表小檗碱对α受体的作用

表小檗碱(epiberberine,EB)是从湖北产黄连(Coptis chinensis Franch)中提取的一种生物碱,属苯喹嗪类原小檗碱,对其药理作用的研究资料甚少,未见其对α肾上腺素体作用的报道。资料表明,许多原小檗碱类化合物有α受体阻滞作用,为从该类化合物中选择     

Pain and faulty breathing: a pilot study

The purpose of this pilot study was to observe both relaxed and deep breathing patterns in a convenience sample to determine the incidence of normal versus faulty patterns of respiration. These observations were then combined with respondent answers to a survey on pain history to determine if there is any correlation between faulty breathing and musculo-skeletal pain patterns. If such a correlation can be made, then we propose that clinicians working with chronic pain patients may have improved outcomes if they address and correct faulty breathing patterns. Based on this study, it is suggested to include the evaluation and treatment of faulty respiration in the rehabilitation of chronic musculo-skeletal conditions, most notably cervical pain.     

Smaller hippocampal volume in patients with recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder.

BACKGROUND: Previous structural magnetic resonance (MR) research in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has found smaller hippocampal volumes in patients compared with control subjects. These studies have mostly involved subjects who have had PTSD for a number of years, such as war veterans or adult survivors of childhood abuse. Patients with recent-onset PTSD have rarely been investigated. To our knowledge only one other study has investigated such a group. The aim of this study was to compare hippocampal volumes of patients with recent onset PTSD and nontrauma-exposed control subjects. METHODS: Fifteen patients with PTSD, recruited from an accident and emergency department, were compared with 11, non-trauma-exposed, healthy control subjects. Patients underwent a structural MR scan soon after trauma (mean time = 158 +/- 41 days). Entire brain volumes, voxel size 1 x 1 x 1 mm, were acquired for each subject. Point counting and stereology were used to measure the hippocampal and amygdala volume of each subject. RESULTS: Right-sided hippocampal volume was significantly smaller in PTSD patients than control subjects after controlling for effects of whole brain volume and age. Neither left nor total hippocampal volume were significantly smaller in the PTSD group after correction. Whole brain volume was also found to be significantly smaller in patients. There were no differences in amygdala or white matter volumes between patients and control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: This result replicates previous findings of smaller hippocampal volumes in PTSD patients, but in an underinvestigated population, suggesting that either smaller hippocampal volume is a predisposing factor in the development of PTSD or that damage occurs within months of trauma, rather than a number of years. Either of these two hypotheses have significant implications for the treatment of PTSD. For instance, if it could be shown that screening for hippocampal volume may, in some cases, predict those likely to develop clinical PTSD.     

In situ hybridization of prostate-specific antigen mRNA in human prostate.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) mRNA was detected by in situ hybridization utilizing a 428 base pair [35S]-labelled cDNA probe from the 3' noncoding region of the PSA gene. Thirty six fresh surgical specimens were collected from patients undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy for carcinoma of the prostate. Quantitative analysis of the levels of PSA mRNA in both the benign and malignant tissues was performed using an IBAS 2000 Image Analysis System. The results of this study demonstrated that there is a significant decrease in the expression of PSA mRNA in the carcinoma tissue when compared to the benign epithelium. The average binding (number of silver grains/1 x 10(4) microns. 2) for 20 specimens of malignant epithelium was 475 +/- 161 and 586 +/- 140 for 16 specimens of benign epithelium (p less than 0.05). Eleven patients had both benign and malignant tissue from the same surgical specimen available for study. From these paired specimens, the PSA mRNA expression was also significantly reduced in the malignant epithelium when compared to the benign epithelium, 445 +/- 162 and 588 +/- 135 respectively (p less than 0.005). The PSA protein was detected using a monoclonal antibody to PSA with an immunohistochemical staining technique. The PSA protein expression paralleled the expression of the PSA mRNA in the majority of the tissue sections. Many of the tumor specimens showed a heterogeneous expression of PSA, whereas all of the benign epithelium had a uniform high level of PSA expression. In conclusion, PSA mRNA and protein are located only within the glandular epithelial tissue, the expression of PSA protein parallels that of the PSA mRNA, and both the PSA protein and PSA mRNA are significantly decreased in the malignant epithelium when compared to benign prostatic epithelium.