Disturbed behavior of rats suffering intrauterine hypoxia is corrected by postnatal treatment with piracetam

Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 115, No. 1, pp. 43–45, January, 1993     

Analysis of Cyclic Adenosine-3',5'-Monophosphate Levels in Structures of the “Informational” and “Motivational” Systems of the Rat Brain during Acquisition of a Conditioned Active Avoidance Reaction

Cyclic adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) levels in structures of the informational and motivational systems of the brain were measured during acquisition of a conditioned two-sided active avoidance reflex in rats. cAMP levels were measured in three groups of animals – intact animals, trained animals, and an active control group (given uncombined presentations of the conditioned (light) and unconditioned (electric shock) stimuli) – immediately after reproduction of the acquired reflex. Significant accumulation of cAMP levels in brain structures was seen in animals of the active control group in the hypothalamus and in trained animals in the left and right hippocampus and the right frontal cortex. Positive correlations were found between cAMP levels in symmetrical parts of the frontal cortex, amygdala, and hypothalamus in animals of all study groups. In addition, active control rats and trained rats showed interhemisphere and intrahemisphere correlations between cAMP levels in brain macrostructures, whose patterns were specific for each group. The pattern of correlations observed here is assessed from the point of view of the role of the informational and motivational structures in the organization of adaptive behavior.     

Amiridine (NIK-247) and cerebrocrast in the alleviation of cholinergic lesion-induced learning deficit in male rats

Learning of the male rats was impaired by injecting ethylcholine aziridinium (AF64A) bilaterally into the basal magnocellular nuclei of Meynert. The performance of the rats in a passive avoidance test and in a one-way active avoidance test was significantly improved by giving a novel acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, amiridine (NIK-247; 9-amino-2,3,5,6,7,8-hexahydro-1H-cyclopenta(b)-quinoline monohydrate hydrochloride) after each learning session but not when the drug was given before the sessions. Cerebrocrast, an antagonist of L-type calcium channels, was not effective in either case. Rather it worsened the learning results when given after the sessions of the active avoidance test. The conclusions in the passive avoidance test were hampered by the observed inconsistent effects of cholinotoxin. © 1993 wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Development of brain vessels in human embryos and fetuses in conditions of prenatal exposure to alcohol

Light and electron microscopy were used to study the characteristics of the formation of brain vascular structures at the early stages of development in conditions of maternal alcoholization during pregnancy. Computer morphometric methods using the Scion Image system for image analysis showed that fetuses at 11–12 weeks of development in conditions of prenatal alcohol exposure showed a decrease in the mean absolute cross-sectional area of vessels in the intermediate layer of the brain, with an increase in their relative area and an increase per unit area of sections, as compared with the control group. Vessels started to differentiate into arteries and veins from 10 weeks of development. __________ Translated from Morfologiya, Vol. 131, No. 2, pp. 63–66, March–April, 2007.     

Hypoglycemic Activity of the Total Ecdysteroid Extract from Ajuga turkestanica

Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journal -     

Interrelations of hyperplasia of gastric mucosa and helicobacter infection (based on data from a polyclinic center

AIM: To examine a relationship of hyperplastic processes in the gastric mucosa (GM) to Helicobacter infections. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A hundred patients aged 44 to 86 years who had gastric polyps [Group 1, foveolar hyperplasia (n = 21); Group 2, hyperplasiogenic polyps (n = 65), Group 3, adenomas (n = 14)] underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy with biopsy of the mucosa from the athrum, body, and fundus of the stomach to reveal Helicobacter pylori (Hp) and GM morphological changes. RESULTS: Hp-associated chronic gastritis was detected in 56% of the patients (66.7, 52.3, and 57.1% in Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively). The rate of Hp seeding correlated with the magnitude of inflammatory and dystrophic changes. As the regulation of epithelial growth and differentiation impairs, the magnitude of GM structural alterations increase. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that there may be a relationship between the frequency, degree of Hp infection and the pattern of GM morphological changes, which makes it expedient to use eradication therapy in this group of patients.