K252a and staurosporine microbial alkaloid toxins as prototype of neurotropic drugs

K252 family of alkaloid toxins-kinase inhibitors are the most widely used compounds in biological research on the role of protein kinases in cellular transduction systems, biological functions and pathophysiology of neurological disorders. The wide research interest in these toxins is due to their potency in inhibiting cellular protein kinases. However, lack of kinase specificity is one of their major drawbacks. Synthesis of new K252 derivatives can be expected to open up a new generation of kinase inhibitors. Staurosporine might be considered as a prototype neurotropic drug in view of its ability to induce neurite outgrowth and to increase tau protein levels. Because it mimics some of the neuroprotective effects of NGF and might blocks certain signals required to enhance cellular levels and/or beta amyloid processing, staurosporine might play a beneficial role in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The ability of staurosporine to promote neuronal regeneration and brain cholinergic neurons survival has been also demonstrated in animal studies (Nabeshima et al., 1991). The beneficial effects of K252a on the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) disease mice model and it's ability to supress macrophage activation suggest an important role of protein kinases inhibitors as immunosupressive agents. These results may also point to the potential clinical relevance of K252 microbial toxins as prototypes for the development of new drugs for the management of neuronal diseases.

Adolescent schizophrenia: a methodologic review of the current neuroimaging and neuropsychologic literature

This paper reviews all relevant articles that reported structural neuroimaging or neuropsychological data in adolescent patients with schizophrenia. These papers were subsequently examined from a methodological perspective. Few papers have been written that have examined whether adolescent schizophrenia is associated with structural neuroimaging abnormalities or cognitive dysfunction. In these studies, major methodologic issues exist. Therefore, at present, firm conclusions cannot be made regarding the presence or absence of neuropsychologic dysfunction or structural neuroimaging abnormalities in this population. Attention to certain methodologic issues may improve future studies of this topic.

Transient versus persistent functional and structural changes associated with facilitation of Aplysia sensorimotor synapses are second messenger dependent

Increases in activity of both protein kinase A (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC) contribute to short-term facilitation of Aplysia sensorimotor synapses evoked by serotonin (5-HT). We report here that increasing levels of cAMP in sensory neurons evokes increases in both synaptic efficacy and in the number of sensory neuron varicosities contacting the major axons of motor cell L7 at intermediate times (3 hr) that persist for 24 hr. Treatment with phorbol esters results in a large transient increase in synaptic efficacy that is accompanied by a large transient increase in the number of sensory neuron varicosities with the newest varicosities most susceptible to elimination. The reversal of the synaptic facilitation and the structural changes does not appear to be the result of long-term inhibitory actions of persistent PKC activation by phorbol esters, since changes in synaptic efficacy can be evoked by additional applications of either phorbol esters or 5-HT. The short-lived changes in structure evoked by phorbol esters occur in preexisting sensory neurites and not by new growth, since increases in PKC activity with phorbol esters lead to reductions in neurite extension and to retractions by sensory neuron growth cones. The action of phorbol esters on growth cone extension is reversible with washout. The results suggest that increases in PKA and PKC activities by 5-HT contribute to short (minutes) and intermediate (hours) forms of facilitation of sensorimotor synapses while increases in PKA activity also mediate long-term (days) maintenance of synaptic facilitation.

The self-employment option for people with disabilities: a case study of 'AHVA' desk top publishing company

From the above results of the evaluation survey it can be concluded that the participants of the 'AHVA' desktop publishing company, who are with multiple and physical disabilities and who have initiated and run their own enterprise, perceived their first year of operation as beneficial. They mastered new technical skills, learned new work-related behaviours, expanded their interpersonal competencies and felt personal growth. They all developed high motivation to make their operation successful. The case study of 'AHVA' desktop publishing company, initiated and run by a group of multiply and physically disable persons, is unique and demonstrates the positive trend for the future. It is an example of personal and group commitment to build a competitive enterprise. It is self determination rather than the actual outcome of services provided, that is the driving force behind their efforts. The team members demonstrated that persons with disabilities can indeed take charge of their lives, be masters of their own destinies, and lead a productive and meaningful life. Here, inclusion is not a one-sided process in which service providers and rehabilitation experts try to integrate persons with disabilities into the community and regular employment. Inclusion is to integrate persons with disabilities into the community and regular employment. Inclusion is achieved here by the self initiative of a group of persons with disabilities. They have created an extraordinary enterprise according to their own special needs. Non-disabled people interact with them on an equal level, as partners in a business, sharing mutual interests of quality production.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Perceptions of life stress and chronic insomnia in older adults

This study compared the level of self-reported stress of 42 older good sleepers (M age = 68.2 years) and 42 poor sleepers (M age = 68.7 years). The relations among subjective ratings of sleep, level of perceived stress, and negative mood were analyzed for each group. Good and poor sleepers reported similar amounts of life stress, but the relations between life stress and sleep perceptions differed for the 2 groups. Specifically, within the group of poor sleepers, those with higher life stress had greater difficulty falling asleep and less early morning waking than did poor sleepers with lower life stress. There was no association between life stress and any sleep measures for good sleepers. These results are compatible with the notion that good and poor sleepers may have different susceptibilities to poor sleep despite experiencing similar stressful life events.

Meta-analyses of studies of ventricular enlargement and cortical sulcal prominence in mood disorders. Comparisons with controls or patients with schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

The findings of ventricular enlargement and increased sulcal prominence are well documented in schizophrenia, but the consistency of similar findings in mood disorders is less well appreciated. Reliable documentation of the presence of these structural abnormalities in mood disorders would require a reassessment of their significance for both schizophrenia and mood disorders. In this article, we meta-analytically review the literature on ventricular enlargement and cortical sulcal prominence in patients with mood disorders compared with controls and patients with schizophrenia.

METHODS

Four meta-analytic reviews were conducted, two comparing patients with mood disorders with normal controls on ventricular enlargement (meta-analysis 1) or sulcal prominence (meta-analysis 2) and two comparing patients with mood disorders with schizophrenic patients on these same measures (meta-analyses 3 and 4).

RESULTS

Meta-analyses 1 and 2 revealed statistically significant (P < .001) moderate composite effect sizes (d) for the comparisons of patients with mood disorders with controls on both ventricular enlargement (d = 0.44) and sulcal prominence (d = 0.42). Meta-analysis 3 further revealed that patients with schizophrenia have significantly greater ventricular enlargement than patients with mood disorders (P = .002), but the effect size was small (d = -0.20). There were too few studies comparing these patient groups on sulcal prominence to support a quantitative meta-analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

This review documents the presence of ventricular enlargement and increased sulcal prominence in mood disorders. Patients with mood disorders have less ventricular enlargement than patients with schizophrenia, but this effect is small. These results reinforce previous suggestions of the nonspecificity of structural brain changes in schizophrenia and mood disorders.

Factors associated with inappropriate hospitalization in medical wards: a cross-sectional study in two university hospitals

A comparative study of the appropriateness of hospitalization was conducted in the medical departments of two university hospitals in Israel. A cross-section of 297 patients on one hospitalization day was analyzed using the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP). Data were independently collected by two reviewers (R1 and R2). The study revealed a significant difference in the percent of inappropriate hospitalization between the two hospitals, i.e. 13.3% (R1) or 19.3% (R2) for hospital B, and 24.5% (R1) or 32% (R2) for hospital A. The reviewers were in agreement regarding evaluation (92.6%, Kappa 0.78) of 275 index days. A multivariate analysis of the index days with agreed appropriateness correlated with occupancy and length of stay. Routine monitoring of appropriateness of hospital stay should, therefore, be targeted to medical departments with relatively low occupancy rates and/or prolonged average stay.

INDANA: a meta-analysis on individual patient data in hypertension. Protocol and preliminary results

The overall effect of antihypertensive drug treatment has been well documented. The proportion of patients who benefit varies according to their baseline cardiovascular risk, and is small for the majority of people treated. Some investigators propose limiting the treatment target population to patients at high cardiovascular risk, but several assumptions must be made to justify this procedure. The INDANA project is a meta-analysis based on individual patient data, and thus offers the opportunity to check the validity of these assumptions. Its main objective is to identify responders (and non-responders) in the drug treatment of hypertension. The rationale and methods for such an approach are presented here, with the solution for some technical problems. The conclusion of the data collection has shown that the project is feasible. The results of the main analysis should be available in 1996, and should contribute to the selection of responders and to the individualization of the treatment of hypertension.

Normal variation in MRI of the brain

Compared with CT, much more detail and information is seen on any standard MRI sequence. The task of reviewing MRI head scans can therefore be daunting to the new radiologist. This article outlines and emphasizes many of the predictable normal variants, hopefully lessening the burden and preventing the reader from misidentifying many of the common structures.

Growth patterns in selected organs of the miniature swine as determined by gross macromolecular composition

As part of a larger study designed to characterize the early developmental stages of the Hormel-Hanford strain miniature pig, the brain, kidney, liver, pancreas, and spleen from male animals were examined for changes in RNA, DNA, and protein contents from 1 to 196 d after birth. Distinct patterns were found for changes with age in macromolecular levels. Protein levels increased from d 1 to 56 in all organs except spleen, in which little change was noted. Gel electrophoresis showed little qualitative change in the liver protein profile during this period. A fat-free, non-nucleic acid, protein-containing fraction, insoluble in hot alkali, appeared in the brain after approximately 1 wk following birth. DNA concentrations decreased markedly from d 1 to d 196 for brain, kidney, and spleen but decreased more gradually for liver and pancreas. RNA levels declined slightly or remained the same in all organs except pancreas, where a large increase occurred from d 1 to weaning (56 d). Growth proceeded in all organs by increases in cell number (hyperplasia), as evidenced by increases in total (level or concentration x organ weight) DNA, or by hypertrophy, as evidenced by increases in the ratio of protein to DNA or by a combination of both processes. Hypertrophic growth was attained by d 56 and continued to sexual maturity in all organs except spleen. Hyperplastic growth continued to sexual maturity in all organs except brain.

Modification of conditioned apneas in rats: evidence for cortical involvement

Apneic patterns in breathing can be classically conditioned in rats by brief neonatal exposures to hypoxia, noise, and petting during sleep (A. J. Thomas, W. Austin, L. Friedman, and K. P. Strohl, J. Appl. Physiol. 73: 1530-1536, 1992); thus animals may acquire apneic patterns by exposure to not only respiratory but also nonrespiratory stimuli. We hypothesized that conditioned apneas in these animals can be reduced or abolished by presentation of counterconditioning stimuli, which would prevent the respiratory controller from being influenced by nonrespiratory stimuli and affecting breathing rhythmicity. In five female rats conditioned during neonatal life to exhibit apneic breathing during adulthood and in five female unconditioned control rats, the effect of a brief quiet repetitive auditory stimulus (white noise, 50 Hz, 30 dB) presented for periods of 20 min on and 20 min off was assessed. In conditioned apneic rats, white noise reduced the frequencies of apneas by approximately 79% (P < 0.01) but did not alter the number of apneas in unconditioned control rats. In either group, white noise had no effect on the number of apneas preceded by a sigh. In a second experiment, the effect of Equithesin anesthetic was examined in five female conditioned apneic rats. In contrast to the white noise effect, not only apneic breathing but also apneas preceded by a sign were completely abolished by anesthesia (P < 0.0001). These findings suggest a role for counterconditioning and cortical influences on respiratory rhythm in the adult mammal.

Radiology of the paraglenoid sulcus

The paraglenoid sulcus is a variable groove in the ilium adjacent to the inferior end of the sacroiliac joint. This study investigates the hypothesis that the groove is due to resorption at the insertion of the anterior sacroiliac ligament in response to stress. The anatomical relationships of the groove are shown with plain films, arteriography and computed tomography. Relationship to parity was tested in 70 adult female subjects; a statistically significant relationship was found, with deep grooves occurring only in parous women. An association with osteitis condensans ilii was also demonstrated. Relationship to lumbosacral posture was tested in 102 adult females, and an association with increased lumbar lordosis was found. These findings are consistent with our initial hypothesis.

Smooth pursuit performance in patients with affective disorders or schizophrenia and normal controls: analysis with specific oculomotor measures, RMS error and qualitative ratings

Smooth pursuit performance in schizophrenia and affective disorders has generally been found to be abnormal using a variety of measures. The purpose of this study was to assess patients with these disorders and normal controls in order to compare the different measures across diagnoses. Smooth pursuit was assessed using quantitative specific measures (gain, catch-up saccade rate and amplitude, square-wave jerk rate, number of anticipatory saccades and total time scored), as well as two global measures: root mean-square error (RMS) and qualitative rating. As previously reported, patients with schizophrenia had low gain, increased catch-up saccade rate and spent less time engaged in scoreable smooth pursuit than normal controls. Patients with affective disorders were not statistically different from controls on any of these measures, and had significantly higher gain than patients with schizophrenia. RMS error and qualitative rating measures were highly correlated (r = 0.87). In linear regression analyses, the quantitative specific measures were highly significant predictors of both RMS error and qualitative ratings (P < 0.0001). Linear regression analyses and a modelling study indicated that one quantitative specific measure, the percent of time engaged in scoreable smooth pursuit (total time scored), was most related to global ratings. However, RMS error and qualitative ratings were less sensitive than total time scored to the difference between controls and patients with schizophrenia. These data indicate two smooth pursuit performance deficits in schizophrenia: patients spend less time engaged in scoreable smooth pursuit and have low gain (accompanied by increased compensatory saccades) when the smooth pursuit is engaged.

Prediction of outcome in behaviorally based insomnia treatments

Factors related to successful behavioral intervention for individuals with insomnia are not well understood. In this study we employed the Neuroticism, Extraversion and Openness (NEO) Personality Inventory, to predict successful treatment outcome. Two behavioral treatments for insomnia, sleep restriction therapy (SRT) and relaxation training (RT) were employed in 32 elderly insomniacs. Following two baseline weeks, subjects underwent four weeks of individual treatment. Daily telephone call-ins generated data on sleep times and sleep latency. Follow-up occurred three months after the end of treatment. Results indicated that subjects showing the greatest improvement in total sleep time with both treatments were more traditional, conventional and rigid. Improvement in sleep onset latency was unrelated to NEO Scores. SRT appeared to be more effective for increasing total sleep time in these older subjects.

Relationship between smooth pursuit eye-tracking and cognitive performance in schizophrenia

The relationship between measures of smooth pursuit and neuropsychological performance was assessed in 20 unmedicated schizophrenics. Eye-tracking measures included gain, catch-up saccade parameters, and rate of saccadic intrusions. Neuropsychological measures included tests generally considered as "frontal": Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Consonant Trigram Test (CTT), and Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT). The Digit Symbol Test (DST), which is generally considered to be a measure of global functioning, was also included. Gain and other pursuit measures were significantly correlated with the DST and the COWAT, but were not correlated with the WCST or the CTT.

A unique approach to multi-state networking: BHSL (Basic Health Sciences Network)

Development of a reciprocal multi-state shared resources network is described. The Basic Health Sciences Library Network (BHSL) is one the largest interlibrary loan networks free of direct charges to participants and any direct federal or state funding. Established in June 1986, BHSL started with 132 member libraries from three northeastern states. Current membership is 460 libraries in 10 states. Interlibrary loan activity for 1992 resulted in a collective cost savings of $592,672. This model of resource sharing can be applied to any group of libraries that access a common locator tool.