Repeated naloxone administration in schizophrenia: a phase II World Health Organization Study.

In the context of a previous WHO collaborative study, six research centers reported that naloxone (0.3 mg/kg) produced significant improvement in symptomatology in neuroleptic-treated patients. In the current Phase II WHO study, repeated (4 days) naloxone (0.3 mg/kg) administration was performed in schizophrenic patients (n = 43) from five WHO collaborating centers using a double-blind, placebo-controlled design. Both naloxone and placebo administrations were associated with significant reductions in symptoms. Naloxone, however, was not superior to placebo. These data are discussed in relation to endorphin hypotheses of schizophrenia.

[Opiate receptors and endogenous morphines: a new approach to the study of the brain]. / Opiatnye retseptory i éndogennye morfiny: novyi podkhod k issledovaniiu mozga.

The paper deals with a range of problems connected with a study of a nature and a function of specific neuronal receptors and endogenous morphines. It is demonstrated that a further development of studies in the given area will be of a principal significance in solving the cardinal problems of psychopharmacology and a search for biological bases of mental diseases. The most perspective ways of studying functional opiate receptors and endogenous morphines in schizophrenia are discussed.

[Opiate activity of a bone marrow humoral factor which stimulates antibody production]. / Opiatnaia aktivnost' gumoral'nogo faktora kostnogo mozga, stimuliruiushchego produktsiiu antitel.

The radioceptor method was used to demonstrate that humoral factor of the bone marrow, a stimulant of antibody production (SAP), contains substances that competitively remove 3H-morphine and 3H-met-enkephalin from opiate receptors of the rat brain, and 3H-met-enkephalin from specific binding sites on human lymphocytes. Comparison of the magnitudes EC50 SAP obtained during the removal of labeled opiates allows a suggestion to be made that opiates contained by the preparation under study have a greater capability to interact with delta-type opiate receptors rather than with those of the mu-type.

[Organ specific water-soluble cerebral cortex proteins; possible participation in physiological functions and pathologic manifestations]. / Organospetsificheskie vodorastvorimye belki kory golovnogo mozga; vozmozhnoe uchastie v fiziologicheskikh funktsiiakh i patologicheskikh proiavleniiakh.

The spectre of active antigens in brain is studied. The presence of 3 protein and 3 glycoprotein brain specific antigens is demonstrated. The possible participation of brain specific antigens in increased antibody formation in schizophrenics, multiple sclerosis and lateral ammiotrophic sclerosis is studied. The data obtained indicate the role of brain specific antigens to autoimmunity in those patients. The possible participation of one of the specific antigens of the brain, sialoglycoprotein GP-350, in physiological processes connected with the mechanism of memory is also studied. In experiments of inbred trained rats an activation of the synthesis of GP-350 is observed.

[Bronchial asthma and endorphins]. / Bronkhial'naia astma i éndorfiny.

The paper deals with the investigation of endorphin content in the blood of patients with asthma. The increase in alpha- and beta-endorphin concentration was shown to depend on the severity of clinical manifestations of infectious-allergic and atopic forms of bronchial asthma. This regularity was not observed for gamma-endorphin. The infectious-allergic form of asthma was characterized by drastic reduction in the content of all three endorphin types upon treatment with dexamethasone. The possible role of endorphin reactions in the pathogenesis of asthma is discussed.