scholarly journals The life history of Hepatozoon leptodactyli (Lesage, 1908) Pessoa, 1970: a parasite of the common laboratory animal: the frog of the genus Leptodactylus

1973 ◽  
Vol 71 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvio Celso Goncalves da Costa ◽  
Samuel B. Pessoa ◽  
Neize de Moura Pereira ◽  
Tania Colombo

The main object of the present paper is to furnish a brief account to the knowledgement of Protozoa parasitic in common Brazilian frog of the genus Leptodactylus for general students in Zoology and for investigators that use this frog as a laboratory animal. Hepatozoon leptodactyli (Haemogregarina leptodactyli) was found in two species of frogs - Leptodactylus ocellatus and L. pentadactylus - in which develop schizogony whereas sporogony occurs in the leech Haementeria lutzi as was obtainded in experimental conditions. Intracellular forms have been found in peripheral circulation, chiefly in erythrocytes, but we have found them in leukocytes too. Tissue stages were found in frog, liver, lungs, spleen, gut, brain and heart. The occurence of hemogregarine in the Central Nervous System was recorded by Costa & al,(13) and Ball (2). Some cytochemical methods were employed in attempt to differentiate gametocytes from trophozoites in the peripheral blood and to characterize the cystic membrane as well. The speorogonic cycle was developed in only one specie of leech. A brief description of the parasite is given.

Author(s):  
Ezzatollah Keyhani

Acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7) (ACHE) has been localized at cholinergic junctions both in the central nervous system and at the periphery and it functions in neurotransmission. ACHE was also found in other tissues without involvement in neurotransmission, but exhibiting the common property of transporting water and ions. This communication describes intracellular ACHE in mammalian bone marrow and its secretion into the extracellular medium.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1965 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-595
Author(s):  
John Lorber

1. The family histories of 722 infants who were born with spina bifida cystica were studied. 2. The index cases were referred for surgical treatment and were not selected in any way from the genetic point of view. 3. Intensive inquiries were made to obtain a complete family pedigree, including a prospective follow-up of siblings born after the index case. 4. Of 1,256 siblings 85 or 6.8% had gross malformation of the central nervous system: spina bifida cystica in 54, anencephaly in 22, and uncomplicated hydrocephalus in 9. 5. Of 306 children born after the index case 25 (8%) or 1 in 12 were affected. 6. There was a progressive increase in multiple cases in the family with increasing family size. In sibships of five or more, multiple cases occurred in 24.1%. 7. In 118 families cases of gross malformation of the central nervous system were known to have occurred among members of the family other than siblings. Cases occurred in three generations. 8. It is possible that spina bifida cystica might be a recessively inherited condition.


Development ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 1151-1161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Zhang ◽  
A. Ungar ◽  
C. Fresquez ◽  
R. Holmgren

Previous studies have shown that the segment polarity locus gooseberry, which contains two closely related transcripts gooseberry-proximal and gooseberry-distal, is required for proper development in both the epidermis and the central nervous system of Drosophila. In this study, the roles of the gooseberry proteins in the process of cell fate specification have been examined by generating two fly lines in which either gooseberry-distal or gooseberry-proximal expression is under the control of an hsp70 promoter. We have found that ectopic expression of either gooseberry protein causes cell fate transformations that are reciprocal to those of a gooseberry deletion mutant. Our results suggest that the gooseberry-distal protein is required for the specification of naked cuticle in the epidermis and specific neuroblasts in the central nervous system. These roles may reflect independent functions in neuroblasts and epidermal cells or a single function in the common ectodermal precursor cells. The gooseberry-proximal protein is also found in the same neuroblasts as gooseberry-distal and in the descendants of these cells.


Author(s):  
Andrea C. Adams

Many immune-mediated diseases and infections affect the central and peripheral nervous systems. The common feature that characterizes both immune-mediated diseases and infections is a subacute temporal profile. Immune-mediated disease can affect only the nervous system or involve the nervous system as part of a systemic illness, as in vasculitis and connective tissue disease. Multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common disabling neurologic illness of young people, is the prototypical immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system (CNS).


2007 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvana F Marasco ◽  
H Kiat Lim

INTRODUCTION Ecstasy, also known as MDMA (3,4, methylenedioxymethamphetamine), is a popular illicit party drug amongst young adults. The drug induces a state of euphoria secondary to its stimulant activity in the central nervous system. PATIENTS AND METHODS A database review at two major inner city hospitals was undertaken to identify patients presenting with pneumomediastinum and their charts reviewed. A Medline review of all reported cases of pneumomediastinum associated with ecstasy abuse was undertaken. RESULTS A total of 56 patients presenting with pneumomediastinum were identified over a 5-year period. Review of the charts revealed a history of ecstasy use in the hours prior to presentation in six of these patients, representing the largest series reported to date. CONCLUSIONS Review of previously reported cases reveals the likely mechanism is due to Valsalva manoeuvre during periods of extreme physical exertion, and not a direct pharmacological effect of the drug.


1994 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 400-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scot E. Purdon ◽  
Wilson Lit ◽  
Alain Labelle ◽  
Barry D.W. Jones

Elevated concentrations of blood serotonin have been documented in autistic children and mentally retarded adults. Antiserotonergic pharmacotherapy has been partially effective in treating a subgroup of children with autistic disorder. Therefore, the possibility is raised that an antiserotonergic treatment may be of value to adult psychiatric patients with a history of pervasive developmental disorder. Two such cases are described where the patients underwent psychiatric and neuropsychological examination before and after treatment with risperidone, a potent 5-HT2 antagonist with additional D2 antagonistic properties. Particular improvements were documented in both patients, despite long histories of cognitive compromise and high likelihood of damage to the central nervous system.


Author(s):  
Dieter Schmidt ◽  
Simon Shorvon

Five modern antiepileptic drugs have reached the fabled blockbuster status (more than $1 billion sales per year), albeit for treatment of not only epilepsy but for other disorders of the central nervous system too. These drugs generated huge profits, and the chapter asks, how were they discovered and are they worth their money? The history of the five blockbusters—levetiracetam, lamotrigine, topiramate, gabapentin, and pregabalin—provides an interesting study of chance, science, wrong ideas, and finance, and most importantly luck. The discovery of the antiepileptic effects of some of these compounds was stumbled upon by simple good fortune, and others barely escaped an early demise during an unpromising early development. Despite the commercial success, no study has shown any of these drugs to be any more effective than older drugs, yet they made billions. This chapter examines how industry could do this and what the drivers are for success.


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