Effects of endurance training on myosin heavy-chain isoforms and enzyme activity in the rat diaphragm

We investigated the effects of endurance training (20 m/min, 60 min/day, 5 days/week) on myosin heavy-chain (MHC) isoforms and succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) activity in rat crural and costal diaphragms, and plantaris muscles. Although the 4-week endurance training produced significant (P<0.05) increases, both in SDH activity and the percentage of isoform HCIIa in the plantaris of the trained rat compared with the sedentary control rat, these alterations did not occur in either the crural or costal diaphragms. After 10 weeks of endurance training, trained animals had significantly (P<0.05) higher SDH activity in the costal diaphragm and the plantaris. Moreover, a significant (P<0.05) decrease occurred in the percentage of HCIIb in the costal diaphragm, and a significant (P<0.01) decrease in the percentage of HCIIb concomitant with a significant (P<0.05) increase of HCIIa resulted in the plantaris. However, the crural diaphragm did not show any significant changes after 10 weeks of endurance training. These results indicate that endurance training induces an alteration in the expression of an MHC phenotype, in addition to causing an increase in oxidative enzyme activity. However, the alterations in response to endurance training are apparently not uniform, varying between regions and/or kinds of muscles.     

三甲氧桂皮酰胺类化合物的抗惊和镇静作用

观察了三个三甲氧桂皮酰胺类化合物:3,4,5-三甲氧桂皮酰异丙胺(8701)、3,4,5-三甲氧桂皮酰环戊胺(8702)和3,4,5-三甲氧桂皮酰另丁胺(8703)的抗惊和镇静作用,发现8701具有明显的影响。它能有效的对抗最大电休克发作、戊四唑和印防己毒素所引起的惊厥,但对士的宁惊厥无效。8702和8703对上述实验性癫痫均无明显影响。8701抗戊四唑惊厥作用的机制可能与其对中枢神经递质NE和5-HT的影啊有关。     

Delayed pressure urticaria

Delayed pressure urticaria (DPU) is a poorly understood syndrome. We describe 17 patients with DPU. Chronic urticaria was present in 94%. All had negative challenges for immediate demographism and cold urticaria. DPU was induced with a pressure challenge on the shoulder of 15 pounds for 15 min. Average onset of pressure lesions after challenge was 6.5. Lesions were painful, not pruritic, peaked at 9 hr, and disappeared by 24 to 48 hr. Fever, chills, and/or arthralgias occurred in 78%. Positive laboratory abnormalities included leukocytosis in 20% and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate in 37.5%. Skin biopsies of lesions showed perivascular round cell infiltrates and negative immunofluorescence. Urticaria responded to antihistamines, but not aspirin, in 100% of patients, while pressure lesions improved with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), but not antihistamines, in 80% of patients. Both urticaria and DPU were controlled with prednisone, which was necessary in 87.5% of patients. A severe nonremitting course was noted in 7%, 40% had a moderate remitting course requiring intermittent prednisone, and 53% had a mild remitting disease requiring no medication or antihistamines and/or NSAID only. We conclude that DPU is more common than previously appreciated and likely involves mediators other than histamine, possibly the prostaglandin system.     

A method for studying inhibitory activity in whole urine

Summary A method has been developed for inducing and quantifying calcium oxalate crystallisation in whole human urine. The propensity of a given urine to induce crystal formation was described in two ways: 1) its ability to resist spontaneous nucleation of calcium oxalate crystals was assessed by titrating 20 mls of the urine with increasing quantities of sodium oxalate (0–150 mol) to determine its practical metastable limit. This limit was inversely related to the endogenous calcium concentration. 2) its capacity to inhibit crystal growth was quantified by determining the rate of growth of calcium oxalate crystals precipitated in response to a fixed oxalate load (30 mol) above its metastable limit. The crystals produced were predominantly calcium oxalate dihydrate and were morphologically identical to those occurring naturally in urine. Citrate had no effect on the metastable limits of 3 urines examined, but markedly inhibited crystal growth. Pyrophosphate had a similar effect on crystal growth, and in addition, raised the metastable limit of one of the urine samples.     

Interactions between naloxone and GABA in the control of locomotor activity in the rat

Summary It was found that naloxone causes a small but significant reduction of motility. The GABA_B agonist baclofen and the GABA transaminase inhibitor-acetylenic GABA (GAG) also reduced locomotor activity. When a subeffective dose of baclofen was combined with naloxone 0.8 or 3.2 mg/kg, baclofen significantly inhibited motility beyond the inhibition caused by naloxone + saline. GAG, in a dose of 12.5 mg/kg, was also potentiated by naloxone, 3.2 mg/kg. The locomotion reducing effects of naloxone could be blocked by either picrotoxin or bicuculline. It is concluded that GABAergic mechanisms participate in the inhibition of locomotor activity provoked by naloxone. The possibility that this drug disinhibits GABAergic neurons is discussed.     

Pharmacologic specificity of tolerance to caffeine-induced stimulation of locomotor activity

The pharmacologic specificity of tolerance to caffeine-induced stimulation of locomotor activity was studied in adult male rats that were given access to either caffeine solution (0.5 or 1.0 mg/ml) or plain water for 10 min every 6 h on a chronic daily basis; daily caffeine intake averaged 41 and 62 mg/kg, respectively. Dose-effect curves were determined for behavioral stimulant and depressant drugs in control and caffeine-treated groups. Drugs were injected IP and locomotor activity was measured for 30 min beginning 35 min later. Rats tolerant to stimulation of locomotor activity by caffeine were also tolerant to theophylline and 7-(2-chloroethyl)theophylline, but not to any of six nonxanthine stimulants, including cocaine, methylphenidate, and d-amphetamine. The adenosine analogs, R(–)-N⁶-2-(phenylisopropyl)adenosine(R(–)-PIA) and 5-(N-ethyl)carboxamidoadenosine (NECA), decreased locomotor activity of control and caffeine-treated (0.5 mg/ml) rats; dose-effect curves in rats consuming caffeine chronically were displaced to the right of the control curves by 10-fold for R(–)-PIA and 100-fold for NECA. Dose-effect curves for the nonadenosine behavioral depressants chlorpromazine and diazepam were unchanged by chronic treatment with caffeine, but the curve for pentobarbital, which is thought to inhibit adenosine receptor binding, was shifted to the right by a factor of 3. Rats withdrawn from chronic caffeine for 24 h were still completely tolerant to caffeine-induced stimulation of locomotor activity. Dose-effect curves for R(–)-PIA and d-amphetamine in rats withdrawn from chronic caffeine for 24 h were not different from curves in control animals. These results indicate that tolerance to caffeine-induced stimulation of locomotor activity is specific to the methylxanthine class of stimulants and is not a property of nonxanthine psychomotor stimulants. Furthermore, the adenosine-antagonist activity of caffeine remains evident even in rats completely tolerant to the stimulant effect of caffeine. These results provide no support for the view that caffeine tolerance is due to enhanced sensitivity of central adenosine systems.A preliminary report of this work appeared in The Pharmacologist (28:140, 1986)     

In vitro H-serotonin (5-HT) synthesis and release in BALBc and C57BL mice. I. Terminal areas

"In vitro," 3H-5-HT and 3H-5-HIAA newly synthesized from 3H-TRP are measured in the caudate nucleus and the hippocampus of C57BL and BALBc mice. Higher synthesis, utilization and release are to be found in C57BL than in BALBc strain. In the hippocampus of C57BL this higher synthesis is due both to higher tryptophan hydroxylase activity and to higher tryptophan uptake ability. But in the caudate nucleus the initial accumulation of tryptophan is similar in both strains. Finally the two forms of monoamine oxidase (A and B) show also similar activities in both strain. These data will be compared to those obtained at the nerve cell body level in the paper (II).     

Routine participation in sports and fitness activities among out-patients with psychotic disorders: A multi-site cross-sectional survey in England

BackgroundSedentary lifestyle is a significant contributor to poor outcomes in people with psychotic disorders. However, little is known about the extent of routine participation in specific sports and fitness activities among those who do take part. We investigated the frequency, intensity, time and type of sports and fitness activities (“fitness”) completed by people with psychotic disorders in their daily life and explored correlates associated with fitness participation.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey among out-patients with psychotic disorders (n = 529) recruited from six different NHS sites in England. Subjective participation in fitness activities during the previous week was assessed by an adaptation of the UK Time Use Survey. The main outcome was whether participants met the minimum World Health Organization recommendations for moderate intensity physical activity (≥150 min/week) through fitness. Poisson regression models with robust error variance were used to examine associations of this outcome with participant variables.ResultsIn total, 267 (52.2%) participants reported taking part in routine fitness activities in the previous week, many of whom did so alone (n = 163, 59.1%). Only 21.5% (n = 114) completed ≥150 min of fitness activities in the previous week. The likelihood of attaining these recommendations was lower among participants who were female, older in age, in a relationship, unemployed and with fewer social contacts.ConclusionMental health services promoting physical activity interventions among people with psychotic disorders may need to modify their approaches based on previous patient preference and increase their focus on sub-groups of patients who are less likely to routinely engage in fitness activities.     

Three-Year Follow-Up of the POIBA Intervention on Childhood Obesity: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Childhood obesity has increased worldwide over the past four decades. This quasi-experimental study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a multicomponent and multilevel school-based intervention (POIBA) at 3 years of follow-up. The nutrition intervention focused on food groups, food pyramid, nutrients, portions, and balanced menus. In total, 3624 children participated in the study. Anthropometric measurements and information on food frequency and behavior, physical activity, and daily screen use were collected in the intervention (IG) and comparison group (CG). Positive unadjusted changes toward adherence to recommendations were found for water, meat, sweets, and fried potato consumption, proper breakfast, not having dinner in front of the TV, out-of-school physical activity, and daily screen use. Three scores were used to calculate the proportion of children making more than one change to improve healthy habits regarding physical activity (global Activity score), nutrition (global Nutrition score), and both (global score). Students exposed to the intervention had a significantly better global Activity score (16.2% IG vs. 11.9% CG; p = 0.012) and Global score (63.9% IG vs. 58.5% CG; p = 0.025). Intervention effects on obesity incidence at 3-year follow-up lost significance but maintained the positive trend. In conclusion, school-based interventions including a family component could be useful to address the childhood obesity problem.     

Social Distancing in Chronic Migraine during the COVID-19 Outbreak: Results from a Multicenter Observational Study

Background: The restrictions taken to control the rapid spread of COVID-19 resulted in a sudden, unprecedented change in people’s lifestyle, leading to negative consequences on general health. This study aimed to estimate the impact of such changes on migraine severity during 2020 March–May lockdown. Methods: Patients affected by migraine with or without aura, diagnosed by expert physicians, completed a detailed interview comprehensive of: assessment of migraine characteristics; measure of physical activity (PA) levels; measure of the intake frequency of main Italian foods; the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) questionnaire investigating sleep disorders. Results: We included 261 patients with a mean age of 44.5 ± 12.3 years. During social distancing, 72 patients (28%) reported a headache worsening, 86 (33%) an improvement, and 103 (39%) a stable headache frequency. A significant decrease of the PA levels during COVID-19 quarantine in the whole study sample was observed (median total metabolic equivalent task (METs) decreased from 1170 to 510; p < 0.001). Additionally, a significant difference was reported on median ISI scores (from 7 to 8; p < 0.001), which were increased in patients who presented a stable or worsening headache. Conclusions: Our study confirmed that the restrictions taken during the pandemic have affected the practice of PA levels and sleep quality in migraine. Hence, PA and sleep quality should be assessed to find strategies for an improvement in quality of life.