Spiral coils for arterial occlusion

Roentgen endovascular occlusion with spiral emboli was used in 240 patients with different diseases. The introduction of spiral emboli into the arteries of abdominal and retroperitoneal organs was fulfilled through usual angiographic catheters. Duration of the arterial occlusion was checked up in the following angiographic examinations and showed the devices described to be appropriate for a continuous arterial blockade. No complications resulting from the introduction of the spiral embolus were noted.     

Comparison of the efficacy of cell preparations from embryonic ventral mesencephalon of various prenatal age transplanted intrastriatally to rats with 6-OHDA-induced Parkinsonism

Cell preparations of ventral mesencephalon obtained from 8-, 14-, and 16-17-day rat embryos were stereotactically transplanted to homologous rats with 6-hydroxydopamine-induced hemiparkinsonism. Automated analysis of apomorphine-induced motor asymmetry for 3 months after neurotransplantation revealed higher efficacy of cell preparations from 8- and lower from 16-17-day-old embryos. These data correlated with histomorphological findigs, in particular, with the size of grafts, glial reaction, and the number of dopaminergic neurons in the grafts.     

Selective accumulation of monoclonal antibodies against neurospecific enolase in brain tissue of rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion

Preparations of I¹²⁵-labeled monoclonal antibodies against neurospecific enolase and mouse plasma IgG1 were injected intravenously to rats immediately after unilateral occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. Radioactivity of I¹²⁵-labeled monoclonal antibodies against neurospecific enolase in the brain tissue progressively increased, reached a maximum by the 48th hour, and remained practically unchanged after 72 h. At the same time radioactivity of labeled IgG1 in the brain tissue and radioactivity of both preparations in the blood, liver, spleen, kidneys, heart, and lungs decreased over 72 h. Selective accumulation of I¹²⁵-labeled monoclonal antibodies against neurospecific enolase was less significant in the brain tissue of the contralateral hemisphere and cerebellum not exposed to ischemia.Translated from Byulleten Eksperimentalnoi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 138, No. 10, pp. 388–392, October, 2004     

Assessment of bioequivalence after subcutaneous and intramuscular administration of urinary gonadotrophins

The objective was to demonstrate bioequivalence between s.c. and i.m. administration of Humegon (FSH/LH ratio 1:1) and Normegon (FSH/LH ratio 3:1). In two randomized, single-centre, cross-over studies, 18 healthy volunteers on each formulation were assigned to one of the two administration sequences. Subjects were given single doses of one of the above gonadotrophins after endogenous gonadotrophin production had first been suppressed using high-dose oral contraceptive. Subsequently, rate (Cmax, tmax) and extent (AUC) of absorption of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were determined for 14 days. For Cmax and AUC, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on log-transformed data and for tmax ANOVA was performed on ranks. Intramuscular and s.c. injections of Humegon were bioequivalent with respect to the main pharmacokinetic parameters, being AUC and Cmax of FSH absorption. Intramuscular and s.c. injections of Normegon were bioequivalent with respect to the AUC of FSH and not bioequivalent with respect to the Cmax of FSH. For tmax of FSH as well as for most LH variables of both preparations, bioequivalence could not be proven due to the high intra- and interindividual variability and/or concentrations being close to the detection limit. Thus, the main pharmacokinetic FSH variables after i.m. and s.c. administration of Humegon and Normegon were bioequivalent.      

Effects of muscarine agonists and antagonists on vasopressin-stimulated water transport in the amphibian bladder

The effects of M₁ and M₂ cholinoceptors on stimulated water transport in the urinary bladder of the common frogRana temporaria L. are described. In the presence of pirenzepine, a selective M₁ cholinoceptor antagonist, carbachol stimulated water transport. Activation of M₂ cholinoceptors by oxotremorine in concentrations of 0.5–5.0 μM inhibited water transport, whereas their activation by this compound in higher concentrations (10–100 μM) stimulated it. The use of the phospholipase C inhibitor neomycin (0.5 mM) and the calmodulin inhibitor W-7 (1 mM) indicated that activation of M₂ cholinoceptors switches on phospholipid-Ca²⁺-calmodulin-dependent mechanisms. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 120, N ^o 9, pp. 252–254, September, 1995 (Presented by P. V. Sergeev, Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences)     

Induction of antibodies to methadone during methadone maintenance treatment of heroin addicts and its possible clinical implications

By means of two different types of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques, antibodies to methadone were detected in blood plasma of heroin addicts on methadone maintenance treatment. In 11-15% of cases immunoglobulin (Ig) M antibodies were detected, while IgG antibodies were observed in 33-40%. At least two types of antibodies to methadone were induced-antibodies with high affinity to methadone and low-affinity antibodies more specific for morphine than for methadone. The methadone antibody-positive group of patients had a significantly higher plasma methadone concentration--440 ng/ml, than the antibody-negative group--250 ng/ml (P < 0.005) despite almost the same mean therapeutic doses of methadone. Of patients with all types of antibodies to methadone 52% were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive, whereas in the group without antibodies, HIV-positive reactions were observed in 10.5% only (P < 0.002). Alternatively, 87.5% of HIV-positive patients had antibodies to methadone, a fact which should be taken into consideration during methadone dose adjustment.