Short- and long-term changes in extracellular glutamate and acetylcholine concentrations in the rat hippocampus following hypoxia.

Hypoxia at birth is a major source of brain damage and it is associated with serious neurological sequelae in survivors. Alterations in the extracellular turnover of glutamate (Glu) and acetylcholine (ACh), two neurotransmitters that are essential for normal hippocampal function and learning and memory processes, may contribute to some of the neurological effects of perinatal hypoxia. We set out to determine the immediate and long-lasting effects of hypoxia on the turnover of these neurotransmitters by using microdialysis to measure the extracellular concentration of Glu and ACh in hippocampus, when hypoxia was induced in rats at postnatal day (PD) 7, and again at PD30. In PD7 rats, hypoxia induced an increase in extracellular Glu concentrations that lasted for up to 2.5 h and a decrease in extracellular ACh concentrations over this period. By contrast, perinatal hypoxia attenuated Glu release in asphyxiated rats, inducing a decrease in basal Glu levels when these animals reached PD30. Unlike Glu, the basal ACh levels in these animals were greater than in controls at PD30, although ACh release was stimulated less strongly than in control animals. These results provide the first evidence of the initial and long term consequences of the hypoxia on Glu and ACh turnover in the brain, demonstrating that hypoxia produces significant alterations in hippocampal neurochemistry and physiology.

Revisión sistemática sobre el efecto analgésico de la crioterapia en el manejo del dolor de origen músculo esquelético / Systematic review of the analgesic effect of cryotherapy in the management of musculoskeletal pain

Introducción. La Crioterapia es una modalidad de Termoterapia Superficial que se basa en la aplicación del frío como agente terapéutico, si bien es cierto, es ampliamente utilizada para el alivio del dolor, su indicación clinica tradicionalmente se ha sustentado en mecanismos de acción indirectos, sin una base científica o estudios clínicos que avalen su efectividad, se realizará una síntesis de la evidencia relativa a la efectividad de la crioterapia a través de una revisión sistemática de ensayos clínicos aleatorizados. Objetivo. Determinar si existe evidencia científica que avale el efecto analgésico de la crioterapia para el manejo del dolor de origen musculoesquelético. Estrategia de búsqueda. Se incluyeron en la búsqueda Ensayos Clínicos Aleatorizados (ECA), Revisiones Sistemáticas (RS) y Metaanálisis (MT), las bases de datos usadas fueron: MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Biomed Central, Cochrane y DARE. Resultados. Se seleccionaron un total de ocho estudios, incluyendo ensayos clínicos aleatorizados y revisiones sistemáticas. Conclusiones. Existe moderada evidencia que el uso de la crioterapia disminuye el dolor y mejora los tiempos de recuperación en esguince de tobillo y en lesiones de tejidos blandos asociados al deporte, la evidencia es limitada para el uso en Osteoartritis de rodilla, Artritis Reumatoide y Síndrome de Dolor Lumbar (AU)

Introduction. Cryotherapy is an alternative to Superficial Thermotherapy based on the application of cold as a therapeutic agent, although it is quite clear it is widely used for pain relief. However, only relies on indirect mechanisms of action and without a scientific basis to support its clinical application. Based on this an analysis will be made of the evidence regarding the effectiveness of Cryotherapy by means of a Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. Objective. To determine if there is scientific evidence to endorse the analgesic effect of Cryotherapy for the management of Musculoskeletal Pain. Strategy of Search. The words/phrases included in the search were, Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), Systematic Reviews (SR) and Metaanalysis (MT), the databases used were: MEDLINE/PubMed, PubMed Central, ScienceDirect, Biomed Central, Cochrane Library Plus and DARE. Results. We selected a total of eight studies, including Randomized Controlled Trials and Systematic Reviews. Conclusions. There is moderate evidence supporting that the use of Cryotherapy reduces pain and improves recovery times in ankle sprain and soft tissue injuries associated with sport, but there is limited evidence for its use in Knee Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Low Back Pain Syndrome (AU)

Hypoacusis detector for evaluation of scholars in field.

Hypoacusis on scholars has become not only a problem but also an indicator when attention disorders or misunderstood instructions from teachers are observed. A primary detection of hypoacusis, in particular in speech range, can help scholars, parents and teachers to improve or correct the learning process. A hypoacusis detector has been developed to be applied in field. This device is based on the generation of three tones and three sound level pressures in the speech range. Both the laboratory evaluation and a case of study results are reported in this document.

Modification of dopaminergic markers expression in the striatum by neonatal exposure to glutamate during development.

Monosodium l-glutamate (MSG) was administered subcutaneously to male neonatal rats, and the effect on developmental profile of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), D1, D2 receptors, and dopamine (DA) transporter expression in the striatum was examined using Western blot. In addition, TH-immunopositive neurons at substantia nigra (SN) were also examined. MSG treatment (4mg/g of body weight, administered on postnatal days 1, 3, 5, and 7) resulted in a reduction of D1 and D2 receptor expression from 30 days of age and persisted to adulthood (120 days of age), while DA transporter expression was significantly reduced from 14 days of age to adulthood. TH immunopositive neurons at SN showed a significant reduction, as well as TH expression on postnatal days 10, 30, 60, and 120 at striatum was reduced. No changes of TH were observed at 14 days of age. Results indicate that an over-stimulation of the glutamatergic system by neonatal exposure to a high glutamate concentration induces a partial loss in TH-positive neurons in the SN and an important reduction in dopaminergic markers expression in the striatum, suggesting that early excitotoxicity could contribute to developmental alterations in the nigrostriatal pathway, which may be associated with various disorders of the basal ganglia.

ATPase and MHC class II molecules co-expression in Rana pipiens dendritic cells.

Mammalian Langerhans cells are antigen-presenting cells located in different epithelia. These cells have a characteristic ultrastructural pattern, present a plasmatic membrane ATPase activity and constitutively express class II molecules of the major histocompatibility complex. ATPase-positive dendritic cells that are morphologically similar to Langerhans cells have also been found in amphibian epidermis. In order to demonstrate that ATPase-positive dendritic cells of amphibian epidermis express class II molecules and are present in other stratified epithelia, histochemical and immunohistochemical as well as ultrastructural analysis were performed. ATPase-positive dendritic cells and class II-positive dendritic cells were observed in epidermis, nictitant membrane and cornea. In epidermis the number of ATPase-positive dendritic cells was 656+/-186/mm2 while class II-positive dendritic cells was 119+/-45/mm2. Some ATPase-positive dendritic cells showed co-expression of class II molecules. These results suggest the existence of dendritic cell subsets in amphibians as is clearly demonstrated in mammals.