an estrous cyclicity. (4) The estrous cyclic variation in intracranial self-stimulation was observed at a specific locus — the pars campacta of the substantia nigra. (5) A neurochemical link between sexually motivated behavior, wheel running and intracranial self-stimulation is suggested. This link is in part dopaminergic but is probably also activated by many other systems.     

Les onze propositions issues des 3es États généraux des malades du cancer et de leurs proches de la Ligue contre le cancer

Sans résumé     

The brain/mind complex. An epistemological approach.

It is stressed that the brain/mind complex constitutes a monolithic system that functions with emergent properties at several levels of hierarchical organization. These hierarchical levels are non-reducible to one another; they are at least three (neuronal, functional, and semantic), and they function within an interactional plan. From the epistemological view-point, the brain/mind complex uses logical and non-logical mechanisms to deal with day-to-day problems. Logic is necessary for the thinking process, but it is not sufficient. Emphasis is given to non-logical mechanisms; fuzzy logic and heuristics, which allow the mind to develop strategies to find solutions, are analysed.     

Deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism

All surgical patients are at risk for the development of deep venous thrombosis and subsequent pulmonary embolism or postphlebitic syndrome. The evolution of ultrasonographic imaging has increased the awareness of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of deep venous thrombosis. Duplex imaging and Doppler color flow imaging have made the diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis relatively simple, painless, inexpensive, and definitive. These procedures have gained acceptance by both patients and physicians. Several risk factors have been identified that increase the chance of the development of deep venous thrombosis. These factors include a history of deep venous thrombosis, presence of a malignant process, increasing age, cigarette smoking, obesity, prolonged bed rest, and general anesthesia. The greater the number of risk factors, the more aggressive prophylaxis should be. Means of prophylaxis have improved, and surgeons now generally agree that some form of prophylaxis is required. Heparin and intermittent compression devices appear to be equally effective in preventing deep venous thrombosis. The addition of venous monitoring in high-risk patients permits immediate identification of the presence of deep venous thrombosis. During the last decade, the treatment of patients with deep venous thrombosis has changed little. Heparin followed by warfarin remains the treatment of choice. A small group of patients receive fibrinolytic therapy for deep venous thrombosis. Although the incidence of postoperative deep venous thrombosis has decreased during the last decade, it remains a significant complication.     

Measuring behaviour: The tools and the strategies

Animal behaviour can be viewed as a stream of elements, which, once accurately described, can be counted and timed. Data acquisition techniques and tools are reviewed, and some strategies for collection and analysis of data using PC computers are suggested. Automated instruments are not satisfactory for the study of complex behaviour and as such systemic observation remains irreplaceable. IBM PC-type computers, with a wide range of analytical software (e.g., spreadsheets, statistical packages, technical graphics), are practical for data acquisition. Several systems which can satisfy different applications are reviewed. Some systems can communicate with a videorecorder, a facility which remarkably increases the accuracy of measurement; this is essential for meaningful analyses of the internal structure of behavioural streams (sequences, time patterns) or communication processes. The power of new tools enables behavioural measurement with the necessary complexity to allow a whole new set of questions to be addressed. However, it also increases demands for meaningful content and analysis of data.     

Transport of estrogen-induced oxytocin receptors in the ventromedial hypothalamus.

The modulation of oxytocin (OT) receptors (OTRs) by estrogen was investigated in the ventromedial hypothalamus by in vitro receptor autoradiography. Treatment of ovariectomized and adrenalectomized rats with various doses of estradiol benzoate (EB) increased OTR binding not only in the ventromedial nuclei of the hypothalamus (VMN), but also in the area lateral to the nuclei (IVMN). After a single injection of EB, OTRs first were induced within the ventrolateral parts of the VMN, and only hours later they appeared in the IVMN. This is consistent with the interpretation that OTRs are first induced within the estrogen-sensitive neurons of the ventrolateral VMN and then are transported laterally out of the nuclei. Two additional experiments confirmed this interpretation. First, local infusion of a low dose (10 micrograms) of the neuronal transport inhibitor vinblastine blocked the appearance of OTRs in the IVMN but did not prevent the induction of OTRs by EB within the nuclei. Second, a knife cut placed lateral to the VMN prevented the spread of OTRs out of the nuclei. However, even after treatment with a high dose of EB (2 x 10 micrograms), progesterone (P) was required for a maximal extension of the area covered by OTRs. Thus, the OTR is an estrogen-induced neurotransmitter receptor that is transported to its site of action, the lateral ventromedial hypothalamus, where it is modulated by P and where estrogen-induced OT immunoreactivity is found.