Mutational analysis of familial and sporadic hyperekplexia

Hyperekplexia is a rare, autosomal dominant neurological disorder characterized by hypertonia, especially in infancy, and by an exaggerated startle response. This disorder is caused by mutations in the ?1 subunit of the inhibitory glycine receptor (GLRA1). We previously reported two GLRA1 point mutations detected in 4 unrelated hyperekplexia families; both mutations were at nucleotide 1192 and resulted in the replacement of Arg²⁷¹ by a glutamine (R271Q) in one case and a leucine (R271L) in the other. Here, 5 additional hyperekplexia families are shown to have the most common G-to-A transition mutation at nucleotide 1192. Haplotype analysis using polymorphisms within and close to the GLRA1 locus suggests that this mutation has arisen at least twice (and possibly four times). In 2 additional families, a third mutation is also presented that changes a tyrosine at amino acid 279 to a cysteine (Y279C). Five patients with atypical clinical features and equivocal or absent family history of hyperekplexia and 1 patient with a classical presentation but no family history are presented in whom a mutation in the GLRA1 gene was not detected. Thus, only clinically typical hyperekplexia appears to be consistently associated with GLRA1 mutations, and these affect a specific extracellular domain of the protein.     

Electroencephalographic sleep measures in prepubertal depression.

Two nights of electroencephalographic (EEG) sleep recording were performed in a group of prepubertal subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) (n = 36, mean age = 10.4, SD = 1.5) and age-matched normal control children (n = 18, mean age = 10.1, SD = 1.6). All subjects were medically healthy and free of medications at the time of the study. There were no significant group differences for any major sleep variable after the initial adaptation night in this study. One subgroup of MDD subjects (n = 8) showed reduced REM latency on both recording nights, decreased stage 4 sleep, and increased REM time; this subgroup had significantly higher severity scores for depression but did not otherwise appear to be clinically distinct from the rest of the MDD subjects. Overall, the results indicate that the EEG sleep changes associated with depression in adults occurred less frequently in prepubertal MDD subjects.     

Bioavailability and corneal anti-inflammatory effect of topical suprofen

The bioavailability in rabbit cornea and aqueous humor of an ophthalmic formulation of suprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, was evaluated following topical administration of a single dose to the eye. The drug penetrated rapidly into the uninflamed cornea with intact epithelium; highest levels occurred during the first 30 to 45 min after instillation and decreased thereafter. The bioavailability of suprofen in cornea and aqueous humor following administration of a 1.0% concentration was twice that produced by a 0.5% concentration of the drug. Topical application of multiple doses of suprofen failed to suppress polymorphonuclear leukocyte invasion of the cornea if treatment was started after the induction of inflammation. Suprofen therapy initiated prior to the induction of corneal inflammation and maintained into the post-inflammation period did produce a significant (P less than 0.01) decrease in the numbers of PMNs that invaded the inflamed cornea. There was no significant difference (P greater than 0.05) in the corneal anti-inflammatory effect achieved by the 0.5% and 1.0% concentrations of suprofen when administered according to this regimen.     

The Characterization of Oxotremorine-Induced Hypothermic Response in the Rat

Abstract: Oxotremorine is a muscarinic receptor agonist that induces a variety of physiological and behavioural effects including hypothermia in mice. These effects are antagonized dose-dependently by classical anticholinergic compounds such as atropine. Although the oxotremorine-induced hypothermic response has been demonstrated in mice, few studies of the effects of this muscarinic agonist have been made in the rat. The following studies were made in male Sprague Dawley rats: 1. an investigation of the dose-response relationship between oxotremorine and hypothermia; 2. an examination of the effect of housing on the oxotremorine-induced hypothermic response, and 3. an investigation of the acute administration of various doses of atropine sulphate on the hypothermia caused by oxotremorine. The results indicate that the dose-response relationship between oxotremorine and the antagonism of hypothermia is similar in rat as it is in mice. The results also showed that this effect did not occur in group-housed animals.     

Gut contents: A significant contaminant of Mytilus edulis whole body metal concentrations

Ingested matter can have a significant effect on whole body metal concentration measurements in Mytilus edulis. Depuration of mussels in clean seawater for 36 h prior to dissection eliminates most of these contaminating gut contents. Depuration followed by metal analyses is the most direct method of determining mussel tissue metal bioburdens. After being transplanted into a plume of primary treated sewage effluent in Salem Harbor, Massachusetts for 32 days, Al, Cr, and Fe concentrations in depurated mussels were significantly lower than those determined for either non-depurated mussels or for depurated mussels to which fecal concentrations of Al, Cr, and Fe were added back in. Although mathematical methods developed by both Ouellette (1978) and Boehm et al. (1988) could be applied to non-depurated mussels in order to correct for errors associated with gut metal contamination, these indirect methods were not as reliable as depuration prior to analysis.     

A personal computer database system for head and neck cancer records

The computerized database system described was initially developed in 1986 to facilitate analysis of retrospective head and neck cancer data from the Royal Adelaide Hospital Department of Otolaryngology. This has now been expanded to become an on-going patient information management system. It is based on the dBase-III-Plus database package and is implemented on an IBM XT compatible computer. The system was designed to be used by staff without specialist computer skills and is therefore largely “menu-driven.” The main functions include patient record creation, update, and retrieval, and the production of reports including graphical presentations. There is also a powerful but easy to use query facility. The system has already provided much useful epidemiological material but is now beginning to fulfill an even more important role in patient follow-up and in assisting evaluation of alternative treatment protocols.     

Primary Health Care through a community based smoking-cessation program

The International Conference on Primary Health Care, meeting in Alma-Ata, in the Soviet Union, September 12, 1978, expressed the need for urgent action by all governments, all health and development workers and the world community, to protect and promote the health of all people of the world. The world was caught by the phrase which emerged from this conference, Health For All by the Year 2000 and many have examined the articles of the Alma-Ata declaration and tried to implement them in their corner of the world. This paper describes a community-based smoking-cessation program which was implemented in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, during the years 1980–1984. Primary to this project was the belief that people have the right and the duty to participate individually and collectively in planning and implementing their health care. This paper describes one community's effort in putting this belief into practice.Carol Smillie, B.N. BE.d. M.S.c. is an Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 3J5, Katherine Coffin, BA, MEd is the Program Officer, Nova Scotia Office, Health Promotion Directorate Health and Welfare Canada, 5251 Duke Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Canada B3J 1P3. Kathryn Porter, B.A. (Gen)., is the Information and Education Coordinator, Nova Scotia Division Canadian Cancer Society. Brenda Ryan, B.A., M.B.A. is Program Evaluation Analysist, Nova Scotia Department of Health, 6088 Hollis Street, Halifax. Nova Scotia, Canada. This Project was funded by Health and Welfare Canada, Nova Scotia Department of Health, Nova Scotia Division Canadian Cancer Society, Requests for reprints should be addressed to: Professor Carol Smillie.     

Intestinal 5-Fluorouracil Absorption: Use of Ussing Chambers to Assess Transport and Metabolism

We have employed an in vitro system to study transport and metabolism of organic molecules by gastrointestinal tissues. Such a system would aid in the evaluation of the potential for oral delivery of organic molecules. Transport and metabolism of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) were studied using rabbit intestinal preparations. Unidirectional fluxes and metabolism were measured in vitro in Ussing chambers under short-circuit conditions. Results from these studies reveal that in ileum, proximal, and distal colon, steady-state fluxes of 5-FU (10 µM added to both bathing solutions) are established after 30 min and remain constant for at least 110 min. Transport of 5-FU under sink conditions with 10 µM 5-FU present in the mucosal or serosal bathing solution alone demonstrated similar rates of transport as under nonsink conditions. The concentration dependence of 5-FU fluxes indicates that the mucosal (m)-to-serosal (s) flux is composed of both a saturable and a linear component over the range of 1–100 µM in the ileum, whereas the s-to-m flux in the ileum and both fluxes in the colon are linear functions of concentration. Over the concentration range employed and the time course of these studies, 5-FU had no effect on the electrical properties of the ileum or colon. In the ileum, the m-to-s but not the s-to-m flux of 5-FU was reduced by (1) serosal ouabain (0.1 mM); (2) reduction of the bathing solution Na concentration; and (3) addition of uracil, thy mine, thymidine, uridine, 2-deoxyuridine, or uridine-5-monophosphate. These results indicate that 5-FU absorption in the ileum occurs by a Na-dependent mechanism that is inhibited by uracil and structurally related compounds. In distal colon, no evidence for an active transport mechanism was obtained. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis reveals that both ileum and distal colon metabolize 5-FU to more polar compounds. Metabolism in ileum is quantitatively greater than in distal colon. Metabolites are found predominantly on the side to which transport has occurred, suggesting that metabolism occurs concomitantly with transport. Since the intestinal cells metabolize 5-FU to more polar compounds and active absorption is inhibited in a competitive manner by related compounds, these results may provide an explanation for the variable oral activity reported for 5-FU.