The anticonvulsant action of 1,5-benzodiazepine clobazam was studied in 12-, 18-, and 25-day-old rats. Cortical epileptic afterdischarges (ADs) elicited by rhythmic electrical stimulation of the sensorimotor cortical area were used as a model in animals with implanted electrodes. As far as the duration of ADs is concerned, clobazam in doses of 1 or 5 mg/kg i.p. blocked the progressive increase with repeated stimulations in all age groups and the higher dose significantly shortened ADs in 25-day-old rats. The intensity of movements accompanying stimulation was decreased only by the 5 mg/kg dose in 25-day-old animals, whereas clonic seizures were less intense after both doses in 12- and 25-day-old rat pups. Clobazam exerted an anticonvulsant action at all the developmental stages studied; the lower efficacy in 18-day-old rats (described also for clonazepam) remains to be analyzed.
Patients treated for knee disorders were included in this study. They were examined clinically (Lequesne and Tegner scores) and by standard X-ray investigation. Patients underwent a surgical procedure, either arthroscopy or knee replacement. At the initial phase of surgery, a sample of cartilage was taken for laboratory examination. Progression of the disorder and the clinical examination was correlated with the actual state of the cartilage using a novel fluorescence approach. The intrinsic fluorescence of cartilages was shown as a suitable and sensitive method for detection of the actual state of cartilages because the correlation with X-ray examination and clinical status was found. Intrinsic fluorescence properties of cartilages from patients with chondropathy and osteoarthritis were described and found to be age-dependent. We also observed a higher concentration of advanced glycation end products due to inflammatory and/or degenerative processes in the cartilage. In addition, acute pathological changes due to diseases such as meniscal lesions or anterior cruciate ligament rupture caused a significant increase of formation of advanced glycation end products even in the group of young patients. In fact, such an observation could be crucial and important for the detection of knee conditions suspected of early meniscal and/or ACL lesions especially among young patients., M. Handl, E. Filová, M. Kubala, Z. Lánský, L. Koláčná, J. Vorlíček, T. Trč, M. Pach, E. Amler., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Total genome scans of genetically segregating populations derived from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and other rat models of essential hypertension suggested a presence of quantitative trait loci (QTL) regulating blood pressure on multiple chromosomes, including chromosome 5. The objective of the current study was to test directly a hypothesis that chromosome 5 of the SHR carries a blood pressure regulatory QTL. A new congenic strain was derived by replacing a segment of chromosome 5 in the SHR/Ola between the D5Wox20 and D5Rat63 markers with the corresponding chromosome segment from the normotensive Brown Norway (BN/Crl) rat. Arterial pressures were directly monitored in conscious, unrestrained rats by radiotelemetry. The transfer of a segment of chromosome 5 from the BN strain onto the SHR genetic background was associated with a significant decrease of systolic blood pressure, that was accompanied by amelioration of renal hypertrophy. The heart rates were not significantly different in the SHR compared to SHR chromosome 5 congenic strain. The findings of the current study demonstrate that gene(s) with major effects on blood pressure and renal mass exist in the differential segment of chromosome 5 trapped within the new SHR.BN congenic strain., M. Pravenec, V. Křen, D. Křenová, V. Zídek, M. Šimáková, A. Musilová, J. Vorlíček, E. St. Lezin, T. W. Kurtz., and Obsahuje bibliografii