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.

Characteristics of patients with autistic disorder (AD) presenting for dental treatment: a survey and chart review.

A group of 43 patients with AD (mean age, 13.5; SD, 5.9 yrs) was identified from the University Hospital School Pediatric Dentistry Clinic. We reviewed the patients' charts to obtain demographic data, dental findings, and the management techniques used for treatment. The patients were divided into groups according to Frankl's categories of behavior, ranging from definitely negative to positive. Descriptive data are provided for each group. Commonly used communications and pharmacological management techniques, as well as physical restraints, enabled us to treat all the patients in the traditional dental setting, when simple procedures were planned. Treatment under general anesthesia in the operating room was necessary in 37% of all patients when comprehensive care was required or difficult procedures were carried out. A questionnaire was also sent out to the caregivers to gather data on patients' nutrition and eating/chewing habits. In the sample surveyed, two-thirds of the individuals reportedly exhibited a normal eating pattern, while 14% pouched food. Soft, sweet, or sticky foods were preferred by 41% of the patients.

Cultivation of Bowes melanoma cells in the Opticell system: influence of the addition of protein supplements to the serum-free medium on the production of plasminogen activator.

The influence of a protein-free and a protein-rich, supplemented serum-free medium on the production of plasminogen activator (t-PA) from Bowes melanoma cells was investigated in the Opticell culture system and compared to tissue culture flask cultures. In the presence of medium supplements metabolic activity and t-PA production were favoured in both systems. The addition of supplements was apparently more effective in the Opticell than in flask cultures, because t-PA activity obtained in the Opticell was 2-3 times higher in protein-rich medium, but 2 times lower in unsupplemented medium than in flasks. These results indicate that the protein content in a serum-free medium is important for product formation in the Opticell, and serum-free media which work at small scale in tissue culture flasks are not always suited for technical culture systems such as the Opticell but have to be adapted to them.

[Phospholipase A2 inhibitors in hemorrhagic-necrotizing pancreatitis. Animal experiment evaluation of a new treatment concept]. / Phospholipase A2-Inhibitoren bei hämorrhagisch-nekrotisierender Pankreatitis. Tierexperimentelle Uberprüfung eines neuen Behandlungskonzeptes.

In mongrel dogs with induced pancreatitis we studied the effects of the nonspecific phospholipase A2-inhibitors chlorpromazine, gabexate mesilate and CaNa2EDTA on the course of pancreatogenic shock and the intrapancreatic lysolecithin production. The local level of lysolecithine the metabolite of phospholipase A2 was lower in the treated than in the untreated control groups. Gabexate mesilate was the most active inhibitor. However, none of the drugs had a beneficial influence on hemodynamics, chlorpromazine made it even worse. Morphologically no difference was seen between the treated and untreated groups.