Stress in Neonatal Rats with Different Maternal Care Backgrounds: Monoaminergic and Hormonal Responses.

The first 2 weeks of life in rats are known as the stress hyporesponsive period because stress responses in pups are diminished as compared to adult animals. However, it is considered a critical period in development in which infant rats are susceptible to environmental events, such as stressful stimuli and quality of maternal care received. These early life events have long-lasting effects, shaping a variety of outcomes, such as stress responsivity. This study investigated the effects of maternal care and sex differences on the response to an aversive stimulus in rat pups from high (HL) and low licking (LL) mothers. Plasma corticosterone, oxytocin, and central monoaminergic activity in 13-day-old rats submitted to cold stress were analyzed. Stress increased plasma corticosterone and marginally decreased hypothalamic dihydroxyphenylacetic acid/dopamine (DOPAC/DA) ratio. HL pups showed higher levels of plasma oxytocin than LL pups. The maternal effect was also detected in the hippocampus, in which 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid/serotonin (5-HIAA/5-HT) ratio was increased in HL pups, independently of the sex and stress. Investigating the early life events is useful not only into understand the neurobiological and hormonal mechanisms underlying maternal and stressful influences on infant development into a healthy or psychopathological adult phenotype, but also to unveil the immediate outcomes on infancy.

Stress in neonatal rats with different maternal care backgrounds: monoaminergic and hormonal responses.

The first 2 weeks of life in rats are known as the stress hyporesponsive period because stress responses in pups are diminished as compared to adult animals. However, it is considered a critical period in development in which infant rats are susceptible to environmental events, such as stressful stimuli and quality of maternal care received. These early life events have long-lasting effects, shaping a variety of outcomes, such as stress responsivity. This study investigated the effects of maternal care and sex differences on the response to an aversive stimulus in rat pups from high (HL) and low licking (LL) mothers. Plasma corticosterone, oxytocin (OT), and central monoaminergic activity in 13-day-old rats submitted to cold stress were analyzed. Stress increased plasma corticosterone and marginally decreased hypothalamic dihydroxyphenylacetic acid/dopamine ratio. HL pups showed higher levels of plasma OT than LL pups. The maternal effect was also detected in the hippocampus, in which 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid/serotonin ratio was increased in HL pups, independently of the sex and stress. Investigating the early life events is useful not only into understand the neurobiological and hormonal mechanisms underlying maternal and stressful influences on infant development into a healthy or psychopathological adult phenotype, but also to unveil the immediate outcomes on infancy.

Can upwelling signals be detected in intertidal fishes of different trophic levels?

For intertidal fishes belonging to three species, the herbivore Scartichthys viridis (Blenniidae), the omnivore Girella laevifrons (Kyphosidae) and the carnivore Graus nigra (Kyphosidae), mass and body size relationships were higher in individuals from an upwelling zone compared with those from a non-upwelling zone. RNA:DNA were higher in the herbivores and omnivores from the upwelling zone. Higher biomass and RNA:DNA in the upwelling intertidal fishes may be a consequence of an increased exposure to higher nutrient availability, suggesting that increased physiological conditioning in vertebrates from upwelling areas can be detected and measured using intertidal fishes of different trophic levels.

The IntAct molecular interaction database in 2010.

IntAct is an open-source, open data molecular interaction database and toolkit. Data is abstracted from the literature or from direct data depositions by expert curators following a deep annotation model providing a high level of detail. As of September 2009, IntAct contains over 200.000 curated binary interaction evidences. In response to the growing data volume and user requests, IntAct now provides a two-tiered view of the interaction data. The search interface allows the user to iteratively develop complex queries, exploiting the detailed annotation with hierarchical controlled vocabularies. Results are provided at any stage in a simplified, tabular view. Specialized views then allows 'zooming in' on the full annotation of interactions, interactors and their properties. IntAct source code and data are freely available at http://www.ebi.ac.uk/intact.

IntAct--open source resource for molecular interaction data.

IntAct is an open source database and software suite for modeling, storing and analyzing molecular interaction data. The data available in the database originates entirely from published literature and is manually annotated by expert biologists to a high level of detail, including experimental methods, conditions and interacting domains. The database features over 126,000 binary interactions extracted from over 2100 scientific publications and makes extensive use of controlled vocabularies. The web site provides tools allowing users to search, visualize and download data from the repository. IntAct supports and encourages local installations as well as direct data submission and curation collaborations. IntAct source code and data are freely available from http://www.ebi.ac.uk/intact.

What is the place of electroneuromyographic studies in the diagnosis and management of pudendal neuralgia related to entrapment syndrome?

Entrapment of the pudendal nerve may be at the origin of chronic perineal pain. This syndrome must be diagnosed because this can result in the indication of surgical decompression of the entrapped nerve for pain relief. Electroneuromyographic (ENMG) investigation is often performed in this context, based on needle electromyography and the study of sacral reflex and pudendal nerve motor latencies. The limits of ENMG investigation, owing to various pathophysiological and technical considerations, should be known. The employed techniques do not assess directly the pathophysiological mechanisms of pain but rather correlate to structural alterations of the pudendal nerve (demyelination or axonal loss). In addition, only direct or reflex motor innervation is investigated, whereas sensory nerve conduction studies should be more sensitive to detect nerve compression. Finally, ENMG cannot differentiate entrapment from other causes of pudendal nerve lesion (stretch induced by surgical procedures, obstetrical damage, chronic constipation...). Thus, perineal ENMG has a limited sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of pudendal nerve entrapment syndrome and does not give direct information about pain mechanisms. Pudendal neuralgia related to nerve entrapment is mainly suspected on specific clinical features and perineal ENMG examination provides additional, but no definitive clues, for the diagnosis or the localization of the site of compression. In fact, the main value of ENMG is to assess objectively pudendal motor innervation when a surgical decompression is considered. Perineal ENMG might predict the outcome of surgery but is of no value for intraoperative monitoring.

[Vesical sphincter disorders in Parkinson disease]. / Les troubles vésico-sphinctériens de la maladie de Parkinson.

Urinary bladder disorders often occur, sometimes very early, during the course of Parkinson's disease. Careful analysis of symptoms including clinical examination, urodynamic studies and radiographic data is essential before choosing a treatment, especially before prostatic surgery. We studied 41 parkinsonian patients. Bladder hyperreflexia occurred in 88% and bladder hyporeflexia in only 12%. In 16 patients, we tested bladder activity after a subcutaneous injection of apomorphine. All patients with hyperreflexia were improved whereas hyporeflexic patients remained unchanged. These findings and data from the literature suggest that in Parkinson's disease detrusor hyperreflexia is the consequence of dopamine nigrostriatal depletion. The physiopathology of bladder hyporeflexia is less understood. The practical care of parkinsonians with urinary disorders is detailed.

[Bladder sphincter disorders in Parkinson's disease]. / Les troubles vésico-sphinctériens de la maladie de Parkinson.

Clinical and urodynamic examinations were carried out in 63 patients with Parkinson's disease presenting with disorders of the urinary bladder sphincters with no detectable other neurological or urological cause. The incidence of these disorders varies greatly according to different authors this being likely due to a lack of their recognition in routine examinations. In many cases of the present series they were the initial symptom of the disease. The most frequent complaint was urgency of micturition, alone or associated with dysuria, the latter alone being much rarer. Urinary incontinence as a result of one or the other of these disturbances was a frequent feature. Overall clinical characteristics confirm the central neurologic origin of these disorders. Cystometry demonstrated detrusor hyperactivity in 60 p. cent of cases and hypoactivity in 35 p. cent. An electromyogram of the striated sphincter muscle and/or a urethral pressure graph were recorded in some patients. On the whole urodynamic data indicated detrusor muscle dysfunction as being the cause of the micturition disorders. L-Dopa could modify these disorders by increasing detrusor hypoactivity, probably through a central action. Anticholinergic agents provided good therapeutic results when detrusor hypoactivity was involved but it was much more difficult to improve hypoactivity. Data suggesting the role of basal ganglia lesions in detrusor dysfunction in Parkinson's disease are discussed.

Effects of apomorphine and L-dopa on the parkinsonian bladder.

Neurogenic bladder frequently occurs in Parkinson's disease. Detrusor hyperreflexia is a consequence of nigrostriatal dopamine depletion, whereas the cause of hyporeflexia remains unclear. We compared the results of cystometry and urethral profilometry with and without apomorphine (and L dopa) in 12 idiopathic parkinsonians with urinary disorders free of dopaminergic treatment. Whereas hyperreflexic patients improved with apomorphine, and to a lesser extent with L dopa, these drugs had no effect on hyporeflexic patients. These results confirm the role of dopaminergic lesions in the occurrence of bladder hyperreflexia and the possible implication of nondopaminergic lesions in the occurrence of hyporeflexia.

[Controlled study of the effect of dihydroergocristine on organic brain psychosyndrome]. / Kontrollierte Studie zur Wirkung von Dihydroergocristin beim hirnorganischen Psychosyndrom.

The aim of this study was to verify long-term therapeutic efficacy and tolerance of dihydroergocristine (DHEC, CAS 17479-19-5) in a double blind placebo controlled study, in elderly patients with psychosyndrome characterized by memory and behaviour impairment. Two hundred patients, aged more than 65 years, were randomly divided into two groups of one hundred each. The first group received one 6-mg DHEC tablet daily for four months and the other group received placebo. The evaluation parameter for efficacy was the neuropsychological test SCAG (Scale of Clinical Assessment for Geriatrics), administered before and after 30, 60 and 120 days. The results showed a significant difference between DHEC and placebo with regard to total and partial scores of SCAG as well as to single items (mental alertness, recent memory, disorientation, anxiety, mood depression, emotional lability, motivation, uncooperativeness, fatigue, headache, tinnitus). After as few as thirty days of DHEC treatment the severity of mental and psychological symptoms was markedly decreased (p vs placebo < 0.01), as documented by significant positive changes of SCAG items. The four-month double blind period was followed by a two-month single blind period, during which patients of both groups received placebo. At the end of these two months, SCAG total score was unfavourably increased in patients previously administered DHEC, although scores were still significantly lower both versus baseline and versus previous placebo patients. Safety was good (placebo: one case of diarrhea; DHEC: one case of gastralgia and dizziness). Nine patients dropped out for reasons unrelated to treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Radiation induced femoral palsy (author's transl)]. / Paralysie crurale post-radique.

We report four cases of femoral palsy due to compressive fibrosis, after pelvic radiation therapy. Three patients had Hodgkin's disease, and one testicular seminoma. Prominent clinical features include major groin induration and underlying swelling. Unlike what is usually seen in tumor relapse, little or no pain is associated with these neuropathies. The femoral post-radiation palsy develops earlier and faster than brachial plexus palsy of same aetiology. In one case, progressive aggravation led to surgical neurolysis which resulted in dramatic and long lasting improvement. The principal preventive and therapeutic managements are discussed: since compressive fibrosis is related to the use of isolated and massive electron beam therapy, various association of cobalt and electron beam therapy are designed to best prevent the side effects of each of these methods. The early treatment of developing fibrosis by D. penicillamine is discussed.

[Effect of apomorphine on the bladder of parkinsonian patients]. / Effet de l'apomorphine sur la vessie des parkinsoniens.

Neurogenic bladder frequently occurs in Parkinson's disease. Detrusor hyperreflexia is a consequence of nigrostriatal dopamine depletion whereas mechanism of hyporeflexia remains unclear. We compared the results of cystometry and urethral profilometry with and without apomorphine (and L dopa) in 12 idiopathic parkinsonians with urinary disorders off dopaminergic treatment. Hyperreflexic patients improved with apomorphine and to a lesser extent with L dopa, whereas these drugs had no effect on hyperreflexic patients. These results confirm the role of dopaminergic lesions in the occurrence of bladder hyperreflexia and the possible action of non dopaminergic lesions in the occurrence of hyporeflexia.

[Results of treatment of postoperative urinary incontinence in men by implantation of an AS 800 artificial sphincter. Apropos of 15 cases]. / Résultats du traitement de l'incontinence urinaire postopératoire de l'homme par l'implantation du sphincter artificiel AS 800. A propos de 15 observations.

Fifteen men were treated for postoperative urinary incontinence by implantation of an AS 800 artificial sphincter between May 1984 and May 1986. Follow up for at least 6 months and in some cases for more than 2 years has shown perfect day and night continence in 11 of the 15 patients and almost perfect continence in the remaining 4 who consider nevertheless that their quality of life has been transformed. These findings plead in favor of the implantation of this type of material.

Evaluación de la implementación del programa del adolescente en el consultorio general urbano de San Felipe / Assesment of the implementation of the program for the adolescent at the general urban clinic in San Felipe

La adolescencia, grupo etáreo tradicionalmente postergado, ha pasado en los últimos años a convertirse en el objeto de atención de las políticas de salud del Gobierno. Esto llevó, en el año 1995, a la creación del Programa Nacional de Salud del Adolescente. El presente trabajo tiene el objetivo de describir los hallazgos que arrojó la revisión de los datos obtenidos desde la implementación del programa, así como también evaluar la justificación de su existencia en nuestro Consultorio. De los 163 adolescentes incluídos en el estudio, el 94 por ciento presentada una o más anormalidades, psicológicos y/o sociales. El análisis detallado de los resultados permite concluir que la existencia del programa del adolescente en nuestro Consultorio fue crucial para el diagnóstico y manejo oportuno de la problemática biopsicosocial de los jóvenes encuestados