Archivos de neurobiologia最新文献

Plasma corticosterone was measured, in rats, after a 30 min, treatment either on small platforms used to induce paradoxical sleep deprivation, on large platforms utilized as control or in home cages ("Dry Control"group). The subjects on both platforms showed similar plasma corticosterone levels, those levels being significantly higher than the ones shown by "Dry Controls". It is concluded that the use of large platforms as control of the stress induced by the small platforms in those experiments aimed at determinating the relationship between short-term post-training paradoxical sleep deprivation and memory consolidation allow to discriminate the specifical effects induced by paradoxical sleep deprivation from the putative modulatory effects of learning exerted by the stress induced by the method.

A family study and detection of bearer individuals has been carried out in five families suffering from the fragile X syndrome by means of clinical and cytogenetical examination, as well as by DNA recombination techniques in one of them. In 14 males the X marker chromosome was found. In 45 females studied in order to find bearer features, 23 heterozygote individuals have been detected. Out of those 23 cases, 11 were fragile X positive and in the remaining 22 a previous risk of 25-50% was estimated. In this group we used the Bayes theorem considering as conditional probabilities to bear a healthy male and to be fragile negative and the risk of being a bearer person decreased in all the cases. The significance and difficulties of the genetical prevention in families suffering from this syndrome because of the great number of young female with risk at the reproductive age are debated. The DNA study with the St14 sound (DXS52 Locus) in a family was concordant with the cytogenetical studies. A possible recombination in an individual suffering from fixation, atypical phenotype and low percentage of the maker expression.

We have studied the effects of calcium channel blockers cinarizine, flunarizine, nicardipine, nifedipine, verapamil and diltiazem on the motor anomalies which can be found in rats with unilateral nigrostriated lesion due to 6-OH-DA. All of them reduce rotation induced by apomorphine according to this order: nifedipine greater than nicardipine greater than diltiazem greater than flunarizine greater than verapamil greater than cinarizine. No effects on rotation induced by amphetamine have been observed. Our data suggest that calcium channel blockers cause dopamine receptor blockade but they do not modify the calcium-non-depending releasing of dopamine induced by amphetamine.

The results of a study about psychiatric morbility in patients suffering from HIV infection treated in a psychiatric consulting department of a general hospital are presented. Out of one hundred of individuals studied, 93 showed a diagnosis in Axle I according to DSM-IIIR criteria for mental disorders classification. The diagnosis most frequently found was the one of disorders due to drugs dependence, in 41%; organic mental disorder in 29%; adaptation disorders in 15% and affective one in 5% of cases. In sixteen patients of the sample a follow-up was carried out finding ad evolution towards dementia. Diagnostic difficulties of this population and usefulness of carrying out a revision of diagnostic classifications usually employed are debated.

Blepharospasm is a cranial dystonia characterized by forceful spasms of the orbicularis oculi muscle which may lead to functional blindness in approximately two-thirds of patients. Botulinum toxin injections is a simple procedure, very effective and with little morbidity. It is considered as the treatment of choice for patients with disabling blepharospasm.

The coexistence of schizophrenia and panic attacks has been reported several times in the literature on this topic. In this paper two new clinical cases of this association have been exposed. Also, diagnostic and therapeutic implications have been debated. The literature related to this topic is reviewed.

The relationship between isolated sleep paralysis and panic disorder in adults is analyzed in this study. The patients included in this work presented anxiety disorder with agoraphobia and were compared with a group of normal controls. The percentage of patients with sleep paralysis was 40% significantly higher than those encountered in the control group (20%). The existence of this syndrome do not seem to modify the clinical manifestation or severity of panic disorder.

Dystonia is a movement disorder characterized by sustained twisting movements and muscle contractions and abnormal postures. Dystonia is a symptom present in many diseases of the central nervous system. Anatomical data reveal that dystonia appears in diseases involving the basal ganglia, diencephalon, brain stem and cerebellum. Physiological studies revealed an abnormal facilitation of polysynaptic reflexes at the brain stem level. A common pathogenic mechanism for dystonia must be found in order to delineate in effective treatment. From clinical and biochemical data we suggest that dystonia is produced by abnormal shift of the norepinephrine/dopamine neurotransmission in favor of norepinephrine in different brain areas.