Parkison

The author reviews the studies on the preventing effects of natural antioxidants, such as vitamins E and C, flavonoids, and polyphenols on neurodegenerative diseases, especially summarizing the results on the protective effect of ginkgo biloba extract on neuron cells, preventing effects of green tea polyphenols on apoptosis of PC12 cells (Parkison's disease model), preventing effects of genestien on amyloid-beta-induced apoptosis of hippocampal neuronal cells (Alzhemer's disease model), and preventing effect of Crataegus flavonoids on ischemic-reperfusion damage to the brain of the Mongolian gerbil (stroke model) in the laboratory...

The analysis of physiological processes in brain by position emission tomography (PET) is facilitated when images are spatially normalized to a standard coordinate system. Thus, PET activation studies of human brain frequently employ the common stereotaxic coordinates of Talairach. We have developed an analogous stereotaxic coordinate system for the brain of the Gottingen miniature pig, based on automatic co-registration of magnetic resonance (MR) images obtained in 22 male pigs. The origin of the pig brain stereotaxic space (0, 0, 0) was arbitrarily placed in the centroid of the pineal gland as identified on the average MRI template...

AIM: Studies of accentuated drop in cognitive functioning of Parkinson's disease patients mostly use global intelligence measures that have a masking effect on differential drop in specific cognitive abilities. The goal of this study was to investigate the possible differential drop in different types of cognitive tasks. Applied tests tapped fluid and crystallized intelligence, memory, and metacognition. METHOD: A sample of 116 participants participated in the study...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of rCBF imaging in Parkison's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA). METHODS: The characteristics of the radioactive distribution of rCBF imaging in PD, AD and OPCA were analyzed, and the laws of the radioactive distribution were identified. RESULTS: The sensitivity of rCBF imaging in PD, AD and OPCA was 88.4% (38/43), 95.8% (23/24), and 85...

OBJECTIVES: An earlier study in l-dopa responding patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease documented that progressive nigro-striatal degeneration shown with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and the cocain analog iodine-123-beta-CIT (beta-CIT) correlated linearly with increasing motor scores in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Here we have extended the study to include 2 tremor patients with mild parkinsonism, 2 poor l-dopa responders with parkisonism and 2 non l-dopa responders with severe parkinsonism...

Previous studies have found that female rats are less sensitive than males to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis feedback inhibition by exogenous glucocorticoid administration. To determine whether estrogen contributes to this sex difference, we examined the effects of the estrogen antagonists tamoxifen and C1628 on the ACTH and corticosterone responses to restraint stress. CI628 increased both the ACTH and corticosterone response to restraint stress, and tamoxifen increased the ACTH response to restraint...

INTRODUCTION: The differential diagnosis of a parkinsonian syndrome is extensive and complex. In most cases, however, a detailed clinical examination will help to differentiate between idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) and other causes of parkinsonism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 10 patients with an average age of 65.1 years (range 60-70), of whom 6 were men and 4 women were referred to our department with a diagnosis of IPD and history of backwards falls. The average duration of disease was 4...

We examined the effects of cyclosporin A (CsA) and glucocorticoid (GC; hydrocortisone sodium succinate) in a mouse model of experimental parkisonism. GC or CsA was administered 30 or 60 min, respectively, prior to intracerebroventricular injection of 6-hydroxydopamine, followed by injection of a similar dose of each drug 3 h later. CsA reduced the extent of depletion of striatal concentrations of dopamine (DA) and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) associated with dopaminergic neuronal degeneration. GC reduced the extent of homovanillic acid (HVA) depletion in the same region...

Three double-blind studies that included acutely ill schizophrenic patients were undertaken to assess the efficacy of amisulpride, an atypical antipsychotic with a selective affinity for dopamine D2, and D3, receptors. In the first study fixed doses of amisulpride (400, 800 and 1200 mg/day) and 16 mg/day of haloperidol were compared with 100 mg/day of amisulpride for a 4-week period. Efficacy was assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), subscales of the Positive and Negative Symptom Scales (PANSS) and the Clinical Global Evaluation (CGI)...

Mutations in the human beta thyroid hormone receptor (h-TR beta) gene are associated with the syndrome of generalized resistance to thyroid hormone. We investigated the interaction of three h-TR beta 1 mutants representing different types of functional impairment (kindreds ED, OK, and PV) with different response elements for 3,3',5-triiodothyronine (T3) and with retinoid X receptor beta (RXR beta). The mutant receptors showed an increased tendency to form homodimers on a palindromic T3-response element (TREpal), a direct repeat (DR + 4), and an inverted palindrome (TRElap)...

To understand the structural basis in the hormone-dependent transcriptional regulation of human beta 1 thyroid hormone receptor (h-TR beta 1), we studied the conformational changes of h-TR beta 1 induced by binding of 3,3',5-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3). h-TR beta 1 was treated with trypsin alone or in the presence of T3, thyroid hormone response element (TRE) or T3 together with TREs. Without T3, h-TR beta 1 was completely digested by trypsin. Binding of TREs had no effect on the tryptic digestion pattern. However, T3-bound h-TR beta 1 became resistant to tryptic digestion and yielded trypsin-resistant peptide fragments with molecular weight of 28,000 and 24,000...

To understand the structure of the hormone binding domain (HBD) of human beta 1 thyroid hormone nuclear receptor (h-TR beta 1), truncated h-TR beta 1 fragments, MD32 (M169-D456), KD29 (K201-D456), DD28 (D211-D456), KD25 (K235-D456), and KP28 (K201-P448), were analyzed by circular dichorism (CD). MD32 and KD29 show intense CD spectra with double minima at 222 and 208-210 nm, indicating the presence of extensive regions of alpha-helix. DD28 and KD25 have spectra which are reduced in intensity with minima around 215 nm, characteristic of a beta-sheet...

An efficient and versatile method to purify large amounts of active human beta 1 thyroid hormone receptor (h-TR beta 1) was developed. Using a T7 expression system, h-TR beta 1 was overexpressed in Escherichia coli. Approx. 80% of the expressed receptor protein was concentrated in the insoluble inclusion bodies and approximately 20% was in the soluble form (h-TR beta 1-S). h-TR beta 1-S was conveniently purified by one immunoaffinity chromatographic step. From 1 l of cell culture, approx. 0.1 mg of purified h-TR beta 1-S was obtained...

We have cloned the cDNA encoding the Xenopus laevis homolog of mammalian cytosolic thyroid hormone binding protein (CTHBP). We found that while its mRNA level varies little in whole animals during development, the expression of CTHBP is inversely correlated with tissue-specific transformations during metamorphosis. A high level of its mRNA was observed in the tail of premetamorphic tadpoles. However, the expression is dramatically repressed with the onset of rapid tail resorption. In the hindlimb, the expression of CTHBP is very low during morphogenesis...

To understand the role of thyroid hormone nuclear receptors (TRs) in hepatocarcinogenesis, we characterized the TRs in nine human hepatocarcinoma cell lines. The expression of TR proteins is receptor subtype- and cell type-dependent. TR alpha 1 protein expresses similarly at a low level in each of the nine cell lines. In contrast, TR beta 1 is overexpressed in hepatocarcinoma cells which are poorly differentiated. Furthermore, thyroid hormone was found to stimulate the proliferation of cells in which TR beta 1 is overexpressed...

Our ongoing study of central pallidotomy for the control of Parkison's disease in selected patients has provided the opportunity to explore the topographical and somatotopic organization of the human globus pallidus. Utilizing microelectrode techniques we have obtained recordings which were correlated with data from MPTP-parkinsonian primates. In addition, we performed pre- and postoperative FDG/PET scans in these patients. Our studies reveal similarities between the MPTP-parkisonian primate model and human Parkinson's disease in terms of physiological recordings and responses...

Experimental details of a new method for the cytochemical characterization of the membrane faces and cytoplasm produced by freeze-fracture of isolated cells and tissues are presented. This new method-"fracture-label"-involves grinding of frozen samples immersed in liquid nitrogen, thawing, cytochemical labeling of the fractured faces, and processing for thin section electron microscopy. Cationized ferritin (at pH. 7.5 and 4.0), colloidal iron, as well as concanavalin A are used to label the fractures faces of leukocytes and Hela cells embedded in a cross-linked matrix of bovine serum albumin and of liver and spleen tissues...