Reversal of pentylenetetrazole-altered swimming and neural activity-regulated gene expression in zebrafish larvae by valproic acid and valerian extract.

RATIONALE: Ethnopharmacology has documented hundreds of psychoactive plants awaiting exploitation for drug discovery. A robust and inexpensive in vivo system allowing systematic screening would be critical to exploiting this knowledge. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to establish a cheap and accurate screening method which can be used for testing psychoactive efficacy of complex mixtures of unknown composition, like plant crude extracts. METHODS: We used automated recording of zebrafish larval swimming behavior during light vs. dark periods which we reproducibly altered with an anxiogenic compound, pentylenetetrazole (PTZ). First, we reversed this PTZ-altered swimming by co-treatment with a well-defined synthetic anxiolytic drug, valproic acid (VPA). Next, we aimed at reversing it by adding crude root extracts of Valeriana officinalis (Val) from which VPA was originally derived. Finally, we assessed how expression of neural activity-regulated genes (c-fos, npas4a, and bdnf) known to be upregulated by PTZ treatment was affected in the presence of Val. RESULTS: Both VPA and Val significantly reversed the PTZ-altered swimming behaviors. Noticeably, Val at higher doses was affecting swimming independently of the presence of PTZ. A strong regulation of all three neural-activity genes was observed in Val-treated larvae which fully supported the behavioral results. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated in a combined behavioral-molecular approach the strong psychoactivity of a natural extract of unknown composition made from V. officinalis. Our results highlight the efficacy and sensitivity of such an approach, therefore offering a novel in vivo screening system amenable to high-throughput testing of promising ethnobotanical candidates.

Abscesos pulmonares: conceptos actuales y tratamiento / Pulmonary abscess: actual concepts and treatment

La incidencia de abscesos pulmonares ha aumentado en los últimos años. Esto se ha correlacionado al aumento en poblaciones de pacientes alcohólicos e inmunocomprometidos quienes están a mayor riesgo de aspiración debido a alteraciones en el estado de conciencia. Los orgnaismos encontrados más comunmente causando estos abscesos son bacterias anaeróbicas de las vías respiratorias altas acompañados de otras bacterias que son parte de la flora indígena nasofaringeal. El tratamiento actual de estos pacientes es médico, siendo el antibiótico de elección la penicilina o la clindamicina. En circustancias especiales hay que recurir a tratamiento quirúrgico

Perfil de utilización de los servicios de salud durante los XVII Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos y del Caribe: Delegación de Puerto Rico, Ponce 1993 / Profile of health services utilization during the XVII Central and Caribbean Sport Games: Delegation of Puerto Rico, Ponce 1993

During the XVII Central American and Caribbean Sports Games held in Ponce in 1993 the health services offered to the Puerto Rico Delegation included medical, dental and psychological assistance, physical therapy and services on the playing field. Information about the use of these services was obtained from the encounter sheets. The Puerto Rican delegation of 750 members had 1,800 encounters with the health team; 612 (34.0 per cent ) individual consults; 896 (54.8 per cent ) physical therapy sessions; 166 (9.2 per cent ) encounters in the sports venues; and 36 (20 per cent ) group therapies. The most common diagnoses were athletic injuries (304; 58.2 per cent ) and diseases of the respiratory system (76; 14.5 per cent ). The most frequent athletic injuries were first degree strains (75; 24.7 per cent ) and tendinitis (73, 24.0 per cent ). This pattern is similar to that observed in other sports games and delegations with mild conditions prevailing. An interdisciplinary work and biopsychosocial approach will be important for the better health and performance of our athletes