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Biomedical subjects

M A Kling

Publications and source records attributed to M A Kling.

61 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Corticotropin releasing factor: basic studies and clinical applications.

Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) is a newly sequenced peptide first isolated from sheep hypothalami and thought to be an important modulator of both the pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system. We administered intravenous, intramuscular, and intracerebroventricular CRH to non-human primates and measured plasma ACTH, beta endorphin, cortisol, GH and PRL responses to CRF. In addition, we determined the pharmacokinetic properties of I125 in these primates. We administered CRF as an intravenous bolus or as a continuous infusion to normal volunteers and as an intravenous bolus to patients with disorders of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, such as Cushing's syndrome and adrenal insufficiency, and patients with endogenous depression and mild hypercortisolism, and assessed their plasma ACTH, cortisol, GH and PRL responses. In addition, we determined the pharmacokinetic properties of CRF in man by measuring CRF immunoreactivity in plasma. CRF given intravenously to primates or man is a slowly metabolized, long-acting, secretagogue of ACTH, beta-endorphin and cortisol. When given intracerebroventricularly to primates it stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis without escaping into the plasma and it is actively cleared in the CNS. It does not cross the blood brain barrier appreciably when given intravenously. CRF given to primates and men as an intravenous continuous infusion has only mild ACTH stimulating effects and this may be due to an intact cortisol negative feedback system. Finally, CRF causes characteristic plasma hormone responses in patients with Cushing's disease, adrenal insufficiency and depression.

Adrenal Insufficiency↗

Effects of long-term lithium administration on renal structure and function in rats. A distinctive tubular lesion.

Because lithium salts are widely used for long-term therapy of affective disorders and have been recently implicated as a cause of tubulointerstitial renal disease, we have undertaken experiments designed to establish the site of the early and late pathologic lesions and to determine their correlation with the lithium-induced concentrating defect. Male Wistar rats given a semisynthetic diet that contained lithium carbonate, 90 mEq/kg dry weight, developed serum lithium levels in the human therapeutic range; pair-fed controls received sodium carbonate. Within 3 weeks, treated rats developed marked polyuria, with elevation of free water clearance and vasopressin-resistant diabetes insipidus. Early morphologic changes were confined to the cortical collecting tubules and, possibly, contiguous portions of distal tubules. The tubules were dilated and irregularly lined with cells that had bulging or thinned basophilic cytoplasm, enlarged nuclei, sometimes basal vacuolization, and a few mitoses. These changes were evident at 3 weeks and progressed through the end of the observation period at 18 weeks. The proliferative component of the lesion was demonstrated by the finding of a significant and specific increase in 3H-thymidine uptake by nuclei of collecting/distal tubules of lithium-treated rats. The lesion, but not the increased thymidine uptake, extended into the medullary collecting ducts at 9 and 18 weeks. Although occasional intratubular mononuclear cells were seen at 9 and 18 weeks, no interstitial inflammation or fibrosis was seen. These tubular epithelial lesions were not seen in the kidneys of Brattleboro rats or glucose-treated Wistar rats despite comparable polyuria. We suggest that this early, persistent, and reproducible lesion, characterized by reactive and proliferating tubular cells in the cortical collecting tubules, predisposes the kidney to injury from otherwise mild or insignificant insults and may explain the sporadic occurrence of serious tubulointerstitial disease in patients on long-term lithium therapy.

Animals↗

Rat brain and serum lithium concentrations after acute injections of lithium carbonate and orotate.

Eight hours after intraperitoneal injections of 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0m equiv Li kg-1, the serum and brain lithium concentrations of rats were significantly greater after lithium orotate than after lithium carbonate. While little serum lithium remained at 24 h after injection of 2.0 m equiv kg-1 lithium carbonate, two-thirds of the 2 h serum lithium concentration was present 24h after lithium orotate. Furthermore, the 24 h brain concentration of lithium after lithium orotate was approximately three times greater than that after lithium carbonate. These data suggest the possibility that lower doses of lithium orotate than lithium carbonate may achieve therapeutic brain lithium concentrations and relatively stable serum concentrations.

Animals↗

Effects of short-and long-term administration of tricyclic antidepressants and lithium on norepinephrine turnover in brain.

The findings summarized in this paper show that norepinephrine turnover in brain is decreased after acute administration of imipramine or desmethylimipramine but tends to increase during chronic administration of these tricyclic antidepressants. Similarly, it appears that there also may be important differences between the effects of acute and chronic administration of lithium salts on norepinephrine turnover in the central nervous system. Such changes in norepinephrine turnover that develop gradually over the course of long-term drug administration may help to explain the need for chronic administration of tricyclic antidepressants or lithium salts in the treatment of patients with affective disorders.

Animals↗

Cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites in fluoxetine-treated patients with major depression and in healthy volunteers.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of the monoamine metabolites 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured in three groups: 46 healthy volunteers; 9 medication-free patients with DSM III-R major depressive disorder, recurrent; and these same 9 patients following at least 4 weeks of fluoxetine treatment at 20 mg/day. CSF monoamine metabolite levels in medication-free patients did not differ from healthy volunteers; however, CSF 5-HIAA and MHPG decreased significantly from 95.9 +/- 24.6 (all values +/- SD) to 64.2 +/- 26.1 pmol/ml and from 46.7 +/- 14.2 to 42.6 +/- 11.6 pmol/ml, respectively, following fluoxetine treatment. Fluoxetine also significantly decreased mean Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores from 23.2 +/- 6.5 to 17.4 +/- 5.0 and significantly increased the CSF HVA/5-HIAA ratio.

Adult↗