Norepinephrine transporter and α2c adrenoceptor allelic variants and personality factors

It has been suggested that reward dependence, as measured by the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ), is related to central noradrenergic activity, a proposition supported by two studies of urinary norepinephrine metabolite. In the current investigation, 190 normal young Han Chinese were examined, with genetic polymorphisms determined for the norepinephrine transporter (1287G/A) and the α_2c‐adrenoceptor (Del322–325) to test the association with TPQ personality traits. No significant association was demonstrated for these two polymorphisms and any of the TPQ personality‐factor scores, including reward dependence and its subscales. Our negative findings suggest that the investigated polymorphisms of the norepinephrine transporter and the α_2c adrenoceptor do not play a major role in the reward‐dependence personality trait as assessed by TPQ. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

中心性浆液性脉络膜视网膜病变的PERG．PVEP

用自制的银氯化银钩形电极记录PERG,同步记录PVEP,对照组各波潜伏时,波幅与国外报告结果近似。中浆患眼40%P_m波下降,且与视力下降相关(r>r.05)。b波下降者仅15%,与视力不相关。两者反应的不同,提示PERG较少受外层视网膜病变的影响,能够直接反映内层视网膜的机能状态。但P_m波延迟者,b波多不延迟,未能证明视网膜内传导迟滞。     

572例近视眼患者中央角膜厚度测量报告

本文作者在572例(1144只眼)近视眼患者拟行角膜放射状切开(RK)手术前,对角膜不同部位厚度进行了测量,对其值作统计学处理,均值及标准差为0.527±0.037mm,标准误为0.002,说明我国95％的近视眼患者中央角膜厚度范围为0.455—0.600mm。提示我国成人各年龄组左、右眼角膜厚度与左、右眼屈光度、性别、眼别无关。强调RK手术前对角膜厚度测量的重要性,但手术预后优劣为多因素所致。     

A New Approach to Percutaneous Subclavian Venipuncture to Avoid Lead Fracture or Central Venous Catheter Occlusion

Pacemaker and defibrillator leads and central venous catheters placed by commonly recommended techniques have been found to pass through the subclavius muscle, the costocaracoid ligament, or the costoclavicular ligament before entering veins medial to the first rib. Entrapment by these soft tissues subjects leads and catheters to stresses imposed by movements of the ipsilateral upper extremity. Accordingly, a new approach has been developed that introduces the lead or catheter into the subciavian vein near the lateral border of the first rib. This placement avoids soft tissue entrapment and may extend the longevity of leads and catheters.     

Primary orthostatic tremor is an exaggeration of a physiological response to instability.

Primary orthostatic tremor (POT) is a rare disorder characterised by an intense sense of unsteadiness upon standing and a 16-Hz tremor in which the timing between tremor bursts in different muscles (unilateral and bilateral) remains constant. Hitherto, similar EMG activity has not been described in healthy subjects and it has been postulated that the oscillations seen in POT are primarily pathological. In this study, EMG was recorded from tibialis anterior in healthy subjects who were made unsteady through vestibular galvanic stimulation or leaning backwards. Under these conditions, a peak at approximately 16 Hz was seen in the coherence between the left and right tibialis anterior. This bilateral coherence was absent when the subjects activated the same muscles when not unsteady. These data indicate the existence of a physiological system involved in organising postural responses under circumstances of imbalance and characterised by a highly synchronised output at approximately 16 Hz. In addition, the results suggest that the core abnormality in POT may be an exaggerated sense of unsteadiness when standing still, which then elicits activity from a 16-Hz oscillator normally engaged in postural responses.     

Ultrastructure of the periaqueductal grey matter of the rat: an electron microscopical and horseradish peroxidase study.

The neurons of the mesencephalic periaqueductal grey substance (PAG) in the rat are small and medium sized. The cells are frequently located in small clusters, without interdigitating glial elements and may be connected by direct membrane appositions or by gap junctions. The inner zone of the PAG is cell poor. In many cases, the cytoplasm of the cells is filled with extensive rough endoplasmic reticulum, free ribosomes, Golgi apparatus, and large lysosome-like granules. The nuclei show large indentations. The cells have a high nucleus-cytoplasm ratio. The neuropil is very extensive and particularly rich in large numbers of small unmyelinated axons, dendrites, axonal varicosities, and synaptic connections. Myelinated fibres are relatively scarce. The orientation of the fibres was studied in transverse and horizontal sections, in combination with HRP track tracing experiments. It appeared that throughout the PAG most of the fibres were orientated longitudinally. Quantitation showed that most fibres were present in the inner zones of the PAG. Moreover, the diameter of the fibres adjacent to the aqueduct was smaller than that of the fibres in the peripheral parts of the PAG. The thin unmyelinated fibres made extensive synaptic connections within the PAG. Many synaptic varicosities were found in the neuropil of the PAG. There were four types of synaptic varicosities, characterized by different populations of clear and dense-core secretory granules and by the different morphology of the synaptic specializations. In general, the different types of varicosity were homogeneously distributed in the different parts of the PAG. Electron dense secretory granules, when present, were located at some distance from the synaptic junction. Serial sections revealed varicosities which contained only dense-core secretory granules, without synaptic specializations. The dendrites of PAG neurons generally lacked synaptic spines. Many dendrites, particularly those of neurons located in the peripheral parts of the PAG, were directed toward the aqueduct. The present study shows that the PAG is a very complex brain area. The crisscrossing of axons and dendrites with synaptic connections at considerable distances from the cell bodies render it very difficult to unravel the relationships between the possible sources and destinations of ongoing information. This structure complicates the search for relationships between the functional organization and the cytoarchitectural borders in the PAG area.     

运动性中枢疲劳及乳酸对大鼠大脑皮质神经细胞MCT mRNA表达的影响

目的:探讨运动性中枢疲劳时大鼠大脑皮质MCT1、MCT2mRNA表达的变化以及乳酸对大鼠大脑皮质神经元MCT2mRNA表达的影响。方法:12只Wistar大鼠随机分为对照组和力竭训练1周组,每组6只。通过7天力竭训练建立中枢疲劳模型,观察中枢疲劳时大鼠大脑皮质MCT1、MCT2mR-NA表达变化;采用原代培养的大鼠大脑皮质神经元,观察不同浓度乳酸作用后大鼠大脑皮质神经元MCT2mRNA表达的变化。采用Trizol法提取大脑皮质和神经元总RNA;用SYBRAgreenI荧光定量RT-PCR测定MCT1及MCT2mRNA表达变化。结果:整体水平:力竭训练1周组MCT1mRNA表达无明显变化,而MCT2mRNA表达较对照组显著升高6·35±3·54倍(P<0·05)。细胞水平:乳酸作用后,神经元MCT2mRNA表达在pH=7·25时较对照组(pH=7·35组)升高3·08±2·38倍(P<0·05)。但随着乳酸浓度进一步升高,MCT2mRNA表达无明显增加。结果提示,中枢疲劳可能引发大脑皮质神经元MCT2mRNA表达升高,MCT2基因表达可能与乳酸在中枢疲劳中的作用有关。     

多层面CT重建诊断中央大气道良性病变

目的 :分析多层面CT三维重建诊断中央大气道良性病变的价值。材料和方法 :用多层面CT对 3 5例中央气道良性病变 (解剖性异常 5例 ,炎症性病变 18例及其它 12例 )扫描 ,并全部完成三维表面遮盖显示、容积显示和仿真内窥镜检查。所有病例第一次读片时仅有横断面图像 ,第二次读片时增加重建图像。结果 :三维重建帮助 4例横断面漏误诊的解剖性异常获得确诊 ,16例炎症性病变进一步详细显示 ,2例气管支气管裂伤明确范围和程度 ;虚拟内窥镜帮助 5例横断面上不能确诊的痰液获得确诊。结论 :CT三维重建可用于解剖性异常和痰液的诊断 ,对其它良性疾病主要是对病变的另一种形式的进一步显示。     

CLINICAL NEUROPHARMACOLOGY OF CALCIUM ANTAGONISTS

Summary— Experimental and clinical data clearly demonstrate that calcium antagonists (CA) may have an action on the central nervous system (CNS). The cerebrovascular action of CA justifies their use in cerebral ischaemia, vasospasm and hypoxia. Several clinical trials have demonstrated such beneficial effects. On the other hand a number of reports indicate that CA may have a direct neuronal effect, although most of such trials have not been verified or are mere case reports. In addition, the large number of conditions susceptible to being corrected by CA is impressive: epilepsy, pain, dystonia, dyskinesia, psychiatric conditions, etc. Other papers are disconcerting that report extrapyramidal disorders induced by flunarizine and cinnarizine in the elderly, whereas nicardipine does not produce such side effects and may even alleviate some parkinsonian symptoms. In various experimental models (e.g. stroke, oedema), pharmacological effects have been shown to vary from one compound to the other. Two main questions are yet to be answered: 1) has the direct neuronal effect of CA been clearly established? 2) are the multiple clinical effects on the CNS really linked to calcium antagonism?