Ganglioside or sialic acid attenuates ethanol-induced decrements in locomotion, nose-poke exploration, and anxiety, but not body temperature.

1. This laboratory has previously reported that pretreatment with ganglioside, or even with its constituent, sialic acid (SA), can attenuate certain intoxicating effects of ethanol. It was important to see if these findings could be replicated, particularly by using other measures of ethanol effects. Herein we report that pretreatment with either gangliosides or SA attenuated ethanol-induced decrements in locomotion, nose-poke exploration, and anxiety, but not body temperature. 2. An ethanol dose of 4 gm/kg caused a temperature drop of about 3 degrees C, which was unaffected by any pretreatment. The onset to sleep, however, was delayed an average of 18 or 36 secs in mice pretreated with ganglioside or SA, respectively. Ethanol-only (4 gm/kg) depressed mean cumulative locomotor activity to 31% of normal, whereas the depression was 83% of normal with beef brain ganglioside pretreatment. At 2 gm/kg ethanol alone decreased nose poking in a hole-board test to 29% of normal, but the depression was only 55-63% of normal with SA or ganglioside pretreatment. In a staircase climbing anxiety test, this dose of ethanol had no effect by itself, but both ganglioside and SA pre-treatment increased climbing by 22%. Ethanol did depress rearing to only 11% of normal, whereas rearing was 51 and 99% of normal with SA and ganglioside pretreatment, respectively. In a dark-preference test, ethanol-only caused mice to spend 64% of the time in the light, compared to 31% for controls. Time in the light was only 39 and 46% with ganglioside and SA pretreatment, respectively. 3. Blood levels of ethanol were not significantly affected by pretreatment. 4. When given alone, gangliosides significantly stimulated locomotion and staircase climbing. SA significantly decreased rearing in the staircase test. Both gangliosides and SA tended to increase nose poking, number of crossings in the dark-preference test, and time in a lighted compartment. Thus, it is possible that some of the attenuation of intoxication is attributable to non-specific stimulant properties of gangliosides and SA.     

Percentile distributions of bone measurements in Iowa children: the Iowa Bone Development Study.

Four hundred twenty-eight white children (200 boys and 228 girls) ages 4.5-6.5 yr had spine, hip, and whole-body bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry(DXA) as part of the Iowa Bone Development Study. Anthropometric measurements, including height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were determined for each child at the time the bone measurements were made. The age- and gender-specific height percentile based on the 2000 CDC Growth Charts (www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/) was determined for each child. These percentiles were used to classify children into four groups as defined by the 25th, 50th,and 75th percentile cutpoints. Percentile distributions were determined within each height quartile group to delineate percentiles (5th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 95th) for BMD and BMC. Gender differences in BMD and BMC were investigated before and after stratification into height groups. Boys had higher age-height-weight-adjusted means for most BMD and BMC measures except spine BMD. Bone measurements increased with height quartile, indicating that taller children have greater BMD and BMC compared to shorter children of the same age and gender. Within any given quartile,mean BMD and BMC measurements were similar for boys and girls, with the exception of hip BMD, for which values were consistently higher for boys (p < 0.05). In addition, whole-body BMC values were higher for boys in quartiles 1 and 3 (p < 0.05). These bone measures provide norms for young white children and serve as a reference for comparison with other racial and ethnic groups, as well as with childhood populations that are at risk for osteopenia because of chronic disease. Gender, age, and height are useful clinical predictors of BMD and BMC in young children.     

Safer, more expensive iodinated contrast agents: how do we decide?

The advantages of the new, safer, but more expensive iodinated contrast agents are discussed, and opinions on which patient groups should receive the agents are presented.     

抗胆碱药3-(2-苯基-2-环戊基-2-羟基-乙氧基)奎宁环烷的立体化学和构效关系

研究了强效抗胆碱药dl-3-(2-苯基-2-环戊基-2-羟基-乙氧基)-奎宁环烷的四个光学异构体的两种不对称合成方法,用HPLC检测了异构体含量,讨论了构效关系。