Visual acuity in the water maze: sensitivity to muscarinic receptor blockade in rats and mice

A visual acuity task performed in the water maze in rats [Behav. Brain Res. 119 (2001) 77] was used to reveal the sensitivity of the visual system to muscarinic receptor blockade. Intraperitoneal injection of 0.2 mg/kg scopolamine had no effect, but 2 mg/kg severely compromised visual acuity, but did not affect the swim strategy to solve the task. Spatial learning in a reference memory version of the water maze, however, was impaired by 0.2 mg/kg scopolamine. It was also confirmed that the same visual acuity task is applicable to C57BL6/J mice. The visual deficit induced by 2 mg/kg scopolamine was less severe compared to rats, possibly due to a change in swim strategy in the drug condition. The effect of scopolamine on spatial reference memory in mice was not tested in this study. These data suggest that it may be possible to dissociate drug-induced effects on memory from changes in sensory perception.     

Image quality of the temporal bone window examined by transcranial Doppler sonography and correlation with postmortem computed tomography measurements

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The major limitation of native transcranial colour-coded duplex sonography (TCCS) in older stroke patients is the relatively frequent occurrence of an insufficient temporal window. Our goal was to investigate the relationship between the in vivo Doppler ultrasound image quality of the temporal bone, and computed tomography (CT)-determined thickness, density, and homogeneity of cadaver temporal bone. METHODS: Thirty-three moribund neurological patients who eventually died were examined by TCCS using the transtemporal approach. The sonographer categorized the quality of the TCCS image (excellent, intermediate, and poor). During autopsy, a rectangular sample of the temporal squama was removed, which corresponded to the area of the in vivo acoustic window. The thickness of the whole temporal bone, cortical, and cancellous (= diploe) bone as well as the density and homogeneity were determined by high-resolution CT. RESULTS: Thirty-seven temporal bones were obtained. The quality of the acoustic window was classified as excellent in 13, intermediate in 6 and poor in 18 cases. A significant correlation between the complete bone thickness, as well as between the absolute thickness of the diploe and the quality of the acoustic window was found: the thinner the bone/diploe, the better the colour Doppler signal. The thickness of the cortical plates and the homogeneity of the bones were identical in the three image quality categories. CONCLUSION: The transtemporal TCCS image quality depends mainly on the thickness of the cancellous component of the temporal bone.     

Suicide and general elections in Austria: do preceding regional suicide rate differentials foreshadow subsequent voting behavior swings?

BACKGROUND: Suicide-epidemiological research on short-term effects of elections on national/regional suicide and parasuicide incidence has yielded contradictory evidence. Reversing the cause-effect relationship of this line of research we investigated whether preceding regional suicide rates are related to subsequent election results. METHODS: For Austria's 121 districts, we regressed averaged standardized suicide rates for the preceding period (1988-1994) on political parties' subsequent electoral gains/losses (1999-to-1995) while controlling for a set of 12 domain-relevant psychosocial/economic indices. RESULTS: Stepwise weighted multiple regression led to a significant model. The 1999-to-1995 electoral gains/losses of two opposition parties, together with the population variation caused by migration balance and by births/deaths balance, accounted for a substantial part (30%) of the variability in preceding district-level suicide rates. Various other social indices failed to contribute further substantial increments to this model. CONCLUSIONS: This finding suggests that variations in preceding regional suicide incidence might be mirrored in subsequent changes in voting behavior. A speculative post hoc explanation for the finding is offered: on a community level, suicide's aftermath might produce socially and politically alienated survivors of suicide who co-shape swings towards opposition parties in subsequent general elections. The finding calls for more research on suicide's long-term aftermath. LIMITATIONS: Within-country replicability and cross-national generalizability await further investigation. At present, the factor/mechanism accounting for this finding is neither well-established nor has been directly tested.     

Successful birth after laser assisted immobilization of spermatozoa before intracytoplasmic injection

OBJECTIVE: To describe the first ICSI pregnancy achieved with sperm that were immobilized by using a noncontact diode laser. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Fertility center. PATIENT(S): A 36-year-old woman who had had primary infertility for 9 years. INTERVENTION(S): Sperm immobilization by using a 1.48-microm wavelength diode laser and subsequent ICSI. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Fertilization and cleavage rates and pregnancy. RESULT(S): Transfer of two embryos with minor fragmentation led to a single pregnancy. The patient delivered a healthy baby in week 38 of gestation. CONCLUSION(S): Use of a noncontact diode laser for sperm immobilization may be a useful alternative to the conventional mechanical approach.     

Long-term study of chronic oral aluminum exposure and spatial working memory in rats

The authors report an effort to advance animal models that mimic the cognitive decline of Alzheimer's disease. Rats were trained and repeatedly tested in a spatial delayed matching-to-position paradigm in the water maze, with the location of the submerged platform changing between, but not within, days. After Trial 1 (random search) and intertrial intervals of 30 s or 1 hr, memory was tested in Trial 2. Young rats quickly acquired this task and were repeatedly tested after different intervals over 7 months, with a slight increase in performance toward the end of testing, but no difference in latencies between delays. Oral long-term treatment of 1 group with 0.1% aluminum caused no delay-dependent working memory deficit. This testing protocol may enable between- and within-subject long-term assessment of spatial working memory before and after drug treatment and may prove useful in animal models of progressive cognitive decline.     

Hypoparathyroidism in conotruncal heart defects

This retrospective study was designed to evaluate serum levels of intact parathyroid hormone and calcium in patients with conotruncal heart defects with or without microdeletion 22q11.2 in order to investigate a correlation between various types of conotruncal heart defect and hypoparathyroidism. A total of 67 patients with truncus arteriosus, tetralogy of Fallot, pulmonary atresia and ventricular septal defect, interrupted aortic arch or vascular ring were included of whom 28 had a 22q11.2 deletion (Group I) and 39 did not (Group II). In two patients of Group I and in one patient of Group II, parathyroid hormone level was decreased with normal serum calcium levels. No patient of Group II showed hypocalcaemia. In Group I, complete hypoparathyroidism with low parathyroid hormone and hypocalcaemia occurred in seven patients; 5 patients had bilateral anomalies of the right and the left 4th aortic arch derivates. In addition to an interrupted aortic arch type B or a high aortic arch, the contralateral subclavian artery arose cervically, high thoracically or anomalously from the descending aorta. Two patients had unilateral anomalies of the 4th aortic arch system: The origin of the right subclavian artery was cervical or from the descending aorta. CONCLUSION: Hypoparathyroidism occurred in 7 of our 28 patients with conotruncal heart defect and monosomy 22q11.2 and was associated with an extended regression of the 4th aortic arch development on both sides of the aortic arch system.     

Laser scanning confocal fluorescence microscopy: an overview

Innovative and important aspects of laser scanning confocal fluorescence imaging (LSCFI) are presented here as a general overview. We have described and discussed the technology of the procedure in some detail. We also report some of our original work with transmembranous uptake of 5S gamma-globulin on living human leukocytes as an example of one specific application of LSCFI. These original data and results are presented, as well as citing other uses and applications, to show the power of LSCFI technique. The article will hopefully be useful for those not familiar with the methodology and utility of laser scanning confocal fluorescence microscopy. Applications of LSCFI are very diverse, and there are new applications of this technology constantly being developed. Interest is growing in LSCFI, particularly in the pharmacologic and therapeutic areas, as demonstrated in this article.     

Pharmacological modulation of IGF serum concentrations as a therapeutic approach to control the growth of malignant breast tumors

The insulin-like growth factors (IGFs)-1 and -2 have been associated with an increased risk for breast cancer, and have been shown to increase tumor growth and malignant behavior in vitro and in vivo. Both exert their actions through the IGF type 1 receptor (IGF1R), which is able to cooperate with the estrogen receptor in the regulation of growth-associated gene expression. The inhibition of IGF1R signaling, either through receptor blocking or through a reduction of bioactive ligands thus appears to be a highly desirable goal in the suppression of tumor growth. This paper presents a number of compounds that have been shown to reduce IGF serum levels and that might therefore have a potential in controlling tumor growth and possibly metastatic behavior. Some of these are believed to work through a reduction of systemic estrogens, such as anti-estrogens, selective estrogen receptor mediators and aromatase inhibitors, others represent synthetic compounds that belong to the vitamin A and D family.