Olfaction in essential tremor patients with and without isolated rest tremor.

An olfactory deficit is present in patients with essential tremor (ET), but it is often milder than that in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). In both, the deficit occurs early in the disease. Isolated rest tremor without other signs of parkinsonism can occur in patients with ET. If the rest tremor in these patients represents a manifestation of ET rather than early PD, we hypothesized that their University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) scores would be similar to those of ET patients without rest tremor. The mean UPSIT score in 13 ET patients with isolated rest tremor did not differ from that of 58 ET patients without rest tremor (29.3 +/- 4.3 vs. 29.4 +/- 6.4; P = 0.69). Several ET patients with rest tremor had UPSIT scores that fell outside of the range that is seen in 95% of patients with PD. These data raise the possibility that some ET patients with isolated rest tremor may not have early PD and that the pathological process that is responsible for their ET is also involving the basal ganglia.     

Central processing of sex pheromone,host odour,and oviposition deterrent information by interneurons in the antennal lobe of female Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Physiological and anatomical characteristics of antennal lobe interneurons in female Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) were investigated using intracellular recording and staining techniques. Responses of local interneurons and projection neurons to female sex pheromone components, host plant odours, and behaviourally active oviposition deterrents were recorded. We found local interneurons and projection neurons that responded specifically to only one or two of the tested odours, but we also found less specific cells, and neurons that responded to most of the tested odourants. These findings show that there are not only specific olfactory pathways in female moths up to the protocerebral level, but also that integration can begin in the antennal lobe. No correlation was found between the degree of specificity of either local interneurons or projection neurons and their respective morphological characteristics. Specialized and unspecialized local interneurons arborized throughout the antennal lobe. Specialized and unspecialized projection neurons had uniglomerular arborizations in the antennal lobe and sent their axons to the calyces of the mushroom body, and to the lateral horn of the protocerebrum. One specific projection neuron had multiglomerular arborizations and projected only to the lateral horn of the protocerebrum. Projection neurons arborizing in the glomeruli closest to the entrance of the antennal nerve always responded to pheromone components. No other correlations were found between the arborization pattern of projection neurons in the antennal lobe or in the protocerebrum and their response characteristics. The sensitivity of local interneurons and projection neurons was in the same range as that of receptor neurons in olfactory sensilla on the antennae, suggesting a much lower convergence in the central nervous system in females than in the pheromone-processing pathway in males. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

On the pharmacological phenocopying of memory mutations inDrosophila: Alkylxanthines accelerate memory decay

Theophylline and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, two cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitors, when fed to wild-typeDrosophila adults, cause the rapid decay of learning index after training in a shock-odor learning paradigm. The drugs practically do not affect the olfactory acuity of flies, hence they influence the learning/memory process itself. The time courses of memory decay resemble those of the memory mutantsrutabaga andamnesiac and, to a lesser extent,dunce ² anddunce ^M11. Theophylline further deteriorates the learning performance ofdunce ^M11. Biochemical characterization of the inhibition of the two major phosphodiesterase isoenzymes inDrosophila by theophylline predicts only a slight inhibition of these enzymesin vivo, in accordance with the unchanged level of cAMP in wild-type fly heads during drug feeding. 8-Phenyltheophylline, an adenosine receptor antagonist in mammals, slightly retards memory decay in the wild-type. It is suggested that alkylxanthines induce memory decay inDrosophila by interfering with cAMP dynamics at more than one point of its metabolism.This work was supported by Grants OTKA and OKKFT Tt to P.F.     

基于气体传感器阵列技术的中医电子鼻研究

基于第3代薄膜型气体传感器阵列技术的中医电子鼻(WES-ENO11103-A)是福建中医药大学客座教授吴青海自主研发的新型嗅诊仪。本文对电子鼻的基本组成和工作原理、医用电子鼻技术的发展概况、薄膜型气体传感器阵列技术的特点、自主研发的中医电子鼻简况及前期实验结果进行了介绍,以期为中医临床诊断提供无创、科学、简便、快捷的嗅诊仪器,推动中医诊断技术的发展。     

嗅觉味觉功能的临床检测

目的:探讨嗅觉障碍患者嗅觉和味觉功能的改变。方法:284例受试者中,健康人92例,嗅觉功能减退92例,嗅觉功能丧失100例,分别采用T&T、嗅觉事件相关电位(OERPs)及三滴法进行嗅觉和味觉功能检测。结果:T&T结果,嗅觉功能减退和丧失患者跟健康人比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。OERPs结果显示,嗅觉功能障碍患者跟健康人比较N1、P2波潜伏期延长且振幅降低,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。三滴法结果显示,嗅觉功能障碍患者跟健康人比较味觉功能有明显减退,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。各组之间男女比较差异无统计学意义。结论:嗅觉功能障碍患者同时伴有味觉功能的减退,嗅觉和味觉功能的减退与性别关联不大。嗅觉味觉的联合检查可以全面系统反映受试者的化学感觉功能,为临床诊断和治疗提供科学依据。     

The Early Years of Drosophila Chemosensory Genetics in Mumbai's Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

Abstract: Some of the very first chemosensory mutants in Drosophila were generated in screens done in the 1970s at Obaid Siddiqi's lab in Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. This is a personal account of some of the early work with these mutants, which led to their physiological and molecular characterization. The author also touches upon the significance of these mutants for understanding subsequent work in Drosophila chemosensory biology.     

Quantitative analysis of pheromone‐binding protein specificity

Many pheromones have very low water solubility, posing experimental difficulties for quantitative binding measurements. A new method is presented for determining thermodynamically valid dissociation constants for ligands binding to pheromone‐binding proteins, using β‐cyclodextrin as a solubilizer and transfer agent. The method is applied to LUSH, a Drosophila odorant‐binding protein that binds the pheromone 11‐cis vaccenyl acetate (cVA). Refolding of LUSH expressed in Escherichia coli was assessed by measuring N‐phenyl‐1‐naphthylamine (NPN) binding and Förster resonance energy transfer between LUSH tryptophan 123 (W123) and NPN. Binding of cVA was measured from quenching of W123 fluorescence as a function of cVA concentration. The equilibrium constant for transfer of cVA between β‐cyclodextrin and LUSH was determined from a linked equilibria model. This constant, multiplied by the β‐cyclodextrin‐cVA dissociation constant, gives the LUSH‐cVA dissociation constant: ～100 nM. It was also found that other ligands quench W123 fluorescence. The LUSH‐ligand dissociation constants were determined to be ～200 nM for the silk moth pheromone bombykol and ～90 nM for methyl oleate. The results indicate that the ligand‐binding cavity of LUSH can accommodate a variety ligands with strong binding interactions. Implications of this for the Laughlin, Ha, Jones and Smith model of pheromone reception are discussed.