Distribution of the transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 in the rat central nervous system and dorsal root ganglia.

Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor that acts as an intracellular signalling molecule after receptor activation by several cytokines, e.g., interleukin-6, leptin and ciliary neurotrophic factor. We have investigated the localization of STAT3 in the rat central nervous system and dorsal root ganglia. Light microscopic immunohistochemistry showed that STAT3-like immunoreactivity (STAT3-LI) was present in the nucleus and cytoplasm of neurons. STAT3-LI was seen both in cell bodies and in proximal and distal dendrites. Many structures involved in motor functions, such as the ventral horn of the spinal cord, the motor cranial nerve nuclei, the red nucleus and the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum showed STAT3-LI. STAT3-LI was also present in many regions involved in autonomic regulation, such as the intermediolateral cell column of the spinal cord, the nucleus of the solitary tract, the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve, the area postrema, the locus coeruleus, the Barrington's nucleus and the arcuate, the lateral, the dorsomedial, the ventromedial, and the paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei. Other structures showing STAT3-LI were the dorsal root ganglia, the thalamus (the anterodorsal and paraventricular nucleus), the cerebral neocortex (layer 5) and the olfactory bulb. The wide distribution of STAT3-LI in the nervous system is consistent with reports of cytokine actions in the brain, but the present findings further suggest novel roles for STAT3 in mediating influences of cytokines on specific neuronal circuits regulating motor, sensory and autonomic functions.

Distribution of CREB-binding protein immunoreactivity in the adult rat brain.

We demonstrate the expression of the co-activator CREB-binding protein (CBP) in the nuclei of a large number of neurons and glial structures in the rat brain and spinal cord. Immunoblotting of nuclear extracts revealed a single band at 265 kDa, the size of CBP. We found that CBP immunoreactivity was localized to cholecystokinin mRNA-expressing neurons in the hippocampus and the thalamus, suggesting that CBP may be involved in long-term memory and modulation of cortical activity. However, CBP-labeling was not ubiquitous, and many brain regions, including several mesencephalic and diencephalic nuclei, showed sparse labeling. Further, the number of neurons displaying intense CBP-labeling varied across animals in some regions, e.g., the hippocampus and the amygdala. Since competition for limited amounts of CBP and CBP-related molecules has been shown to be important for the integration of intracellular signaling pathways with transcriptional regulation, the present results suggest that varying endogenous levels of CBP in post-mitotic neurons is an important parameter in neuronal transcriptional regulation.

A randomized trial of two occlusive dressings in the treatment of leg ulcers.

Two occlusive dressings--one zinc oxide medicated (Mezinc) and one hydrocolloid (Duoderm)--were compared in a prospective, randomized trial over a period of 8 weeks to determine their healing ability and effect on pain for venous and arterial leg ulcers. All patients were patch-tested before the study and colophony allergy was an exclusion criterion. Of the 43 outpatients included, 31 completed the trial and 6 patients randomized to each treatment group were withdrawn. The initial ulcer areas decreased after 8 weeks of treatment with Mezinc by 64% and by 48% after treatment with Duoderm. Ulcer pain was relieved in 50% of the patients--with a similar analgesic effect for the two dressings. Mezinc treatment was discontinued in 2 cases due to sensitization to colophony (one ingredient of Mezinc) which indicated a risk of contact allergy to colophony due to Mezinc treatment. 1103 consecutive eczema patients were patch-tested on the back with Mezinc and colophony 20% in petrolatum simultaneously. It was found that 42 (4%) of the patients showed allergic skin reactions to colophony and 19 (2%) to Mezinc. Both dressings were well tolerated by leg ulcer patients and there appeared to be no major differences in the efficacy of the two occlusive dressings.

Selenium, zinc, iron and copper levels in serum of patients with arterial and venous leg ulcers.

The total serum concentrations of selenium, zinc, iron and copper were determined in geriatric patients with and without leg ulcers. The levels of selenium, zinc and iron were significantly lower and the copper/zinc ratio was significantly higher in the leg ulcer group compared with control patients. The serum-copper level and the serum-copper/zinc ratio were raised in patients with poor ulcer healing.

Topical treatment of pressure ulcers. A randomized comparative trial of Varidase and zinc oxide.

In a single-blind, randomized trial, the efficacy of topical streptokinase-streptodornase (Varidase) solution was compared with that of zinc oxide on necrotic pressure ulcers in 28 patients. The effectiveness was determined by measuring the necrosis removal within 8 weeks. This occurred in 6 patients (43%) treated with Varidase and in 7 (50%) treated with zinc oxide. The statistical tests applied showed no significant difference between the two treatments despite the use of a high power (1-beta = 0.95). The data suggest that the two regimens are about equally effective in the treatment of necrotic tissue.

Topical zinc oxide treatment improves arterial and venous leg ulcers.

We performed a randomized, double-blind study of the efficacy of locally applied zinc oxide on the healing of leg ulcers. Thirty-seven geriatric patients, nineteen with arterial and eighteen with venous leg ulcers, were treated either with a gauze compress medicated with zinc oxide (400 micrograms ZnO/cm2) or with an identical compress without zinc oxide. The treatment was assessed from ulcer size measurements and the presence or absence of granulation and ulcer debridement over a period of 8 weeks. The zinc-treated patients (83% success rate) responded significantly better (P less than 0.05) than the placebo-treated patients (42% success rate). The results suggest that healing of leg ulcers is improved after the addition of zinc oxide to the local regimen.

The structure of segmental errors in the speech of deaf children.

A quantitative description of the segmental errors occurring in the speech of deaf children is developed. The method of description separates out those errors or characteristics that are common to all deaf speakers from those that are common to different subpopulations of the deaf (e.g., severely versus profoundly hearing impaired) from those errors or characteristics that are unique to individual speakers. Using this technique, the pattern of segmental errors is specified for several groups of children including deaf children at a school for the deaf as well as hearing-impaired children who have been mainstreamed into the regular school system.