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Biomedical subjects

K Laitinen

Publications and source records attributed to K Laitinen.

76 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Neurotensin and cholecystokinin microinjected into the ventral tegmental area modulate microdialysate concentrations of dopamine and metabolites in the posterior nucleus accumbens.

Neurotensin and cholecystokinin, neuropeptides which coexist with dopamine in many ventral tegmental neurons, were microinjected into the ventral tegmental area during in vivo microdialysis in the posterior nucleus accumbens. Neurotensin significantly elevated concentrations of dopamine and its metabolites at doses of 10 pmol, 1 nmol, and 10 nmol, while cholecystokinin significantly elevated dopamine metabolite concentrations only at a dose of 10 nmol. These data suggest that neurotensin potently mediates the release of dopamine from the mesolimbic pathway via direct actions on the cell body.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1990

Deranged vitamin D metabolism but normal bone mineral density in Finnish noncirrhotic male alcoholics.

To study the effect of prolonged ethanol consumption on calcium metabolism and on the prevalence of osteoporosis we examined 38 Finnish noncirrhotic male alcoholics (30-55 years of age) with dietary interviews and biochemical measurements and by measuring the bone mineral content of the forearm using single photon absorptiometry (SPA) and the bone mineral density of the spine, humerus and proximal femur using nonquantified computer tomography (CT) and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). In comparison two groups of healthy controls were studied. The mean daily dietary intake of calcium was 1.3 g in the patients and 1.2 g in the controls. The dietary intake of vitamin D was equal in the study groups, too. The serum levels of calcium, phosphate and parathyroid hormone did not show any difference between the patients and controls but in the alcoholics the urinary excretion of calcium was reduced by 42% (p less than 0.0001) as compared to the controls. The serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, and 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 were reduced in the alcoholics by 40% (p less than 0.0001), 23% (p less than 0.01), and 48% (p less than 0.0001), respectively, as compared to the controls. The alcoholic men had normal levels of serum testosterone and they did not have hypercortisolism. The bone mineral content of the dominant forearm measured by SPA was similar in the study groups as were the bone mineral densities (BMD) of the lumbar and humeral areas measured by CT. The BMD at the lumbar, femoral neck, Ward's triangle and trochanter sites measured by DEXA did not differ, either.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

24,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D 3↗
PubMed1986

Effects of diazepam, tofizopam or phenytoin during foetal development on subsequent behaviour and benzodiazepine receptor characteristics in rats.

The development of rats was studied for 3 postnatal weeks after prenatal medication with diazepam (10 mg/kg/day), phenytoin (50 mg/kg/day), or tofizopam (50 mg/kg twice daily) given by gastric intubation from day 7 to 21 of pregnancy. The treatments had no effect on the litter size. There were also no differences between the groups in a battery of tests for development (negative geotaxis, righting reflex, cliff avoidance, rotarod, passive avoidance), but the activity spurt seen at postnatal days 18-21 was missing in pups of diazepam-treated mothers. The number of benzodiazepine receptors and their affinity for tritiated flunitrazepam developed similarly in all of the rat groups. Thus, the transient changes in motor development seen 2-3 weeks after birth of rats whose mothers received diazepam during pregnancy do not seem to be related to changes in ontogenesis of benzodiazepine receptors.

Animals↗