The proteome microenvironment determines the protective effect of preconditioning in cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury

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Experiences with psychotherapy for depression in routine care: a naturalistic patient survey in Germany

The present survey assessed consumer satisfaction of patients having undergone psychotherapy for depression as well as service characteristics including treatment access, communication of diagnosis and treatment rationale, quality assurance and adverse events. The study was conducted in the form of a 15‐item questionnaire that was published in one of Germany's leading health magazines. 473 persons responded (81.5% women, age range 17–83). 49.8% of the respondents reported substantial or reasonable improvement; two out of three patients stated they had been satisfied with their therapy. Improvement and satisfaction were greater in those patients who had been informed about diagnosis and treatment; they were lower when unpleasant experiences were reported. Methodological restrictions of the study are outlined and hypotheses about potential strengths and deficits in the delivery of psychotherapy for depression in Germany are proposed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

[3H]Ketanserin labels 5-HT2 receptors and α1-adrenoceptors in human and pig brain membranes

The binding characteristics of [3H]ketanserin (a reported selective radioligand for serotonin 5-HT2 receptors) and [125I]BE 2254 (which labels selectively alpha 1-adrenoceptors) were characterized in brain frontal cortex membranes of pig and man. Saturation experiments indicated that both radioligands label apparently a homogeneous class of binding sites in human and pig fontal cortex membranes. Competition experiments with [125I]BE 2254 using 17 agonists and antagonists showed monophasic and steep curves in human and pig frontal cortex membranes. The pharmacological profile of these sites is typical of alpha 1-adrenoceptors. In competition experiments with [3H]ketanserin, most of the tested compounds displayed shallow or biphasic curves. In particular, alpha 1-adrenoceptor-selective antagonists (prazosin, WB 4101, BE 2254...) displaced with nanomolar affinity about 15 and 40% of the specific [3H]ketanserin binding in human and pig frontal cortex membranes, respectively. The minor component of [3H]ketanserin binding correlated highly significantly with [125I]BE 2254 binding in both membrane preparations. The major component of [3H]ketanserin binding to pig and human frontal cortex membranes correlated significantly with [3H]ketanserin binding in rat brain cortex membranes (which is essentially to 5-HT2 receptors). The present data demonstrate that [3H]ketanserin in nanomolar concentrations binds significantly to alpha 1-adrenoceptors in human and pig frontal cortex membranes; this suggests a rather limited degree of selectivity of ketanserin for 5-HT2 receptors in pig and human tissues.     

Maculopapular eruption with enlarged macrophages in eight patients receiving G-CSF or GM-CSF

In the last years, granulocyte and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF and GM-CSF) are being increasingly used and several cutaneous eruptions have been reported in relation to these treatments. In 1991 Horn et al. described three patients with maculopapular eruption that paralleled the time of infusion of GM-CSF. Two of the cases showed an increase in the number and size of macrophages in the biopsy specimen. Since then, several cases have been reported showing this histopathological alteration that has been considered characteristic of reaction to G-CSF or GM-CSF. Although maculopapular eruption with enlarged macrophages can appear after chemotherapy treatment, we have found that the presentation of this eruption after the beginning of cytokine treatment is suggestive of the involvement of G-CSF and GM-CSF in the eruption. We described eight cases of patients treated with G-CSF or GM-CSF that developed maculopapular eruptions with enlarged macrophages.     

Object recognition by component features: are there age differences.

This study extended aspects of Biederman's (1987) recognition-by-components (RBC) theory to the analysis of age differences in the recognition of incomplete visually-presented objects. RBC theory predicts that objects are recognizable or recoverable under conditions of fragmentation if a sufficient amount of essential structural information remains available. Objects are rendered nonrecoverable by the omission or obstruction of essential structural features at vertices and areas of concavity. Fifteen young adults and 15 older adults participated in a study of the effects of amount (25%, 45%, 65%) and type of fragmentation (recoverable, nonrecoverable) on object naming. Age-related declines in recognizing incomplete objects were associated with the amount of fragmentation, but type of fragmentation did not affect the performance of older adults. For the young adults, accuracy of performance was affected by both amount and type of fragmentation, consistent with Biederman's RBC theory. These results were interpreted as suggesting that age-related declines in perceptual closure performance have to do with non-structural factors such as the ability to inferentially augment degraded or missing visual information.