ABSTRACT
Application of acetylcholine to peripheral nerve terminals in the skin is a widely used test in studies of human small-fiber functions. However, a detailed pharmacological profile and the subunit composition of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in human C-fiber axons are not known. In the present study, we recorded acetylcholine-induced changes of the excitability and of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration in C-fiber axons of isolated human nerve segments. In addition, using immunohistochemistry, an antibody of a subtype of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor was tested. Acetylcholine and agonists reduced the current necessary for the generation of action potentials in C fibers by
Subject(s)
Action Potentials/physiology , Axons/physiology , Cell Membrane/physiology , Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated/physiology , Receptors, Nicotinic/physiology , Action Potentials/drug effects , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Axons/drug effects , Axons/ultrastructure , Cell Membrane/drug effects , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated/drug effects , Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated/ultrastructure , Neurons/drug effects , Neurons/physiology , Neurons/ultrastructure , Nicotine/pharmacologyABSTRACT
The evaluation of the effectiveness of medical in particular preventive measures is an essential prerequisite for the determination of the priorities in the further improvement of medical care conceptions taking into account practical demands. Endeavours to define the terms of quality and effectiveness prove the difficulty of the problem. The description of approaches allows to deduce investigation approaches to judgements on the individual and collective state of health, and to coordinative and cooperative correlations in the medical care for children and adolescents for the purpose of optimizing a health care model on district level.
Subject(s)
Child Development , Child Health Services/trends , Child Welfare/trends , Referral and Consultation/trends , Adolescent , Child , Germany, East , Humans , Patient Care Team/trends , Quality Assurance, Health Care/trendsABSTRACT
In order to grade motion sickness objectively, the following 11 adrenal hormones were investigated in subjects with different motion sickness susceptibility: Aldosterone, corticosterone, 11-deoxycorticosterone, progesterone, 17-OH-progesterone, 11-deoxycortisol, cortisol, cortisone, testosterone, androstendione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate. Motion sickness was induced by the coriolis effect on a rotary chair. Both severe kinetosis after short rotation time and mild motion sickness after 30 min of rotation occurred together with small hormonal changes. Androstendione and 11-deoxycortisol appear to be sensitive indicators of motion sickness if the rotation time is taken into consideration. A significant increase of all hormones except progesterone, cortisone, testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate was observed when pronounced malaise had come after a long rotation stress (24.6 min). The changes in plasma aldosterone concentration appeared to correlate with time only. The present study demonstrates that hormonal analysis can be helpful in estimating the degree of motion sickness.