Assessment of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor in hair to study stress responses: A pilot investigation.

To study pathogenic stress-effects in health and disease, it is paramount to define easy access parameters for non-invasive analysis of biological change in response to stress. Hair samples successfully provide this access for the study of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) changes. In this study, we assess the hair expression and corresponding epigenetic changes of a neurotrophin essential for autonomic nervous system function and mental health: brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In three independent studies in healthy academic volunteers (study I: German students, N=36; study II, German academic population sample, N=28; study III: Mexican students, N=115), BDNF protein expression or BDNF gene (BDNF) histone acetylation was determined. Simultaneously, mental distress and distress-associated somatic complaints were assessed by self-report. In study I, we found a negative correlation between hair-BDNF protein level and hair-cortisol as well as between hair-BDNF and somatic complaints, while hair-cortisol correlated positively with mental distress. In study II, we found a negative correlation between H4 histone acetylation at the BDNF gene P4-promoter and somatic complaints. Regression analysis confirmed confounder stability of associations in both studies. In study III, we confirmed study I and found lower hair-BDNF protein level in volunteers with high somatic complaints, who also reported higher mental distress during the end of term exams. The results indicate that BDNF protein levels can be detected in clipped hair and are associated with somatic complaints and stress in life. In addition, we concluded that plucked hair can provide material for the study of epigenetic changes in stress-affected tissues. These tools can prove valuable for future studies on distress, both under experimental and field conditions.

Compatibility of a combination of tiamulin and chlortetracycline with salinomycin in feed during a pulsed medication program coadministration in broilers.

In an earlier study, the continuous medication of broiler feed with a combination of tiamulin (TIA; 20 mg/kg), chlortetracycline (CTC; 60 mg/kg), and the ionophore anticoccidial salinomycin (SAL; 60 mg/kg) caused an initial increase in BW and feed efficiency (FE; g of weight gain/kg of feed intake). However, as doses increased to combinations of 30 mg/kg of TIA and 90 mg/kg of CTC or 50 mg/kg of TIA and 150 mg/kg of CTC, there was a dose-related reduction in growth rate and FE. This was thought to be due to the interaction between TIA and SAL. In this study, using a protocol similar to the previous trial, broiler chicks were administered SAL at 60 mg/kg via the feed and the same inclusion rates of TIA + CTC. However, instead of feeding the birds continuously, considering the cost of TIA and possibly to compensate for the depressed growth attributable to the interaction with SAL, they were pulse-dosed for 1 to 10 d and again at 21 to 27 d, and the whole trial lasted 35 d to see if the intermittent pulses might reduce production losses. A total of 200 straight-run 1-d-old broiler chicks (Hubbard classic) were randomly distributed into 4 groups, with each group consisting of 5 cages containing 10 birds. The 20 cages were allocated to the 4 treatment groups on a random basis. The control diet, containing only SAL at 60 mg/kg, was fed to all birds throughout the 35-d trial, including the period during the gaps between dosing (i.e., d 11 to 20 and d 28 to 35). Feed and water were available for the whole trial period. Several serum enzymes (creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and aspartate aminotransferase) were determined from blood samples taken on d 35. Blood samples were also collected at 1, 19, and 35 d of age and were examined for antibody titers to Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae. Necropsy and histopathology of the birds (n = >or=4) were conducted during weekly intervals. There was no significant difference in weight gain, feed intake, and FE when the groups treated with TIA + CTC were compared with the control group (P > 0.05). There was no relationship between mortality and inclusion rates of the medication. No clinical signs of an interaction were exhibited during the trial, which was supported by necropsy and serum enzyme results. Maternally derived antibodies against M. gallisepticum were identified at the start of the trial but disappeared within 19 d, and infection with M. gallisepticum or M. synoviae was found neither serologically nor clinically during the trial. The results demonstrated that intermittent pulse administration of TIA at 50 mg/kg + CTC at 150 mg/kg from d 1 to 10 and d 21 to 27, along with continuous feeding of SAL (60 mg/kg), would be possible without altering performance and while maintaining the health status of the broilers. However, further research is required on the presence of artificial infections with Mycoplasma pathogens to determine the efficacy of the combination of TIA +CTC.

Autistic disorder: a review for the pediatric dentist.

Dental publications on autism have been sparse since the first comprehensive article geared for the dental profession. New findings on the etiology of autistic disorder (AD) have been discovered, suggesting that it is an organic disorder characterized by abnormalities in the brain, especially the cerebellum and limbic system. This article summarizes the latest medical findings on the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment approaches of AD, and reviews the dental literature since 1969. The main dental topics reviewed are: oral health status and dental needs of patients with AD, characteristics of patients with AD, and self-injurious behavior (SIB) in the context of AD. Clinical behavior-management issues such as pharmacological and communicative techniques and physical restraint and desensitization are described. The affect of the dental office's environment and appointment structure on a patient with AD are presented.

[The technetium-99-m-pyrophosphate scintigram in the assessment of the size of acute myocardial infarction: comparison with CK-(MB) curves mortality (author's transl)]. / Grössenbestimmung akuter Myokardinfarkte mit Technetium-99m-Pyrophosphat. Vergleich zu CK(MC)-Verlauf und Letalität.

While the technetium-99m-pyrophosphate scintigram enables diagnostic proof of acute myocardial infarction, its use in the evaluation of the extent of infarction has not been clearly established. This study, in 30 patients with acute myocardial infarction was, thus, undertaken to assess the relationship between the findings of the technetium-99m-pyrophosphate scintigram, with respect to infarct area and uptake pattern, the infarct size, as determined from the total CK an CK-MB curves, and the mortality. The scintigraphically determined infarct areas ranged between 1.7 and 29.3 cm2; the 20.2 plus or minus 6.0 cm2 average for anterior wall infarction (n=18, range 7.4 to 29.3 cm2) was significantly greater (p smaller than 0.005) than the 8.3 plus or minus 5.3 cm2 average for inferior infarction (n=12, range 1.7 to 15.8 cm2). Correlation coefficients between the scintigraphically and enzymatically determined infarct sizes for the entire patient population ranged from 0.71 to 0.80. Anterior infarctions correlated more closely (0.66 to 0.84) than inferior infarctions (0.46 to 0.66). The technetium-99m-pyrophosphate uptake pattern was focal in 20 patients and ring-shaped (doughnut) in ten. Infarcts with focal uptake patterns were significantly smaller than those displaying a doughnut pattern (12.2 plus or minus 6.4 vs. 24 plus or minus 4.0 cm2, p smaller than 0.005). The infarct weight calculated from the CK-MC curve with application of individually determined disappearance rate for those infarcts displaying a focal uptake pattern was 34 plus or minus 29 grams while that associated with a doughnut uptake pattern was significantly greater at 86 plus or minus 25 grams (p smaller than 0.005). During the 18 -month observation period there were six deaths; the average scintigraphic infarct area of 22.8 plus or minus 3.6 cm2 in those who died was significantly greater (p smaller than 0.005) than that of the 13.8 plus or minus 8.2 cm2 of the survivors. Of the non-survivors, five had a doughnut uptake pattern and one displayed focal uptake. In the 24 survivors, a focal uptake pattern was found in 19 and a doughnut pattern in five. Conversely, 19 of the 20 patients with a focal uptake pattern survived while only five of the ten patients with a doughnut pattern were alive after 18 months. Thus, comparison with the enzymatically determined infarct weight as well as the mortality indicate that the technetium-99m-pyrophosphate scintigram yields clinically relevant data with regard to infarct size. Since no patient with an infarct area of less than 17 cm2 died within the 18-month observation period, designation of scintigraphically determined infarct size as small (smaller than 17 cm2) and large (larger than 17 cm2) was enabled. The corresponding cut-off point between large and small infarctions as determined enzymatically has been designated at 65 grams. Accordingly, agreement was found in 70% (14 of 20 patients) with scintigraphically small infarcts and in 80% (8 of 10 patients) with scintigraphically large infarcts...