Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphorylation is not altered by amygdaloid kindling

Kindling is a process in which episodic electrical stimulation permanently increases seizure susceptibility. One mechanism to account for a change in seizure susceptibility is some alteration in signal transduction, possibly at the level of second messenger systems. In this study, male Long-Evans rats were kindled in the amygdala, and Ca2+/calmodulin (Ca2+/CaM)-dependent protein phosphorylation was assessed at the site of the primary kindled focus using one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. In vitro phosphorylation of membrane and cytosol fractions in the presence of absence of Ca2+/CaM did not differentiate kindled from nonkindled amygdaloid tissue. These results suggest that changes in Ca2+/CaM-dependent phosphorylation are not related to the mechanism(s) underlying the establishment of an amygdaloid kindled focus.     

Improved quality of care and reduction of housestaff workload using trauma nurse practitioners

The University of California, Davis, Medical Center introduced the use of nurse practitioners (NPs) to the trauma service in fiscal year 1986-87 to alleviate the increasing burdens placed on the surgical housestaff in their attempt to accommodate the rising patient volume and acuity. The use of NPs was associated with a decrease in average length of stay for the seriously injured patients from 8.10 to 7.05 days while the length of stay for other patients in the hospital remained unchanged. Documentation of quality of care in the medical record increased substantially. For example, discharge summaries that were dictated by the NPs were judged complete in all aspects in at least 95% of sampled records compared with approximately 75% of records that were dictated by the residents. With introduction of the NPs, outpatient clinic waiting times decreased from 41 to 19 minutes. Patient complaints regarding the trauma team decreased from 16 to seven/year. Time saved for the housestaff averaged 352 minutes/day while the NPs were on duty. The NPs were well received by the hospital nurses, hospital quality assurance personnel, and ancillary services. They have proved to be of great value to the patients, the patients' families, the hospital, and the trauma team.     

Ganglioside treatment partially counteracts neurotoxic effects of trimethyltin but may itself cause neurotoxicity in rats: experimental results and a critical review.

We have demonstrated a deficit in working memory and/or consolidation of information in working memory into reference memory by a single oral dose of the neurotoxin trimethyltin(TMT). Moreover, TMT causes loss of hippocampal corticosterone receptors and increases brain glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP), an index of the astrocytic reaction to diverse types of CNS lesions. We tried to block the TMT-induced cognitive deficit and these biochemical markers by treating rats with purified mixed gangliosides (GS) for 21 days, starting 2 days before the TMT treatment. As expected, TMT decreased the number of corticosterone receptors in hippocampi and increased the GFAP concentration in hippocampi and to a lesser extent, in frontal cortices, measured more than 8 mon after treatment. The small increase in GFAP in frontal cortices was attenuated by GS but not in hippocampi. The pronounced learning deficits caused by TMT were attenuated to a small extent by GS in the TMT-GS group, when a learning criterion was used for the last session's performance of acquired lever-directed behavior. GS also delayed the appearance of significant performance differences between Controls and TMT-treated rats, when probed with a progressive fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement. However, most measures of learning and performance indicated that GS did not block the dysfunctional consequences of TMT treatment but instead caused similar functional decrements in rats treated with water instead of TMT. Corticosterone receptors in hippocampi were reduced to about 65% of Controls in the TMT-Water, TMT-GS, and Water-GS groups. A reduction in corticosterone receptors in hippocampi after TMT treatment probably reflects the loss of one or more cell types (e.g., pyramidal cells), which is supported by the increase in GFAP in this region. However, we did not observe a reciprocal relation between steroid receptors and GFAP after GS alone, indicating that GS did not cause detectable cell loss or cell damage, measured in this manner. Thus, reactive gliosis probably was not a pre-condition for the cognitive dysfunction. The fact that the cognitive deficits are probably related to hippocampal dysfunction supports the notion of a causal relationship between corticosterone receptor reduction and/or their altered function and cognitive impairment of this special type. The possibility that our results demonstrate potential neurobehavioral toxicity of GS is discussed in light of many reports which present data that can be similarly interpreted.     

Retrorenal colon: implications for percutaneous diskectomy

It has been recommended that computed tomography (CT) with the patient prone be performed in every patient undergoing percutaneous diskectomy; this would enable detection of a retrorenal location of the colon, which could interfere with the percutaneous procedure. In this evaluation of 346 prone CT studies, only one patient (0.29%) was found to have retrorenal or retropsoas bowel that would have been perforated at diskectomy. Because of this extremely low prevalence, the performance of prone CT in every patient undergoing percutaneous lumbar diskectomy is not believed to be necessary.     

A longitudinal study of cholinesterase changes in pregnancy

Serum cholinesterase activity was measured at intervals before, during, and after 44 pregnancies in 43 women. Three patterns of change were seen: (a) A decline in activity after conception, with no return towards pre-conception values before delivery (20 pregnancies). (b) A decline in activity accompanied by a partial or complete return to pre-conception values before delivery (19 pregnancies). (c) Either no discernible decline or increased activity during gestation (five pregnancies). We saw no association between these patterns and either the sex of the child, parity, smoking history, or alcohol intake. However, the continuous decrease in cholinesterase activity occurred in the youngest group of women, a decrease followed by an increase in the intermediate age group, and no decrease at all in the oldest group. Although not all the age-related differences quite reached statistical significance, these findings suggest that the patterns of change may be determined by some aspect of maternal physical maturity.     

肾移植受者血清巨细胞病毒IgE和IgA抗体检测

采用间接ＥＬＩＳＡ检测２３名肾移植受者血清巨细胞病毒（ＣＭＶ）抗体，共检出１８名（７８％）活动性ＣＭＶ感染，其中１０名（４４％）为原发性感染。结果证实ＣＭＶ－ＩｇＥ和－ＩｇＡ具有较好的血清学诊断价值，优于ＣＭＶ－ＩｇＭ。     

GGA1 acts as a spatial switch altering amyloid precursor protein trafficking and processing

The beta-amyloid (Abeta) precursor protein (APP) is cleaved sequentially by beta-site of APP-cleaving enzyme (BACE) and gamma-secretase to release the Abeta peptides that accumulate in plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD). GGA1, a member of the Golgi-localized gamma-ear-containing ARF-binding (GGA) protein family, interacts with BACE and influences its subcellular distribution. We now report that overexpression of GGA1 in cells increased the APP C-terminal fragment resulting from beta-cleavage but surprisingly reduced Abeta. GGA1 confined APP to the Golgi, in which fluorescence resonance energy transfer analyses suggest that the proteins come into close proximity. GGA1 blunted only APP but not notch intracellular domain release. These results suggest that GGA1 prevented APP beta-cleavage products from becoming substrates for gamma-secretase. Direct binding of GGA1 to BACE was not required for these effects, but the integrity of the GAT (GGA1 and TOM) domain of GGA1 was. GGA1 may act as a specific spatial switch influencing APP trafficking and processing, so that APP-GGA1 interactions may have pathophysiological relevance in AD.     

Successful treatment of periungual warts using photodynamic therapy: a pilot study

AIM: The aim of this pilot study was an investigation on photodynamic therapy (PDT) whether it is a good alternative for treating periungual and subungual warts of the hands. STUDY DESIGN: Twenty patients (mean age: 30.5 years) with a total of 40 periungual and subungual warts were treated with PDT. A photosensitizer, 20%delta-aminolevulinic acid was applied on the warts. After a mean incubation time of 4.6 h (SD: 1.2), the warts were irradiated with the VersaLight for 5-30 min (15.2 +/- 4.3 min). RESULTS: After a mean of 4.5 treatments a mean clearance of 100% was achieved in 90% of the patients. One patient (5%) showed a clearance of 50% and another showed no improvement. The subungual or periungual location of the wart had no influence on the number of treatments or end result (P > 0.05). There were two recurrences during the mean follow-up period of 5.9 months (SD: 7.6). Besides mainly pain and hyperpigmentation, most treatments had no side-effects. CONCLUSION: PDT can offer a good alternative for treating periungual warts of the hands. Larger studies are indicated.