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Journal Article 2002; 23(5-6): 405-410 PubMed PMID: 12500161 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Endoplasmic Reticulum, Rough:ultrastructure, Estradiol:analogs & derivatives, Female, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Microscopy, Electron, Mitochondria:drug effects, Ovariectomy, Pineal Gland:drug effects, Rats, Rats, Wistar, Ribosomes:drug effects.   

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of ovariectomy and ovariectomy followed by estradiol benzoate administration on the ultrastructure of pinealocytes in female rat.r />r /> DESIGN: For this purpose 15 female Wistar rats were used. Animals were divided into three groups. Group I and II were designated as sham-ovariectomized (control) and ovariectomized, respectively. Group III was ovariectomized and daily injected with estradiol benzoate for one month. At the end of the experiment, all animals were anesthetized with ketamine for fixation by vascular perfusion. Pineal glands of groups I, II and III were removed. All specimens were examined by electron microscopy.r />r /> RESULTS: Ovariectomy caused an increase of lipid droplets, mitochondria and ribosomes. Rough endoplasmic reticulum was extensive in the cytoplasm. Estradiol administration to ovariectomized rats resulted in formation of less extensive lipid droplets, mitochondria and ribosomes compared to pinealocyte ultrastructure of both control and ovariectomized rats. Extensiveness of rough endoplasmic reticulum in the pinealocytes of estradiol-administrated rats was similar to that in controls.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm relationship between the pineal gland and gonads in the rat and it has been suggested that estradiol benzoate reverses the ultrastructural changes, which indicate increased cell activation, occurring in the pinealocytes after ovariectomy....

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Journal Article 2002; 23(5-6): 396-404 PubMed PMID: 12500160 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Brain Injuries:pathology, Cerebral Cortex:blood supply, Disease Models, Animal, Male, Microcirculation:pathology, Microscopy, Electron, Neovascularization, Physiologic, Pituitary Gland, Posterior:blood supply, Rats, Rats, Wistar, Tight Junctions:.   

OBJECTIVES: Angiogenesis comprises two different mechanisms: endothelial sprouting and intussusceptive microvascular growth. The sprouting process is based on endothelial cell migration, proliferation and tube formation. Intussusceptive microvascular growth divides existing vessel lumens by formation and insertion of endothelial columns into the vessel lumen. The morphological features of microvessels of cerebral cortex and neurohypophysis were evaluated in a model of the cerebral traumatic injury.r />r /> METHOD: The observations were conducted seven days after induction of cortical trauma. Traumatic injury was induced in the fronto-temporal region of cerebral cortex in general anesthesia with 20mg/kg ketamine hydrochloride.r />r /> RESULTS: Seven days after traumatic brain injury in sections from cerebral cortex and neurohypophysis we can observe morphological features of angiogenesis. Endothelium of the cerebral cortex possesses high endotheliocytes tightly connected and enveloped by amorphous basement membrane-like material. Transcapillary pillars tightly connected with neighbouring endothelial cells split the newly formed vessels and branching takes place. In neurohypophysis we can observe all stages of non-sprouting angiogenesis: proliferation endothelial cells on the inside mother vessel, splitting newly formed blood vessels by transcapillary pillars directed into the vessel lumen, maturation of endothelium and network formation.r />r /> CONCLUSION: The mechanical injuries directly induced angiogenesis not only in cerebral cortex, but also in neurohypophysis. Our studies show that mechanism of angiogenesis is not the same as observed previously in neurohypophysis after focal cerebral ischemia (Neuroendocrinology Letters 2001; 22:87 92). This study indicates that mechanism of angiogenesis can depend on kind of induction....

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Comparative Study 2002; 23(5-6): 391-395 PubMed PMID: 12500159 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Coloring Agents, Cytoprotection:drug effects, DNA:analysis, Disease Models, Animal, Drug Evaluation, Preclinical, Drug Therapy, Combination, Growth Hormone:therapeutic use, Heart:drug effects, Male, Melatonin:therapeutic use, Myocardial Infarctio.   

OBJECTIVE: To examine the cytoprotective effect of melatonin or recombinant human growth hormone (hGH) on the early phase of a running myocardial infarction in rats by using the Feulgen staining.r />r /> METHODS: Rats were subjected to surgical ligature of the left coronary artery or its sham-operation and were studied 1.5 3 h later. Melatonin was administered in the drinking water (100 microg/ml water) for 7 days before surgery. Recombinant hGH (2 IU/kg) was given ip at the time of surgery. Feulgen-stained histological cardiac sections were examined by light microscopy and image analysis.r />r /> RESULTS: Infarcted rats receiving vehicle exhibited large, diffuse cardiac lesions with a marked positivity for Feulgen reaction. About 18 20% of the total area recorded became injured 1.5 or 3 h after infarction, respectively. Infarcted rats treated with melatonin or hGH, or the combination of both, and killed 3 h after surgery, showed cardiac sections with scattered lesions and only a few isolated injured muscle fibers. A similar effectiveness of melatonin and hGH, alone or in combination, to decrease injured area by 86 87% and the number of cardiac lesions by 75 80% was observed.r />r /> CONCLUSION: A significant cytoprotective effect of melatonin or hGH is demonstrable in an early phase of myocardial infarction in rats....

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Case Reports 2002; 23(5-6): 387-390 PubMed PMID: 12500158 Citation  Keywords:  Analgesics, Non-Narcotic:therapeutic use, Anti-Anxiety Agents:therapeutic use, Anticonvulsants:therapeutic use, Antioxidants:therapeutic use, Benzodiazepines, Child, Preschool, Consanguinity, Disease Progression, Dronabinol:therapeutic use, Electroencepha.   

GOAL: The casuistic of a child suffering from late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) of the type Jansky-Bielschowsky aims to provide a description of possible therapeutic options for the severe spastic and the debilitating myocloni that occur within the context of this disorder. Moreover, it also should include a discussion of potential indications for the application of delta 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (Dronabinol, Marinol) in childhood....

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Comment 2002; 23(5-6): 385-386 PubMed PMID: 12500157 Citation  Keywords:  Child, Preschool, Circadian Rhythm:physiology, Humans, Japan, Melatonin:analogs & derivatives, Photic Stimulation, Photoperiod, Saliva:chemistry, Sleep:physiology, Time Factors, Urine:chemistry,.   

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Editorial 2002; 23(5-6): 379-384 PubMed PMID: 12500156 Citation  Keywords:  Authoritarianism, Conflict (Psychology), Humans, Jews:psychology, Memory:physiology, Neurotransmitter Agents:physiology, Personality:physiology, Psychoanalytic Theory, Temperament:physiology,.   

: Research on personality as a useful construct to understand people's behavior in conflict situations was traced over more than fifty years, and an attempt was made to add neurobiological parameters to psycho-socio-cultural approaches. As a starting point, scientists in exile have been called to mind who had been expelled from Nazi Germany for their Jewish origins. Among them were Adorno and Frenkel-Brunswik whose extensive studies on the authoritarian personality structure were quoted. In their work, personality was defined as a more or less enduring organisation of forces within the individual helping to determine responses in various situations, which is responsible for consistency in behavior. As a next step, Cloninger's psychobiology of personality traits was presented. In his personality concept, four temperamental traits (novelty seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependency and persistence) and three character dimensions are included. Temperamental traits are heritable, developmentally stable, emotionally based, uninfluenced by social learning, and linked to specific brain biological features. The temperaments have a certain neuroendocrinological feature which can be determined. Character dimensions develop in a stagelike process from infancy to adulthood and are influenced by temperament, social learning, genetic factors, and random life events. Personality is still considered a useful theoretical approach to conflict management research and practice. A neurobiological point of view seems to be a useful supplementation in addition to traditional psycho-socio-cultural approaches. Measuring biological compounds can supply the conflict manager with an additional tool of knowledge enhancing the ability to understand and anticipate conflict behavior....

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Case Reports 2002; 23(4): 370-372 PubMed PMID: 12195243 Citation  Keywords:  Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Female, Fluorescein Angiography, Humans, Macular Degeneration:diagnosis, Photochemotherapy, Photosensitizing Agents:administration & dosage, Porphyrins:administration & dosage,.   

: Our controlled case describes the drug possibility to stabilize the exudative form of Age-related Macular Degeneration. The new approach of selective destruction of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) can be applied in patients with subfoveal lesions. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is based on the reaction of photoactivable drug with the light of low-energy laser beam. So far only verteporfin [Visudyne, Novartis] as sensitizer is marketed and laser with wavelength of 689 nm is used. But it is questionable whether to apply this very costly treatment to extremely old people. An example of treatment of 90-year old woman with AMD with classic form of CNV is presented. Her BCVA was 0.05 OD. She underwent four session of PDT. At the last visit (eighteen months after initial and ten months after last session of PDT) the BCVA remained 0.05 OD. The patient is using a special magnifying lens for reading achieving near vision of 0.32. The presented example indicates the necessity of detailed study of every case to promote the therapeutic decisions for the benefit of progress in the field....

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Clinical Trial 2002; 23(4): 365-368 PubMed PMID: 12195242 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Animals, Electric Conductivity, Electroretinography, Humans, Middle Aged, Oligopeptides:administration & dosage, Pineal Gland:drug effects, Rats, Rats, Inbred Strains, Retina:pathology, Retinitis Pigmentosa:drug therapy,.   

: We have studied the effect of tetrapeptide Epitalon (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) on the course of congenital pigmented degeneration of the retina. The application of Epitalon in Campbell rats is found to intensify the bioelectric and functional activity of the retina due to the preservation of its morphological structure. Epitalon therapy in patients with degenerative retinal lesions results in a positive clinical effect in 90% of the cases. The analysis of Epitalon effects suggests that the tetrapeptide participates in the mechanisms of transcription common for the epiphysis and retina....

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