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Journal Article 2002; 23(4): 315-320 PubMed PMID: 12195233 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Genes, Immediate-Early:physiology, Hypothalamus:cytology, Male, Neurons:physiology, Physical Stimulation, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos:genetics, Rats, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Skin:radiation effects,.   

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine: 1) The spatial pattern of c-fos gene expression in rat hypothalamic neurons after exposure to NMS and 2) The expression of c-fos gene after combined exposure to NMS and EHF irradiation of the rat skin.r />r /> METHODS: The experiments were performed on 28 male adult Sprague-Dawley rats. After rats were subjected to noxious mechanical stimulation (NMS) or its combination with EHF irradiation of the skin, cells in various hypothalamic structures were analyzed to determine theirs effects on c-fos gene expression, an accepted marker of the activation of neurons. C-Fos-like protein was revealed by an indirect immunoperoxidase method.r />r /> RESULTS: This study revealed that NMS stimulates c-fos gene expression in the anterior hypothalamic nucleus (AHN), dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus (DMH), ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH), and lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) by 157, 101, 199 and 115% respectively compared to control animals. Combined exposure to NMS and EHF irradiation directed at the skin in the region of the St36 acupuncture point projection site (left side) results in a decrease of the number of neurons that are activated in the AHN, DMH, VMH, and LHA by 33.6, 13.2, 31.0 and 32.9% respectively compared to the number of neurons activated by exposure to NMS by itself. EHF exposure of the skin of rats not subjected to NMS differentially effects the number of c-Fos positive cells expressed in hypothalamic structures: a decrease of 39.7% was observed in the number of activated neurons in the central part of LHA (level 28) compared to sham-irradiated animals, while an increase of 80.95% was noted in the number of c-Fos positive cells in the DMH compared to sham-irradiated animals.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: The spatial pattern and degree of activation of c-fos gene expression has been shown in cells of the hypothalamus of rats after exposure to NMS by itself and after NMS combined with EHF irradiation of the skin. The "stress" reaction of cells in specific hypothalamic structures has been shown to be decreased after EHF exposure of the skin....

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Clinical Trial 2002; 23(4): 309-313 PubMed PMID: 12195232 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adrenocortical Hyperfunction:drug therapy, Adult, Androgen Antagonists:administration & dosage, Cyproterone Acetate:administration & dosage, Drug Therapy, Combination, Estradiol Congeners:administration & dosage, Ethinyl Estradiol:administrati.   

OBJECTIVES: To investigate melatonin production in hyperandrogenic women before and during treatment with cyproterone acetate and ethinyl estradiol (Diane 35).r />r /> MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied 10 women with late onset adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (LOCAH) and 10 women with idiopathic hirsutism (IH). Patients were treated with Diane 35 for four months. Fasting blood samples for the determination of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone and dihydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) and 24-hour urine collections for the determination of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) excretion were obtained from all patients at baseline and after 4 months of treatment. Results were compared with those obtained in 15 control women.r />r /> RESULTS: At baseline, women with LOCAH had significantly higher serum testosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP) and ACTH stimulated 17OHP values than IH and control women. Their aMT6s values (51.0+/-20.5 mg/24h) were significantly higher than the values in IH (34.3+/-7.1) and control women (30.5+/-6.5) (p< 0.001). Diane 35 treatment significantly decreased serum LH, FSH and testosterone levels and aMT6s values in LOCAH patients (29.8+/-16.6 mg/24h) (p<0.0001) in LOCAH patients.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that hyperandrogenic women with LOCAH have increased melatonin production. The normalization of aMT6s and testosterone values during cyproterone acetate-ethinyl estradiol treatment, suggest that sex steroids either directly or through the suppression of gonadotropin, modulate melatonin secretion in these patients....

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Clinical Trial 2002; 23(4): 303-308 PubMed PMID: 12195231 Citation  Keywords:  Arsenic:analysis, Autistic Disorder:complications, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Fursultiamin:administration & dosage, Hair:chemistry, Humans, Lead:analysis, Male, Pilot Projects, Severity of Illness Index, Thiamine Deficiency:complications,.   

OBJECTIVES: In a Pilot Study, the clinical and biochemical effects of thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide (TTFD) on autistic spectrum children were investigated.r />r /> SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Ten children were studied. Diagnosis was confirmed through the use of form E2, a computer assessed symptom score. For practical reasons, TTFD was administered twice daily for two months in the form of rectal suppositories, each containing 50 mg of TTFD. Symptomatic responses were determined through the use of the computer assessed Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) forms. The erythrocyte transketolase (TKA) and thiamine pyrophosphate effect (TPPE), were measured at outset and on completion of the study to document intracellular thiamine deficiency. Urines from patients were examined at outset, after 30 days and after 60 days of treatment and the concentrations of SH-reactive metals, total protein, sulfate, sulfite, thiosulfate and thiocyanate were determined. The concentrations of metals in hair were also determined.r />r /> RESULTS: At the beginning of the study thiamine deficiency was observed in 3 out of the 10 patients. Out of 10 patients, 6 had initial urine samples containing arsenic in greater concentration than healthy controls. Traces of mercury were seen in urines from all of these autistic children. Following administration of TTFD an increase in cadmium was seen in 2 children and in lead in one child. Nickel was increased in the urine of one patient during treatment. Sulfur metabolites in urine did not differ from those measured in healthy children.r />r /> CONCLUSIONS: Thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide appears to have a beneficial clinical effect on some autistic children, since 8 of the 10 children improved clinically. We obtained evidence of an association of this increasingly occurring disease with presence of urinary SH-reactive metals, arsenic in particular....

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Journal Article 2002; 23(4): 299-302 PubMed PMID: 12195230 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Aged, Aging:physiology, Brain:physiology, Homosexuality, Male, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Sex Characteristics, Sexual Behavior:physiology, Surveys and Questionnaires,.   

OBJECTIVES: The current study was designed to test a neurohormonally based theory of sexual orientation and preferred partner characteristics in homosexual men. The theory holds that the brains of homosexual men are masculinized and feminized directing attraction to targets younger and more masculine than self, and the brains of homosexual adolescents are incompletely masculinized and feminized directing attraction to targets older and more masculine than self.r />r /> METHODS: Ninety-six homosexual men completed questionnaires that asked them to rate morphological and behavioral characteristics associated with ethologically relevant indicators of masculinity. The participants made ratings for themselves as adolescents and adults, their current partners and idealized partners as adults, and their idealized partners as adolescents.r />r /> RESULTS: Results of within-subjects multivariate analyses of variance supported most of the hypotheses. Participants as adults rated their idealized partners as more masculine than themselves and their real partners on five measures: height, weight, muscle development, facial hair, and sexuality. As adolescents they indicated a preference for males older and more masculine than self. The participants in adulthood did not show the predicted preference for partners younger than themselves.r />r /> CONCLUSION: The increased ratings of sexuality for self from adolescence to adulthood support the contention that some additional masculinization of the brain may occur with aging. The increased ratings of body size for the idealized target from adolescence to adulthood keeps the target more masculine then self across developmental periods. This phenomenon is consistent with the speculated feminization of the brain at both periods and its effects on partner preferences....

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Journal Article 2002; 23(4): 291-297 PubMed PMID: 12195229 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Axilla, Contraceptives, Oral:administration & dosage, Face, Female, Humans, Male, Menstrual Cycle:physiology, Sex Attractants, Sex Characteristics, Sexuality:drug effects,.   

: Previous research has revealed that natural and synthetic pheromones can enhance ratings of opposite sex attractiveness. The present study investigated the effects of exposure to male axillary secretions on female ratings of the sexual attractiveness of male stimuli. Thirty-two female undergraduates, half of whom were contraceptive pill users, rated male vignette characters and photographs of male faces on aspects of attractiveness. On two separate study days, corresponding to different phases of their menstrual cycle, stimuli were presented while exposed to male axillary pheromones and under a control condition (no pheromone). The order of testing was balanced with respect to pheromone/control condition and menstrual cycle phase. Pheromone exposure resulted in significantly higher attractiveness ratings of vignette characters and faces. Use of the contraceptive pill or menstrual cycle phase had equivocal effects on some vignette items and neither had any influence on female ratings of male facial attractiveness. The results of this study suggest that exposure to natural male axillary pheromones can significantly enhance female perceptions of various aspects of male attractiveness....

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Letter 2002; 23(4): 289-290 PubMed PMID: 12195228 Citation  Keywords:  Female, Genetic Variation, Humans, Male, Odorants, Sex Attractants:genetics, Sexual Behavior:physiology,.   

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Letter 2002; 23(4): 287-288 PubMed PMID: 12195227 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Genes, Fungal:physiology, Homosexuality, Humans, Pheromones:physiology, Rodentia, Vomeronasal Organ:physiology, Yeasts:physiology,.   

: Pheromones and their receptors are the molecules used by very different organisms in order to join two haploid cells. It happens evidently in yeast, since the two blending haploid cells are also the two mating organisms, whereas in rodents pheromone receptors are the triggers of the vomeronasal system which, supervising sexual behaviors, is responsible for copulation and therefore for fertilization. The debate is still open about the real significance of pheromones in humans but a working vomeronasal organ, able to recognize pheromones of the same sex, could be the simplest biological explanation of homosexuality. This hypothesis is discussed and connected with some well known experimental data....

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Journal Article 2002; 23(4): 281-285 PubMed PMID: 12195225 Citation  Keywords:  Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal:adverse effects, Aspirin:adverse effects, Asthma:chemically induced, Humans, Neurosecretory Systems:pathology,.   

: Available clinical data on aspirin-sensitive asthma (ASA) indicate that ASA patients have certain disturbances in the nervous, endocrine, immune and other body systems. It has been found that such patients have a lower melatonin (MT) production in daytime, a pathology of the platelet membrane-receptor complex, and a pathological response to exogenic MT and acetylsalicylic acid. A hypothesis has been suggested in which ASA is considered as apudopathy caused by dysfunction of MT-producing cells. The decreased MT production and the disturbed cell sensitivity to MT lead to pathological changes in individual organs and functional systems. As a result, there is an enhanced lipid peroxidation, an excessive production of reactive oxygen radicals, and a reduced inhibitory action of MT on the 5-lipoxygenase and NO-synthase activities. The lower MT content also results in an intense aggregation of platelets, activating these cells and increasing the production of leukotrienes and nitric oxide. These changes disturb the pulmonary microcirculation, causing the bronchial obturation syndrome even in patient who do not take aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The lower basic production of MT is also responsible for a lower content of its metabolite-endogenic acetylsalicylic acid, thereby increasing the sensitivity of melatonin-producing cells, in particular of platelets, to this acid. So, even minimal aspirin doses inhibit the activity of COX-1, which shunts the already abnormal metabolism of arachidonic acid. This, in turn, leads to a greater production of leukotrienes and, hence, to a severe course of the disease. This hypothesis has become the basis for a new pathogenetic approach to the treatment of ASA patients by correcting the melatonin content with peptide bioregulators--the epiphysis extracts--Epithalamin and Epiphamin....

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