Risperidone and ethyl pyruvate have protective effects against ketamine-induced cognitive impairments in mice.

OBJECTIVE: Ketamine, an N-methyl D-aspartic acid receptor antagonist drug, is reported to produce memory disruptions. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of ethyl pyruvate (EP), a pyruvic acid derivative, and risperidone, an atypical antipsychotic drug, against ketamine-induced cognitive disturbances. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A passive-avoidance test, a novel object recognition test, and a modified elevated plus maze test were used to assess memory functions. Hippocampal malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured to determine the oxidation levels. RESULTS: Ketamine applications produced memory deficits in all tests and insignificantly increased MDA levels, which were alleviated by risperidone, EP, and combination treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Increased oxidative stress and neurotransmission imbalance can be responsible for ketamine-induced memory disruptions. With its antioxidant effects, EP may be helpful to reduce cognitive impairments related to schizophrenia either alone or in combination with antipsychotics.

The combined effect of rosuvastatin and ischemic pre- or post-conditioning on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in rat heart.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the combined effect of rosuvastatin and ischemic preconditioning or postconditioning on ischemia-reperfusion injury in in vivo rat heart. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninenty-six male adult Wistar rats were randomly assigned to eight groups: Sham group, ischemia-reperfusion, rosuvastatin preconditioning, rosuvastatin postconditioning, ischemic preconditioning, ischemic postconditioning, ischemic + pharmacologic preconditioning and ischemic + pharmacologic postconditioning groups. Blood samples were taken for creatine kinase evaluation at selected time points. Six rats in each group were separated for either infarct size assessment or immunohistochemical staining with Bcl-2 antibody. RESULTS: The staining with Bcl-2 was significantly lower in groups Sham, ischemic + pharmacologic preconditioning and ischemic + pharmacologic postconditioning groups which is well correlated with the decrease in infarct size for the same groups. The creatine kinase enzyme levels were also reduced to their lowest levels in ischemic + pharmacologic preconditioning and ischemic + pharmacologic postconditioning groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that enriching the composition of reperfusate with rosuvastatin along with ischemic preconditioning or postconditioning procedures at the opposite sides of ischemia may interact synergistically for protecting ischemic myocardium from reperfusion injury. The combined application of rosuvastatin with ischemic preconditioning or ischemic postconditioning may provide a new therapeutic option in clinical interventions when compared to single treatment with ischemic and rosuvastatin preconditioning or postconditioning.

Determination of the energy dependence of the BC-408 plastic scintillation detector in medium energy x-ray beams.

The energy dependence of the response of BC-408 plastic scintillator (PS), an approximately water-equivalent material, has been investigated by employing standardized x-ray beams. IEC RQA and ISO N series x-ray beam qualities, in the range of 40-100 kVp, were calibrated using a PTW-type ionization chamber. The energy response of a thick BC-408 PS detector was measured using the multichannel pulse height analysis method. The response of BC-408 PS increased gradually with increasing energy in the energy range of 40-80 kVp and then showed a flat behavior at about 80 to 120 kVp. This might be due to the self-attenuation of scintillation light by the scintillator itself and may also be partly due to the ionization quenching, leading to a reduction in the intensity of the light output from the scintillator. The results indicated that the sensitivity drop in BC-408 PS material at lower photon energies may be overcome by adding some high-Z elements to its polyvinyltoluene (PVT) base. The material modification may compensate for the drop in the response at lower photon energies. Thus plastic scintillation dosimetry is potentially suitable for applications in diagnostic radiology.

Measurements on the spectroscopic performance of CdZnTe coplanar grid detectors.

A performance study was performed for CdZnTe coplanar grid (CPG) detectors when used as γ-ray spectrometers. The detectors have the crystal volumes of 1, 1.6875 and 2.25 cm(3), respectively. Time stability of each CdZnTe CPG detector was investigated in a long-term operation (time span of 0.25 to about 100 h). The spectroscopic performances were measured at different bias voltages and at various photon energies ranging from 59.6 keV ((241)Am) to 1332.5 keV ((60)Co) for each detector, and evaluated by using the following parameters: energy resolution in FWHM, peak tailing in peak-to-valley (P/V) ratio and in FWHM/FW.25 M ratio, and photofraction using the acquired γ-ray spectra. No polarization effect was observed in terms of count rate, energy resolution and peak centroid shift. The obtained results indicate that better time stability and excellent spectroscopic performances of the present CdZnTe CPG detectors are shown for a room temperature γ-ray spectroscopy.

Three fetuses karyotyped as Turner syndrome with cystic hygroma developing hydrops: prognosis and outcome.

INTRODUCTION: We present three cases of fetuses diagnosed as Turner syndrome with cystic hygroma (CH) developing hydrops to discuss the prenatal diagnostic and prognostic criteria of CH in ultrasound and outcome of the fetuses. CASES: The first case was 30-year-old pregnant woman with a nuchal translucency measurement of 8 mm at 12 weeks' gestation. Serial ultrasound examinations revealed non-septated cystic hygroma and hydrops. The pregnancy was terminated at the 18th week of gestation. Diagnosis of CH was made at 14 and 15 weeks of gestation in case 2 and case 3, respectively. Ultrasound revealed large cystic septated sacs in the nuchal area combined with serosal fluid collection and cutaneous edema. Spontaneous fetal demise occured at 21 and 16 weeks of gestation in cases 2 and 3, respectively. All fetuses were diagnosed as Turner syndrome.