Testosterone not associated with violent dreams or REM sleep behavior disorder in men with Parkinson's.

We examined the relationship between testosterone levels, violent dreams, and REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) in 31 men with Parkinson's disease (PD): 12 with clinical RBD and 19 without. All PD patients with clinical RBD experienced violent dreams, but none of the 19 non-RBD patients reported violent dreams. While dream content appears to be more aggressive in PD patients with clinical RBD, the presence of violent dreams or clinical RBD is not associated with testosterone levels in men with PD.     

Effects of exposure to an estrous female on forebrain monoaminergic neurotransmission in the non-copulating male rat

Regional changes in the rate of brain monoamine synthesis were monitored in male rats exposed to, but prevented from physical contact with, an estrous or an ovariectomized female. The in vivo rate of tyrosine and tryptophan hydroxylase activities were estimated by measuring the accumulation of DOPA and 5-HTP following inhibition of cerebral aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase by means of 3-hydroxybenzylhydrazine (NSD-1015) treatment (100 mg/kg i.p.) 5 min upon NSD-1015 treatment, the males were exposed to an intact estrous female or an ovariectomized female for 20 min before decapitation and brain dissections. Exposure to an estrous female produced an increased rate of tyrosine and tryptophan hydroxylase activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, the dorso-lateral neostriatum and in the ventral neostriatum, in comparison with home-cage controls. By the same comparison, exposure to an ovariectomized female resulted in an increased rate of tyrosine hydroxylase activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, byt not in the neostriatal areas, whereas tryptophan hydroxylase activity was unaffected. Finally, exposure to the empty test cage, with no stimulus females present, did not produce any statistically significant changes in the rate of tyrosine or tryptophan hydroxylase activity in any of the brain areas sampled. Taken together with recent findings from this laboratory, the present results demonstrate that the level of sexual motivation brought about by the olfactory, auditory and/or visual stimulation of a receptive female is associated with an increased demand on catecholamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine synthesis in the limbic forebrain of the male rat. The finding that the presence of an unestrous female produced an enhanced demand on tyrosine hydroxylase activity in the medial prefrontal neocortex demonstrates that the sexual incentive provided by the estrous female may not be the only factor responsible for all the effects observed in the present study. In fact, there is a distinct possibility that the intense challenge produced by sexually significant stimuli is but an endpoint, and that the changes found in forebrain monoamine synthesis is a reflection of an environmental challenge not necessarily specifically linked to the sexual behavior.     

成骨细胞与血管内皮细胞联合培养的生物学特性

目的探讨成骨细胞与血管内皮细胞联合培养的生物学特性. 方法取2周龄乳兔颅盖骨及肾脏皮质传代培养制备成骨细胞(A组)、血管内皮细胞(B组)及成骨细胞与血管内皮细胞联合培养(C组),用Ⅰ型胶原和血管Ⅷ因子免疫细胞化学染色鉴定成骨细胞和血管内皮细胞,倒置相差显微镜和组织学染色观察细胞的生长特性和细胞相容性,检测碱性磷酸酶 (alkaline phosphatase,ALP)活性,观察血管内皮细胞对成骨细胞产生的ALP活性有无影响,MTT法检测细胞活力,分析细胞生长和增殖情况. 结果免疫细胞化学染色证实,培养的细胞为成骨细胞和血管内皮细胞.倒置相差显微镜、HE和Masson染色均显示两种细胞混合生长良好.ALP检测结果:C组ALP活性明显高于A组和B组(P＜0.01),A组高于B组(P＜0.05).MTT检测结果表明:C组细胞早期增殖较慢,而后期增殖较快. 结论成骨细胞与血管内皮细胞具有良好的相容性,血管内皮细胞能够增强成骨细胞的ALP活性,提高成骨细胞的增殖能力.联合培养细胞具有很强的增殖潜能.     

Behavioral toxicology of solvents

Volatile organic solvents exhibit a range of behavioral effects from the insidiously toxic to the beneficial. Solvents impair performance in a concentration-dependent manner that depends on the unique physicochemical properties of each solvent. The toxic effects of solvents range greatly but, at sufficient concentrations, or after prolonged exposure, neurotoxic effects are often seen. Many solvents are both self-administered and exhibit noxious properties. Solvents may produce some of their primary behavioral effects by altering γ-amino-butyric acid (GABA) function. Further studies related to mechanism may lead to a better understanding of means to protect individuals from the effects of solvent exposure, as well as further our knowledge of solvent abuse. Solvents activate the stress axis and, as such, their neuroendocrine effects deserve further characterization, because chronic exposure may result in altered neuronal activity similar to that associated with chronic stress. Methods have been developed to assess for risk of the effects of exposure to solvents, detailing the lowest levels of solvent expected to produce behavioral impairment. Results from these procedures should be applied to the different end points described.     

Using online databases to find peer-reviewed journal articles on injury prevention and safety promotion research: a study of textword queries by SafetyLit users.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the capacity of textword queries to provide a comprehensive listing of articles on injury prevention and safety promotion (IPSP) concepts in a literature database. METHODS: All terms used to search SafetyLit (a database of scholarly literature selected for its relevance to the IPSP field) during the years 2000-2005 were listed and then examined to identify terms that are synonyms for the same concept. Terms were grouped by concept, the number of queries that used terms within each concept category were summed, and the concepts were then ordered by the total number of searches for each concept category. For each textword, the proportion of all articles for that concept that could be found by using it alone was calculated. RESULTS: Each of the 25 most searched-for concepts has 4 to 40 synonyms. Sixteen of the concepts required queries using two or more terms to find 75% of the available articles. Few searchers used a sufficient number of textword synonyms in their queries to return a complete listing of the available material. CONCLUSION: On the basis of this study, queries using only one or two textword terms are insufficiently sensitive to find all relevant journal articles about an IPSP concept.     

Differential effects of IL-1ra on sickness behavior and weight loss induced by IL-1 in rats

Peripheral and central injections of recombinant human interleukin-1β (IL-1β) have been shown to decrease social exploration and to induce body weight loss in rats. To characterize the receptor mechanisms of these effects, we used as a tool a specific antagonist of the receptors of IL-1, IL-1ra. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of IL-1ra (8 mg/kg) blocked the effect of i.p. injection of IL-1β (4 μg/rat) on social behaviour but not on body weight. Central administration of IL-1ra (60 μg/rat, i.c.v.) abrogated the effects of centrally administered IL-1β (30 ngn/rat, i.c.v.) on both social behaviour and body weight. Central injection of IL-1ra (4 μg/rat, i.c.v.) also attenuated the effects of i.p. administered IL-1β (4 μg/rat) on social behaviour but not on body weight. These results suggest that the effects of IL-1β on social behavior are mediated centrally and that its effect on the loss of body weight involves different receptor mechanisms.     

Expression of c-fos, fos B, and egr-1 in the medial preoptic area and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis during maternal behavior in rats

The spatial and temporal pattern of expression of the protein products of immediate early genes (IEGs) c-fos, fos B, and egr-1 were mapped in medial preoptic area (MPOA) and ventral bed nucleus of stria terminalis (VBST) during maternal behavior in rats. Immunocytochemical analysis indicated significant increases in the number of cells expressing c-Fos after 2 h of pup exposure, while Fos B levels showed a delayed response, reaching maximal levels after 6 h.     

Functional restoration in chronic low back pain

Conventional treatments have not slowed down the ever expanding low back pain (LBP) problem. Traditional treatment has most probably contributed to the growth of the problem. Therefore, in a search for new solutions, 'functional restoration' has been devised. In connection with chronic LBP the term has been associated with a full-day program lasting from 3 to 5 weeks. it includes multidisciplinary treatment of patients in groups with intensive physical and ergonomic training, psychological pain management, back school, as well as teaching in social/work related issues. The key concepts are 'acceptance of the pain', 'activity', 'self-responsibility', 'multidisciplinary' and 'quantitative functional evaluation (QFE)'. The latter is aimed so that the participants can feel the physical improvement, encouraging them to be able to go back to work, or at least to lead a more active life style. Several controlled studies suggest a lasting effect in terms of regaining their ability to work and improving pain behavior for a good part of disabled chronic LBP patients. However, it is noteworthy that randomized studies seemingly show poorer results than studies not employing randomized controls.     

牛磺酸与大脑发育关系的初步探讨——牛磺酸与行为

本实验将断乳大鼠随机分成三组。补充0.6％牛磺酸组(ST组);未补充牛磺酸组(TF组);及5703大鼠常备膳组(5703组)。用水迷宫及食物偏爱性试验观察补充牛磺酸对大鼠学习、记忆能力的影响。结果表明,三组大鼠在水迷宫试验总潜伏期,总错误次数,无误率及持续时间四项指标上均存在高度显著差异。ST:TF P<0.01;ST:5703 P<0.01;5703:TF P<0.05。ST与TF在食物偏爱性试验上存在显著差异(P<0.05)。上述结果表明:牛磺酸与大脑发育有关,表现为补充了牛磺酸的大鼠在学习、记忆等方面的提高。而牛磺酸缺乏对幼鼠大脑及智力发育有不利影响,表现为学习、记忆能力的不足。     

Selective inhibition of MAO-A,not MAO-B,results in antidepressant-like effects on DRL 72-s behavior

The effects of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) that selectively inhibit the MAO-A or MAO-B forms of MAO were studied in rats performing under a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72-s (DRL 72-s) schedule of reinforcement. Clorgyline and CGP11305A, irreversible and reversible MAO-A inhibitors, respectively, increased the reinforcement rate, decreased the response rate, and enhanced temporal discrimination. The irreversible MAO-B inhibitor (–)-deprenyl did not produce similar effects. Pargyline did not increase the reinforcement rate at low doses that selectively inhibit MAO-B, but did increase the reinforcement rate at doses that inhibit MAO-A by more than 90%. The present results are in accord with clinical data demonstrating that MAO-A inhibitors are effective therapeutic agents in treating depression while MAO-B inhibitors are of questionable antidepressant efficacy. The present findings provide further evidence that the DRL 72-s schedule may be useful both as a screen for identifying new antidepressants and for investigating the neurochemical effects of antidepressant drugs that are responsible for their therapeutic effects.