Effects of hypothermia on testicular ischemia

The ischemic effects of prolonged testicular torsion have been well documented; however, prevention or arrest of the damaging effects of prolonged ischemia has been incompletely studied. Two groups of Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to varying lengths of bilateral testicular ischemia. Group I underwent normothermic ischemia for two, four, and six hours. Likewise, Group II underwent similar time periods of ischemia, however, after thirty minutes of normothermic ischemia the scrotum of each animal was placed into an ice bath maintained at 4C. Two weeks postoperatively, bilateral orchiectomy was performed. Histology of the testes of the two groups was compared. Neither group revealed significant destruction of the germinal epithelium after two hours of ischemia. Group I revealed only 25% preservation of the germinal epithelium at four hours and only 8% preservation at six hours of ischemia. In contrast, Group II which received ice showed 90% preservation of germinal epithelium at four hours and 85% preservation at six hours of ischemia. We conclude that external ice application significantly preserves seminiferous tubules at four and six hours of ischemic injury in the rat testicle.     

Different effects of unilateral versus bilateral subthalamic nucleus stimulation on walking and reaching in Parkinson's disease.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of unilateral versus bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation on quantitative measures of walking and reaching in Parkinson's disease (PD). We used kinematic measures and the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor subscale (subscale III) to evaluate the movement of 6 people with PD who had bilateral STN stimulators implanted for at least 6 months and withheld their anti-parkinson medication for at least 8 hours. Subjects were studied with both stimulators off, one on, and both on. Kinematic data were collected as subjects walked, reached to a target, and were rated using the UPDRS motor subscale. STN stimulation improved walking speed and stride length, with the greatest benefit from bilateral stimulation. Reaching speed was improved by unilateral STN stimulation alone, with no additive effect of bilateral stimulation. UPDRS motor subscale ratings paralleled the kinematic findings. STN stimulation did not restore PD subjects' movements to the level of age-matched controls. Overall, these results provide further evidence that the basal ganglia pathways involved in control of walking and reaching may be distinct. We speculate that basal ganglia may influence walking through bilateral pedunculopontine projections and reaching through ipsilateral thalamocortical projections. Our findings also suggest that maximal improvement of walking requires bilateral rather than unilateral STN stimulation.     

Preparation and biological activity of new substituted antimalarial diaminodiphenylsulfones

Starting from 4,4'-diamino-diphenylsulfone (DDS) as a lead structure, new 2-substituted analogues as well as new 2-substituted 4-alkylamino-4'-amino diphenylsulfones have been designed and synthetized in different ways. This has led to compounds the inhibitory activity of which against 7,8-dihydropteroic acid synthase of plasmodia and mycobacteria is clearly superior to that of sulfadoxine and in most cases to that of DDS. Of special interest is 4'-amino-4-n-propylamino-2-methyl-diphenylsulfone. Together with inhibitors of 7,8-dihydrofolate reductase in vitro and in vivo it possesses a marked synergistic inhibitory activity against plasmodia. In contrast to DDS in doses up to 200 mg/kg p.o. (cat) no methemoglobin formation is observed. The compound has been selected for further studies.     

Expression of Eph receptor tyrosine kinases and their ligands in human Granulosa lutein cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Corpus luteum development is regulated by gonadotropins and accompanied by extremely rapid vascularization of the avascular granulosa cell compartiment by endothelial cells (EC). The proliferation of Granulosa cells (GC) and EC is a complex interplay and takes place in a spatially and temporarily coordinated manner. The erythropoietin-producing hepatoma amplified sequence (Eph) receptors and their ligands-the ephrins- are a recently detected family of membrane located protein tyrosine kinases which play a crucial role in the growth and development of nerve and blood vessel network. We report about the mRNA expression pattern of Ephs and their ligands in human GC, in human EC, and in carcinoma cell lines OvCar-3 and Hela. The mRNA of EphA4, EphA7, ephrinA4, ephrinB1 and ephrinB2 was detected in GC and EC, while EphA2 was expressed only in GC. The expression of various Ephs and ephrins did not change in GC after stimulation with human chorion gonadotropin. Our study analyzes for the first time the expression of the complete human Eph/ephriny-system in GC and in EC. The remarkable similarity between these two cell types supports the theory of a functional relationship of EC and GC. In addition, it was shown that hCG is not a major determinant of Eph/ephrin regulation in GC.     

Untersuchungen zur Riechfunktion vor und nach funktionell-?sthetischer Nasenoperation

Hintergrund. In der vorgestellten Studie sollte untersucht werden, inwiefern es infolge funktionell-?sthetischer Eingriffe an der Nase zu Ver?nderungen der Riechschwelle kommen kann und ob diese Ver?nderungen von Patienten subjektiv auch wahrgenommen werden k?nnen.     

Identifying the affected hemisphere by 1H-MR spectroscopy in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and no pathological findings in high resolution MRI

Up to 30% of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) remain without remarkable changes in MRI. In this study we investigated the role of (1)H-MR spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) in lateralizing the affected hemisphere in the mentioned patient group. Twenty-two consecutive patients diagnosed with TLE were investigated by high resolution MRI and (1)H-MRS. We examined the incidence and diagnostic accuracy of temporal metabolite alterations determined by Linear Combination of Model Spectra (L C Model) via water reference. Metabolite values of each hemisphere of TLE patients were compared with healthy controls. Results of metabolite alterations were related to intensive video EEG focus localization. Reduction of N-acetylaspartate + N-acetylaspartyl-glutamate (tNAA) in the affected hemisphere revealed identification in six of nine patients (66%) with unilateral TLE. Group comparison revealed a significant reduction of tNAA (6.1+/-0.8*) in the involved temporal lobe compared with controls (6.67+/-0.4*, P=0.026). Choline levels were significantly increased in the affected hemisphere (1.42+/-0.17*) compared with healthy controls (1.22+/-0.17*, P=0.035). The results of our study show that (1)H-MRS is able to identify the affected hemisphere of MRI negative TLE patients and can be used as an additive tool in multimodal focus localization.     

Acute cardiovascular effects of tranylcypromine: correlation with plasma drug, metabolite, norepinephrine, and MHPG levels

BACKGROUND: Recent case reports, small series, and uncontrolled, unblinded studies have suggested that tranylcypromine may produce pressor reactions in some patients. However, the physiologic mechanism underlying this cardiovascular change is unknown. METHOD: The authors studied the acute cardiovascular effects of tranylcypromine in 13 patients and attempted to correlate these changes with plasma measures of parent drug, possible pressor metabolites, norepinephrine, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol. RESULTS: Significant elevations in supine blood pressure occurred after administration of tranylcypromine and correlated with tranylcypromine dose. Similar changes were not observed in standing blood pressure measurements. In fact, an orthostatic decrease in blood pressure and increase in heart rate were observed. Amphetamine-like metabolites were not found. CONCLUSIONS: The authors speculate on possible mechanisms underlying these opposite cardiovascular effects.