Isolation impairs place preference conditioning to morphine but not aversive learning in mice

Morphine (8–100 mg/kg IP) induces place preference conditioning in mice. The effect of two different periods of isolation (15 and 30 days) was examined. Mice isolated for 15 days but not 30 days exhibited place preference conditioning to morphine (8 mg/kg). After 30 days of isolation morphine could not induce place preference conditioning with the following doses (8, 16, 64, 100 mg/kg). Social regrouping of male mice previously isolated for 30 days with naive female mice for 15 or 30 days resulted in a reappearance of the conditioned place preference to morphine (16 mg/kg). The specificity of this associative deficit was examined by testing learning in isolated compared to non-isolated mice in two distinct settings: escape learning in the Morris water maze and passive avoidance acquisition and retention. On the Morris water maze isolated mice did not differ from non-isolated mice regarding place learning, the probe trial or extinction. Isolated mice were unimpaired in passive avoidance acquisition and retention. It was concluded that the deficits in place preference conditioning were not the result of a global learning impairment in isolated mice. Received: 10 April 1996 /Final version: 20 September 1996     

Probable gas embolism during operative hysteroscopy caused by products of combustion

PURPOSE: Gas embolism is a rare but well documented entity during operative hysteroscopy, with an incidence of 10-50%. Catastrophic outcomes occur at a rate of three in 17,000 procedures. The purpose of this report is to present a non-fatal case of gas embolism probably caused by the gaseous products of combustion. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 50-yr-old woman with a history of menorrhagia was scheduled for hysteroscopy and endometrial ablation and polypectomy. Fifteen minutes into the procedure, with the patient in lithotomy position, 20 degree head down tilt, and breathing spontaneously, a sudden oxygen desaturation occurred from 97% to 87%. The patient's end-tidal carbon dioxide dropped from 46 mmHg to 27 mmHg. The patient's breathing pattern remained normal, respiratory rate remained 11-12 breaths x min(-1) but amplitude of the reservoir bag movement was increased. Cardiovascular variables remained stable. She responded rapidly to 100% oxygen and made an uneventful recovery. Having ruled out other possible causes, we concluded gas embolism was responsible for the fall in oxygen saturation and end-tidal CO(2). CONCLUSION: With all the precautions in place to minimize the likelihood of fluid overload and ambient air embolism occurring, we surmised that products of combustion were the cause of the gas embolism. During endometrial ablation, gaseous products of combustion, mainly carbon dioxide, accumulate. The gases may then contribute to the rise in uterine pressure that occurs as irrigation fluid enters the uterus and this rise in pressure in turn encourages passage of gas into the open venous sinuses.     

Patterns of Cocaine Use Among Cocaine-Dependent Outpatients

The authors systematically evaluated the frequency patterns of cocaine use in 85 cocaine-dependent outpatients and found four patterns of use: continuous (27%), intermittent patterned (35%), intermittent nonpatterned (25%), and occasional (13%). Few subjects reported consistent cycling between binges and crashes. There were no significant differences in patterns of use associated with gender, race, educational level, route of administration, or recency of heroin use. Continuous users and occasional users were older than intermittent users. Because different contingencies may control patterned vs. nonpatterned cocaine use, pattern of use may have implications for treatment, even in individuals reporting similar amounts of cocaine use.     

Resiliency and Adult Adaptation in Women with and Without Self-Reported Histories of Childhood Sexual Abuse

This study investigated the relationship of protective factors (PF) to adult adaptation in a nonclinical sample consisting of 264 undergraduate women: two groups without childhood sexual abuse (CSA), high (n = 109) and low (n = 99) on PF; and two groups with CSA, high (n = 17) and low (n = 27) on PF. The first hypothesis that higher levels of PF would be significantly associated with higher levels of functioning for all individuals was supported by the data. The second hypothesis that the women with CSA and higher levels of PF would appear similar in adaptation to those without CSA was also supported. The findings further suggest that though the protective factors were beneficial for most individuals, they were significantly more helpful for those with CSA.     

Pharmacokinetics of isosorbide dinitrate and its mononitrate metabolites after intravenous infusion

Plasma concentrations of isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) and its two active metabolites 2-isosorbide mononitrate (2-ISMN) and 5-isosorbide mononitrate (5-ISMN) have been measured during and for 6 hr after intravenous infusion at a rate of 2.5 mg/hr during 1.75 hr in six cardiac patients, by a capillary gas chromatographic method. Data were analyzed by simultaneous modeling of the observed kinetics of the three compounds. Two or three phases were detected on the postinfusion ISDN concentration-time curves. ISDN concentrations declined with a mean terminal half-life of 2.81 hr +/- 0.7 SD. The mean systemic clearance of ISDN (2.9 L/min +/- 0.7 SD) and its mean total volume of distribution (259 L +/- 48 SD) were relatively high. Plasma 5-ISMN concentrations were 5- to 6-fold greater than those of 2-ISMN during the whole observation period. Maximum levels of 2-ISMN (6.7 ng/ml +/- 0.9 SD) and of 5-ISMN (27 ng/ml +/- 6 SD) occurred within a few minutes after the end of infusion. The mean half-lives of 2-ISMN (1.59 hr +/- 0.19 SD) and of 5-ISMN (3.78 hr +/- 0.79 SD) estimated by the model were smaller than those calculated by a model-independent method (2.95 hr +/- 0.41 SD and 5.98 hr +/- 2.22, respectively), but were in good agreement with those reported in the literature following separate administration of both metabolites to man. This study shows how such modeling can distinguish between metabolite formation and elimination processes and allow the determination of metabolite half-lives after administration of the precursor drug.