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Biomedical subjects

B Berger

Publications and source records attributed to B Berger.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Primary hyperparathyroidism in dogs: 21 cases (1976-1986).

Case records from 21 dogs with hypercalcemia and hyperparathyroidism were evaluated. The dogs were greater than or equal to 7 years old, and 6 were Keeshonds. The most common clinical signs were polydipsia/polyuria, listlessness, and muscle weakness. The serum calcium concentrations were 12.1 to 19.6 mg/dl. Serum phosphorus concentrations were low in 5 dogs, within the reference range in 13 dogs, and high in 3 dogs that also had high concentrations of BUN. Twenty dogs had a parathyroid adenoma, and 1 had a parathyroid carcinoma. Nineteen dogs had their parathyroid tumor surgically removed. Within 5 days of tumor removal, 11 of the 19 dogs became hypocalcemic and the remaining 8, normocalcemic. Nine of the 11 hypocalcemic dogs developed clinical signs. Iatrogenic hypercalcemia was induced in 7 of 16 dogs treated orally with calcium carbonate plus vitamin D. Only 1 of 19 dogs that had their parathyroid tumor excised died in hypocalcemic tetany. Two additional dogs died within 2 weeks of surgery, one because of pancreatitis, the other due to renal failure. Eight dogs died 9 to 37 months after surgery of unrelated problems. Eight dogs were alive for at least 7 to 28 months after surgery.

Adenoma↗

Postnatal sequential development of dopaminergic and enkephalinergic perineuronal formations in the lateral septal nucleus of the rat correlated with local neuronal maturation.

Tyrosine-hydroxylase (TH-IR) and methionine-enkephalin like immunoreactivity (MetE-IR) were analyzed in the lateral septal nucleus (LSN) of the rat from birth (PO) to adulthood. TH-IR labeled specifically the dopaminergic (DA) pericellular arrangements of the LSN, as checked by negative dopamine-beta-hydroxylase and phenylethanolamine-N-methyl transferase-IR. TH-IR and Met-IR processes were present at birth in the medial LSN and extended lateralwards and caudalwards from P0 to P6 to constitute two main DA terminal fields (medial and lateral) surrounding a MetE one. Within these fields, the development of perineuronal baskets followed a similar medial to lateral sequence: DA axons first surrounded a few neuronal cell bodies at P3 in the medial part of the intermediate LSN; at P6, Met-IR axons encircled more laterally located perikarya, and only at P9, some neurons located along the ventricle in the lateral DA field became surrounded. The initial aspect of TH-IR baskets consisting of few axons surrounding the cell body rapidly evolved in a positive network encapsulating the perikaryon and long segments of the proximal dendrites, whereas MetE-IR varicosities remained restricted around the perikaryon and the initial dendritic segments. Ultrastructural study at P14 revealed numerous TH-IR and MetE-IR axosomatic and axodendritic profiles. TH-IR axosomatic varicosities exhibited asymmetrical synapses, whereas MetE-IR ones displayed rare symmetrical contacts. The medio-lateral gradient of development of the perineuronal baskets was parallel to the postnatal neuronal development of the LSN as evaluated by cytological criteria: neuronal density, cell size and Nissl staining. Therefore, the formation of DA and MetE perineuronal arrangements in the LSN does not seem to be subordinate to the nature of the neurotransmitter they contain but related to the level of differentiation of their target neurons. A similar sequential set-up in the development of afferences paralleling the neuronal differentiation is discussed.

Animals↗

Biochemical and radioautographic evidence for dopaminergic afferents of the locus coeruleus originating in the ventral tegmental area.

The dopamine (DA) content of the locus coeruleus (LC) and the uptake of tritiated DA in the presence of desmethylimipramine into fresh vibratome sections of the LC-area were determined in control rats and in rats whose ventral tegmental area (VTA) had been destroyed by local application of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Destruction of the VTA reduced the DA content and the number of dopaminergic fibers visualized by radioautography in the LC area. This indicates that the DA containing afferents of the LC originate, at least partly, in the VTA.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗

Regional and laminar density of the dopamine innervation in adult rat cerebral cortex.

The topographic distribution and density of the dopamine innervation in adult rat cerebral cortex were investigated by means of a recently improved radioautographic procedure for the light microscopic visualization and counting of monoamine axonal varicosities. Dopamine terminals were specifically labeled by high-affinity uptake in whole cerebral hemisphere slices incubated for 15 min at 35 degrees C with 10(-6) M tritiated dopamine in the presence of 10(-4) M pargyline and 5 X 10(-6) M desipramine. The slices were subsequently fixed, embedded in Epon and processed for light microscope radioautography as large 4-micron-thick (whole hemisphere) or smaller, semi-thin sections (selected areas). In radioautographs of serial semi-thin sections exposed for various periods of time, the number of labeled axonal varicosities reached a plateau after 12-14 days of exposure. Counts on such sections of increasing thickness allowed to calculate a correcting factor to transform numbers obtained from 4-micron-thick sections into their equivalent for a tissue thickness of 0.5 micron from which all varicosities were detected. The number of labeled varicosities could then be expressed per mm3 of tissue after measuring their mean caliper diameter in electron microscope radioautographs. As visualized at 3 transverse levels representing most of the major cytoarchitectonic divisions of cerebral cortex, two novel aspects were recognized in the topographic distribution of dopamine terminal: (1) the presence of a dopamine innervation in layer VIb of the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital neocortex, and (2) a significant contingent of dopamine varicosities within the deep and not only upper layers of supragenual cingulate cortex. A fair number of dopamine varicosities were also detected in the upper layers of the dorsomedial frontal area, in the retrosplenial and adjacent occipital cortex as well as in the ventral subiculum and field CAl of the hippocampus. As measured in 10 sectors representing different cortical regions, the highest density of dopamine innervation was found in the supragenual cingulate cortex (1.7 X 10(6] and particularly in its layers II and III (3.1 X 10(6)). A slightly lower density was measured in the anteromedian "prefrontal" cortex (1.0 X 10(6)). The rostrorhinal and the perirhinal cortex showed moderate dopamine innervation (3.0 and 5.5 X 10(5)) with varicosities in every layer. The piriform and the posterior entorhinal cortex were also moderately and ubiquitously innervated (2.5 and 3.0 X 10(5)).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

Somatostatin 28 and neuropeptide Y innervation in the septal area and related cortical and subcortical structures of the human brain. Distribution, relationships and evidence for differential coexistence.

Somatostatin 28- and neuropeptide Y-containing innervations were mapped in the human medial forebrain (eight control brains) with immunohistochemistry, using the sensitive avidin-biotin-peroxidase method. Peptidergic perikarya and fibers had an extensive distribution: they were densest in the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis) and infralimbic cortex, of intermediate density in the medial septal area and of lowest density in the dorsal and caudal lateral septal nucleus. Somatostatin-like immunoreactive perikarya and fibers were generally more numerous than the neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactive ones, but more faintly labeled. Their pattern of distribution was strikingly similar in some of the limbic structures studied but clearly distinct in others. Excellent overlap of neuropeptide Y and somatostatin-like immunoreactivity was detected in: (1) the medial septal area, where innervation occasionally formed perivascular clusters; (2) the nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle, characterized by dense patchy innervation; and (3) the laterodorsal septal nucleus, scarcely innervated. In the latter structures, most peptidergic neurons were double-labeled. On the other hand, both peptidergic innervations clearly differed in the lateroventral septal nucleus and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis which contained distinct clusters of somatostatin-like immunoreactive neurons devoid of neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactivity. Also, the perineuronal and peridendritic axonal plexuses ('woolly fibers') present in these structures were only labeled with somatostatin. In the infralimbic cortex, the relation between the peptides varied according to the cortical laminae. Coexistence of somatostatin and neuropeptide Y frequently occurred in layer VI and in the subcortical white matter, whereas layer V and particularly layers II and III contained a contingent of neurons labeled only with somatostatin. Dense horizontal terminal networks in layers I and VI however were similar for both peptides. These findings support the existence of two different types of somatostatin-like immunoreactive perikarya as regards colocalization with neuropeptide Y. Their particular topographical segregation within the cortical and subcortical structures analysed suggest that they could have different connections and functional properties.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult↗

N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate: a supplement to endoscopic sclerotherapy.

We report on our two years' experience with the tissue adhesive n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate. During this period 202 patients suffering from esophagogastric varices were treated endoscopically. With the aid of the tissue adhesive the conventional sclerotherapy with Polidocanol 1% has been clearly improved. Problems concerning early recurrent bleeding and fundic varices are satisfactorily solved. The endoscopic hemostasis of severe variceal bleedings has become safer and surer. The overall hospital mortality of these patients has sunk from 31.5 to 17.5%. Cyanoacrylate is a very useful substance for obliterating large esophagogastric varices. However, the complete elimination of esophageal varices, which is the guarantee for a long-term freedom from recurrent bleeding, can only be achieved by using a genuine sclerosing agent.

Enbucrilate↗

[Recent contributions concerning the development and distribution of dopaminergic innervation in the cerebral cortex of the rat].

Tyrosine hydroxylase was used as an immunocytochemical marker of dopaminergic axons in the cerebral cortex either in fetuses or in postnatal life after lesion of the noradrenergic input. The lesion was controlled by the absence of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase immunoreactivity. Fluorescence histochemistry also allowed the specific visualization of the dopaminergic system following uptake of exogenous amines in tissue sections in presence of selective high affinity transport inhibitors. Two main dopaminergic (DA) subpopulations reach the medial cortex of the rat: 1) a deep one, first detected in the anterior frontal cortex on day 16 of embryonic life, was well developed at birth and extended caudally in layer V and/or layer VI toward the splenium of corpus callosum; 2) a superficial one was detected in layer I of the anterior cingulate cortex (area 24) on postnatal day 3 to 5 and invaded layer III from day 6 to 14. The adult distribution pattern and striking varicose aspect were not reached until day 21 to 30. In addition to these medial fields, a dopaminergic innervation of low density was detected laterally along a dorsal sagittal strip which encompassed several distinct cytoarchitectonic areas in the sensorimotor and visual cortex (medial and lateral agranular field, area 18b) as well as in discrete zones of the retrosplenial granular 29c, b, and agranular 29d areas. Several characteristics of this newly observed DA input were similar to that of the superficial field described in the anterior cingulate cortex; these similarities suggested that the subpopulation of DA neurons which provides projections to the anterior cingulate cortex could also contribute to the motor and visual cortex and thus play a role in sensorimotor integration. A DA terminal field was also demonstrated in the temporal part (ventral and caudal) of the hippocampal formation, the subiculum especially the prosubiculum and the adjacent CA1 hippocampal field being the main targets. This DA terminal field in the hippocampal formation matches with the area which projects toward the accumbens nucleus. Thus, the hippocampo-striatal projections which represent a link of functional importance between the limbic and central motor systems, could be modulated by the dopaminergic meso-cortico-limbic pathway. The predictive values of these data in the ascent of the phylogenetic scale are further considered.

Animals↗

Major dopamine innervation of the cortical motor areas in the cynomolgus monkey. A radioautographic study with comparative assessment of serotonergic afferents.

Dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) innervations were revealed by radioautography in primary motor, premotor and supplementary motor (SMA) cortex in Cynomolgus monkeys, using uptake of tritiated amines in vibratome sections under specific conditions that were previously established. DA and 5-HT axons were distributed throughout all cortical layers. A denser DA innervation was found in layers I, III and to a lesser extent layer V with a striking cluster-like arrangement in layer III, particularly in the SMA. 5-HT axons appeared less numerous; their lower density in comparison with DA axons was especially apparent in layer III, particularly in the premotor and motor areas. A DA-5-HT complementarity was thus suggested in this layer. These results suggest that in addition to the motor control exerted through the nigrostriatal pathway, the cortical DA projections could directly modulate the neuronal activity in motor areas. This could be of major importance in the pathophysiology of motor disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

Animals↗

Congenital feline portosystemic shunts.

Five young cats with portosystemic communications, 2 with single intrahepatic and 3 with single extrahepatic portosystemic communications, were managed surgically. One cat with a ductus venosus was treated successfully by surgery. Ptyalism and behavioral changes were similar in all 5 cats. Biochemical abnormalities included low BUN values, increased blood ammonia values, and increased sulfobromophthalein retention. None of the cats had portal hypertension at the time of surgery. Seemingly, single portosystemic shunts should be considered a surgical disease in the cat.

Ammonia↗

[Dopaminergic innervation of the parahippocampal and hippocampal regions in the rat].

In spite of extensive investigations of the rat's meso-cortico-limbic system, the dopaminergic (DA) innervation of the hippocampal formation (HF) has not heretofore been visualized by histochemical techniques. However pharmacological and biochemical studies strongly suggested its existence. We used tyrosine-hydroxylase (TH) as an immunocytochemical marker of DA neurons in rats in which the noradrenaline cortical innervation was previously destroyed by neurotoxins. The absence of noradrenergic axons was routinely controlled with dopamine-beta-hydroxylase immunocytochemistry. TH-positive axons, thus DA axons, reach the HF primarily through the fimbria in which they occupy a specific lateral sector. They innervate the ventral and caudal parts of the HF, the subiculum and the adjacent CA1 hippocampal field being the main targets. This DA terminal field in the HF, matches with the area projecting toward the nucleus accumbens. Thus the hippocampo-striatal projections which represent a link of functional importance between the limbic and central motor systems might be modulated by the dopaminergic meso-cortico-limbic pathway. The present immunocytochemical study confirms the very dense innervation of the entorhinal cortex (EC): DA axons are organized in dense fiber islands and occupy primarily the superficial layers (I-II-III). Da innervation predominates in the lateral part of EC, which is the site of multimodal cortical afferences and therefore relays information between the whole neocortex and the hippocampus. Thus the DA system could play an important role of modulation on hippocampal and parahippocampal functions.

Adrenergic Fibers↗

Catecholaminergic innervation of the septal area in man: immunocytochemical study using TH and DBH antibodies.

The catecholaminergic innervation of the human septal area and closely related structures has been visualized by using tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) as immunocytochemical markers. TH-like immunoreactivity with no corresponding DBH labelling was considered to be indicative of dopaminergic fibers. Catecholaminergic innervation offered the following similarities to that of rodents: moderate innervation in the medial septal division, with predominant DBH immunolabelling; dense dopaminergic innervation in the lateral septal nuclei, organized in a laminar pattern; presence of dopaminergic pericellular arrangements in the dorsal septum and bed n. of the stria terminalis; clustering of dopaminergic terminals in n. accumbens associated with a medioventral zone of DBH-like immunoreactive fibers; close overlap between dopaminergic fields and acetylcholinesterase-reactive zones in both the lateral septum and the n. of the stria terminalis. Differences with the catecholaminergic septal innervation of rodents consisted of general caudal extension of the dopaminergic fields, possibly accounted for by the vertical stretching and caudal displacement of the septal nuclei in man; complementary lateromedial topography of dopaminergic and DBH-immunoreactive inputs in the n. of the stria terminalis as opposed to their dorsoventral organization in rodents; presence of TH-immunolabelled cell group in the anterior olfactory nucleus and parolfactory cortex, which seems specific for primates. Precise topographical mapping of the catecholaminergic structures in this central region of the limbic forebrain seems to be a prerequisite for accurate tissue sampling in the biochemical investigations of pathological cases and should help in the interpretation of aminergic dysfunction in a variety of human diseases.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

Increased number of locus ceruleus noradrenergic neurons in the convulsive mutant quaking mouse.

Noradrenergic cell bodies in the locus ceruleus of the convulsive mutant quaking mouse and the control of the same strain were visualized using histofluorescence and tyrosine hydroxylase-like immunoreactivity. Cell counts performed with the two techniques gave closely similar results within each strain, indicating a 50% increase in the number of noradrenergic neurons in the midportion of the mutants' locus ceruleus when compared to the controls. This result gives histological support to the increased noradrenergic neurotransmission previously described in the brain of this mutant. Thus, the abnormally high activity of the noradrenergic system appears to be a primary effect of the mutation, associated with the convulsions of this animal model of epilepsy.

Adrenergic Fibers↗

Transient expression of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in some neurons of the rat neocortex during postnatal development.

Tyrosine hydroxylase-like immunoreactive neurons were observed in the dorsolateral and medial neocortex of the rat during postnatal development. They occurred from 8 up to 24 days of age and lacked other catecholamine synthetizing enzymes. They appeared to be insensitive to the suppression of cortical noradrenergic innervation induced by neonatal subcutaneous injections of 6-hydroxydopamine.

Animals↗

Postnatal ontogenesis of the dopaminergic innervation in the rat anterior cingulate cortex (area 24). Immunocytochemical and catecholamine fluorescence histochemical analysis.

The postnatal development of the dopaminergic input to the rat anterior cingulate cortex (area 24) was followed using anti-tyrosine hydroxylase immunocytochemistry and catecholamine fluorescence histochemistry in control and noradrenaline-depleted rats. Noradrenaline depletion in the cerebral cortex was obtained by peripheral injections of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) at birth or N-2-chloroethyl-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine (DSP4) at various postnatal ages and controlled by the absence of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase-labelled axons. The superficial and deep components of the anterior cingulate dopaminergic field developed at a different rate in control as well as lesioned rats. The deep supragenual dopaminergic field was already present at birth like the dopaminergic innervation of the prefrontal cortex area 32. In the superficial field, the molecular layer was reached first from postnatal day 3 (P3) on by positive axons running through the anterior hippocampal continuation and from P5-P6 on by another dopaminergic contingent coming through the deep dopaminergic field and giving off collaterals for layer III. The adult distribution pattern and striking varicose aspect were not reached until P21-P30 and a further increased density was observed until P60. The superficial cingulate dopaminergic field extended into the pregenual part of area 24b. The innervation of the superficial and deep layers of the rat anterior cingulate cortex by two distinct dopaminergic subpopulations, one of them closely related to that of prefrontal cortex area 32, could be compared with other laminar differences. The important functional implications of these data are further discussed.

Adrenergic Fibers↗

New dopaminergic terminal fields in the motor, visual (area 18b) and retrosplenial cortex in the young and adult rat. Immunocytochemical and catecholamine histochemical analyses.

New dopaminergic terminal fields have been visualized in the rat cerebral neocortex, using two morphological methods based on distinct properties of the dopaminergic system: presence of the first synthetic enzyme, tyrosine hydroxylase, and high-affinity uptake of amines. Tyrosine hydroxylase was used as an immunocytochemical marker after destruction of the cortical noradrenergic system, induced either neonatally by 6-hydroxydopamine or later on by DSP4, and controlled by the absence of dopamine beta-hydroxylase immunoreactivity. The uptake and storage of exogenous amines in tissue sections, in the presence of selective high-affinity transport inhibitors, enabled the specific visualization of the dopaminergic system with fluorescence histochemistry. A dopaminergic innervation of low density was observed along a dorsal sagittal strip which extended from the genu of corpus callosum until about 2 mm behind the splenium and encompassed several distinct cytoarchitectonic areas in the sensorimotor and visual cortex (medial and lateral agranular field, area 18b), as well as in discrete zones of the retrosplenial granular 29c,b, and agranular 29d areas. The distribution of these dopaminergic fields suggested a columnar organization. Several characteristics of the dopaminergic innervation were similar to that of the superficial anterior cingulate cortex (area 24): the laminar distribution to the superficial I-III layers, the secondarily developed varicose aspect in catecholamine fluorescence histochemistry and the delayed postnatal ingrowth in contrast with the early prenatal dopaminergic input to the prefrontal cortex. These similarities suggested that the subpopulation of dopaminergic neurons which provides projections to the anterior cingulate cortex could also contribute to the motor and visual cortex and thus play a role in sensorimotor integration. The predictive value of these results in the ascent of the phylogenetic scale are further considered.

Aging↗

Morphological evidence for a dopaminergic terminal field in the hippocampal formation of young and adult rat.

We have visualized the dopaminergic innervation of the hippocampal formation of the rat using two morphological methods: (1) tyrosine hydroxylase immunocytochemistry on noradrenaline-depleted animals and (2) fluorescence histochemistry after the uptake and storage of dopamine on hippocampal slices in vitro. The noradrenergic hippocampal terminal fields were destroyed by neonatal neurotoxin pretreatment and the validity of the lesion checked by the absence of dopamine beta-hydroxylase immunoreactivity. As observed on early postnatal ages, dopaminergic axons reached the hippocampal formation through the fimbria and the alveus, but also through the supracallosal bundle and the ventral amygdaloid area-entorhinal cortex. The temporal (ventral and caudal) part of the hippocampal formation received the bulk of the dopaminergic innervation whereas no fibers were observed in the septal pole. Very few positive axons were visualized in the hilus of the gyrus dentatus and CA3 field, only near the temporal pole. CA1 field (stratum oriens) was innervated throughout its ventral part. The most innervated area was the ventral part--especially the deep layers--of the subiculum, in particular the prosubiculum. The dorsal part of the subiculum displayed some positive axons, although to a lesser extent. The pre- and parasubiculum contained a few positive axons. In addition, some immunoreactive axons were observed in the anterior hippocampal continuation and the indusium griseum. The ventral junction prosubiculum-CA1 field appears to be the main target area for the hippocampal dopaminergic innervation. It is interesting that the same areas are characterized by their projections to the nucleus accumbens which receives dopaminergic afferents. Thus, the hippocampostriatal projections, that represent a link between the limbic and central motor mechanisms, could be under dopaminergic influence.

Age Factors↗

[Neurotransmitter anomalies in Alzheimer's disease].

Neurochemical and histochemical techniques for characterization of neurotransmitters and their receptors in normal and pathological human brain have modified our understanding of Alzheimer's disease. From a hopeless clinico-pathological entity, it has become one of the models of possible physiopathological relations between neurotransmitter anomalies and dementia processes. Three types of neuromediator (or neuro-modulator): cholinergic, aminergic and peptidergic, appear to be affected to different degrees in 5 electively involved anatomical systems: cholinergic innominocorticoamygdalian and septohippocampic systems, noradrenergic ceruleocortical system, serotoninergic pontocortical system and cortical somatostatin and substance P systems. Critical analysis of neurochemical data shows that the biochemical nosology of Alzheimer's disease is confronted by the difficulty of constituting homogeneous series of both normal and pathological cases. Difficulties are increased when an attempt is made to establish correlations between neurotransmitter deficits and lesions or the demential process. This is the result of several factors: individual variability, difficulty in selecting valid controls, time elapsed before post-mortem sampling, imperfect understanding of the progressive topographical course of both cortical and subcortical lesions, which only now are being studied systematically and in a quantifiable manner, and finally the frequent absence of distinction between early and late forms of the disease. Truly senile forms should probably be distinguished, some authors believing them to be a particular type of aging process, from the presenile forms with more extensive biochemical changes. The constant presence of cholinergic symptoms show these to be fundamental features of the dementia but lesions of noradrenergic and serotoninergic systems also probably play an important role, and this triad is found in other dementia processes: trisomy 21, Parkinson's disease with dementia. Numerous questions concerning the neurotransmitter disorders in Alzheimer's disease remain unanswered: to what extent are the lesions due to neurone destruction? What occurs to the receptors? What factors condition severity of the disease? May the latter be directly correlated with the severity of the global dementia process or rather with the constitutive elements of the syndrome such as memory or attention disorders? What are the consequences of the peptidergic lesions? What is the sequential relation between lesions of corticopetal and intracortical afferent systems and what are their respective physiopathological significance?(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Alzheimer Disease↗