Effects of Maternal Ethanol Consumption and Buspirone Treatment on Dopamine and Norepinephrine Reuptake Sites and D1 Receptors in Offspring

Previously, it was shown that in utero ethanol exposure results in decreased serotonin (5-HT) and altered concentrations of 5-HT reuptake sites and 5-HT_1A receptors in fetal and/or postnatal rats. Because fetal 5-HT is an essential trophic factor, this laboratory previously investigated the hypotheses that the early ethanol-associated 5-HT deficit contributed to subsequent development abnormalities in the serotonergic system and that the effects of the fetal 5-HT deficit could be prevented by maternal treatment with buspirone, a 5-HT_1A receptor agonist. The present report determined the effects of maternal treatment with buspirone on two other neurotransmitter systems in the developing offspring of ethanol-fed dams: dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine reuptake sites and D1 receptors in postnatal day 19 offspring of control and ethanol-fed dams, that received daily injections of saline or 4.5 mg/kg buspirone. These investigations found that in utero ethanol exposure significantly decreased norepinephrine reuptake sites in the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus and anteroventral thalamic nucleus. There was also an ethanol effect in the dorsal raphe. D1 receptors were moderately increased (5–10% increase) in the striaturn, and DA reuptake sites were unchanged in PN19 ethanol-exposed offspring. No other significant ethanol-related effects were noted. Maternal buspirone treatment did not adversely affect the concentration of DA reuptake sites or D1 receptors in control rats. Thus, whereas buspirone exerts protective effects on the developing 5-HT system of ethanol-exposed rats, it does not appear to damage the development of the DA system. Maternal buspirone produced only one significant abnormality in control offspring; it resulted in a significant reduction of norepinephrine reuptake sites in the DR.     

超声测量估计巨大胎儿体重多项公式的临床验证

目的 :探讨超声测量估计巨大胎儿体重的精确性较高的公式。方法 :应用超声对 36 1例胎儿腹围、双顶径、股骨长、肱骨皮下脂肪厚度进行测量 ,并与新生儿出生体重进行多元线性回归推导出一个预测体重的公式 ;然后 ,应用此公式对 75例巨大儿进行临床验证 ,并与其它两个预测巨大胎儿精确性较高的公式进行比较。结果 :新公式巨大儿的检出率为 6 4 % ,均较单参数公式和另一个多参数公式高 (P <0 .0 5 )。结论 :应用腹围、头围、股骨长、肱骨皮下脂肪厚度预测巨大胎儿准确率较高 ,有较好的临床应用价值。     

胚胎脊髓不同移植方法对损伤后大鼠脊髓轴突再生的作用

[目的]研究胚胎脊髓不同移植方法对损伤后大鼠脊髓轴突再生的作用。[方法]将成年大鼠分为四组，A组：单纯脊髓挫伤和半切洞组；B组：脊髓挫伤和半切洞＋胚胎脊髓移植组；C组：脊髓挫伤和半切洞＋胚胎脊髓移植＋损伤区上下神经根吻合组；D组：脊髓挫伤和半切洞＋胚胎脊髓移植＋带蒂大网膜移植组。移植后6周，应用行为学检查，观察大鼠功能恢复情况，用光、电镜检查计算轴突和观察轴突病理变化，采用计算机图像分析技术，进行定量分析。[结果]作者发现脊髓损伤后6周A组轴突丢失最严重，各组轴突都有不同程度的减少，其减少程度顺序是A组〉B组〉C组〉D组。D组与其它三组比较有显著差异性。残留的轴突数目与神经功能的改善相平行。[结论]大鼠胚胎脊髓和大网膜移植后能增强损伤脊髓轴突再生并能促进大鼠后肢神经功能的恢复。     

Effect of Ethanol on Prostacyclin, Thromboxane, and Prostaglandin E Production in Human Umbilical Veins

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of ethanol on prostacyclin (PGE, prostaglandin E (PGE), and thromboxane (TXA₂ production in perfused human umbilical veins.
PGI₂, PGE, and TXA₂ levels were measured from human umbilical veins perfused with either 25, 50, or 100 mM ethanol by radioimmunoassay of their stable metabolites. Alcohol content was measured by an enzymatic spectrophotometric assay. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and Fisher's Protected Least Significant Difference Test.
Ethanol decreased PGI₂ production in a concentration-dependent manner ( p < 0.05). In a concentration of 25 mM, ethanol did not affect PGI₂ production, whereas 50 mM decreased levels after 60 min of perfusion ( p < 0.01). With 100 mM ethanol, PGI₂ production was decreased after 15, 30, and 60 min of perfusion ( p s < 0.05), and the TXA²/PGI₂ ratio was significantly elevated at all time points (p < 0.01). Ethanol (100 mM) did not affect TXA₂ or PGE production.
Reduction of PGl₂ levels and the increase in the TXA₂/PGI₂ ratio seen after ethanol perfusion in umbilical veins may cause vascular disruption in the umbilical-placental circulation. This may, in part, be a contributing mechanism to the teratogenic effects of ethanol.     

Effects of exercise and fetal spinal cord implants on the H-reflex in chronically spinalized adult rats

This study investigated the modulation of hindlimb reflex excitability after transection of the spinal cord in adult rats. After transection, the H-reflex exhibited decreased depression at high stimulation frequencies compared to intact animals. Groups of animals which received a spinal cord transection followed by either an exercise regimen for the hindlimbs or a fetal spinal cord implant, showed high stimulation frequency depression similar to controls. This suggests that each of these palliative strategies helped to ‘normalize’ the excitability of specific spinal reflexes.     

Nerve Growth Factor and Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Protect Rat Cerebellar Granule Cells in Culture against Ethanol-Induced Cell Death

Neuronal cell loss is one of the most debilitating effects of fetal ethanol exposure. Cultures of cerebellar granule cells are a useful model to investigate ethanol neurotoxicity, because ethanol depletes cell numbers in these cultures, which also occurs in vivo. The primary goal of the present study was to identify and characterize agents that can ameliorate the ethanol-induced cell death that occurs in this culture system. Growth factors, such as nerve growth factor (NGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) can prevent neuronal degeneration after toxic insult in various experimental paradigms. These growth factors were investigated in the current study to determine whether or not they can mitigate ethanol-induced death of cerebellar granule cells in culture. Results indicate that NGF and bFGF significantly reduced the ethanol-induced cell loss. Both the NGF- and bFGF-mediated neuroprotection required protein and RNA synthesis, because actinomycin D (RNA synthesis inhibitor) and cyclohex-imide (protein synthesis inhibitor) blocked their neuroprotective effects. In addition to its neuroprotective effect, bFGF also had a neurotrophic effect and could enhance cell survival in the absence of ethanol exposure. NGF did not have a neurotrophic effect. Neither EGF nor IGF-I was neuroprotective, although the latter did have a substantial neurotrophic effect. In conclusion, bFGF and NGF have long been recognized for their role in enhancing neuronal cell survival and differentiation. This study suggests that these growth factors can also provide neuroprotection against ethanol-induced cell death.     

Perforant pathway lamination in the dentate gyrus is unaffected by prenatal ethanol exposure

The entorhinal (perforant path) projection to the dentate gyrus was labeled with an anterograde horseradish peroxidase method to test whether prenatal exposure to ethanol affected the normal development of afferent lamination. Mean ethanol consumption of the ethanol-consuming dams was 12.7 g/kg +/- 0.3 g per day during days 1-21 of gestation. Adult offspring of normal and pair-fed controls as well as ethanol-exposed rats were analyzed. Computer-assisted image analysis of the entorhinal terminal field organization revealed no permanent changes in the development of the afferent lamination pattern in the dentate gyrus molecular layer in spite of the heavy in utero ethanol exposure.     

胎心听诊的质量控制探讨

目的 探讨多普勒听诊胎心的影响因素。方法 采用胎心录音，由仪器自动计算规定时间内的平均胎心率值作为参考值，观察不同听诊者对同一胎心录音、不同基线的胎心录音进行听诊以及孕妇采取不同体位对胎心听诊结果的影响。结果 不同听诊者对同胎心的听诊结果差异较大；听诊时间越短。听诊者之间的听诊结果差异越大。结果越不准确；听诊异常胎心率，听诊者之间的变异较听诊正常胎心率大且不准确；孕妇平卧位进行胎心听诊易出现误差。结论 应制定胎心听诊的质量控制措施。     

Reproducibility of fetal cardiac flow velocity waveforms at atrioventricular level

Reproducibility of flow velocity waveform recording and analysis was studied at fetal atrioventricular level (mitral and tricuspid valve) in 25 normal pregnancies. The flow velocity parameters studied were peak-E wave velocity, peak-A wave velocity and time-averaged velocity. In each patient, two consecutive measurements were performed (time delay, 15 min) and of each measurement two hardcopies were analyzed. A high reproducibility was achieved for all parameters studied; the coefficients of variation between readings of hardcopies were <2% and the coefficients of variation between tests within patients were -4%.