Ventricular enlargement, clinical correlates and treatment outcome in chronic schizophrenic inpatients.

The ventricle-brain ratio (VBR) of 42 chronic schizophrenic patients was compared with that of 42 age-matched medical controls. For the schizophrenics, the relationship of various clinical parameters to the VBR was assessed, and the outcome of 12 weeks of double-blind treatment with either risperidone or haloperidol. The results confirm that schizophrenic patients have slightly enlarged lateral ventricles compared with medical controls. Only for schizophrenics, an effect of age, but not of duration of illness, was noticed. This study does not support the validity of a clinical subdivision of chronic schizophrenic patients on the basis of the VBR. Neither negative, positive nor general psychopathological symptoms, as measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for Schizophrenia (PANSS), were related to the VBR, nor were abnormal involuntary movements or extrapyramidal symptoms. No association between season of birth or a family history of major mental disorder and VBR could be demonstrated. Treatment response was predicted by the total PANSS score and the PANSS general psychopathology subscale score at baseline. There was a trend for patients with higher VBR to have a more or haloperidol). or haloperidol).     

In search of the central respiratory neurons: II. Electrophysiologic studies of medullary fetal cells inherently sensitive to CO2 and low pH.

Although extensively pursued, the central respiratory neurons have remained elusive. We departed from the more conventional physiologic and morphologic methods of system and tissue examination and cultured dissociated fetal rat cells (Fitzgerald et al., J Neurosci Res 33:579-589, 1992) from the area of the nucleus ambiguus and the nucleus tractus solitarius located within the 2 mm rostral to the obex. Pacemaker-like cells, with a regular single or bursting activity, studied at 3-5 weeks of age, responded to very small pulses of CO2 (50 ms) and low pH with an increase in spike frequency and a decrease in spike amplitude. Other irregularly beating or silent cells did not respond or else required very large pulses (> 200 ms) to do so. The pacemaker cells also responded to hypoxia induced by administration of sodium hydrosulfite with an increase in spike frequency and amplitude; high oxygen (> 600 torr) and adenosine produced a decrease in electrical activity. Most of these cells were multipolar after staining with antibodies to neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and Fragment C of tetanus toxin. They did not stain for choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). The results suggest that these cultured cells, expressing a phenotype inherently responsive to CO2 and low pH, have the characteristics of central respiratory chemoreceptors, and may be involved in the generation of the respiratory rhythm.     

Effects of epidermal growth factor in the mammalian central nervous system: Its possible implications in brain pathologies and therapeutic applications

The development and maintenance of the normal functional integrity of the mammalian central nervous system is under the influence of a number of growth and trophic factors. One such growth factor, epidermal growth factor, has been detected in the mammalian brain and found to be associated with various brain regions and cell types. This small ubiquitous polypeptide can influence the proliferation, Metabolism, and differentiation of both glia and neurons in the central nervous system. We discuss the effects of epidermal growth factor on glial and neuronal cell function in an attempt to understand its role in development and maintenance of normal brain integrity. In addition, we review its possible implications in several pathological states in the central nervous system and speculate on therapeutic applications for this growth factor. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

贯众提取液对革兰氏阳性球菌的抑菌作用

目的：了解贯众(Dryopteris crossirhizomz)不同提取液对革兰氏阳性球菌的抑菌作用。方法：分别用水以及3种不同pH值的70％乙醇为溶媒提取贯众干品以制备贯众提取液，利用打孔法和试管稀释法测定提取液对13种微生物的抑制效果。结果：每1ml含生药1g的贯众醇提液、水提液对革兰氏阳性菌有较强的抑制作用，尤其是革兰氏阳性球菌如金黄色葡萄球菌和甲型溶血性链球菌等。对革兰氏阴性菌和真菌的抑制作用较弱，但对普通变形杆菌则有较强的抑制作用。不同pH值的抽提溶剂对药物的有效抑菌成份的提出效果不同，抽提溶剂pH越小，有效成份的提出效果越好。结论：贯众醇提液、水提液对革兰氏阳性菌有较强的抑制作用，尤其是对革兰氏阳性球菌，而对革兰氏阴性菌和真菌的抑制作用则较弱。贯众的抗菌成份易溶于水，抽提效果随pH减小而增加。     

Studies of neurotrophin biology in the developing trigeminal system

The accessibility of the primary sensory neurons of the trigeminal system at stages throughout their development in avian and mammalian embryos and the ease with which these neurons can be studied in vivo has facilitated investigation of several fundamental aspects of neurotrophin biology. Studies of the timing and sequence of action of neurotrophins and the expression of neurotrophins and their receptors in this well characterised neuronal system have led to a detailed understanding of the functions of neurotrophins in neuronal development. The concepts of neurotrophin independent survival, neurotrophin switching and neurotrophin cooperativity have largely arisen from work on the trigeminal system. Moreover, in vitro studies of trigeminal neurons provided some of the first evidence that the neurotrophin requirements of sensory neurons are related to sensory modality. The developing trigeminal system has been studied most extensively in mice and chickens, each of which has particular advantages for understanding different aspects of neurotrophin biology. In this review, I will outline these advantages and describe some of the main findings that have arisen from this work.     

GluR1 and GluR2/3 subunits of the AMPA‐type glutamate receptor are associated with particular types of neurone in laminae I–III of the spinal dorsal horn of the rat

GluR1 and GluR2 subunits of the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) receptor are expressed at high levels by neurones in laminae I–III of rat spinal dorsal horn, an area which contains numerous, densely packed small neurones. In order to determine whether these subunits are expressed by inhibitory or excitatory neurones, we combined pre-embedding immunocytochemistry with antibodies that recognize either GluR1, or an epitope common to GluR2 and 3, with postembedding detection of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine. Most (78%) of the neurones with GluR1-immunoreactivity were GABA-immunoreactive, and some of these were also glycine-immunoreactive, whereas nearly all (97%) of the GluR2/3-immunoreactive neurones were not GABA- or glycine-immunoreactive. We carried out double-immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy to provide further information on the neurochemistry of cells that express these subunits. As expected, all neurotensin- and virtually all somatostatin-immunoreactive cells (which are thought to be excitatory interneurones) were GluR2/3- but not GluR1-immunoreactive, whereas parvalbumin-containing cells (most of which are GABAergic) possessed GluR1-, but usually not GluR2/3-immunoreactivity. Neurones that contained nitric oxide synthase (most of which are GABAergic) were more variable, with 57% GluR1-immunoreactive and 41% GluR2/3-immunoreactive. Cholinergic neurones in lamina III (which are also GABAergic) invariably showed each type of GluR-immunoreactivity. These results suggest that neuronal populations in laminae I–III have characteristic patterns of GluR expression: GluR1 is particularly associated with inhibitory neurones, and GluR2 with excitatory neurones. This makes it likely that some of the AMPA receptors present on the inhibitory interneurones lack the GluR2 subunit, and may therefore have significant Ca²⁺-permeability.     

Transplantation of cultured sympathetic ganglionic neurons into Parkinsonian rat brain: Survival and function of graft

Summary The superior cervical ganglia (SCG) of newborn rats, which had been cultured as expiants for varying periods of time, were transplanted into the striatum of rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway to examine the survival and functional properties of the sympathetic neurons maintained in long-term culture prior to grafting. In the rats given the SCG cultured in vitro for 2 weeks, apomorphine-induced rotational behaviour was satisfactory reduced. The rats receiving the SCG from 4-week-old cultures showed only modest behavioural changes. The grafting of the SCG cultured for 6 weeks in vitro did not affect the rotational behaviour. These behavioural data corresponded with the histological assessment of the graft survival by use of catecholamine histofluorescence. The present results suggest the critical time period in vitro which might allow the cultured sympathetic neurons to be successfully grafted.     

Fresh gas flow in the Bain circuit during laparoscopy

Twenty-two women were studied during laparoscopy with abdominal insufflation of carbon dioxide. A bain anaesthetic breathing circuit was used with a fresh gas flow (VFG) of 110 ml.min-1.kg-1, and controlled ventilation was applied with a minute ventilation (VE) of 175 ml.min-1.kg-1. Arterial blood gases were analysed at the end of the operation. Nineteen of the women (86 per cent) were found to have a PaCO2 within the range for normocapnia (i.e., 4.7-5.9 kPa (35-45 mmHg), two were hypocapnic with a PaCO2 of 4.4 and 4.5 kPa (33 and 34 mmHg) respectively and one was found to have a PaCO2 of 6.2 kPa (46.5 mmHg). It was concluded that the carbon dioxide absorbed from the abdomen during laparoscopy demands fresh gas flows that are higher than normally used in the Bain circuit if a PaCO2 within the normal range is to be obtained. A simultaneous increase in VFG and VE of about 45 per cent is sufficient to achieve normocapnia.     

Spontaneous activity of dorsal raphe neurons during defensive and offensive encounters in the tree-shrew

The general characteristics of these telemetrically recorded neurons of dorsal raphe, such as firing rate under nembutal anesthesia, reaction to illumination changes or acoustic stimuli were comparable to those in the literature. The firing rate of the dorsal raphe neurons increased during defensive encounters (+51%±29% S.D.; p<0.005) and defensive fights (+113%±91% S.D.; p<0.02) as compared to the neuronal activity of the undisturbed resting animal. The fearful interaction of the animal with the experimenter led to the strongest increase in the firing rate (+187%±114% S.D.; p<0.002) in all animals tested. The offensive animal showed decreased neuronal activity during offensive encounters (?21%±13% S.D.; p<0.02) and offensive fights (?42%±17%S.D.; p<0.05) as compared with the neuronal activity of the undisturbed resting animal. These findings indicate the crucial importance of the animals appraisal of the situational contex for the activity of dorsal raphe neurons.     

Localization of nerve-specific protein antigens on the surface membrane of neurons and glial cells of Helix pomatia

The existence of cross protein antigens common to several species of invertebrates and vertebrates on the membrane of neurons and glial cells of Helix pomatia was demonstrated in vitro by Coons' immunofluorescence method. The presence of nerve-specific protein S-100 on the membrane of these cells was established. The antigenic heterogeneity of membranes of a population of neurons also was observed. Differences were found in the concentrations of antigens on the somatic and axon membranes. The character of distribution of specific fluorescence indicates possible qualitative and (or) quantitative differences in the content of nervespecific proteins in different areas of the neuron membrane.Laboratory of Central Mechanisms of Regulation and Control, Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Siberian Branch, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Novosibirsk. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR V. P. Kaznacheev.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 88, No. 9, pp. 299–301, September, 1979.