Acute effects of high-dose thyrotropin releasing hormone infusions in Alzheimer's disease

Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) was administered intravenously to ten patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in a high-dose paradigm, thought to maximize central nervous system effects and potentially produce facilitation of cholinergic function, a known property of the neuropeptide. Acute effects of TRH on behavioral, cognitive and physiologic measures were assessed after patients received 0.1 mg/kg TRH, 0.3 mg/kg TRH and placebo, the higher TRH dose and placebo being given in a randomized, double-blind fashion. Patients showed statistically significant increases in arousal and improvement in affect, as well as a modest improvement in semantic memory, all after receiving the higher TRH dose. Both TRH doses produced transient rises in systolic blood pressure, with no effect on diastolic blood pressure, heart rate or temperature. This study suggests that high-dose TRH can be safely administered to AD patients and is neurobehaviorally active; further studies are needed to determine the extent and mechanism of the cognitive and psychobiological properties of this peptide in AD and other neuropsychiatric disorders.     

Amphibian terminal nerve: distribution revealed by LHRH and AChE markers

Immunocytochemical and histochemical studies in the tiger salamander and bullfrog demonstrated the presence of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone-like immunoreactive (LHRH-ir) material and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the terminal nerve (TN). Immunoreactive perikarya and processes were found within the olfactory, vomeronasal and trigeminal nerves and in the nasal epithelium. Central TN projections consisted of fibers terminating in the olfactory bulb and bundles that projected to another group of LHRH-ir perikarya in the preoptic region. Up to 4 weeks following hypophysectomy, the labeling intensity and number of TN-immunoreactive neurons were not altered. Acetylcholinesterase histochemistry in the salamander revealed two distinct groups of neurons associated with the TN: a lightly labeled group of fusiform perikarya was located in the olfactory nerve proper and a more heavily labeled group of larger oval perikarya was found within AChE-positive trigeminal fascicles in the ventral mucosa. This study has demonstrated that the amphibian TN follows olfactory, vomeronasal and trigeminal nerves to reach peripheral targets in the nasal mucosa. The projection of TN fibers to discrete olfactory bulb glomeruli, especially evident in the bullfrog, suggests that the TN functions in odor processing. The TN projection to the preoptic region in both of these amphibians implicates the TN in reproductive processes.     

Correlation with age and sex of flash-evoked electroretinogram and retinal oscillatory potentials recorded with skin electrodes

Electroretinograms and retinal oscillatory potentials to full-field flash stimulation were recorded by dermal electrodes in a population of subjects (1 to 84 yrs) balanced for age and sex (119 females, 133 males), without evidence or history of ocular and/or relevant systemic diseases. The electroretinogram latencies and b-wave amplitude increased, while the a-wave amplitude decreased linearly with age. The oscillatory potential amplitude initially increased, to decrease approximately at the age of 50, with an inverted U-shaped distribution.Presented in part at the XXV ISCEV Symposium, Sarasota (Florida), April 26–30, 1987.     

Glutamergic Action on Alpha-Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone Release from the Rat Hypothalamus

Release of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) synthesized in the hypothalamus is regulated by monoaminergic neuronal systems. An endogenous dopaminergic system inhibits α-MSH release (1, 2) whilst serotoninergic systems exert a biphasic effect on peptide release (3). The toxic effects of neonatal peripheral administration of monosodium glutamate on hypothalamic neurons containing proopiomelanocortin- (POMC-) derived peptides (4, 5) suggest additionally the presence of glutamate receptors on or indirectly influencing the POMC neuron. By comparison of the effect of the excitatory amino-acid agonists N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), quisqualate and kainate on the release of α-MSH from superfused slices of rat hypothalamus, we have demonstrated a stimulatory glutamergic action on α-MSH release mediated through NMDA-type receptors.     

Postgraduate qualifications of British doctors

Among British-qualified doctors of 1974 and 1977, about 80% held postgraduate qualifications of some kind. The commonest qualifications were DRCOG, MRCP and MRCOG. There were considerable differences between medical schools in the numbers of qualifiers taking various examinations. Apart from the MRC Psych, DRCOG and Family Planning Certificate, qualifications were more commonly held by men than women. Tables show the type of work being done 9-13 years after leaving medical school by holders of various postgraduate qualifications; e.g. 60% of MRCP holders were working in medicine or a medical specialty and 84% of FRCS holders in general surgery or a surgical specialty. Discussion deals with the plurality, specificity, variability, perceived necessity, sufficiency, international utility and career significance of British postgraduate qualifications.     

氨苯砜综合征诊治探讨——附6例报告

目的：探讨氨苯砜综合征的诊治要点：方法：对6例氨苯砜综合征患者的临床资料进行回顾性分析。结果和结论：6例氨苯砜综合征患者均为中青年，从服药到出现症状的时间较长，为9～55日.6例患者均以高热起病，起病急骤、凶险，病初均有麻疹紫癜样皮疹，皮疹多形，严重者出现尼氏征阳性或阴性的大疱和（或）全身性红皮病样皮疹；均有浅表淋巴结肿大；多数患者有血液系统损害；并均有肝损害：确诊后及时停氨苯砜，给予足量肾上腺皮质激素和（或）大剂量免疫球蛋白静脉注射，以及支持对症处理，住院12～80（中位数53）日，4例痊愈，1例病情得到控制，另1例因治疗第2日自动出院放弃治疗，死于肝功能衰竭？提示氨苯砜综合征需要及时、正确处理，否则预后不良.     

前列腺癌去势术前后雄性激素变化的研究

目的 :观察前列腺癌去势术前后雄性激素的变化。　方法 :16例前列腺癌病人在手术前后分别采集血清样本 ,用放射免疫法测定睾酮 (T)、游离睾酮 (FT)、双氢睾酮 (DHT)的含量 ,进行对比分析。　结果 :手术前后 ,血清中T、FT、DHT浓度有非常明显的差异 ,手术后分别下降 92 .2 7%、92 .2 6%、5 8.3 6% ,以T、FT下降为主。根据 2次测定的结果采用配对t检验方法 ,P <0 .0 0 1。　结论 :去势术后 ,去除了血清中绝大部分T、FT ,而DHT仅下降5 8.3 6% ,应当继续使用雄性激素受体竞争剂 ,阻止残存的雄性激素作用     

Changes with growth hormone treatment in growth hormone deficient children

A total of 54 previously untreated patients (15 girls, 39 boys) with poor growth due to idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) were treated with human growth hormone (hGH), continuously up to 4 years. All of the patients had a peak hGH level which was below 10 ng/mL after at least two pharmacological tests and/or blunted physiologic hGH secretion, and their height was below ?2.5 s.d. for age and gender. After the 1st year of therapy, height velocity (HV) increased significantly when compared with baseline (from 3.18 ±0.76 cm/year to 9.17±1.03 cm/year; P <0.001), declined during the 2nd year and then remained significantly higher than pretreatment HV. When considering improvement in height expressed by height standard deviation score (SDS), during the therapy all of the patients showed a significant gain ± 1.72±1.09 (from ?4.11±0.61 to ?2.21±0.48). The height values were significantly higher than pretreatment, but remained below ?2 s.d. after 4 years of hGH therapy in our patients. Increased height velocity has been sustained, but height improvement after therapy was inversely correlated to height SDS for chronological age of patients at the start of therapy. In conclusion post-treatment height has been shown to be related to height deficit at the beginning of therapy. Therapy was well tolerated with no local or systemic adverse effects or acceleration of bone age.     

生长激素治疗对GHD患儿免疫功能的影响

对生长激素缺乏症（GHD）患儿生长激素（GH）治疗前后的免疫功能改变进行了观察。结果显示：（1）GHD患儿NK细胞活性明显降低，经GH治疗3个月后恢复到正常水平；（2）GHD患儿治疗前IL－1a和IL－2活性偏低，治疗后两者有逐渐增高的趋势；（3）治疗前后CD细胞亚群、sIL－2R和LPS诱生的TNFa含量均无明显变化。认为GH缺乏症患儿存在一定的免疫功能缺陷，而GH有调节其免疫功能的作用。     

High proportion of type I fibres in thigh muscle of young dancers

A previous study showed that adult female dancers have a high percentage of type I fibres in vastus lateralis. similar to that of endurance-trained female runners ar female cross-country skiers. It is not known if dancers already at an early age are characterized by a high percentage of type I fibres or develop a high percentage of type I fibres as a consequence of dance training. Furthermore. the muscle fibre composition of male dancers has not previously been studied. Therefore the aim of the study was to analyse skeletal muscle fibre characteristics in 10-year-old and 20-year-old dancers of both sexes. Age-matched boys and girls whose physical activity was average for their age groups served as controls. Muscle biopsies for histochemical analysis were obtained from vastus lateralis using the percutaneous needle technique. The major finding of the present study was that the vastus lateralis of young dancers of both sexes had a higher percentage of type I fibres than that of controls. Moreover. the higher type I percentage was seen not only in 20 year aids. but also in 10 year aids. who had begun their dance training at a professional level only a few weeks earlier. No significant difference in this respect was found between female and male dancers. In conclusion. the muscle fibre type composition in young dancers of both sexes differs from that of the average individual of the same age and is characterized by a high percentage of type I fibres.