Hemianesthesia, sensory neglect, and defective access to conscious experience.

We report a patient with an ischemic stroke in the vascular territory of the right middle cerebral artery who had left spatial neglect and left hemianesthesia. The patient showed a dissociation between defective verbal reporting of somatosensory stimuli delivered to the left hand and physiologic evidence from an autonomic index. This indicates that there was processing of undetected stimuli without the patient's awareness, and suggests that the hemianesthesia was due, at least in part, to somesthetic hemi-inattention.

Methionine-enkephalin, substance P, and homovanillic acid in the CSF of parkinsonian patients.

Methionine-enkephalin, substance P, and homovanillic acid concentrations were measured in the CSF of subjects not affected by neurologic disorders (group 1), and in parkinsonian patients who had a slight or moderate (group 2) or severe (group 3) disability. Homovanillic acid and substance P concentrations in the CSF of groups 2 and 3 were respectively lower and higher than in group 1. On the contrary, an increase in CSF methionine-enkephalin content was found only in group 2. Our results confirm in humans the close relation between the dopaminergic and peptidergic transmissions in the nigrostriatal system that has been observed in experimental animals.

Intratracheal instillation of a novel NO/nucleophile adduct selectively reduces pulmonary hypertension.

We examined the pulmonary and systemic hemodynamic effects of administering soluble nitric oxide (NO) donor compounds (NO/nucleophile adducts, i.e., NONOates) directly into the trachea of animals with experimentally induced pulmonary hypertension. Steady-state pulmonary hypertension was created by using the thromboxane agonist U-46619. Yorkshire pigs were randomly assigned to one of four groups: group 1, intratracheal saline (control; n = 8); group 2, intratracheal sodium nitroprusside (n = 6); group 3, intratracheal ethylputreanine NONOate (n = 6); and group 4, intratracheal 2-(dimethylamino)-ethylputreanine NONOate (DMAEP/NO; n = 6). Pulmonary and systemic hemodynamics were monitored after drug instillation. Group 4 had significant reductions in pulmonary vascular resistance index (PVRI) at all time points compared with steady state and compared with group 1 (P < 0.05), whereas systemic vascular resistance index did not change. The mean change in mean pulmonary arterial pressure in group 4 was -33.1 +/- 1.2% compared with +6.4 +/- 1.3% in group 1 (P < 0.001), and the mean change in mean arterial pressure was -9.3 +/- 0.7% compared with a control value of -0.9 +/- 0.5% (P < 0.05). Groups 2 and 3 had significant decreases in both PVRI and systemic vascular resistance index compared with steady state and with group 1. In conclusion, intratracheal instillation of a polar-charged tertiary amine NONOate DMAEP/NO results in the selective reduction of PVRI. Intermittent intratracheal instillation of selective NONOates may be an alternative to continuously inhaled NO in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension.

Effects of vincamine on EEG sleep patterns in man: a pilot study.

Nightly EEG recordings were performed in 8 healthy volunteers after intramuscular injections of placebo and 30 mg vincamine, under double-blind conditions, according to a crossover design. The single dose of vincamine induced a significant decrease in sleep Stage 4, a decrease in REM stages which approached statistical significance, and finally an increase in REM latency only in subjects showing low baseline values of this parameter. The above data confirm the awakening and antidepressant action of vincamine observed in previous studies in both animals and man.

Sacral reflexes normal values with monopolar short needle electrodes recording.

To reduce patients discomfort and improve reliability in pelvic floor neurophysiological studies we examined 28 normal subjects employing short monopolar electrodes. The technique proved to be reliable and less discomfort to the patient than the traditional concentric needle method. Data were tested for Gaussian distribution and tolerance limits for normality were assessed. Our data suggest that use of monopolar instead of concentric needle electrodes may be suitable for pelvic floor examination.

Heroin myelopathy: a case report.

Acute transverse myelitis was observed as a complication of intravenous heroin addiction in a young man. Recovery within seven weeks was good, but not complete. The literature is reviewed and the possible pathogenetic mechanisms are discussed.

F-wave velocity in motor neurone disease.

The F-wave velocity in the central segment (axilla to spinal cord) was studied employing the "collison technique" described by Kimura (1974), and compared with the conduction velocity obtained with the usual methods. In 25 normal subjects the F-wave velocity increased proceeding proximally, reaching the maximum values in the central tract (64.86 +/- 2.23 m/sec in ulnar nerve). In 11 patients affected by motor neurone disease and 11 patients affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis the F-wave velocity decreased significantly proceeding proximally and the minimum values were found in the central tract (52.51 +/- 2.15 m/sec in MND and 48.64 +/- 5.60 m/sec in ALS). We therefore suggest the use of F-wave velocity as a more complete element for precise localization of the lesion in the central segment when the motoneurone is primarily involved.

Dopamine receptors and sleep induction in man.

Sleep induction has been studied in humans after the administration of apomorphine, a direct stimulant of the central dopaminergic system. The drug induced sleep and vomiting in healthy volunteers while it had no significant effect on 10 Parkinsonism patients treated for a long period with L-dopa. Apomorphine given to a group of Parkinsonism patients not receiving any specific treatment, and with a lower degree of disease severity, induced vomiting and sleep with a pattern similar to that in healthy subjects. A relationship between the dopaminergic system and sleep induction is suggested.

Sural nerve immunoreactivity for nerve growth factor receptor in a case of localized hypertrophic neuropathy.

Immunoreactivity for nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR) was examined using a monoclonal antibody against human NGFR in the sural nerve of a 24-year-old woman, affected by localized hypertrophic neuropathy (LHN). NGFR expression was correlated with electron microscopy and with immunoreactivity for S-100 protein, laminin, HLA-DR, HNK-1, P0 glycoprotein and neurofilament peptides. Our results indicate that in LHN most of whorl-forming cells are NGFR positive and S-100 protein or HLA-DR negative. These data along with the ultrastructural features suggest their origin from perineurium.

Soluble nitric oxide donor and surfactant improve oxygenation and pulmonary hypertension in porcine lung injury.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is associated with diminished surfactant activity and pulmonary hypertension. NONOates are soluble NO donors which release NO in solution. Intratracheal NONOates reduce pulmonary hypertension and improve oxygenation in ALI. We hypothesized that the pharmacologic properties of NO donors would be unaltered after surfactant admixture in vitro and that aerosolized NONOate activity would be enhanced by surfactant pretreatment in vivo. NO donors were added to saline or surfactant and analyzed for nitrite/nitrate production and aortic ring vasodilation. Surfactant did not alter nitrate/nitrite production or aortic ring vasodilation. A porcine model of ALI with pulmonary hypertension was produced using intravenous oleic acid. Animals were assigned to Surfactant-Saline, Surfactant-NONOate, Saline-Saline, or Saline-NONOate groups. Saline or surfactant was instilled into the trachea, followed by gas exchange, pulmonary function, and hemodynamic measurements. NONOate or saline was then aerosolized, and additional data were collected. Oxygenation was improved in the Surfactant-NONOate group, while pulmonary hypertension was selectively reduced in both NONOate groups. Aerosolized NONOate following surfactant pretreatment improves oxygenation and reduces pulmonary hypertension in ALI.

Aerosolization of novel nitric oxide donors selectively reduce pulmonary hypertension.

OBJECTIVES: Inhaled nitric oxide (NO) reduces pulmonary hypertension in acute respiratory failure. Soluble nitric oxide donors (NO/nucleophile adducts-NONOates) are less cumbersome to deliver and may offer clinical advantage compared with inhaled NO. The objective of this study was to examine the pulmonary and systemic hemodynamic effects of tracheal aerosolization of a new class of NONOates in a porcine model of experimentally induced pulmonary hypertension. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, controlled study. SETTING: Research laboratory. SUBJECTS: Yorkshire pigs (n = 18), weighing 11.4 to 16.4 kg. INTERVENTIONS: In anesthetized, mechanically ventilated, instrumented pigs, steady-state pulmonary hypertension (SSPH) was induced using a thromboxane agonist (U46619). Control animals received tracheal aerosolization of saline (n = 6); EP/NO animals received tracheal aerosolization of ethylputreanine NONOate (EP/ NO, n = 6); and DMAEP/NO animals received aerosolized 2-(dimethylamino) ethylputreanine NONOate (DMAEP/NO, n = 6). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Mean pulmonary (MPAP) and mean systemic arterial pressures (MAP), atrial pressures, cardiac output, and arterial blood gases were measured following drug instillation. DMAEP/NO animals had significant reductions in pulmonary vascular resistance index (PVRI) and MPAP at all time points compared with SSPH and control animals (p < .05), while systemic vascular resistance index did not change. EP/NO animals had a significant reduction in PVRI and MPAP at some time points compared with SSPH and control animals. For both NONOate-treated animal groups, MAP and cardiac index did not change significantly compared with SSPH and control animals (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: In this porcine model of pulmonary hypertension, intratracheal aerosolization of soluble NO donors results in sustained reduction of pulmonary hypertension without reducing systemic arterial pressure. Intermittent aerosolization of NONOates may be an alternative to continuously inhaled NO in the treatment of acute pulmonary hypertension.

Aerosolized soluble nitric oxide donor improves oxygenation and pulmonary hypertension in acute lung injury.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. The associated ventilation/perfusion mismatch and pulmonary hypertension are amenable to treatment with inhaled nitric oxide (NO) gas. Compounds formed by reacting NO with various nucleophiles (NONOates) release NO spontaneously and induce vasodilation. Intratracheally administered NONOates result in selective reduction in pulmonary hypertension. We hypothesized that a nebulized NONOate would improve oxygenation and reduce pulmonary vascular resistance in oleic acid-induced acute lung injury and pulmonary hypertension. Pigs underwent catheterization of the pulmonary artery, left atrium, and right atrium, and a flow probe was positioned around the pulmonary artery. Acute lung injury and pulmonary hypertension were induced with intravenous oleic acid. Animals were randomly assigned to receive either nebulized saline or the NONOate 2-(dimethylamino)ethylputreanine/NO (DMAEP/NO). Hemodynamic, gas exchange, pulmonary function, methemoglobin, and nitrite/nitrate measurements were obtained for 60 min. Animals in the DMAEP/NO group had improvement in PaO2 as compared with control animals (from 139 +/- 19 mm Hg to 180 +/- 19 mm Hg in the DMAEP/NO group [n = 6]; and from 144 +/- 6 mm Hg to 150 +/- 9 mm Hg in the saline group [n = 6], p < 0.05). After aerosol treatment, animals in the DMAEP/NO group had a greater reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance index (PVRI) than did control animals (from 81 +/- 17 dyne. s/cm5/kg to 34 +/- 8 dyne. s/cm5/kg; and from 104 +/- 16 dyne. s/cm5/kg to 64 +/- 11 dyne. sec/cm5/ kg in the saline group at 60 min, p < 0.05). There were no differences between the groups in systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI), cardiac index (CI), methemoglobin, nitrite/nitrate, or lung pathology scores. We conclude that DMAEP/NO improves oxygenation and has selective pulmonary vasodilating properties without causing significant systemic toxicity in this porcine model of acute lung injury.