Medical Rejuvenation in Georgia in the past: the Sukhumi Station.

If youth and body appearance enhancement is as old as Homo Sapiens, reliable medical technology for such activities is only about 100 years old. At the dawn of the 20th century, surgical operations performed under the Voronoff's treatment plan (monkey gonads' tissue grafting into humans) or the Steinach's technique (vasoligation) offered a promise of longevity, beauty and therefore youth restoration. The many links with a newly recognized discipline, endocrinology, offer a critical insight on the strong interactions between medicine and surgery in the promise of successful antiaging. On the front-line of scientific research, the Institute of Experimental Endocrinology's primate station in Sukhumi (West Georgia, now Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast) developed a leadership role in the medical research, including rejuvenation with testis' tissues. Authors focus their attention to the everlasting commitment to experimental and clinical research as developed by Sukhumi scholars and the related moral, practical and ideological implications.

Amelioration of dural granulation tissue growth for primate neurophysiology.

Four methods were tried in order to reduce the growth of granulation tissue on the dura. The best results were obtained using white petrolatum jelly, which almost completely suppressed the growth of granulation tissue when the recording chamber was filled with petrolatum. Collagen and acrylic seals were very effective in one monkey. Panalog ointment slowed the growth of granulation tissue; preformed silicon sheets had no apparent effect. We conclude that long-term application of petrolatum jelly has no adverse effects and achieves striking suppression of the growth of granulation tissue.

[Skevos Zervos (1875-1966) and the first transplants of monkey testicles to a man. ]. / Skevos Zervos (1875-1966) et les premières greffes testiculaires du singe à l'homme.

Professor Skevos Zervos (1875-1966) is esteemed as a great doctor, researcher and humanist as well as a benefactor of hippocratism and a greek patriot. Through this article we try to elucidate his contribution in the field of testicle transplantation where his supremacy is incontestable: indeed he performed the first successful testicle transplantation from an ape to a man in 1910. This fact was officially recognized by Serge Voronoff (1866-1951) .

Estado actual del xenotrasplante de órganos / Current state of organ xenotransplantation

No cabe duda de que poder disponer de órganos animales para trasplante solucionaría el problema de su escasez. Para que los xenotrasplantes puedan llegar a ser una realidad clínica, se debe superar de forma consistente tres barreras: la inmunológica, la fisiológica y el riesgo de xenozoonosis. Desde el punto de vista inmunológico, la condición necesaria sería que el xenorrechazo pudiera modularse y transformarse a un allorejection-type. Los avances en la tecnología transgénica han resuelto por completo el rechazo hiperagudo, y así en los ensayos preclínicos de órganos porcinos transgénicos para proteínas reguladoras de complemento realizados hasta el momento se han obtenido sobrevidas máximas de meses para el riñón y el corazón, y de 8 días para el hígado. Estas sobrevidas han permitido estudiar la compatibilidad fisiológica de estos órganos porcinos trasplantados en los monos durante estos períodos. En cuanto a las barreras infecciosas, con el desarrollo biotecnológico actual en el área de la producción porcina, se asegura el nacimiento de lechones completamente libres de patógenos específicos. En 1997 se demostró in vitro que retrovirus endógenos porcinos podían transfectar linfocitos humanos. Sin embargo, diversos trabajos clínicos, con tejidos u órganos perfundidos confirman la ausencia de infectividad in vivo de estos pacientes por retrovirus porcinos.Hasta la fecha no se ha comunicado ningún xenotrasplante clínico con órganos porcinos transgénicos. La razón de ello es que existe unanimidad en que todavía las barreras inmunológicas no se han superado. En la actualidad todos los esfuerzos están orientados a estudiar los mecanismos del rechazo vascular agudo retardado para así poder diseñar estrategias que lo prevengan con efectividad (AU)

Ultra high-resolution fMRI in monkeys with implanted RF coils.

Spatiotemporally resolved functional MRI (fMRI) in animals can reveal how wide-spread neural networks are organized and accompanying electrophysiological recordings can show how small neural assemblies contribute to this organization. Here we present a novel technique that yields high-resolution structural and functional images of the monkey brain with small, tissue-compatible, intraosteally implantable radiofrequency coils. Voxel sizes as small as 0.0113 microl with high signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios were obtained, revealing both structural and functional cortical architecture in great detail. Up to a certain point, contrast sensitivity increased with decreasing voxel size, probably because of the decreased partial volume effects. Spatial specificity was demonstrated by the lamina-specific activation in experiments comparing responses to moving and flickering stimuli. The implications of this technique for combined fMRI/electrophysiology experiments and its limitations in terms of spatial coverage are discussed.

A simple method for constructing microinjectrodes for reversible inactivation in behaving monkeys.

A method for constructing a simple, durable injection-microelectrode (injectrode) is described. The injectrode can record neuronal activity, stimulate neuronal tissues, or inject substances locally through its tip. The injectrode is lightweight and is easy to construct from commercially available parts, and it can be used repeatedly for multiple recordings and injections. Since dura penetration can damage fragile electrode tips, a reliable method to pass the injectrode through an intact dura matter is described.

Safety of percutaneous ultrasound-guided biopsy of renal allografts in the cynomolgus monkey: results of 348 consecutive biopsies.

The safety of a technique for ultrasound-guided biopsy of renal allografts was evaluated based on 348 consecutive procedures in cynomolgus monkeys. A spring-loaded biopsy device with an 18G tru-cut biopsy needle was used to biopsy renal allografts in 139 cynomolgus monkeys performed either on clinical indication (n = 95 animals) or as serial protocol biopsies (n = 44 animals) for a total of 348 biopsies. Monkeys having serial biopsies received between 3-9 biopsies per animal. All others received non-protocol biopsies that were performed on clinical indication, and the range was 1-15 biopsies per animal. No life-threatening complications or deaths occurred and there were no clinically detectable minor complications such as macrohematuria. Self-limiting complications such as small arteriovenous fistulas (n = 4, 3-5 mm large) were detected with Doppler ultrasound and resolved hemodynamically after 2-4 weeks. Three animals developed hematomas ranging 4 mm-2 cm in diameter and were no longer sonographically evident 2-4 weeks later. Ultrasound-guided biopsy of renal allografts can be performed with a high degree of safety in small (3-5 kg) laboratory animals such as the cynomolgus monkey and provides a valuable tool for renal transplantation research. Even when cores were taken at two week intervals no major complications occurred and only rarely were clinically irrelevant complications detected. Experience with diagnostic ultrasound, both gray scale and Doppler, is important for both safety and the recognition of complications that may arise.

Instruments and techniques for the stereotactic surgery based on the CA-CP ventricular system of coordinates in monkeys.

The most widely used conventional stereotactic method utilizing the Horsley-Clarke coordinate system does not allow accurate intracerebral placements. Improving the precision of stereotactic surgery in monkeys has become imperative in neurological research to limit the waste of animals. This problem can be resolved with the use of a stereotactic technique based on ventricular landmarks utilizing "orthogonal teleradiography". The radiological devices and the stereotactic apparatus developed for the use with this technique are described. The apparatus allows the intercommissural plane of the animal to be placed parallel to the rails of the stereotactic frame by means of a head rotation around the ear bars. In addition, the technique uses metric reticles to make the interchange between ventricular and mechanical coordinates possible. The ventriculographic and stereotactic procedures are also described.

A rapid procedure for shortening canine teeth of nonhuman primates.

A modified pulp cap procedure was utilized to shorten canine teeth of nonhuman primates. A temporary cap was made by cutting the tooth with a diamond-faced cutting disc, making a conical cavity in the tooth with a carbide dental burr, and filling the cavity with a rapid-hardening filler material. A permanent pulp cap was made by repeating the above technique, making three anchor holes, connecting the holes with a furrow, and capping with quick-setting dental restorative material or amalgam. These procedures provided a simple, rapid and uncomplicated alternative to canine tooth extraction.

Root canal procedure for disarming nonhuman primates.

Nonhuman primates were disarmed by shortening their canine teeth. These teeth were cut off near the gingival level, the entire pulpal tissue removed and the canal filled with a formulated paste which was radiopaque, adhesive and germicidal. The teeth were sealed with a commercial alloy. This endodontic procedure was a quick, practical one-step method for permanently disarming nonhuman primates.