The aim of our experiments was to investigate the possible element concentration changes in Alzheimer's disease. Our project incorporated the determination of the regional distribution of elements in normal human brain, too. Five elements (Al, Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe) have been measured in 10 different regions of 20 normal brains (mean age 70 years) and in brain parts of patients with Alzheimer's disease (9 individuals). Analyses were carried out by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) techniques. Analytical precision and accuracy were investigated by NIST standard reference material. In a comparison between the healthy and Alzheimer patients' concentration data using statistical treatment these elements showed difference as a function of the Alzheimer disease (AD).

Journal Article↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Metal complexes of taurine. The first reported solution equilibrium studies for complex formation by taurine at physiological pH; the copper(II)-glycylglycinate-taurine and the copper(II)-glycylaspartate-taurine systems.

The first solution studies at physiological pH for the formation of metal complexes of taurine, +NH3CH2CH2S03-, one of the most abundant low molecular weight organic compounds in the animal kingdom, are reported. The complexes Cu(Gly-GlyH-1) (1) and [Cu(Gly-AspH-1)] (2) react with taurine to give the ternary complexes [Cu(Gly-GlyH-1)taurine]- (3) (log K=2.95+/-0.03, I=0.2M, T=25.0 degrees C) and [Cu(Gly-AspH-1)taurine]2- (4) (log K=2.68+/-0.02) in which taurine acts as an N-donor ligand, most likely monodentate, without involvement of the sulphonate group in coordination. The results of the pH-metric studies are confirmed by visible and EPR spectrophotometric studies. The taurine complexes are less stable than the analogous complexes of beta-alanine due to the decreased basicity of the amino group in the former ligand, and in the case of the Cu(Gly-GlyH-1) complexes due to involvement of the carboxylate group of beta-alanine in axial coordination.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Are Alzheimer's disease, hypertension, and cerebrocapillary damage related?.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients are often subject to vascular dysfunction besides their specific CNS pathology, which warrants further examination of the interaction between vascular factors and the development of dementia. The association of decreased cerebral blood flow (CBF) or hypertension with AD has been a target of growing interest. Parallel with physiological changes, the cerebral capillaries in AD are also prone to degenerative processes. The microvascular abnormalities that are the result of such degeneration may be the morphological correlates of the vascular pathophysiology pointing to a compromised nutrient transport through the capillaries. Animal models have been developed to study the consequences of hypertension and reduced CBF. Spontaneously hypertensive rats are widely used in hypertension research whereas ligation of the carotid arteries has become a method to produce cerebral hypoperfusion. Based on these models, we propose a relationship between hypertension, cerebral hypoperfusion, cerebral capillary malformation and cognitive decline as it occurs in AD. We suggest that the above conditions are functionally related and can contribute to the progression of AD.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Calcium antagonists decrease capillary wall damage in aging hypertensive rat brain.

Chronic hypertension during aging is a serious threat to the cerebral vasculature. The larger brain arteries can react to hypertension with an abnormal wall thickening, a loss of elasticity and a narrowed lumen. However, little is known about the hypertension-induced alterations of cerebral capillaries. The present study describes ultrastructural alterations of the cerebrocortical capillary wall, such as thickening and collagen accumulation in the basement membrane of aging spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rats. The ratio of cortical capillaries with such vascular pathology occurred significantly more frequently in hypertensive animals. Nimodipine and nifedipine are potential drugs to decrease blood pressure in hypertension but their beneficial effects in experimental studies reach beyond the control of blood pressure. Nimodipine and nifedipine can alleviate ischemia-related symptoms and improve cognition. These drugs differ in that nifedipine, but not nimodipine reduces blood pressure at the here-used concentration while both drugs can penetrate the blood-brain barrier. Here we show that chronic treatment of aging hypertensive stroke-prone rats with nimodipine or nifedipine could preserve microvascular integrity in the cerebral cortex.

Aging↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Functional maturation of the somatosensory neocortex S1 in the rat. Electrophysiological and histochemical study (author's transl)].

The functional maturation of the somatosensory neocortex has been studied using the projection areas of the whiskers. Natural stimulation of the whiskers evokes global potentials and unitary responses from the 4th postnatal day on. From the 2nd postnatal week the characteristics of the unit responses approximate in latency, topographic organisation of the projections, coding of the directions and temporal characteristics of the stimulation those of the adult. The histochemical activity of succinyl dehydrogenase is demonstrated in layer IV a little before the first electrophysiological response but the typical massed organisation is only seen from the 5th postnatal day. During maturation optical densitometry shows a rapid rise in enzyme activity untill the 7th postnatal day then a slower rise up to the 21st day after which it stabilises.

Aging↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cortical organization of the postero-medial barrel-subfield in mice and its reorganization after destruction of vibrissal follicles after birth.

The postero-medial barrel-subfield (PMBSF) of the SI cortex of normal adult mice contains clusters of cells called "barrels". Each barrel histochemically shows increased activity of succinate, lactate, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and also GABA-T activity. Some neuronal perikarya in the barrel walls show GABA-T activity. Mitochondrial alpha-GPDH and AChE show equal activities in the hollows and in the walls of the barrels. On this cortical vibrissa field, the contralateral and ipsilateral vibrissae project somatotopically in a way which coincides with the barrels. The mystacial vibrissae and the common fur of the muzzle project to different loci. The cortical surface area for the normal fur is 0.025 mm2, whereas the cortical vibrissal area is 1.0 mm2. In mice with lesioned whisker pads the succinate-dehydrogenase activity of the IVth layer in the vibrissal area becomes a continuous sheet similar to the adjacent IVth layer, the thickness of the cortex is relatively preserved, and the total enzyme activities, biochemically assayed, are unchanged. These features can be explained by a functional substitution. In mice with whisker pads lesioned since birth, the vibrissal area can still be identified by the projections from ipsilateral vibrissae (undamaged side). This vibrissal area, and this alone, is found to be invaded by projections from the contralateral common fur of the muzzle. Experimental data suggest that the compensatory process may result from an invasion of the vibrissal area by a new set of ascending fibers, and not merely from axonal sprouting either at the periphery or at the cortical level.

4-Aminobutyrate Transaminase↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Immunohistochemistry and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction on sentinel lymph nodes can improve the accuracy of nodal staging in breast cancer patients.

In this study the nodal staging sensitivity of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) with detailed pathological and molecular biological examination has been investigated and compared to that of axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) with routine histological evaluation. Sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) were removed by the dual-agent injection technique in 68 patients with primary, clinically node-negative breast cancer. Forty-seven patients had negative SLNs according to hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. These H&E-negative SLNs were serially sectioned and examined at 250 microm levels by anticytokeratin immunohistochemistry (IHC). In 14 patients the SLNs were also investigated by cytokeratin 20 (CK20) reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). SLNB with IHC increased the node-positive rate by 26% (by 40% in tumors less than or equal to 2 cm in size (pT1) and by 9% in tumors more than 2 cm but less than or equal to 5 cm in size (pT2)). The sensitivity of SLNB with IHC was superior to that of ALND with routine histology in pT1 tumors and identical in pT2 tumors. The concordance between histology and RT-PCR was only 21%, and in two of three cases with positive histological results RT-PCR was negative. In conclusion, SLNB with detailed pathological and/or molecular biological evaluation can improve the sensitivity of regional staging. ALND can probably be abandoned in patients with pT1 SLN-negative breast cancer. Further prospective studies are required to determine the clinical significance of these detailed SLN evaluation techniques, but at present these methods are still investigational.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Complications in laparoscopic cholecystectomy].

INTRODUCTION: For more than a century classical cholecystectomy has been a method of choice in surgical management of gallbladder diseases. At the end of eighties and at the beginning of nineties of this century, laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been introduced gradually taking the place of classical. Numerous studies deal with complications associated with this surgical procedure. COMPLICATIONS RELATED TO INSERTION OF VERESS NEEDLE: During insertion of Veress needle, injuries of the frontal abdominal wall may occur (9). Insertion of the needle into the peritoneal cavity may cause: injury of the omentum with consequential hemorrhage; intestinal and mesenteric injuries as well as injuries of urinary bladder and great blood vessels of retroperitoneum. Initial insufflation of CO2 through the needle, if it is inadequately placed, may cause subacute emphysema, intraperitoneal adhesion formation, mediastinal emphysema and pneumothorax (8-10). COMPLICATIONS RELATED TO TROCAR INSERTION--TROCAR INJURIES: Apart from injuries associated with insertion of Veress needle, insertion of trocar may cause injuries of the liver, spleen and falciform ligament (4). Trocar injuries are more severe (8,9). BILE DUCTS INJURIES: Bile ducts injuries are divided into mild (injuries of a smaller bile duct, incomplete ductus cysticus occlusion or partial that is lateral injury of greater ducts) and severe (injuries of duct choledochus or hepatic ducts) (1). Bile ducts injuries are extremely severe complications with high morbidity, long-term hospitalization and may be life threatening (11,12). INTRAOPERATIVE BLEEDING: Intensive and uncontrolled intraoperative bleeding, especially within the operative field, both arterial (from arterial cyst) and venous (gallbladder, vena porte) requires conversion. POSTOPERATIVE HEMORRHAGE: Postoperative hemorrhage usually occurs in cases of cystic artery damage, prolonged hemorrhage from the gallbladder, parenchymal liver injuries and as well as in open cholecystectomy it is an indication for reoperation (8,9). OTHER COMPLICATIONS: Other complications, thermic and mechanic diaphragmatic injuries and infections of incisional injuries and herniations at the place of trocar insertion. OUR EXPERIENCES: In the period June 1995-November 1997, 500 patients underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy (401 female--80.2% and 99 male--19.8%) aging from 16-78 years of age, average age 46 years. 16 (3.2%) mild complications were recorded (reoperation was necessary in one case): 1) subcutaneous emphysema in 3 patients (0.6%) which gradually disappeared up to 36 hours after surgery; 2) Retzin's space emphysema in 1 patient (0.2%) causing dysuria for 3 days; 3) bilirea--bile excretion through subhepatic drain in 2 patients (0.4%)--from the second to seventh postoperative day (excretion did not exceed 500 ml a day) and it spontaneously stopped; 4) inflammatory hematoma of the falciform ligament (0.02%); 5) in 8 patients (1.6%) postoperative infection of infraxifoid wound was registered; 6) in 1 patient (0.2%) segmental bile duct injury occurred. Out of 500 laparoscopic cholecystectomies conversion was necessary in 19 cases (3.8%). CONCLUSION: In spite of numerous advantages and better comfort for patients, this method may have complications, whereas incidence of bile ducts injuries seems to be higher than in the classical procedure. The more laparoscopic cholecystectomies are performed, the more bile ducts injuries occur. Out of 500 laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed at the Surgery Department of the hospital in Senta, 3.2% of mild complications were registered with 1 case needing reoperation, while in 1 case (0.2%) it was probably type A bile duct injury.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

REM sleep dependent release of vasotocin into cerebrospinal fluid of narcoleptics.

The lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collected from 6 narcoleptic patients (three males and three females) aged between 31 and 47 years, as well as from 2 patients having Pickwickian syndromes with hypersomnia attacks (two males), aged 43-51 years, contained relatively high amounts of arginine vasotocin (AVT) only if the CSF was removed after a REM sleep period. The release was not induced by darkness since the same release of AVT occurred when the CSF was removed after a REM sleep period during daylight hours. No detectable AVT levels have been found in the CSF samples of four narcoleptics collected after a NREM period of sleep, either during night or daylight hours. The present results suggest a possible alteration of the rhythmical release of AVT both in narcolepsy and in narcoleptic syndromes.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Pineal vasotocin: REM sleep dependent release into cerebrospinal fluid of man.

Lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of seven healthy male volunteers contains detectable levels of arginine vasotocin (AVT) when CSF was removed after awakening from rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. No detectable levels of AVT were found in the CSF of the same subjects when CSF WAS removed after awakening from non rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. The amount of AVT detected in CSF after REM sleep was significantly higher if the subjects experienced vivid and emotive dreams. The present results provide the first evidence for a REM sleep dependent release of AVT into CSF of man.

Adult↗