The objective of this study was to develop an immunoassay that would be capable of detecting flunitrazepam and/or cross-reacting metabolites in urine and comparing the results with those obtained by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Doses of Rohypnol varying between 0.5 and 4 mg were given to volunteers, and urine was collected for up to two weeks postingestion. These samples were analyzed by an ELISA that was developed using an antibody raised to flunitrazepam and a drug-enzyme conjugate prepared by attaching 7-aminoflunitrazepam to horseradish peroxidase. Significant levels of flunitrazepam and/or cross-reacting metabolites were detected in urine for up to one week after ingestion. The immunoassay is selective with only diazepam cross-reacting at a level of 1000 microg/L.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A comparison of the cardiac actions of dopamine and noradrenaline in anaesthetized dogs and guinea-pig atria.

1. The positive chronotropic and inotropic actions of dopamine and noradrenaline have been compared in anaesthetized dogs and isolated guinea-pig atria. 2. Inotropic activity was measured with a strain-gauge arch in vagotomized dogs or estimated from max (dp/dt) in dogs with denervated hearts. 3. The effects of propranolol and haloperidol on the concentration-response curves to both amines were studied in isolated atria. 4. In anaesthetized vagotomized dogs noradrenaline was more potent than dopamine but dopamine appeared to have a selective inotropic action, less apparent with noradrenaline. In denervated hearts, doses of noradrenaline and dopamine which caused similar increases in max (dp/dt) also caused similar increases in heart rate. 5. In isolated atrial preparations, concentrations of dopamine and noradrenaline which produced similar increases in force of contraction also had similar chronotropic effects. 6. Propranolol produced a shift to the right of the concentration-response curves to both dopamine and noradrenaline but the antagonism of noradrenaline was quantitatively greater. Haloperidol had not effct in concentrations below those found to cause general tissue depression. 7. It is concluded that neither dopamine nor noradrenaline show any real difference in their relative inotropic and chronotropic activities in the absence of autonomic innervation.

Anesthesia↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Treatment of poststroke depression.

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Antidepressive Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Probable Alzheimer's disease: gender-related issues.

Probable Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed by exclusion when no other disorder--such as stroke, brain infection, or vitamin deficiency--can be found to account for specific cognitive change. Although probable Alzheimer's disease affects both men and women, studies in many different populations show that between 1.5 and 3 times as many women as men suffer from probable Alzheimer's disease. For women with the disease, one needs to consider behavioral and cognitive problems, therapeutic issues, and other gender-related risks. Additionally, social, psychological, and emotional variables play a role in the female caregiver's burden.

Alzheimer Disease↗