Changes in the tubular compartment of the testis of Gallus domesticus during development.

1. The aim of the present study was to analyze histological and stereological changes in the tubular compartment in Gallus domesticus testes, as well as the variations in the number and size of their cells, from the start of morphological differentiation of the gonads (8-d chick-embryo) until the adult reproductive stage (28 weeks old). 2. In embryonic chick testes, the total volume occupied by the interstitial tissue is greater than that occupied by the tubular compartment, but in the post-hatched chick the total volume of tubular compartment exceeds that of the interstitial tissue. 3. From day 1 until 28 weeks of age, the seminiferous tubules increased in total volume, diameter, and epithelial height, which was directly related to the increase in the number of Sertoli and germ cells and the size of Sertoli cells. 4. In the testes of one-day- and 6-week-old chicks, Sertoli cells were the most abundant cell type in the seminiferous tubules due to hyperplasia, but in 28-week-old birds the germ cells were the most abundant cell type. Hypertrophy rather than hyperplasia of Sertoli cells appears to be responsible for the increase in the total volume of seminiferous tubules. 5. There are marked age-dependent changes in the tubular compartment of chick testes that help to understand the histological and stereological events occurring during normal development.

Sleep disorders in the elderly.

In their own practices and in consultation, requests to psychiatrists to evaluate and treat sleep disorders in the elderly are common. The five million elders in this country receive 35%-40% of the sedative-hypnotics prescribed, despite the fact that they represent only 12% of the population. Since their sleep disturbances are usually secondary to medical, psychiatric, pharmacologic, or environmental causes, they should receive a thorough evaluation and differential diagnostic approach. Before prescribing a sedative-hypnotic, one should consider nonpharmacologic interventions and education about normal sleep changes due to aging. As a foundation for the judicious prescribing of sedative-hypnotics, the pharmacokinetic changes associated with aging are discussed.

Sleep disorders in the medically ill patient.

A careful medical evaluation is essential for any patient complaining of disturbed sleep so as to ascertain the contribution of possible metabolic, neurologic, or medication-related factors to symptom development. In this review, medical and neurologic conditions that may negatively affect sleep will be discussed as well as commonly offending medications. Special attention will be given to sleep apnea syndromes. The evaluation of sleep disturbance in the medical patient will be discussed with focus on of the special pharmacokinetic considerations involved in selecting medications for the treatment of disturbed sleep in this patient population.

Psychopharmacologic treatment of anxiety in the medically ill elderly patient: special considerations.

The use of psychotropic agents to treat anxiety in medically ill elderly patients requires consideration of special pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic factors in drug selection. In this review, the use of seven general classes of psychotropic drugs with anxiolytic activity will be considered for use in the medically ill: benzodiazepines, azapirones, cyclic (non-monoamine oxidase [MAO] inhibitor) antidepressants, beta-adrenergic blocking agents, antihistamines, neuroleptics, and MAO inhibitors. Attention will be given to developing rational strategies for drug selection in order to minimize deleterious side effects, to which medically ill elderly patients may be vulnerable.

Psychiatric aspects of rheumatology.

The rheumatic diseases pose significant and challenging problems for the consulting psychiatrist because of their multifaceted clinical features. Consideration must be given to the complexity of the social system in which the patient lives, the rheumatologist-patient relationship, the losses incurred by the illness, immunologic vulnerability to opportunistic infections, the effects of concurrent medical treatments (especially drug treatments), and any antecedent pathologic conditions. This article examines the clinical and treatment highlights of two representative rheumatologic diseases: rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Psychiatric aspects of tuberculosis.

The association between mycobacteria and humans is long and will undoubtedly continue to challenge our attempts at understanding tuberculosis as an infectious disease in particular and as a chronic illness in general. We have inherited a wealth of notions, assumptions, and myths about tuberculosis and our predispositions and reactions to it, and this inheritance has adversely affected the current perspective on the disorder and has undermined some research efforts by limiting scientific vision and imagination. Continuing basic research in immunology and imaginative research designs in psychiatry will help us more clearly see how we are predisposed to acquire and have relapses of tuberculosis by emotional stress, and how our reactions to the illness affect recovery. Energetic efforts in these areas will allow more effective public health interventions and individual psychiatric treatment of individuals with tuberculosis or other chronic pulmonary infections.

Effect of luteinizing hormone on the right regressing ovary of newly hatched chicks treated during embryonic development.

We studied the histologic and stereological changes induced in the right ovary of newly hatched chicks treated with LH during their embryonic development. Results indicate that LH administration causes a diminution in size and total volume (P < 0.01) of the right ovary, as well as a decrease in the total volume of lacunar channels, blood vessels, and interstitium. Other changes obtained after LH treatment were a reduction (P < 0.001) in the number of germ cells, as well as an increase in the total volume of interstitial cell cords (P < 0.01). This expansion is due to the increase of cellular volume of interstitial cells (P < 0.001) and not to their number, which decrease in the LH-treated right ovary. All these modifications were similar to those occurring in the regressing right ovary during development. The findings suggest that the right ovary of the newly hatched chick is able to respond to LH treatment during embryonic development, inducing marked histologic changes that accelerate its regression.

Psychological factors affecting pulmonary and rheumatologic diseases. A review.

This review examines some of the questions and current literature regarding psychological factors as they affect pulmonary and rheumatologic diseases. Recommendations are made concerning directions for future research in these areas.

[Chaos theory and psychoanalysis: the fluid nature of the soul]. / Chaostheorie und Psychoanalyse: Die fliessende Natur der Seele.

Progress in the new science of chaos has made it possible for scientists of several different disciplines to extend their understanding of complex systems and to quantify some phenomena which are called transition states. These transitions occur when the nature of system changes noticeably, for example when a fluid changes from a laminar to a turbulent flow. Nonlinear systems (which are best modelled by chaos) are described in this article and are compared to the psychoanalytic model of the soul. Some psychoanalytic phenomena are examined with methods of the chaos principles. The author claims that a sufficient number of interrelations between operative models in the disciplines which have profited from the application of chaos principles and psychoanalytic models of the soul exist in order to justify theoretical and experimental efforts to use these principles. These efforts could enrich our understanding of the soul and suggest a new methodology for psychoanalytic research.

Changes in the aging brain as they affect psychotropics: a review.

This article reviews a number of neuroanatomic and neurochemical changes that occur in the brain with aging, and focuses specifically on those that may affect the response to psychotropic drugs. We hope to increase physicians' awareness of these "central," or brain, changes, that occur with aging when prescribing and monitoring psychotropic use, since the traditional emphasis in prescribing for the elderly has rested with the review of pharmacokinetic, or "peripheral" organ changes.

Psychotropic drug use in the medically ill: Part I.

Underlying medical illness and drug interactions may make the use of psychotropic agents in some physically ill patients problematic. This overview, published in two parts, discusses six major classes of psychotropic medications (cyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, benzodiazepines, neuroleptics, lithium, psychostimulants, and carbamazepine) and examines their use in the setting of specific types of medical illnesses (e.g., cardiovascular, pulmonary, hepatic, and renal disease). Practical considerations in using psychotropic medications in medical-surgical patients, particularly those who are elderly or medically debilitated, receive special emphasis. In part I, the use of cyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, benzodiazepines, and buspirone are discussed.

Psychotropic drug use in the medically ill. Part II.

Underlying medical illness and drug interactions may make the use of psychotropic agents problematic in some physically ill patients. This overview, published in two parts, discusses six major classes of psychotropic medications (cyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, benzodiazepines, neuroleptics, lithium, psychostimulants, and carbamazepine) and examines their use in the setting of specific types of medical illnesses (e.g., cardiovascular, pulmonary, hepatic, and renal disease). Practical considerations in using psychotropic medications in medical-surgical patients--particularly those who are elderly or medically debilitated--will receive special emphasis.

Hemolysis and fusion by influenza viruses with heat-inactivated neuraminidase activity.

Influenza virus hemolytic activity was found to be more heat-resistant than neuraminidase activity, and to be heat-inactivated similarly to hemagglutination activity, in sharp contrast to the case with paramyxoviruses, where the hemolytic activity is the most heat-labile, and hemagglutination and neuraminidase activities are inactivated similarly by heat. Influenza viruses with heat-inactivated neuraminidase activity, which still showed hemagglutination and hemolytic activities, were found to be able to induce cell fusion and envelope fusion. This finding suggested that the hemolytic and fusion activities are not dependent on neuraminidase activity. The hemolytic activity was largely inhibited by anti-hemagglutinin serum of the same subtype. The pH range, heat stability, and antiserum susceptibility of the hemolytic activity were found to be independent of the cells in which the virus was grown.

In vitro secondary generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes in mice with mumps virus and their mumps-specific cytotoxicity among paramyxoviruses.

Murine cells (L929, MC57G, and P815 mastocytoma) defectively infected with the egg-adapted vaccine strain of mumps virus were found to be susceptible to cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL)-mediated lysis. In vitro secondary, but not in vivo primary, generated CTL caused cytolysis of these targets in an H-2-restricted manner. UV-inactivated-mumps virus-coated murine cells were also found to be susceptible to CTL-mediated lysis. Comparisons of murine CTL-mediated lysis by three paramyxoviruses (mumps, Sendai, and Newcastle disease viruses) indicated that no cross-reactivity occurred. The CTL response with mumps virus exhibited specific unresponsiveness patterns, as influenced by the H-2 K/D regions of the mouse strains, that were partially different from those of Sendai virus and Newcastle disease virus.